Written by Gabriela Estrada

The reality when you don't speak English or French

Many Hispanics dream of coming to Canada to study or work, drawn by the success stories of those who have arrived and settled in welcoming cities such as Montreal or Vancouver, to name a few. 

Inspired by the excellent quality of life and all that third parties who live here have to say, these dreamers seek to immigrate to Canada at all costs, but sometimes they forget forget one very important point: language proficiency.. The reality is that if a Spanish-speaking foreigner arrives in the country and does not master English or French (the two official languages of Canada), he/she will be in serious trouble to adapt.

This is a new blog of Planeta Immiland Educationthe informative space of our language school for immigration purposes to Canada. Today I will put you in context about some common risks of immigrating to the country without mastering the language so that you take them into account and don't have to face them. Join me in this reading until the end. Let's get started!

Feeling isolated

Arriving for the first time in Canada brings with it the difficulties of any adaptation. It is true that this country is multicultural and welcoming, Canadians are friendly and receptive, but the language barrier is a bad ally for those who speak only Spanish and can completely divert them from these benefits. 

If you do not know how to express yourself among your peers, sooner or later they will ignore you, there will be little interest in establishing a conversation with you and sadly you will retreat into your loneliness until you are isolated from your surroundings, even from a possible affective relationship. 

Now, no one wants to carry this risk, so feeling isolated is NOT an option. feeling isolated is NOT an option. It is preferable that they plan to acquire the language at a steady pace and with specialized courses that will lead them to learn the level required for each occasion, for example, greeting, introducing themselves, asking for things and even speaking in everyday situations in a fluent and natural way. Everything is possible if you start step by step!

The frustration of a lifetime of unskilled employment

There is nothing worse than working in something they do not like to do. If they arrive in Canada without an acceptable command of the language, they will have to work in trades that require a low level and their future employability will be limited. Although there are jobs in Canada that do not require a high level of English or French (such as some jobs in the construction industry or temporary jobs), Canadian employers, in general, and the government itself value the language highly, so you should know that job opportunities will always be better when you are fluent in English or French. 

Find out how and why to learn English when going to Canada in this practical video from our Immiland CEO! Watch the video.

Not knowing how to communicate in an emergency

Personal health and safety are even more important when we are away from home. Imagine any emergency when you have to go to the hospital. For example, if you live in the province of Quebec, you will have to get along with a French-speaking staff, because the main language is French, and when they ask you for basic information, you must be able to handle at least some vocabulary. The same will happen if they are spoken to in English.

It is important for them to know that once they have resided in Canada, they must have already acquired the language from their countries of origin, otherwise they will face unexpected and uncomfortable events.

Did you know that basic English or French can be acquired from scratch in 8 weeks? Communication skills are very necessary for life in Canada, specifically speaking, reading, writing and listening.

No matter if you start as a beginner, there is a specialized Canadian-style language method according to the CLB scale, which is used in the online courses of our school, Planeta Immiland, to help the student acquire the new language so that he/she can better adapt to the country. View courses.

Permanent status is unattainable

Many temporary residents fall in love with life in Canada and want to stay permanently; even if they do not like their job or if they have a boss who pays them little but accepts that they do not speak the language well enough. These residents who do not speak the language well have serious problems when they seek permanent residency through Express Entry or one of its more popular streams because they fail to demonstrate strong language skills and run into an unattainable wall to change their status.

Study English or French to live in Canada?

In Canada, there are many programs that attract professionals from various fields, but they take into account the level of the official languages. There are those who choose to learn French instead of English or vice versa and are surprised with their own results in the medium term, as they thought it was too difficult, but they have found that it is not. 

It is about creating a habit of constant study. The important thing is that they arrive in the country with a command of one of the two languages. 

Do you know the benefits of speaking English or French and how it relates to immigration purposes in Canada? I recommend you to watch this video explanatory video.

We always invite our students to go beyond what they really need, allowing them to enrich their professional and personal lives with a second conversational language that will lead them to climb to new and better positions. Learning languages means growing and advancing in life. 

Without the minimum language level required, you cannot change your status to permanent resident status. To live in Canada, you must learn to speak English or French!

Language preparation is key in Canada

Lack of language skills can make it difficult to build meaningful social relationships, connect with others, aspire to a good job and be part of the community. Our language school can help you with a variety of English and/or French study programs.

Our curriculum is designed to bring them closer to the reality of life in Canada. The teaching staff is native and bilingual and prepares them not only linguistically, but also to learn to function in the Canadian culture.

The programs are based on the CLB (Canadian Language Benchmark) scale, which is the standard for teaching and learning English in Canada.

It doesn't matter if they have zero level, Planeta Immiland takes them by the hand so that they can go up a level. Each course covers two levels of the CLB scale (12 in total). 

I invite you again to learn more about our regular English programs y French. Always remember to take the free language test so that you can find out which course suits your level.

That's all for today. Thanks for reading our blog. If you liked this topic and want new content, please comment through Planeta Immiland's digital platforms at the bottom of this page. 

Planeta Immiland Education is the first immigration language school for Canada, contact us at or visit our website: https://www.planeta-immiland-education.com/.

With love,

Planeta Immiland Education