Written by Eddy Ramírez

Florencia Melero's story - Part I

From the series: Immiland - Life Project

The textual sentences you will read below mark the hard beginning of a journey that started as a French language challenge to become one more success story compiled in our segment. Identities segment of Immiland Canada's Youtube channel and featured on our language school's blog, Planet Immiland Education, for the series: Immiland - Life Projectwhich is based on real life cases of users and clients who were encouraged to tell their story.

Hello! This Planet Immiland article is for everyone who wants to come to Canada and needs to speak French, but thinks it is not easy to learn it or is about to give up because they think that the success of this language to live in Canada is for a privileged few. Join me in reading this story of self-improvement because I know it will motivate you to go ahead with your French learning.

Here, we narrate only a fragment of what Florencia, an Argentinean achiever who as a young woman decided to pursue her dreams in the vibrant city of Montreal, began a difficult path of French language preparation that ended in a very important job in one of the largest television networks in Montreal and Canada. Let's begin!

From Argentina to Montreal with minimal French 

"All the French I had learned was like basic Chinese. No one understood me."

Florencia Melero is a photographer from Argentina. She originally came to Canada 19 years ago through a skilled labor system that recruited couples willing to travel and settle in another country. Together with her then partner, she traveled with the idea of getting to know the country, to see if they would like to live there... Both had to prepare themselves from Argentina to learn French, since the interviews would be in this language. 

The immigration process they went through lasted two and a half years; they did not know exactly where they were going, so for them the shock upon arrival was very big. Florence had a hard time learning to speak French, as many beginners do, but she eventually succeeded and got a dream job in her professional field.

"A very different society, and all the French I had learned was like basic Chinese. Nobody really understood me. I couldn't make a phone call. I couldn't look for a job. It was very difficult for me (the first few months) to find an apartment, to look for an acceptable job...", Florencia tells us.

The importance of language in Canada

"It was quite a challenge to look for a job possibility."

Florence did not speak English and the French she spoke was very little, but her partner at the time did speak English, so she got a job first. Let's remember that the Canadian government and its companies take the mastery of their official languages (English and French) very seriously. 

"I didn't speak English or French. It was quite a challenge, with the minimal French I had, to look for a job, so the first thing I did was to sign up for a French language course offered by the government and I spent about eight months there. The idea was that if I wanted to apply for a better job in Canada, I would study here...".

Florence enrolled in film studies at the prestigious University of Montreal on the condition that she continue to improve her French, which she did. Along with her academic and French studies, she got a part-time job in a coffee shop and sometimes as a nanny to cover some expenses. Just like hundreds of immigrants who have come to study and have had to work as waiters, janitors or floor cleaners, in short, entry-level jobs that facilitate the process of staying in Canada during the first years of study.

Yes, you can study and learn French in Canada

"Learning the language and studying at the university helped me to have more opportunities."

Florencia's words in this paragraph summarize her spirit of self-improvement and desire to learn in order to achieve her dream: "Learning the language and studying at the university helped me to have more opportunities... The third year, depending on the average, you could or could not enter a practical part. I worked very hard to learn the language and to get into the job as quickly as possible. I made it to the third year, which gave me the internships; that is, I was allowed to enter based on my GPA, in other words, you can!

At Immiland, we emphasize above anything else the fact of preparing very well for a successful immigration process; either as a student or as a worker. The foreigners who live in Canada and have achieved permanent residency have in common that we have built a solid path from the beginning, with days and nights of study, effort and sacrifice at work, self-confidence and good habits of action. Florencia says over and over again that her language was bad, but because of her perseverance and dedication she managed to get into university and then do an internship that changed her working life.

A French-speaking Argentinian working in Montreal television

"I already understood the French language, but it took me a long time to adapt to the idioms."

Something very interesting to comment is that it is one thing to speak French well and another to speak French like a native, that is to say, with idioms specific to each province or French-speaking Canadian region, that is why it is necessary to always continue learning the language, especially if you want to become a citizen, since this is the level of the language that requires the highest prize of any immigrant: to be a citizen of a second country.

"I was given the possibility to choose somewhere to do an internship. I went to TVA, which is one of the largest television channels in Montreal and Canada, it is the French-speaking channel. The possibility of doing an internship was amazing and I stayed working there. That was great because I was one of the few Latinas who were in a local French-speaking environment. I already understood the French language, but I had a hard time adapting to the idioms.

Florencia's perseverance led her to occupy different positions in the television channel and to participate in several productions that allowed her to build a good resume for the job offers that were available in film and television in Montreal. The dream of going far overcame the language barrier. Of course, not everything was rosy, sadly, Florencia faced a new challenge in her life and, after the separation from her then partner, having achieved so much success as a professional, she decided to return to her native country, Argentina, to write a new story...

An important clarification is that Florencia did not study French at our language school, Planeta Immiland, however, we consider it appropriate to motivate them through this experience that, although it began almost 20 years ago, today continues to set the same trend of personal improvement for a more satisfactory future.

In the second part of this testimony, Florencia will tell us about her return to Argentina, how love knocked on her door again to bring her back to Canada, how she got to know Immiland's immigration services and what she is living now as a successful entrepreneur in Montreal.

Everything is possible if you plan well from the beginning. Confidence in yourself and in the process you decide to go through is the key to success when you want to immigrate to Canada.

Never forget the tenacity and perseverance with which the achievers featured in every Immiland and Planet Immiland testimonial learned to speak French. 

At Planeta Immiland, we have courses available focused on the level you require, whether it is academic or work related. See our French programs.

Planeta Immiland's courses have three characteristics that make them different from conventional courses

1. Migration focus: Our curriculum is designed to bring you closer to the realities of life in Canada. We prepare you not only linguistically, but also to function in the Canadian culture.
2. Preparation for international exams: we focus on developing skills to take standardized tests, giving you the tools you need to achieve your goals.
3. Based on Canadian standards: our program is based on the Canadian Language Benchmarks, which is a standard for teaching and learning English in Canada.

Visit our language school website: Planeta Immiland Education.

Visit the website of our immigration firm for Canada: Immiland Canada.

If you liked this testimonial, please share it with your interested family and friends - your comments and questions on social media and platforms will help us create new content for this blog! 

With love,

Planeta Immiland Education