Ray of Hope - 150th Draw - CEC

[jrossi]

Agreed. I will be giving by TEF whenever centres open up. Been learning for 2 years as a hobby. I wish you all the best.

Same here. Since late December I realized the trend for the CRS was only going up and up and up, and having already maxed out IELTS, and having already 2 diplomas, I realized I only had 1 option... so I started studying french since then. I believe I'm right now at level B1, but some of my iTalki teachers say I'm closer to B2 than B1. I've been waking up every single day at 4AM to study before going to work, and I intend on attempting the TCF on late August, and if everything works the way I expect, my score will jump to 509. Which means, sooner or later, I'll get the ITA.
I honestly think that anyone, whether CEC or FSW that *really* wants to immigrate to Canada and has a score below 480 (I highly doubt anything below 480 will be a safe score in the post-pandemic EE) should start learning french as of right now. Seriously, don't complain in the future that "EE has become impossible for outland candidates, now requires that you have at least a masters, etc". Understand the CRS Criteria, and go for it!

 

[jesse1120]

Same here. Since late December I realized the trend for the CRS was only going up and up and up, and having already maxed out IELTS, and having already 2 diplomas, I realized I only had 1 option... so I started studying french since then. I believe I'm right now at level B1, but some of my iTalki teachers say I'm closer to B2 than B1. I've been waking up every single day at 4AM to study before going to work, and I intend on attempting the TCF on late August, and if everything works the way I expect, my score will jump to 509. Which means, sooner or later, I'll get the ITA.
I honestly think that anyone, whether CEC or FSW that *really* wants to immigrate to Canada and has a score below 480 (I highly doubt anything below 480 will be a safe score in the post-pandemic EE) should start learning french as of right now. Seriously, don't complain in the future that "EE has become impossible for outland candidates, now requires that you have at least a masters, etc". Understand the CRS Criteria, and go for it!

agreed! and have fun while at it I'm inspired by your learning ethic and discipline. I was being lazy but now I'm charged up. Thank you

 

[ZAtoCD]

These officers are Canadians, so only the Canadian government can decide when they go back to work by observing that country's situation. As far as I know, many country's corona counts are still very high. So the Canadian government won't allow their people to go and start work there. It's just my opinion

That makes sense. I wonder if those officers were actually recalled to Canada, or if they're still physically present in their respective countries around the world.

I assume the only way we'll find out the statuses in each country would be to follow the news? I doubt there's any site tracking which are open.

 

[jrossi]

agreed! and have fun while at it I'm inspired by your learning ethic and discipline. I was being lazy but now I'm charged up. Thank you

Indeed, learning french has helped to discover some very interesting youtube channels (around tech, travel, and even Québec culture). Now a days I spend at least 1 hour watching these videos, and it has helped me learn the language and, at the same time, better understand the Canadian politics and general culture while doing it.

Also, important to notice: outside of Québec, less than 8% of Canadians are able to speak French. This might not only be useful for EE, but for your Canadian career in general.

 

[cancan90]

That makes sense. I wonder if those officers were actually recalled to Canada, or if they're still physically present in their respective countries around the world.

I assume the only way we'll find out the statuses in each country would be to follow the news? I doubt there's any site tracking which are open.

I think before the pandemic was in full swing in those countries, they called their people back home. As they claim they will not let Canadian stranded in other countries. So we have to wait until the peaks in all countries (which is mostly over). It's unfortunate to loose points based on age and other factors. But they need to protect their citizens first. All other matters are secondary.

 

[cancan90]

Indeed, learning french has helped to discover some very interesting youtube channels (around tech, travel, and even Québec culture). Now a days I spend at least 1 hour watching these videos, and it has helped me learn the language and, at the same time, better understand the Canadian politics and general culture while doing it.

Also, important to notice: outside of Québec, less than 8% of Canadians are able to speak French. This might not only be useful for EE, but for your Canadian career in general.

in your opinion, what's the best way (economical of course) to learn french?

 

[jrossi]

in your opinion, what's the best way (economical of course) to learn french?

