Thank you for the question.
In fact, the bilingualism program at the military college is basic and is one of the four pillars of the program, the other three pillars being the academic program, the sports program—physical fitness, and the military program.
In fact, when they finish, students have to have the BBB bilingualism rating. They have four years to do that. All cadets are assessed on arrival and are immediately divided up and assigned to the appropriate groups, based on their bilingualism level. The courses are given in small classes of 8, 10 or 12 students, depending on their levels. Students take an hour of courses a day over four years, or until they reach the BBB level.
If they want to continue, they have incentives that give them higher marks, a level of established standards comparable to that of more advanced language courses given in other universities. And a number of students will continue their language studies, either in French or in English, over their four years.
The results are excellent. Naturally, cadets are at an age where they can learn more easily, more quickly. There are also a number of other things in the program that encourage them to become bilingual. For example, there are French weeks, English weeks, programs, instructions; everything is done in both languages. Military instructions will be given in both languages on parade, for example.
Consequently, when students reach their second year, they're already aware of all the commands given in French and English on parade, for example. These are all little things, but they are nevertheless things that sharpen the hearing so that, at the end of their years of study, students manage to achieve a very good level of bilingualism. What we hope is that, with the years, they will maintain it.
The day they want to achieve a higher level, CBC, that will of course be easier. And we're seeing it; the results are there.