Québec’s Best Language Training Practices in Action: Francisation du Mont Sutton

French language proficiency remains a barrier for adult English speakers navigating Québec’s labour market. This not only impacts the economic success of the English-speaking community, but that of the entire province. To break down this barrier, we need to leverage learnings from successful French-language training programs and map out a clear path for the future of language training in Québec.   

The Provincial Employment Roundtable’s recently published report, Learning French as an Adult: A Review of Current Best Practices in Adult French-language Training in Québec, provides a detailed breakdown of the leading ways to teach French to adults in Québec while shining a light on some of the best initiatives furthering French-language training and work-integrated learning. One such initiative is Francisation du Mont Sutton.

Case Study: Francisation du Mont Sutton

Francisation du Mont Sutton was a French-language training program created in 2016 to address a labour shortage in Mont Sutton, a popular tourist destination in Québec. The program was designed as a year-long project, with participants enrolling in 10 weeks of intensive French-language courses in the fall, followed by a job opportunity in the winter, six weeks of French courses in the spring, and a final job opportunity in the tourism sector during the summer.

The project was the result of a partnership between Mont Sutton, Services Québec, the Community Economic Development and Employability Corporation (CEDEC), the Brome-Missisquoi Local Employment Center, and the Eastern Townships School Board. Jointly funded by the Ministère du Travail, de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale, and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, it was offered to workers with beginner and intermediate proficiencies in French. 

Result Highlights

• 3 English-speaking employees retained; 1 promoted to a lead role at Mont Sutton.
• 9 new English-speaking employees recruited in Phases 1 and 2 in the Sutton tourism sector.  
• 11 out of 16 recruits employed at Mont Sutton in various positions in Phase 3.
• Read more on CEDEC’s website here.

Best Practices in Action

The Francisation du Mont Sutton program supports several practices and recommendations explored in our report. Some of the most notable include:  

• Tailored content: Since participants were being trained for a specific job opportunity, the curriculum was tailored to meet their unique needs while also providing a baseline language education.
• Work-integrated learning: The work-integrated aspect of the program allowed participants to practice what they learned in a real-world work environment, providing the immersion needed to learn the language while building confidence on the job.
• Collaboration between key stakeholders: An essential part of this initiative was the multilevel collaboration between local stakeholders and various government agencies, as they worked together to design a program to meet the labour market needs of the region.  

Francisation du Mont Sutton was a highly successful project, earning the Prix Excellence Tourism from the Alliance de l’industrie touristique du Québec in 2019. This initiative serves as an excellent model for the Government of Québec and the Ministry of Immigration, Francisation, and Integration (MIFI) to build upon when developing future language-training services and programs.

To learn more about the best language learning opportunities and practices in Québec, and how they can be implemented, read our full report here.