Drinks are on me tonight for anyone who can make it. Looks like we finally have a new govt after 36 years of a bunch of murderous crooks.

@Kilisi Congrats. I hope it works out for you.

Holy hell the new font is bad. Thank heavens for this:

@AIQ Oof. 4 months? With zero background?

Looking at NCLC 5 here the short answer is no, not really.

If you go for immersion education for a few months full-time then maybe, assuming you have a decent aptitude for languages.

But L5 that's essentially a baseline professional working competency.

Assuming you have other things going on in your life that's just not realistic in my view. If you apply yourself and study daily with good resources I would say you could reach that level in any Italic or Germanic language within 6 months. With more realistic time put in I'd give it a year.

Most evening classes for language in that category I would say take 1 year to have you talking like a tourist, 2 at least to carry a normal conversation. For the average adult that's a realistic timeline I'd say.

I speak five languages now and I still wouldn't expect to gain that level of proficiency within a year without dedicating several hours a week to it.

@Lilienthal Hi!! I was actually considering getting into one of those. It would be 4 hours a day for 5 days a week. It's a five week program ...

@Lilienthal Wow! That is crazy!

continuingstudies.uvic.ca/languages-and-travel/programs/…

That is the program I am referring to ...

@AIQ Price of that program is crazy to me. :)

I'm hoping that was the fee for in-person education before Covid and they didn't bother updating it because of [reasons]?

It all depends on what you want to get out of it and what something like that will help you accomplish. Then determine if it's worth it to you.

@Lilienthal I know right ... no the fees remain the same ...

@Lilienthal Honestly, it is for immigration purposes ...

like a permanent residency ...

Over here an evening class once a week for 8 months or so is maybe a couple of hundred CAD. You can do self-study with your choice of resource and have some class time (digital now of course) to do real-life exercise.

@Lilienthal I am actually looking at other schools too that has cheaper programs ... that is just for finding a similar program ...

Can't really comment on that. If you have a strict deadline to meet a certain level of competency then that's what those sort of programs tend to be for. And they are priced accordingly of course. It's similar to expat language programs (in price certainly!)

If this is more of a "someday I would like to X" or about wanting to aim for permanent residency without a strict deadline I'd focus on other things and try to get a grasp for the language before investing in something that intense.

But again, all depends on your personal situation and what you're after, just because this wouldn't be for me doesn't mean it's not for you.

Not sure if you've already landed a job or something similar but I'd focus on that before spending what's probably a couple of months' salary and five weeks on something with a potentially uncertain return.

@Lilienthal I see ... I think Kilisi mentioned something along the lines of how good I am in learning a language - well I haven't learned any by choice ... so this would be a first ...

Unless it's an urgent legal requirement, either for a stay or a right to work.

Good to figure out, but hard to do without just going ahead and getting started. :)

I'd opt for something like duolingo even, just to get started. Though keep in mind that that app isn't for everyone and don't let it put you off the language if it turns out the form of learning isn't for you.

Languages come fairly naturally to me and I have the advantage of targeting languages that are culturally close or align with my interests. So it's hard for me to say how difficult you'd find it.

@Lilienthal Not urgent ... I have a pathway to permanent residency program open until November ... Knowing French and getting a level 5 would allow me to apply ... if not, I can't apply before November, but would still be able to apply through the long method which takes about 2 years ... I have two more years left in my work permit ... and I need a full-time job before I can start applying for a PR

Learning French seems like it'd never be a wasted effort in Canada anyway.

If I may ask, where are you from originally then? The states?

@Lilienthal Oh no! I wish!! I am from Bangladesh ...

A South Asian country next to India ...

I'm aware where it is. I'm not American either. :D

But then surely Bengali is your mother tongue and English is in fact your second language?

@Lilienthal Yes ...

Ah you mentioned "by choice" above. Though I don't see much of a distinct between by choice or necessity on that front. You still learned a language to a level that evidently passes for natural. :)

@Lilienthal Oh I meant it was a long process. I started learning English when I was in school - maybe from the age of 9 or 10 ... a lot of people learn language when they are much older and can master it in like say a year or two ...

I honestly don't know about the immigration process to really give solid advice here though. Not knowing much I would guess that looking for a position and securing a path to permanent residency through an employer would be the surer route. Reaching that level of competency in 4 months could be a stretch. On the other hand reaching the level of competency required to pass a test for level 5 could be different.

Bah, hogwash, nobody masters a language in a few years, and certainly not late in life.

I learned 4 of the 5 before my 18th birthday and a good thing too. ;)

Benefits of classroom education I guess.

Thanks for the advice ... Oh wow you and Old_Lamp has all sorts of amazing qualities

and skills ...

I am actually travelling to Bangladesh this month ...

Eh, luck of the draw. People are taught several languages here.

it has been a while - 4.5 years.

On that test: there probably are cram courses designed to help you reach a certain level of test proficiency. But I'd also be very wary of those. My guess is plenty of them are mainly after the money of people desperate to pass.

But it's more realistic to study for that than it is to pass yourself off as a level 5 in job interview and not get found out on the job, which is what I thought you were looking for initially.

If I were you I'd spent a bit of money on an immigration lawyer before a 1.5k course. Unless you've already fully understood your options it's worth getting expert advice.

Interesting time to go back no doubt, but I imagine it'll be interesting to journey back after that long.

Need to drop off here now though, best of luck with whatever you decide to do @AIQ! And enjoy the journey "back to your roots" if we don't happen to run into each other here again before then. ;)

@Lilienthal I know - I have been delaying it from June 2020 when I graduated. I really need to go see my dad ...

@Lilienthal Thanks!!!