Bursaries available to improve your French skills this summer!
Dear Teacher:
If you currently hold a BC College of Teachers Certificate, you are eligible to apply for a teacher bursary (even if you are a TOC) to attend La Maison Française 2020! This year the program runs from June 29 to July 31, 2020.
What is La Maison Française?
La Maison Française (LMF) is a five-week French immersion program intended for adults at all levels of proficiency, from total beginner to advanced. French Language Programs at the Division of Continuing Studies has delivered this program each summer. Although the program has evolved since its inception in 1965, the core objectives remain the same:
- to create a total immersion atmosphere;
- to use only French in teaching and conversation;
- to teach the fundamental structures of the French language so that students are able to begin to think in French;
- to develop a useful and varied vocabulary in order to enable students to better express themselves orally in French;
- to develop functional vocabulary for specific written purposes; and
- to explore the linguistic similarities and differences between varieties of French spoken in various parts of the world.
What is the time commitment?
We understand you may have family commitments or other obligations that may pose time constraints; therefore BC teacher bursary recipients are only required to participate in the following mandatory activities:
- Formal classes and language lab sessions, weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
- Workshops on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, 1.5 hours each.
Optional sociocultural activities (i.e. historical tours, music night, improvisation activities, etc.) are available every afternoon, evening and weekends. We strongly encourage you to participate in as many activities as your schedule permits, but these are not mandatory for funding or to receive your certificate of completion.
Do I have to live on campus?
If you don’t require accommodation, you may register as a non-residential student. The non-residential program fee includes tuition, workshops and most sociocultural activities.
The only cost to you is the $275 non-refundable registration fee.
What if I want to stay in UVic Residences?
Whether you are local or from out-of-town, the residential option will give you the opportunity to enhance your immersion experience. It includes accommodation, meals, tuition workshops, and most sociocultural activities. All rooms are single occupancy.
The amount you will pay for the accommodation and meal plan is $1,750 and is due by June 15th, 2020.
Administration Team
From the moment we receive your inquiry until the day you receive your certificate, our friendly staff will be able to assist you through the entire program and answer any questions along the way. We are only one email away, languages@uvic.ca !
How do I apply for a bursary?
Each year, the BC Ministry of Education assigns a set number of bursaries specifically for La Maison Française.
Our office manages administrative procedures as follows:
- Beginning February 15th, we will be offering our first round of BC Teachers who contact us the opportunity to register early. All bursaries are granted conditionally pending confirmation of government funding amounts.
- To be conditionally offered a bursary, teachers must contact our office at 250-721-8630 or by email at languages@uvic.ca. We will send an official email with instructions on how to accept the conditional bursary and pay the $275 registration fee.
- Later in the spring, when the Ministry of Education confirms the number of bursaries that will be allocated to this program, we will contact teachers to confirm their bursary and, pending additional funding, contact teachers on our bursary waitlist until we have reached our quota of bursaries or have exhausted the waitlist.