Since July 4, anyone passing the intersection of Saint-Laurent and René-Lévesque, in the heart of Chinatown, has good reason to stop. Thanks to an interactive bus shelter, they can find out more about the « J’apprends le français », program, the objective of which is to reinforce the use of French as the language of business in the metropolitan area.
The interactive bus shelter
The starting point for the bus shelter’s interactive ad is a merchant who attracts the attention of passers-by to introduce them to the program. After a brief interaction, the public can watch a video that outlines the program and gives them tips for encouraging merchants to learn and practice French.
The bus shelter also points to where some ten participating merchants are located on a geolocation map. At the end of the interaction, the public receives a QR code for a 10% discount at one of the participating businesses.
“J’apprends le français”: a valued, recognized language pairing program
The program was launched in 2016 in the Côte-des-Neiges borough. It offers free, accessible, practical French workshops for merchants, at their place of business. Sessions are given by students who specialize in teaching French.
The program is now offered in all Montréal boroughs, Laval, Longueuil and Brossard. Five universities are also partners: Université de Montréal, Université de Sherbrooke, Université du Québec à Montréal, McGill University and Concordia University. Since its launch, “J’apprends le français” has enabled close to 800 pairings between merchants and students.