For its 2nd edition, the integrative project Cet été, mon français je le pratique (This summer, my French, I'm practicing it), has had some participants. Last year, eight young people aged between 16 and 24 with an immigrant background and living in Vaudreuil-Soulanges were able to continue speaking in the language of Molière during the summer season. This year, that number has risen to 18 participants. 

Once again this year, COMQUAT can count on the support of numerous partners to make this project possible. These include the Ministère de l'Immigration, Francisation et Intégration (MIFI), the City of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Employment and Social Development Canada, the City of Pincourt, the City of L'Île-Perrot and the Société St-Jean-Baptiste de Vaudreuil-Dorion.

Founded over 30 years ago, COMQUAT offers literacy services and helps local residents acquire or improve their reading, writing and oral skills.  

On Wednesday, August 9, the organization invited participants in the "Cet été, je pratique mon français" project to 1255 rue Émile-Bouchard for the closing event of the six-week project. "We're very happy because, thanks to the financial support of our partners, we had not one, but two groups taking part in the project this summer. We had a space in L'Île-Perrot, like last year, and one in Vaudreuil-Dorion right here at 1255 rue Émile-Bouchard.The city lent us the space free of charge, which enabled us to double our capacity for participants," explains Sylvie Pelletier, the organization's director. 

In concrete terms, the aim of the "Cet été, je pratique mon français" project was to enable young high school, college and university students living in the region to maintain and consolidate their French language skills. How did it work?Through a variety of activities that enabled them not only to discover the Vaudreuil-Soulanges region, but also to improve their French language skills. 

"For years, we've known that during the summer months, young immigrants returning to their families would lose their French language skills, and that they'd have to start all over again, or almost all over again, when they returned to Quebec. So we set up this project by hiring two teachers to supervise participants aged between 16 and 24", she added. 

A six-week project 

Project participants were expected to take part in three days of learning per week for six weeks.During this period, outings were planned and the young people had to prepare, in French, vocabulary words related to them.  Occasionally, participants were also asked to make oral presentations to perfect their French lexicon.Among the places visited by the group in recent weeks were: 

-  Musée régional de Vaudreuil-Soulanges. 

-  Atelier paysan;- Arbraska;

-  Maison Félix-Leclerc;

-  Ecomuseum;

-  Village des Écluses; 

 - Pointe-à-Caillères Museum 

"It was a great pleasure to accompany the group on this project. All the participants gave 100% of themselves to the exercises and activities, in good spirits and with a smile. Two of them spoke no French at all when they arrived with us. By the end of the program, they were at or near the same level as the others. It's a great achievement," says teacher Charles-André Thériault. 

For their part, the participants were delighted with the experience. "I'm very happy to have been able to learn about Quebec history and to have surpassed my limits at Arbraska. It was a great experience," said Aisha Gabriela Callejas Castro from Colombia. 

Juan Carlos Sanchez Torres, for his part, stressed that he had learned a great deal from his experience over the past few weeks. "Bravo for your commitment and involvement in the program.You're a great team," he said of the teaching team: Charles-André Thériault, Jasmeet Garha and Sarah Louise Evans. They were assisted on a voluntary basis by Louisnel Joseph and Belen Pelaez Obregon.

t should be noted that COMQUAT was able to cover the entire cost of admitting participants to the activities, thanks to the support of various local business partners.

In closing, here is the list of participants in this second cohort of the program:

Present this Wednesday:

- Adam Mokrane; 
- Aisha Gabriela Callejas Castro; 
- Annie Hoang; 
- Godwin Osalumese; 
- Juan Carlos Sanchez Torres; 
- Kokou Pascal Amewunu; 
- Luis Eduardo Huerta Cornejo; 
- Maryam Katebian; 
- Melissa Biart Gomez; 
- Samuel Felipe Callejas Castro; 
- Sem Lukash; 
- Trong Phu Hoang; 

Absent:

- Esterline Nelson; 
- Isabel Ochoa; 
- Monica Ochoa; 
- Saba e zannat Sumu; 
- Sebastian Fragoso.