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visit to Spain, France enhances second language programs

In November, Chief Superintendent Naomi Johnson made official visits to Madrid, Spain and Besancon, France to sign agreements that will strengthen Calgary Board of Education second language programs.

With more than 600 bilingual schools in Madrid alone, interest was high for finding ways for Calgary and Madrid students to connect in authentic ways through a school-twinning program. 

The objectives for those schools participating in the twinning program are:

• To broaden the teachers’ and students’ knowledge and understanding of each other’s language, society, and culture and to learn to appreciate and to respect them.
• To establish, develop and maintain a lasting and sustainable relationship between schools in order to enrich the curriculum, improve language skills and motivation of the students.
• To enhance the students’ language competence with such activities as: writing letters or e-mails to friends, using videoconferencing, sharing blogs and exchanging materials.
• To potentially visit the twinned school to strengthen the knowledge of the other country’s culture and the use of its language by both teachers and students.

In Besancon, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Academie Besancon (education district) and the Calgary Board of Education was signed. Besancon is the capital and principal city of the Franche-Comté region in eastern France and is close to the Switzerland border. The main purpose of the MOU is to provide opportunities for students and teachers to develop deeper French language and cultural understandings. This will complement the current opportunities for CBE students in Quebec. Opportunities in the future may include reciprocal exchange programs where CBE students and Besancon students live and study together. In addition, teachers will have access to opportunities to improve their linguistic and cultural competencies in French through summer language programs. 

French Immersion and Spanish bilingual principals are delighted about the new opportunities for authentic connections between schools, teachers and parents that both the Madrid and Besancon visits have brought to light. 

“This new MOU with Besancon will provide strong dividends for our students learning French, whether in French as a Second Language or French Immersion,” said Chief Superintendent Johnson. “Our students want to communicate in French and learn about French culture in an immersive environment. This new agreement opens the door to new ways of supporting second language learning in the CBE.”

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Last Modified: December 21, 2011