Ipsita Malhotra: from Delhi to Montréal, French as a legacy
Ipsita Malhotra, 30, has become a French teacher at the Alliance française de Montréal. While learning the language of Molière was a choice that shaped her future, she is now showing others the way at a time when Quebec is struggling to meet newcomers’ French-language learning needs.
It is not unusual to hear the sound of Ipsita’s high heels echoing through the corridors of Montréal Cowork. The Alliance française has been based there since officially reopening in October 2023 after a 20-year absence. Petite, with brown hair and brown eyes, Ipsita has a dazzling smile and tremendous determination. She has come a long way to fulfil her youthful dream: speaking French fluently and without an accent.
French is far from an easy language to learn, particularly when you come from a country like India where, with the exception of Pondicherry, there is very little shared history with the French-speaking world.
Her connection with French began in secondary school, an option she chose instead of Sanskrit, a language used only by the elite or spoken in certain villages. Yet at first, Ipsita did not take to the language. “I hated French at school because the teacher made us learn the lessons by heart so we could take the exam afterwards,” she explains.
Although the beginning was difficult, things clicked later. At 16, she discovered the Alliance française de Delhi. She discovered a community of Francophiles, people from her own country but of different ages and backgrounds. In short, the Alliance française showed her a much more cosmopolitan face of French, far removed from the dusty lessons of secondary school.
This new environment encouraged her to begin a bachelor’s degree in French at the Université de Delhi, followed by a master’s degree in FLE teaching (French as a foreign language and linguistics). In her second year of the master’s program, the desire to pass on and teach the language came quickly, but on one condition: “I don’t want to speak French with an Indian accent. If I’m going to represent this language, I want to speak it without an accent,” she states. She made it a point of honour and, to achieve it, set off to conquer France.
A language, a culture, a shock
In 2015, she settled in Dijon, the capital of mustard and of the greater Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region. On arrival, the culture shock was intense. This uncomfortable territory was a real challenge, but also accelerated her learning. “Among the people around me in France, no one spoke English, and that really helped me. When you have no choice, you learn,” she says.
But the step up was steep and the cultural gap immense. “In India, the teacher-student relationship is always there to help us,” she describes. In France, she discovered lecture-based classes and complete deference to the professor, dictating a highly hierarchical interaction. Doubt set in, but Ipsita persisted and passed her exams. “It’s thanks to my father that I didn’t give up,” she says, her eyes shining and a broad smile on her lips.
After a stint at the Alliance française de Toronto, Ipsita made Montréal her home. In October 2023, she became the city’s Alliance française’s very first employee. Today in Quebec, learning French is an essential step towards integration, and the number of immigration applications is breaking records. While French charted a path for Ipsita and opened doors for her, it is also the legacy her father left her and what gives her the desire to share.
“For me, teaching isn’t just a job; it will always be a passion. I will always teach French,” she concludes. The student who became a teacher wants to show that French is not just a language, but an open door to the world.