Put on by the Regional Association of West Quebecers (RAWQ), the event provided a space for the roughly 10 attendees to practice their target language in a casual setting.

RAWQ director Alina Holmes said the organization used to put on language classes, but the grant that funded them dried up a few years ago, causing a growing demand for French- and English- learning opportunities.

“We heard from many participants and others in the community that they are eager for a way to practice their language skills,” she said in a message.

Margaret Martin, who is working toward achieving her high school French certification through the Pontiac Continuing Education Centre (PCEC), said casual events like these help to get her head out of the textbook.

“Being able to participate in a conversation is really important,” she said, adding that aside from being a lot of fun, learning French is also a practical necessity for her as she ages.

“Even though I’m in an English area I think it’s important for things like my taxes, any kind of government group, legal issues [ . . . ] and if I were ever to get sick and be in the hospital as I age it’d be helpful to hear and understand what my doctors are saying.”

Greg MacIntosh, a French teacher at the PCEC and one of three teachers who attended, said there is a lot of demand for language learning locally.

“There’s an appetite for learning French more in the older demographic,” he said. “More and more services are offered in French every year.”

MacIntosh said events like these are crucial to language acquisition. “Having native speakers at these events is such a great opportunity to try your language in the ‘real’ world and exchange tips and advice.”

Holmes said the idea for the language exchange came from a similar exchange in Sherbrooke, Que., a twice-monthly gathering of language enthusiasts that sees over 40 participants conversing in six languages including German, Portuguese, Spanish and Arabic.

She said the meetups will happen once a month in Shawville and once a month in Aylmer, and may happen more frequently and feature more languages according to interest.

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