In the interest of operational efficiency, the Navy had to employ a common language, English, since the majority of its members were English-speaking. Canadians speaking only French were recruited, but their inadequate knowledge of English, produced high percentages of failures among the French-speaking recruits. In the summer of 1941 an English language course was established at HMCS "Montcalm" at Quebec. Little progress was made, however, and in 1943 the school was transferred to HMCS "Prevost". The naval schoolmasters were professional language teachers, and the ratings were quartered with English-speaking families in the city. At the end of a three-month course the men were returned to their respective divisions for further training and subsequent draft to HMCS "Cornwallis". The school was moved to HMCS "Cornwallis", in January 1945.