21 Dec 2023
Below is the store ordering according to my personal preference🤪
⚠️ The validity of the info I summarize down here is till December 2023 and I would suggest constantly consulting the supermarkets' website for updates.
*There are similar blog posts that recapitulate student discounts nearby.
1. Metro
Click for information on their website.
Certain participating stores (3575 Avenue Du Parc, the one downstairs at Galeries du Parc is among them) offer 10% off on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesdays for students. You need to pass by a cashier for check-out and show your student ID card.
I think throughout Fall 2023 there is no minimum pay (but earlier before it was a minimum of 50CAD before tax).
2. Adonis
The downtown store on rue Sainte-Catherine (2173 rue Sainte-Catherine ouest) offers 10% off (no minimum) every day when you present your student ID and ask for the student discount during check out! (I just tried it earlier today with a dual purpose of practicing French😝 have been trying to use only French while doing grocery shopping recently)
I heard that the other store on rue Peel is also a participating store but I haven’t had a chance to check it out yet.
3. Super C
Click for information on their website.
Note that there’s only one participating store in Montreal, the one near Parc La Fontaine, store address 2035 rue Atateken.
The 10% off student discount is valid every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at a minimum of 40CAD. Again, present your student ID during check-outs.
4. Provigo
Only on Monday, check out with a cashier, present your student ID card and ask for the discount.
The 10% discount is offered to you in the form of PC Optimum points, therefore you will need the PC Optimum member card (or an app, member card in its digital form).
28 Dec 2022
Here I summarize some useful websites or tools for French learners!
1. Translators (For translations from English to French)
Not Google Translate! The two tools/websites/apps introduced below are in fact recommended by McGill’s GPS service (check out the slide no. 19 here)
Just copy and paste the full sentences/paragraphs in, and wait for the translation to come out🤭 Audio of the translated sentences also available.
This one is my favorite in these two.
Reverso is not only good for translating complete sentences, but even better for getting the conjugation of verbs and translating phrases/phrasal verbs/expressions.
It also lets you specify whether “je” (I) is feminine or masculine so that it can check the agreement with gender in between words.
It’s a Google extension, can also check for multiple other languages.
3. For Dictations
Probably one of the most classic ways of training one’s language skills (although I do admit, when I was learning English, I didn’t really practice dictation in the form of writing, but more in the form of “shadowing”, which seemed to target more the speaking skills rather than writing)
4. For Small Exercises
They have both a web version and an app.
Mauril is an app by CBC and Radio-Canada, you can access resources/exercises for both English and French by creating different profiles. The French accents presented in their exercises are probably more Canadian than the app by TV5Monde.
27 Dec 2022
📢 Disclaimer: Not affiliated with any of the podcasts listed below, recommendations are based on my personal interest and my current level of proficiency in French as of this year (lower intermediate / around A2).
Some Background
My first exposure to French happened in January 2020, when I took a 10-day introductory cram course for total beginners. (😬though I only attended for the first three days, then had to drop the rest of the course because I caught a real terrible flu 🤧 which rendered me a high fever for five days and too weak to leave my dorm)
I resumed learning after arriving in Montreal (though still sort of on and off😅 because it is indeed not easy to squeeze a consistent learning routine into my already quite hectic schedule). I have been taking the part-time French course offered by the Quebec government and using Duolingo.
Two other ways I found particularly helpful for my English learning are watching TV series and listening to podcasts, both in the target language - so I figured this experience could perhaps be transfered to assist French learning. Personally I find it is not always possible each day to find large chunks of time necessary for watching an episode of a series; on the other hand, it’s much easier to just put on an episode of podcast on my cellphone and just have them play as background while I am either walking to the office, going for grocery shopping / running errands, or doing my work - this also seems like a quite effective way to achieve the immersion without having to pay much attention (well… 😅 mostly because I couldn’t understand the episodes 100% in any ways given that my current level is really just in between elementary and intermediate)
So I would just like to share some podcasts I have been listening to recently.
Beginner-friendly ones
These are the ones that, either I feel I can basically understand the contents while listening (hence the title), or explain the grammar/expressions of French.
Just for the sake of immersion
Those who are at an advanced level can probably understand the contents pretty easily, as for me, not yet (and far from it). So I usually just play them as background and go about my usual schedule/activities of the day.
Bedtime Podcasts that Might (or Might Not) Help Achieve Immersion
Could maybe help fall asleep ?🌃 (it doesn’t work as well as ASMR though)
21 Dec 2022
1. Apps for E-Commerce Enthusiasts
There’re two apps / websites I’d like to recommend if you usually shop online for clothings/electronics and stuffs.
This is a website that offers coupon codes for brand-name products exclusively for students! Any student can register for a basic membership account (if you have a student bank account at CIBC, you are also eligible for the SPC+ membership)
I’m also putting my referal code here in case you’d like to try it out! (thanks so much haha with lots of love❤❤❤❤❤❤)
You can use the app / browser extension / webpage to search for brands that collaborate with Rakuten, and earn cash back when placing an order under the link you got from rakuten.ca (or the app / extension).
