Frequently Asked Questions

The Cours de langues pour les immigrants au Canada (CLIC) is an official language program funded by the federal department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC) offered to all permanent residents, Convention refugees or CUAET holders aged 18+ in Canada. This program is equivalent to the more common Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) program. 

No, our program is for all Alberta residents, not just Calgary clients. Please note you are allowed to leave the province temporarily (for example, a vacation) and still be eligible for the program. However, if you live outside of Alberta for a long period of time, you will no longer be eligible. 

We have put in place a three (3) absence policy. Once you accumulate more than three (3) absences, you risk being removed from the program. If you are late by more than thirty (30) minutes, this may be considered as an absence. 

The CLIC program levels are based on the Canadian Language Benchmarks/CLBs (in French: Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens/NCLC) which is a descriptive scale of language ability. Altogether there are 12 CLB levels separated into three stages:  

• beginner: CLB 1 – 4; 

• intermediate: CLB 5 – 8; 
• advanced: CLB 9 – 12.   

Currently, IRCC funds classes at the beginner and the intermediate stages from CLB 1 to CLB 6 at la Cité des Rocheuses. For additional information on the CLBs, please consult the following website here.  

No. You are going to take a placement test. The test assesses your French skills for listening, speaking, reading and writing and determines you level for each skill. We will place you in the class that best matches your level. 

If your teacher thinks you have not been assigned to the appropriate level after a few classes, we will aim to assign you to a class that better suits your level if a seat is available. 

The CLIC program uses an assessment framework called Portfolio-Based Language Assessment/PBLA (in French: Évaluation linguistique basée sur le portfolio/ELBP). It’s a communicative based approach to teaching and assessing students’ progress that focuses on real-world tasks. Tests will mainly be centred on how the students use French to accomplish everyday tasks. It is expected that students complete about 8 assessment tasks per session.  

Typically, it takes a student three to four terms to advance to the next level. However, we understand that every student is unique and that some may progress faster or slower than others and exceptions can be made.

At this moment, all classes are held online. In the future, we plan to reopen some in-person options but continue to offer an online format so that students who live across the province can continue to learn French remotely if needed. 

If you meet the eligibility criteria, you will be accepted into the program. The program cost will be covered by IRCC, and you will not have to pay for the program. 

Since April 2023, the federal department Canadian Heritage is funding a pilot project: ALLOFrench. This project has been approved until March 31, 2024 and is open to citizens. Any Canadian citizen wishing to learn French can do so online and without any fees. Please click here if you would like to receive more information and join the program.