“I didn’t realize that I was already in Val-Bélair,” Laput said, as he rode all the way to the suburbs north of Jean Lesage International Airport. “The bus reached the end of the route where everyone got off, so I got off too.”

The only French verb that Laput knew at the time was lose, The meaning of losing. So she repeated it to strangers passing by until they understood, and kindly drove her back to her home near Saint-Jean-Baptiste.

This experience later prompted Laput, who is 42 years old and fluent in French, to organize language courses for Filipinos who are new to the province to help them avoid getting into trouble like her.

“I am not a professional or a certified teacher. I just want to help,” she said. “[The lessons] It aims to lay the foundation for students so that they can learn French more easily. “

According to the Philippine Embassy in Ottawa, there are approximately 35,000 Filipinos living in Quebec, of which 3,400 arrived between 2011 and 2016.

Many newcomers are workers who specialize in meeting labor demand.

Lapute started surfing the Internet Let’s go to french Tagalog course of “Let’s Learn French” in January.

Twice a week, 90 minutes each time, dozens of Filipinos in Quebec City participate in Laput evening classes via video calls. Some participants are in the Philippines and plan to move to Quebec.

In Laput’s slides, she explained the verb tense, sentence structure, and sometimes even common Quebec expressions to help her students become familiar with the local culture.

“She explained these words in Tagalog and English,” said Victor Manansala, one of the students who attended the first class. “This is helpful because it is easier to understand.”

Manansala, 45, moved to Quebec City in 2019 to work for a car repair company. His workplace offered French courses that he could study after shifts, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, these courses were cancelled six months after he started.

Although disappointed that these courses did not continue, Manansala said he believed that Laput’s courses enabled him to learn more and expose himself to more advanced concepts.

Barriers to learning

Laput is active in the Filipino community, mainly acting as a French-Tagalog translator for the local health committee.

“French is difficult to learn and it can be frustrating. So I see people giving up because they come here mainly for work,” she said. “I try to make it convenient.”

Laput said that in traditional face-to-face French courses, schedules and transportation are often obstacles for some newcomers. Many people do not have a vehicle and have difficulty reaching the course location.

Laput allows her students to come and go at any time. She noticed that some students even had dinner in front of the computer during class because it was useful to them.

“I put in a lot of effort, it was very time-consuming, but it also helped me keep my knowledge fresh,” she said of the weekly courses. “I hope to make them more confident, more inspired, and work harder to learn languages.”

For Laput, the car home from Val-Bélair in 2006 prompted her to sign up for French courses there.

She now offers free courses according to her time, and the summer vacation is suspended to let her and her students take a break. But Laput said she hopes to resume classes in the fall.

“I don’t want them to take a bus to explore the city somewhere, like me, and get lost.”