SLT - Second Language Training

During boot camp all the recruits are being assessed for their language skills, English and French, to determine how much language training they will need. This is because Canada is a bilingual country and all serving in the military are required to be bilingual. Therefore, English speaking people need to know French (and French speaking people need to know English). The idea is that if one day you will serve in another country (e.g. a humanitarian relief) you might have to use either one of our two languages. Like French in Haiti or English in United States. Those that know the second language perfectly don't need to take any courses. This happened to some of my friends in the platoon. They didn't have to go to the language school which meant that they could start their flying courses earlier.

As for me and most of the other people we went off to 8 months of full time (8 to 5, Monday to Friday) schooling. It was like going back to school, except that we were being paid for it :) Really nice if you care to learn the language. Unfortunately, in most of the cases the guys don't wanna learn French so they are suffering for 8 months. A real waste of taxpayer's money, if you ask me. Because French is almost never used for work, all those people that didn't want to learn it in the first place will forget about it as soon as they leave the school.

However, if you're like me, you'll take advantage of this knowledge broadening experience and enjoy going to classes. The school stuff is amazing and the teachers really try to make the classes interesting. There are also 2 field trips scheduled for the course, and in our case we went to a restaurant in Chambly which also included beer tasting and a tour of the brewery. The other trip was to Biodome in Montreal, expenses paid for in both cases. I have to say that after 8 months of SLT I picked up quite a lot of French, my final test score was B-B-B, and that's starting from zero. What's also nice is that you can continue to learn your second language while serving in the Canadian Forces. In my case, for example, I was eligible for approximately another 1000 hours of training. This is schooling that you would receive during work hours.

I think there is some misconception that if you're in the military you must work on weekends. This is partly true. In certain cases, like for example when you're deployed or in training, you might have to put in some extra time. For example, during our Phase II flight training we were asked to work on a Saturday (maybe 3 times during a 7 month course) because we were behind schedule due to weather and aircraft unavailability. As for the other times, like during SLT, it's just like a regular job, except that you're wearing the uniform. The weekends and after work hours are all yours and you do not have to stay on the base.

Below are some pictures from my SLT class:







And here, pictures from a "fun ride" in the Griffon helicopter at the 416 squadron.






In summary, my SLT experience was positive. I learnt a new language and discovered more of the Quebec culture.

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