<p>I have never taken any French classes at all and don't understand the language at all. I know that McGill is an english school but when I visited and walked around the city EVERYONE was speaking french. does anyone know if its a big deal or not to understand zero french if you want to go to McGill?</p>
<p>You may have heard everyone in the city speaking French, but all those people you saw speaking French also speak English, especially in the part of Montreal that surrounds McGill. My brother is currently in his senior year at McGill and he has been just fine so far without knowing a WORD of French.</p>
<p>From what I understand there may be a couple of sections in Montreal where it might help to know a little French, it's just that those are areas of Montreal McGill students never go to. </p>
<p>You'll be FINE if you don't know French and go to McGill.</p>
<p>It is true you do not need any French to study at McGill, but why not extend yourself a bit and learn some French during the summer or via a cd study course? You will be living in a true bi-lingual city that although the majority speak French, has a long history of domination by the English language in government, banking and commerce. It was not until the events of 1969 that French nationalism began to assert its pride in its own cultural heritage. It is fun to share in that heritage and to experience all Montreal has to offer by making a bit of an effort to learn French, even if Quebecoise French varies greatly from classic Parisian French.</p>
<p>As an American, I try to speak french whenever I am in MTL. My French is far from fluent but the Quebecoise are always extremely appreciative when they discover I am an American trying my best. Trust me, it is worth it and you will learn alot more about the culture of Quebec by understanding French, not just the language but the "joie de vivre" ( There is a reason Quebec nightlife starts at 11 p.m.) After all, isn't being in MTL part of the reason you want to go to McGill? Bon Chance. You will certainly want to learn how to "faire les bises" with Quebecoise students.</p>
<p>I agree with everything you said mcgilldad. However, the reason I can't do that is because I am simply incapable of learning another language. Seriously. I'm awful at it. I took 5 years of Spanish and I can barely speak word. I think part of it is that it isn't natural to me, and the other part is that I never really put in the effort. The fact that McGill doesn't have a language requirement is just another thing to love about it.</p>
<p>I will repeat, my brother has been going to McGill for four years and never had a problem without knowing French. The only exception was one time when he was driving a little bit away from the city of Montreal and he had to stop at a little coffee shop in the middle of no-where because it was snowing, and the waitress there could not speak English.</p>
<p>From my own personal experience, I have been to Montreal about a dozen times and never once had a problem with it. I used to try to say a few simple expressions like thank you, hello, and good bye in French but after a while I realized that it wasn't making anyone in Quebec any happier, so now I just use a 100% English vocabulary.</p>
<p>Maybe I'm just an arrogant American, but I don't feel learning French is necessary to the McGill experience. Hell, I've been to Paris, and even there everyone spoke English.</p>