This West Island group gives newcomers the tools — and confidence — to learn French

This story is a collaboration between Concordia University's journalism department and CBC Montreal.

It's become part of Warda Waheed Kausar's daily routine.

Each weekday at 3:20 p.m., she stops by the Roxboro United Church in Montreal's West Island to drop off her three children, aged six, nine and 10, for after-school tutoring in French.

Saying goodbye to each of them in their native Urdu, she then picks up her youngest, aged four, from the daycare program, always met with a warm embrace.

Talking about her children's progress in learning French, Kausar can't help but smile. "They speak Urdu. They speak English. Now they are learning French. That is very good for them," she said.

Part of her children's progress can be credited to the Projet communautaire de Pierrefonds (PCP), a community organization helping immigrant families, like Kausar and her children, adjust to Quebec society.

Originally from Pakistan, Kausar and her family arrived in Montreal four years ago. Nobody in the family had prior knowledge of French, but they have been able to get by in English while living in Pierrefonds.

According to the 2021 federal census, some 89 per cent of Pierrefonds residents are either unilingual anglophones or speak both English and French. Though this linguistic composition can be convenient for newcomers who have a better grasp of English than French, it could limit the chances for them to practise their French, and by extension, integrate into Quebec's majority francophone society.

In view of this, Kausar knew that additional efforts would be needed if her family were to learn French. Six months after arriving in Montreal, she learned of the PCP.

Operating out of the Roxboro United Church, the organization works to alleviate some of the stress immigrant families often face. This includes teaching participants about the local culture, guiding them through the network of social resources, assisting them in building resumés and breaking the isolation often felt by immigrant families through community connection.

But one of the PCP's paramount services is its French-language programming for young immigrants.

These services are meant to help build opportunities for success academically and beyond in the French language — giving young newcomers the necessary support that some say is lacking from the Quebec government.

The programming is ongoing against the backdrop of heightened political and social tension around language and identity in Quebec.

The ruling Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government has passed several controversial pieces of legislation viewed by many as targeting newcomers. Such legislative measures included giving newcomers just six months to learn French.