Exploring Explore

By Olivia K. and Simon P.

People in Europe are more likely to speak multiple languages compared to North Americans. Why is that?

“Languages are much more important in Europe because as soon as you cross a border, there’s another spoken language,” said Dr. Francis Andrew, the director of UBC’s Explore program.

Founded in 1971 and sponsored by Canada’s federal government, the Explore program has helped many Canadians learn one of Canada’s two official languages. The Explore program provides Canadian students with a chance to spend five weeks in another Canadian province and meet other people whose main language is different than their own.

Dr. Francis Andrew began his career with the Explore program in 1976. When he first arrived, Dr. Andrew noticed cultural conflict between English and French-speaking peoples in Canada. Over the years, he has noticed a significant decline in such cultural clashes. It appears these differences have become less important.

One reason for this may be that the political situation is not the same than it was back in the 1970s. Hard feelings between English and French-speaking peoples in Canada have waned and the Quebec sovereignty movement has stagnated since its two defeats in referendums in 1980 and 1995. Another cause may be that with globalization, as Dr. Andrew conjectured, “Quebecers realized that they need English’’ if they want an international career. In other words, they “gain much more from this program than the Anglophones.”

But does multiculturalism affect the future of bilingualism and, by the same token, the Explore program? In other words, would it be more culturally relevant to Canadians to offer government-sponsored courses in unofficial languages that are more important to specific regions, such as offering Mandarin and Punjabi in British Columbia? “The supply and the demand are still not present,” claimed Dr. Andrew, and there are historical and cultural reasons why the federal government does not and probably will not sponsor such a program, at least in the immediate future. Dr. Andrew added that the creation of such a program would likely be within the jurisdiction of a provincial government.

Nearly forty years after its creation, the Explore program is still evaluating its existence. “It’s not well-funded," stated Dr. Andrew. "It’s not a money-making program.” Indeed, many universities throughout Canada have cancelled the program because they were not financially able to sustain it. Despite all of that, many improvements have been made. For instance, Dr. Andrew puts English and French programs together so that students can now interact more often.

The Explore program is a great opportunity to learn one of Canada’s two official languages. Although it does not necessarily erase all the differences between English and French-speaking peoples in Canada, it does foster greater tolerance, more open-mindedness, and a better understanding of the other solitude.