- WASHINGTON -- It is always
thought that English is one of the more difficult languages to learn. Common
sense suggests that students new to the language require help, not hindrance.
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- Little wonder then, that native French speaker Yvan Tessier,
who is blind, was more than a little perturbed when the authorities at
the University of New Brunswick (UNB) in Canada told him he could not attend
a five-week immersion class because his guide-dog only understood commands
in French.
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- To allow Mr Tessier to speak to his dog in French would
pollute the purity of the English-only classes, he was told. As a result,
his dog was not welcome.
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- The ban on Mr Tessier, 39, and his black labrador, Pavot,
became a mini cause cÈlËbre with the university finding itself
deluged with e-mails from around the world, complaining about its handling
of the situation.
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- Politicians were contacted and there was talk of law
suits claiming that Mr Tessier's human rights - and perhaps Pavot's canine
rights - were being compromised. Mr Tessier said speaking to the dog in
English would be dangerous because he might not understand the commands.
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- Finally this silly, shaggy-dog story had a sensible ending
when the authorities at USB relented, allowing both Mr Tessier, from Trois-Rivieres
in French-speaking Quebec, and his dog to attend. Before they compromised,
however, Mr Tessier had to bring in Pavot for a trial run and promise that
he would not break into French unnecessarily.Pavot apparently responds
to 50 commands in French but he will be limited to no more than a dozen.
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- A University spokesman Brad Janes said: "He [Mr
Tessier] is able to give commands in his native tongue but he has assured
us that 99.9 per cent of what he will speak will be English. We have 250
students from across the world who come here for the course so we had to
preserve the integrity of the course for them."
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- In a statement issued by the university, Mr Tessier said
he was pleased to be finally starting the course. "I am thrilled to
be joining the UNB programme and look forward to joining my classmates,"
he said.
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- © 2004 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=539485
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