These are places for thrifty shopping beyond food/groceries! Clothes, boots, electronics, board games, furnitures and more and beyond - Stuffs that are on liquidation sale (or from dotation/secondhand source) but good and sturdy.
The all-time classic, brand name clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, fine jewelry, beauty products, and housewares for less price! Look for their branches on Google Maps😄 (each store may have different collections of products though)
Thrift stores that offer a vast selection of clothing, shoes, home accessories and more. (Several friends from my French course recommended it - they shopped for clothes/ winter boots or board games there and really liked the experience)
I haven’t visited this one (since it’s not close to where I’m at) but have heard about it
Same as the above - haven’t visited this one (since it’s not close to where I’m at) but have heard about it
e) Recommendations on Places for Getting Shoes/Boots
Earlier in fall, I was looking for stores where I might get winter boots at a cheaper price, and got the following recommendations from another fellow student in the Francisation course. (These stores seem to be located in Verdun, so might be quite far away from downtown; also you might have to pay in cash, since they might not accept debit/credit cards)
21 Dec 2022
"There are two kinds of people in the world ...
Those who decide what they want to cook first and shop for ingredients based on the recipes,
and those who hoard whatever fruit/veggie/meat that's on sale and cook based on whatever that is still edible in their fridge."
(I’m the latter since I’m poor&broke therefore frugal, and also I’m actually not a person who is picky about the taste - I can eat the same stuffs for weeks/months and still be perfectly fine) 😝
I’d like to share some useful apps and good places (local grocery stores / big supermarkets I often go to) for grocery shopping.
⚠️Some of the information might be outdated at the moment you read this post (I hope not), I’ll try to update from time to time though there’s no guarantee🥲
1. Applications
I use this app to check all the weekly flyers of my nearby supermarkets before deciding which supermarket I’m gonna head to for this week’s grocery shopping.
Reebee and Flipp are similar - both are good for checking flyers
This app is recommended by a professor of the Francisation course (Merci beaucoup à Mme Filion !) Inside the app it looks like this (available products are updated daily):
We can purchase discounted meat, ready-to-eat or other grocery products (probably close to their best-before date, so they are frozen and sold at a discounted price on this app).
If you feel like trying this app, you could also consider using my invitation code hehe🤣 My invitation code is: elisez4
d) Applications Linked with Specific Supermarkets / Retail Companies
The following apps are affiliated with specific companies, and I’m gonna put them in a list:
| Store |
Application |
Functionality |
| Provigo |
PC Optimum |
Check Flyers; Accumulate Points; Coupons; (Every Monday, shop here with your student ID card and PC Optimum card to accumulate student points equivalent to 10% of your purchase amount) |
| Maxi |
PC Optimum |
Check Flyers; Accumulate Points; Coupons; |
| Pharmaprix |
PC Optimum |
Check Flyers; Accumulate Points; Coupons; |
| Metro |
Moi |
Check Flyers; Accumulate Points; Coupons (Every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, shop with your student ID card to get 10% off) |
| Super C |
Moi |
Check Flyers; Coupons; (Only at certain participating stores: Every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, shop with your student ID card to get 10% off when you spend more than 40CAD) |
| IGA |
Scene+ |
Accumulate Points; Coupons; |
| Marché Tradition |
Scene+ |
Accumulate Points; Coupons; |
| Jean Coutu |
Moi |
Accumulate Points; Coupons; |
2. Grocery Stores / Supermarkets 🏪
a) Groceries Stores - Hidden Gems💎💎💎!!
A must-go in plateau! A local grocery store with nearly 100-year history located on Boulevard Saint-Laurent. They sometimes have really cheap close-to-date dairy products (yogurts/cheese), juices, sausages. The fruits, vegetables and spices are really of a grand variety and of good price!
Really convenient to go to, a small and lovely store located near rue Milton and avenue du Parc. Good collection of fruits and veggies!
This isn’t close to where I live, but I do visit there in summer (when there’s no snow and it’s easier to walk around). Good collection of fruits/veggies, cheese and meat! Avenue Duluth (where the store is located) also has a lively ambiance and it’s nice to walk around.
Strong recommendations from friends in my previous Francisation course :)
b) Supermarkets 🛒
I will list below some of the big supermarkets / food retails that I have visited in Montreal.
Just google whichever is the closest to you, and don’t forget to check their weekly flyers to help you make better decisions!
The Local Classics
Supermarkets (with perhaps exotic origins but already well localized)
⚠️Disclaimer: I’m Chinese so the below might be biased with an uneven proportion of Chinese supermarkets as compared to those of other origins. But I 100% believe that there are still a lot more great places for me to discover. I love all good food and would definitely love to explore and expand the list!
Huuuuuuge Supercenters
Locations are not close to the downtown central area. Personally I feel that these are only suitable for those who have a car and have a family of at least 2 or 3 people, otherwise it wouldn’t really worth it going all the way there for hoarding gorcery supplies… Also you would have to purchase an annual membership if you want to shop at Costco…