Article by Sharyn Collins | 1 August 2020

Sharyn:
Hello Margherita! Thank you so much for doing this interview. I have very happy memories of meeting you at the 2019 Neurolanguage Conference in Lisbon, where I was so impressed with your smile, your iconic red lipstick and your bubbly personality. Since then we have become friends and even shared a student at one stage.

Margherita:
It’s such a pleasure Sharyn, thank-you! Where would you like to start?

Sharyn:Well, let’s start with your journey. I know you live in France but am I right that you are Canadian?

Margherita:
Yes, that’s correct I am Canadian, born and raised and I have European roots. In fact, my parents moved from Italy to Canada to find a better life, which is why my mother was shocked, no, let me change that to heartbroken when I decided to live in France. To her, Europe meant struggle and she couldn’t understand why I would want to struggle in Europe when I had a perfectly good life in Canada. Also, I am the only daughter with two brothers, and I think that made my leaving seem all the harder.

Sharyn:
It is hard when we have children who leave the nest to go and live in far-flung parts of the world, I’ve had bit of that myself. So, tell me, whereabouts in Canada do you come from?

Margherita:
I come from St Catharines, Ontario which is next to the famous Niagara Falls. Actually, I have to tell you that I paid my way through university by working as a tour guide there. I think I know almost everything there is to know about the place.

Sharyn:
Useful knowledge indeed and a great student job. So, what is the link to France?

Margherita:
As you know, French is one of the official languages of Canada, so, learning functional French is mandatory in Canadian schools. I enjoyed it and from there, I went on to study modern languages at Brock University.

Sharyn:
Am I right that the French spoken in Canada is different from the French spoken in France?

Margherita:
Yes, that’s right and a big misconception is that French is spoken only in Quebec. In fact, there are many varieties of French spoken all over Canada.The French in Canada basically dates back to the 17th Century, when the French colonised what was called “Upper Canada”. At that time and for at least 100 years the only way to travel from France to Canada was by ship and so, the accent and regional French of the time in France was brought over to the North American continent. This regional French died out in France as time evolved but it stayed firmly entrenched in Canadian French. Let me give you a couple of examples. In France they say, “faire du shopping”, and in Canada, you say “magasiner” which is a literal translation of the verb to shop! In France the anglicism for toast is used “je mange du toast”which means I eat toast. In Canadian French: “je mange une rotie” which translates into I eat roast in France. So, be careful when you are ordering at a restaurant so as not to end up with a surprise on your plate!

Sharyn:
That’s funny and linguistically very interesting too. So, tell me, did you spend a year in France while at university?

Margherita:
Yes, I did. Before I left though, I studied 3 years of French and worked as a French language assistant at Brock university. Then I did the 3rd year abroad programme in partnership with Université de Perpignan, in Perpignan France, which is the farthest point in France before you go into Italy. During that first year in Perpignan, I fell in love with the country and the culture, oh, and I fell in love with a Frenchman too; I mustn’t forget that! As I have been with my him now for over 20 years. Ah, vive la France et l’amour!
I returned to Canada to graduate, then enrolled in a Master’s degree in French studies at Université de Perpignan where I worked again as an English language assistant.

Sharyn:What did you do after your Masters?

Margherita:
I enjoyed teaching English as well as French, so I got a job working in a local language school in Perpignan doing both. I stayed there six years learning a lot and gaining experience but eventually, I felt exploited, so I decided to take the jump and resign. It was also the best thing I ever did because now I was free and ready to take on an even bigger challenge of setting up my own language business. I became an entrepreneur or as it is now called teacherpreneur.
Word spread quickly and I became busy, crisscrossing the city to visit various establishments teaching business English. However, something was gnawing away in the background, something which made me challenge the existing traditional methods of teaching.
One day, I met a British lady who was a life coach and I started to think more about the coaching side of teaching English. In fact, the interest became so great, that I looked online for some kind of a course and that’s when I found Rachel Paling!

Sharyn:
It was fate Margherita. I learnt at the conference in Lisbon that you are indeed a very qualified coach and that you now train others to be Neurolanguage Coaches in English and in French. That is some achievement.

Margherita:
Thank-you Sharyn, yes I am extremely proud to be a Neurolanguage coach but I have also completed the advanced course, the Professional course and now, as you have already mentioned I am a Teacher Trainer of Neurolanguage coaching myself. It has been an amazing journey.

Sharyn:
Before the Coronavirus impacted our lives, what did you do in your free time, that is if you had any free time?

Margherita:
Well, as I sit for long periods of time, I like walking and I do aquafit, pilates and yoga and I sing gospel and pop rock in a local choir which is great fun. I also love cooking and I am going to send you a recipe for a traditional dish made here in Perpignan called “Coca” which is a big tort filled with roasted red peppers onions and Provence seasonings.

Sharyn:
Coca, sounds great and I’m sure many of our readers will enjoy trying out your recipe. Margherita thank you for taking the time to do this interview, with such high qualifications and such a good business firmly established in the South of France, I feel you can only continue to go from strength to strength and I wish you the best of luck and look forward to seeing you at next years’ Neurolanguage Conference in Spain.

Thank-you for this interview Sharyn! Virtuel “Bises” from France!