Communication The Year That Changed My Life (a student’s perspective) Vertical Non-Permanent Surfaces in the FSL Class Des oisillons dans une classe Word Walls & Authentic 2016 ISSUE FALL Communication ‘5 Questions With’ dedicated promoter What’s Inside: of bilingualism, Nicole Thibault A Message from the President ...............3 Letter from the Editor .............................4 Well-Being in the Language Directors in Action .................................5 Classroom-Have Your Say in ‘Mot final’ Quoi de neuf ? .......................................7 The First Five Years ................................9 Membership Benefits ...........................12 DON’T FORGET: Projet à Québec ...................................13 Back issues of Take It and Make It Yours .....................15 Communication are Concours d’art oratoire 2017...............18 available online at Awards: Nominate a Colleague ...........19 www.omlta.org À NE PAS MANQUER! Wanted: Board of Directors-OMLTA .....20 International Languages ......................21 5 Questions With/Avec ........................24 Branchez-Vous & Resource Reviews ...26 The Last Word / Mot final .....................30 À la prochaine ..................................Back OMLTA/ AOPLV - FALL 2016 OMLTA/AOPLV is the leader in professional learning and advocacy, inspiring and connecting Ontario’s French and Vision International Languages educators. OMLTA/AOPLV: • Fosters collaboration amongst language educators and & professional partners • Delivers practical, user-friendly best practices in language learning. • Influences policies and directions that support French and International Languages education MEMBERSHIPMission It’s not too late to renew your membership with the OMLTA! There is still time to take advantage of discounted fall membership rates, discounted fall conference rates, access to outstanding resources, back issues of Communication and much more. Your professional dues are also tax deductible. Visit http://www.omlta.org to renew your membership. Communication Magazine Is Looking For Volunteers! Communication Magazine is looking for dynamic volunteers for its ‘Reach-Out Committee’! As a member of the Reach- Out Committee, you would help the editor by inviting/recruiting various individuals to write an article for OMLTA’s Communication Magazine. Communication Magazine comes out three times a year in mid-October, February/March and June. OMLTA members want to read articles which are practical, informative, current and thought-provoking. There should be a cross-section of articles about Core, Extended, and Immersion French and International Languages from many different grade levels and many different geographical areas, as well as from different perspectives such as administrative, classroom, board and/or system level, itinerant, managerial, continuing education, faculty of education, adult learning, private schools, etc. Here are some ideas of articles which OMLTA members would enjoy reading: • Classroom lessons which have worked well; • Reference to any businesses or suppliers of French or Modern • Successful school-wide events that have fostered a love of culture Language products, books, resources, etc.; and language amongst students, staff and/or admin; • Words of wisdom for Modern Language Educators in the province of • Class trips which have been successful; Ontario; • Review of effective and useful resources, websites, and books; • Any other interested novelty regarding FSL or International Languages • Technological innovations; • Ministry of Education project development and/or involvement • Classroom management success and/or challenges in FSL; • Board-level projects and/or leadership with FSL/IL. • Advice for our members with respect to any current Modern Language policies and/or curriculum expectations; DISCLAIMER: The information and views set out in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the Ontario Modern Language Teachers’ Association/Association ontarienne des professeurs de langues vivantes (OMLTA). The OMLTA, its employees, its Board of Directors, or any person acting on their behalf may not be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein. All use of the masculine in any language to designate individuals or groups of individuals is employed only to lighten text, and serves to identify persons of all genders without discrimination. 2 OMLTA/ AOPLV - FALL 2016 A Message Greetings!/Bonjour! From I hope that your September start-up went smoothly and that you are settling nicely into your new school year routines! It seems like The summer is a distant memory now, but I hope that it was restful, rejuvenating, and full of wonderful opportunities for personal and professional growth. President OMLTA/AOPLV was very busy this summer! Once again, 50 elementary and secondary French as a Second language teachers participated in our annual Projet à Québec. It was an enriching immersion experience for all involved and participants left with new ideas, renewed confidence and great friendships. We are grateful to the Ministry of Education for continuing to support this project and cannot wait to start planning for next year. In addition to Projet à Québec, OMLTA/ AOPLV offered two three-day workshops sponsored by the Ontario Teachers’ Federation. Secondary FSL teachers participated in a session focused on the Revised FSL Curriculum, presented by Jennifer Rochon, and elementary teachers had the opportunity to participate in a collaborative session with other subject associations focused on STEAM initiatives. OMLTA director Alessandro La Gamba helped facilitate these elementary sessions. In addition to professional development opportunities, OMLTA/AOPLV members were also engaged in creating new Financial Literacy Resources for use in the French as a Second Language classroom. These resources will align with the revised FSL curriculum, as well as make connections between various aspects of financial literacy and the Common European Framework of Reference. Look for the finished product at the end of December! As the fall is now upon us, we are looking forward to seeing you in Peterborough on November 18 and 19 at our Fall Conference. The theme of the conference is “Oui, je peux!/Yes, I can!” and workshops are available for all grades and programmes, including International Languages, Core French and French Immersion. Please visit our website to register today! We are also very excited that the Revised International Languages Curriculum Resource Project is now underway. With the revised Classical Studies and International Languages curriculum arriving during the summer, we have started the process of putting together a writing team to create resources and workshops for International Languages teachers. We look forward to rolling these resources out in the Spring of 2017. As the school year progresses, we continue to advocate on your behalf with our various partners and stakeholders throughout the province. We are committed to keeping French as a Second Language and International Languages a priority in all schools and school boards. Finally, I am so pleased to present you with the Fall 2016 issue of Communication. I trust you will find many ideas, updates, interesting tidbits contained in this magazine. Thank you to the editor, Ida Continenza, and her dedicated team for putting together this issue. Enjoy! We continue to work hard to support you in your professional practice. As our revised mission states, the OMLTA/AOPLV: • Fosters collaboration amongst language educators and professional partners • Delivers practical, user-friendly best practices in language learning. • Influences policies and directions that support French and International Languages education We are constantly striving to be the leader in professional learning and advocacy, inspiring and connecting Ontario’s French and International Languages educators. We are always listening to you, our members, so do not hesitate to contact us with questions or feedback! Best wishes/ Meilleurs voeux, Michael Green President, 2016 – 2017 Ontario Modern Language Teachers’ Association Association ontarienne des professeurs de langues vivantes. 3 OMLTA/ AOPLV - FALL 2016 Letter from the Editor Chers collègues, famille, de vos élèves, et de vos collègues. Bonne rentrée! Cela me fait un grand plaisir de partager avec vous In conclusion, we can be proud of our collective voice and we can be une autre édition de Communication. proud that we have this platform to exchange ideas. I would love for One thing I am very proud of is this platform that we have to exchange you to get involved with Communication, whether it be in the role of ideas. There is no doubt that there is power in collectively expressing Reach-Out Committee, to send us your ideas and articles so we can our views and that is what we strive to do at the OMLTA. We are inspire other educators, or simply to give feedback on the articles representing you, the modern language educators in the province which are included in this edition. I encourage you to respond to of Ontario. And we want to be able to provide you the topic in the Last Word/#OMLTAmotfinal and with the best resources, professional development, to involve yourselves with the Board of Directors opportunities, and information that will be integral (nomination forms are available in this edition). The to you as your progress in your profession. We more you get involved, the more you will be able