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I want to apply to a university in Montreal to study. I heard that living in Montreal is very hard because everything is in French. I know basic French. Is that fine?
I want to apply to a university in Montreal to study. I heard that living in Montreal is very hard because everything is in French. I know basic French. Is that fine?
What is it that you want to study? Where in Montreal? At what level (undergrad, masters or PhD)?
If you go to McGill you don't have to know French at all if you live on campus.
The trick is that you can't live on campus for more than one year; the other three (or two if you're somehow a Quebec resident) are lived off-campus. And if you're unlucky enough to not find an apartment in McGill Ghetto, then you will have to make use of your limited French.
The trick is that you can't live on campus for more than one year; the other three (or two if you're somehow a Quebec resident) are lived off-campus. And if you're unlucky enough to not find an apartment in McGill Ghetto, then you will have to make use of your limited French.
Eh, not necessarily. I lived in Ville-Emard and Verdun for 6 months without bothering to learn anything more basic than how to answer whether or not I wanted a bag at the grocery store.
Ironically, now I live in the McGill Ghetto, but speak much more French (by choice, not out of necessity)
I'd say you can survive with no French in Montreal, especially if you live in the English Westmount area. But you would be much happier and your social life would much better and more fun if you spoke French. Even when I visited Montreal last year I felt like an outsider and lost when I didn't understand the jokes in French and the conversations going on.
As a student, you will do fine with out French. I know many people that went to McGill and Concordia and speak little to no French, and lived in different areas of the plateau and even rosemont.
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
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Maybe it's because I have an American English accent -- I always did, even before I moved to the States, because I worked for an American company and spoke to Americans all day, every day -- but nobody gives me flack for only speaking English. Maybe everyone thinks I'm a tourist. *shrug*
I'm not being stubborn. I lost almost all of my (high school) French when I started working for a U.S. company, then I moved to the States where I lost the rest of it. I'm a self-employed contractor now and only do work for U.S. firms, so I have no opportunity to re-learn French.
Fact is, nobody gives me a hard time about it. Sign language works wonders when you can't get your thought across.
I want to apply to a university in Montreal to study. I heard that living in Montreal is very hard because everything is in French. I know basic French. Is that fine?
Is it English or French university? I went to a French college just to torture myself into getting to speak better. Apparently comprehension is generally much more important; when it comes down to the nitty-gritty of whatever your specialization is, there's no time to stop and wait. My tongue has been way behind my comprehension. The good thing is your peers and profs give you a huuuge slack listening to your butchering the language.
If it is an English-speaking uni, you won't even realize you live in a Quebecois province.
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