As you can see from the picture (that's me, bottom right), I love to work at summer camps and work with youth. This was in fact at a camp for Francophones in Québec, where I had the great experience of being a camp counsellor whose campers didn’t speak any English! Taking risks and having fun are so important for students in French Immersion, because making mistakes is essential to learning a language – otherwise, they will never speak or write, and their growth in the language will be quite limited.
Working at that camp was a very stretching experience for me, because I used to be really nervous about speaking French, especially with Francophones, but sitting shyly in the corner simply wasn’t an option at camp as it had often been in school learning French. I hope to create a warm and encouraging environment in the classroom, where students feel they are able to speak out in French, even if their pronunciation isn’t perfect or they can’t remember all the words, and where we can all have fun together exploring a new language (although it probably won’t result in a food fight and us all yelling in unison after the experience…).
I remember the frustration involved with learning a new language, so if you or your child is experiencing any problems with the program please don’t hesitate to contact me about it. That’s what I am here for, and I am truly happy to help. I look forward to getting to know you and your child throughout the year, and seeing the progress we will all make together.