The Maine Department of Education has partnered with the Cultural Services of the French Consulate in Boston through a Memorandum of Understanding with the Académie de Nantes to promote French language and cultural programs in the Maine schools, including collaborative projects between schools in France and in Maine. See more information here and contact April Perkins, World Languages & ESOL/Bilingual Programs Specialist, at april.perkins@maine.gov with any questions.

We are also excited to share a few exciting professional learning opportunities provided by the Cultural Services of the French Consulate in Boston and the Maine chapter of the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF) throughout November.

11.4.21 at 3pm: Virtual Workshop – Incorporating Un village français into the French curriculum

Presenter: Andréa Javel, Distinguished Senior Lecturer of French, Boston College

Description: We will explore the Second World War in occupied France through the ground-breaking series, Un village français. Participants gain insight into key events during that war, from a French perspective. The series provides an unvarnished view of daily life during the war, the early days of the Resistance, and the Shoah. The workshop will include course materials and suggestions for integrating this series into a high school or college foreign language course, as well as for promoting critical thinking about world events. We will discuss underlying research that makes a series an excellent way to build intermediate-level proficiency.

Register here.

11.18.21 at 3pm: Virtual Workshop – Bringing about an Awareness of Social Justice in the Foreign Language Classroom

Presenter: Andréa Javel, Distinguished Senior Lecturer of French, Boston College

Description: Social and ecological justice are a source of interest for many students of French. Promoting a just society by challenging injustice and valuing diversity is one of the key tenets of teaching for social justice. We will explore specific ways to develop equity, compassion, and empathy in the foreign language classroom, though anecdotes and authentic testimonies of French-speakers from throughout the francophone world. We will touch upon the notions of stereotypes and racism through first-person narratives and cinematic examples. We will discuss ways of encouraging critical thinking about one’s own culture and francophone cultures worldwide.

Register here.

11.30.21 from 9am-4pm: In-Person Workshop – Développer les compétences orales en classe de FLE

Location: University of Southern Maine, Portland. Lunch will be provided.

Presenter: Pierre Yves-Roux, Formateur indépendant. Anciennement responsable de l’unité expertise et projets au Centre International d’Etudes Pédagogique.

Objectif général : doter les participants de la réflexion et d’outils devant leur permettre de repenser et de diversifier les périodes notamment consacrées à l’oral, de la compréhension de documents sonores à la production d’énoncés.

Justificatif de la thématique : les activités orales sont essentielles dans le cadre actuel de l’enseignement-apprentissage d’une langue étrangère, mais les enseignants sont parfois confrontés à des difficultés aussi multiples que divers dans la préparation et/ou l’exécution de ces activités. L’intervention se propose de partir des problèmes rencontrés dans les classes pour tenter d’y apporter des réponses concrètes et réalistes sous la forme de principes illustrés par des activités variées, motivantes, parfois innovantes, qui s’inscrivent dans les programmes et qui ont pu se montrer efficaces. Même si elles ne sont pas toute commentées, plus d’une centaine d’activités seront mises à disposition des participants.

Une partie de l’intervention sera consacrée à des ateliers durant lesquels les participants pourront échanger et mutualiser leurs expériences mais aussi élaborer du matériel pédagogique contextualisé.

Contact Noah Ouellette (noah.ouellette@diplomatie.gouv.fr) or Nathalie Gorey (goreyn@link75.org) to register.

To stay up-to-date on professional learning offerings for World Languages teachers, subscribe to the weekly newsletter Language Educators News or contact April Perkins. In November, there will be a virtual office hour for World Languages teachers on 11.10.21 at 3pm, as well as a training on the Seal of Biliteracy on 11.16.21 at 3pm.