Dr. Alan Cameron is a French and Russian professor in the Modern Languages department at UFV.
On Aug. 15, Dr. Cameron commemorated 50 years of service at UFV. Over the decades, he has witnessed the university grow from church basements to a well-established institution. He shared with The Cascade his teaching journey, his passion for linguistics, and his retirement plans.
When Cameron began teaching in 1975, there was no campus. His first office was above a nightclub in Chilliwack, and he recalled conducting his first French class — of eight or nine students — in church basements around Abbotsford.
“I taught the first two semesters in Central Heights Mennonite church on McCallum Road. And that was really weird because you didn’t have blackboards, so we had to wing it.”
Cameron holds postgraduate degrees in French and Slavonic Studies, including a doctorate with a research focus in Russian literature. He was one of the first professors to teach Russian, followed by German in 1977. He helped lay the foundation for a progressive modern language program and believes everyone should learn different languages. He is currently learning his 12th language, Halq’eméylem — the language of the Stó:l? people.
“Learning a language is a means to really getting to know people … You’re opening the door to them and there isn’t a linguistic group in the world that doesn’t appreciate someone else learning their language.”
Cameron has revitalized the language curriculum using technologies like Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL). He has also published several articles and research papers, led student exchanges with Quebec and study tours to France. During his sabbatical last year, he authored a French linguistics book titled Astuces langagières: la linguistique simplifiée. (Language Tips: Simplified Linguistics)
Cameron has witnessed an evolution of technology and recalled using tape recorders to assess students’ performance, before the introduction of computers.
“I’d click the button, the tape recorder would start, they’d say their answer, and as soon as everyone was finished, I’d stop it … In the early 2000s, we went to computers completely and we were just jumping for joy because the computer could do all these things that the tape recorder couldn’t do.”
When asked for his perspective on artificial intelligence, Cameron said he regards it as any other form of technology. He believes that while it may have its benefits, if students use it to cut corners, then they are not developing their brains — which is what they came to university for in the first place.
Cameron’s career has also been influenced by global politics. When Russia invaded Ukraine, he boycotted teaching Russian for two years. He later resumed after being convinced to continue by his colleagues. While he avoids delving too deeply into politics during lessons, he begins each class with “Slava Ukraini” — a Ukrainian expression meaning “Glory to Ukraine” — to emphasize the importance of Ukraine’s resistance.
“I teach the Ukrainian expression and I try to let [students] know that this is really important because if Ukraine falls, we could be headed towards another campaign, such as the one that Hitler led to begin the Second World War.”
When Cameron first joined UFV, he didn’t think he’d still be teaching at 79 years of age, but his undying love for teaching made him stay. This love also stems from being a two-time cancer survivor and living through 14 years of remission.
“I kept thinking to myself, what am I going to do if I survive? I said, ‘if I survive, I want to continue to do what I love to do,’ which is to be in the classroom, teach my students, and engage with them about Russian literature, French language, linguistics — whatever it might be.”
However, Cameron is not ready to retire yet. Every semester, after turning in the final grades he asks students if he still has what it takes.
“Do I still have ‘it’? If I don’t have ‘it’ anymore then I’m hanging them up … I’ll probably croak on the job, but I don’t want to freak out too many of my students. But I’m in pretty good health [and] I can maintain that.”
One piece of advice Cameron has for his students is to appreciate their lives and not be afraid to share their feelings with people they care about.
“Open your heart. And sometimes, yeah, you’re going to get rejected … [but] if you are able to connect with somebody and it’s in a meaningful way, then you’ve got something that’s really solid.”
Interview edited for length and clarity.
