Bi-Lingo: Conversation & Connection

A free linguistic mentorship program for English speakers wishing to improve their conversational and professional French.

Bi-Lingo connects English-speaking students, soon-to-be professionals and professionals with Francophone mentors for weekly one-hour conversations.

Program information

📅 Two 10-week sessions: Fall and Winter

– Fall session: October 4 to December 13, 2026

– Winter session: February 7 to April 18, 2027

💲Cost: Free!

⏰Commitment: 1 hour per week for 10 weeks

📍Format: In-person, online, or both

🎯For:

– Mentees: English-speaking individuals (with knowledge of basic French) who wish to improve their conversational and professional French.

– Mentors: Francophone professionals who wish to share their language, culture, and experience

What is Bi-Lingo?

A simple, supportive way to practice your French. Bi-Lingo helps you go from hesitant to confident — no classrooms, just real conversations.

Bi-Lingo matches English-speaking individuals with Francophone mentors.

Each week, mentees meet with their Francophone mentors – in person or online – for one hour of casual conversation. Along the way, participants can join events, workshops, and access free resources.

About Bi-Lingo

What happens in those sessions? That’s up to you and your mentor! Some pairs talk about their daily work, others review tricky vocabulary, and many simply chat about life. The point is regular, real-world practice in a supportive setting.

Along the way, you’ll also have access to:

Events & workshops → opportunities to practice in groups and build your network.
Resources & guidance → curated tools to help you between meetings.
A personalized evaluation & plan → to track your progress and target your learning goals.

The result: more confidence, more ease, and a stronger professional toolkit for navigating French in real life.

Program Goals

The Eastern Townships need more bilingual professionals. Every time an English-speaking worker feels confident in French, the whole community benefits.

Bi-Lingo’s goals are to:

Increase bilingual capacity → more services available in both English and French.
Support English-speaking professionals → helping them build the skills to stay and thrive in the region.
Strengthen community connections → mentorship creates meaningful ties across cultures, languages, and disciplines.

The logic is simple: if more English-speaking individuals are comfortable using French, more of them will find rewarding work here in the Townships.