I’ve been learning French the same way I did with English 10 years ago: learn the very basics (articles, main verb tenses, prepositions, etc and the 500 most used words), which you can do in any way you want. There’s a plethora of content about “learning the basics os French”, on YouTube, websites, books, etc... all free.
After that, simply start consuming real content (local newspapers in French, YouTube channels, etc) and start learning as you consume them. If you don’t know a word, search for it, if you don’t understand why a verb is being used with a different tense, study that tense, etc. It’s not a sprint, but a marathon. You need to learn a little bit, every single fucking day (not to say every single hour). For example: everything that I use nos is set to French... phone, tablet, computer, even my TV. I receive hourly notifications from Radio-Canada, which ends up being super useful for learning new words all the time the notification pop-up on my watch.
Finally, once you achieve a certain level, you’ll need to spend money to practice your speaking abilities with a native person. For that, I recommend iTalki as the best solution.

 

[joconstantine]

If Ontario continues their IT tech draws (given that a lot of recent NOIs will be wasted due to CEC draws), I will just go for PNP path. Will be losing 5 points in August.

 

[jesse1120]

Indeed, learning french has helped to discover some very interesting youtube channels (around tech, travel, and even Québec culture). Now a days I spend at least 1 hour watching these videos, and it has helped me learn the language and, at the same time, better understand the Canadian politics and general culture while doing it.

Also, important to notice: outside of Québec, less than 8% of Canadians are able to speak French. This might not only be useful for EE, but for your Canadian career in general.

Have you heard Québécois french? I couldn't comprehend it!

 

[seadrag0n]

If Ontario continues their IT tech draws (given that a lot of recent NOIs will be wasted due to CEC draws), I will just go for PNP path. Will be losing 5 points in August.

What's your NOC and CRS score?

 

[jesse1120]

y

I’ve been learning French the same way I did with English 10 years ago: learn the very basics (articles, main verb tenses, prepositions, etc and the 500 most used words), which you can do in any way you want. There’s a plethora of content about “learning the basics os French”, on YouTube, websites, books, etc... all free.
After that, simply start consuming real content (local newspapers in French, YouTube channels, etc) and start learning as you consume them. If you don’t know a word, search for it, if you don’t understand why a verb is being used with a different tense, study that tense, etc. It’s not a sprint, but a marathon. You need to learn a little bit, every single fucking day (not to say every single hour). For example: everything that I use nos is set to French... phone, tablet, computer, even my TV. I receive hourly notifications from Radio-Canada, which ends up being super useful for learning new words all the time the notification pop-up on my watch.
Finally, once you achieve a certain level, you’ll need to spend money to practice your speaking abilities with a native person. For that, I recommend iTalki as the best solution.

yes! best advice I got was to immerse myself so much that you begin to dream in french.

 

[jrossi]

Have you heard Québécois french? I couldn't comprehend it!

Indeed, much harder than the French accent. I now can understand over 80-90% of what is said by French people, but when it comes to Quebec content, I’m still stucked at ~50%.
Yet, take notice that the majority of audios played during the Listening section of the TCF Canada have, actually, the French accent, not the Québecois. I think this is insane (why would you call it TCF **CANADA** then?).

 

[Priyanka2010]

Indeed, much harder than the French accent. I now can understand over 80-90% of what is said by French people, but when it comes to Quebec content, I’m still stucked at ~50%.
Yet, take notice that the majority of audios played during the Listening section of the TCF Canada have, actually, the French accent, not the Québecois. I think this is insane (why would you call it TCF **CANADA** then?).

Can you not sit for TEF then? I am targeting for TEF though I have to travel to another city for the test centre. I took French casually in the beginning but the more I passed the levels, the more interesting it becomes. Listening to French songs is also really helpful. And once you have a grip on the avoir and etre verbs and a certain word count, it becomes easier.

 

[jrossi]

Can you not sit for TEF then? I am targeting for TEF though I have to travel to another city for the test centre. I took French casually in the beginning but the more I passed the levels, the more interesting it becomes. Listening to French songs is also really helpful. And once you have a grip on the avoir and etre verbs and a certain word count, it becomes easier.

I think it's easier to find preparation material for TCF, also only TCF Canada is available where I live. So, it's a no-brainer.

 

[aNDyaSs]

Should we expect that there will be a CEC draw announced at any moment from now?