My Virtual Classroom, December 1st and 3rd

With the rapid, large-scale switch to online teaching last March, teachers had to adapt quickly — but it hasn’t always been easy. CASLT has created a new resource to help teachers thrive in a distance learning and teaching environment. Welcome to “My Virtual Classroom!”

Registration is open for our third My Virtual Classroom webinar: Engaging Learners Online Through the Action-Oriented Approach, presented by Denis Cousineau.

Registration is open for our third My Virtual Classroom webinar: Engaging Learners Online Through the Action-Oriented Approach, presented by Denis Cousineau.

• December 1st at 7 pm EST (English)
• December 3rd at 7 pm EST (French)

Sessions will be 45 minutes, with Q & A to follow. All content will be posted on our CASLT Learning Centre afterwards.

Nominate a teacher for The Prime Minister's Awards for Teaching Excellence

These awards honour outstanding and innovative elementary and secondary school teachers in all disciplines for their remarkable educational achievements and for their commitment to preparing their students for a digital and innovation?based economy.

The bilingual brain: Regularly speaking 2 languages protects against cognitive decline
Technology Networks via Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona
In addition to enabling us to communicate with others, languages are our instrument for conveying our thoughts, identity, knowledge, and how we see and understand the world. Having a command of more than one enriches us and offers a doorway to other cultures, as discovered by a team of researchers led by scientists at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) and Pompeu Fabra University (UPF). Using languages actively provides neurological benefits and protects us against cognitive decline associated with aging.

Adult language-learning changes how the brain's hemispheres function

Big Think
Learning a new language as an adult changes how the brain's hemispheres contribute to language processing, according to a new study. The brain's left and right hemispheres are generally specialized to perform different tasks. The left hemisphere has long been thought to handle language processing, particularly in regions like Broca's area and Wernicke's area.

Why should you learn a language online during a global pandemic?
IAmExpat

The coronavirus crisis has been a testing time for many people, across all areas of life — none more so than in the world of work. With job losses, reduced hours, remote work and the downsizing of existing and new positions becoming increasingly common occurrences, the job market has been permanently changed.

Inscrivez-vous dès maintenant. Nous acceptons les inscriptions pour tous les cours de la session d'hiver 2021 offerts par la Division de l'éducation permanente de l'Université de Saint-Boniface.

Registration is now open for all Winter 2021 courses offered by Université de Saint-Boniface's Continuing Education Division. Register now!

Pour les cours de français et d'espagnol, cliquez ici : 

• Français oral – cours de conversation orale 
• Perfectionnement du français oral et écrit 
• Programme de français pour les fonctionnaires – cours en soirée 
• Programme de français pour les fonctionnaires, cours de préparation – Évaluation langue seconde, Niveau C 
• Español – cours de conversation orale

For French and Spanish courses, click here:

• Français oral – conversational French 
• Advanced Level French 
• French Program for Civil Servants – evening classes 
• French Program for Civil Servants, Preparation courses – Second Language Evaluation, Level C 
• Español – conversational Spanish 

Pour profiter pleinement de votre cours, vous devez vous connecter en utilisant un bon ordinateur ou une bonne tablette et avoir un accès à la meilleure connexion Internet possible. L'utilisation d'un téléphone cellulaire est fortement déconseillée. Vous pourrez récupérer votre matériel de cours en passant par le service au volant à l'USB. Le port du masque est obligatoire au moment de récupérer votre matériel de cours du le campus.

La date limite pour les inscriptions est le 12 janvier. Nous avons bien hâte de vous revoir virtuellement au cours des prochaines semaines. D'ici là, veuillez recevoir nos meilleurs vœux de santé!

To fully benefit from this course, we highly recommend that you connect using a good computer or tablet and ensure that you have access to the best possible Internet connection. Using a cell phone is not recommended. 

As for your course material, we are offering curbside pick-up service at Université de Saint-Boniface. Wearing a mask is required when picking up your course material.

Registration closes January 12. We look forward to seeing you virtually in the coming weeks. In the meantime, we hope you are staying healthy and safe!

My Virtual Classroom, November 24 and 26

With the rapid, large-scale switch to online teaching last March, teachers had to adapt quickly — but it hasn’t always been easy. CASLT has created a new resource to help teachers better function in a distance learning and teaching environment. Welcome to “My Virtual Classroom!”

Registration is open for our third My Virtual Classroom webinar: Tools, Materials, and Games for an Interactive Online Classroom, presented by Glenn Cake.

• November 24 at 7 pm EST (English)
• November 26 at 7 pm EST (French)

Sessions will be 45 minutes, with Q & A to follow. All content will be posted on our CASLT Learning Centre afterwards.

50th Anniversary Issue of Réflexions

This special edition of Réflexions celebrates CASLT’s 50th anniversary and looks back at the association’s successes, challenges, and innovations over the past five decades. Reminisce with us and learn how CASLT has developed into the impressive organization it is today.

Call for Proposals: Effective Online Language Teaching in a Disruptive Environment

This is an international call for proposals (CFP) for an edited book entitled Effective Online Language Teaching in a Disruptive Environment.

Given the singular challenge for teaching languages online, the proposed volume will gather evidence from the field that offers guidance vis-à-vis best practices, innovations, remarkable and even unusual achievements that will help language teachers succeed in the future.

This call for proposals intends to gather experience from around the world. Potential authors should go to the CFP website, log in, and submit their proposals there.

Language learning in Canada needs to change to reflect 'superdiverse' communities
The Conversation
As people moving across territorial borders continues to drive globalization, our society needs to reflect on the linguistic identities of students who are learning English and French, Canada’s two official languages. In language classrooms, where English as a Second Language (ESL) and French as a Second Language (FSL) programs reflect Canada’s bilingual mandate, how we teach languages has not evolved much from the traditional grammar-based mode of instruction

Don't get lost in translation: Learn a new language in lockdown — and you'll never be a tongue-tied tourist again
Daily Mail
We all have our own holiday stories where our lack of nous with the native lingo has landed us in tricky situations. From struggles with deciphering road signs in St Petersburg to inadvertently ordering an ashtray instead of dessert from your waiter in Shanghai, the pitfalls are endless. But there’s nothing to make you feel more at home in a new land than being able to converse (even just a little) with your tour guide, cab driver or bartender.

Why cultural understanding is essential: Part 5
By Douglas Magrath
Culture is an important element for any ESL program, and instructors need to be aware of learners’ cultures as they work with international students. New students may feel isolated, especially if no one else from their country is in the program or school. Language teaching, including ESL, should include a cultural component. Language and culture go together. Sometimes culture is missing from the curriculum. This represents a missed opportunity for student engagement: Without cultural contexts, students are robbed of a full and engaging language learning experience.

Just Published: 50th Anniversary Issue of Réflexions

This special edition of Réflexions celebrates CASLT’s 50th anniversary and looks back at the association’s successes, challenges, and innovations over the past five decades. Reminisce with us and learn how CASLT has developed into the impressive organization it is today.

With articles by Wendy Carr, Jim Murphy, Caterina Sotiriadis, and more.

My Virtual Classroom, November 24 and 26

With the rapid, large-scale switch to online teaching last March, teachers had to adapt quickly — but it hasn’t always been easy. CASLT has created a new resource to help teachers better function in a distance learning and teaching environment. Welcome to “My Virtual Classroom!”

Registration is open for our third My Virtual Classroom webinar: Tools, Materials, and Games for an Interactive Online Classroom, presented by Glenn Cake.

November 24 at 7 pm EST (English)
Register here: https://caslt.wildapricot.org/event-4045666

November 26 at 7 pm EST (French)
Register here: https://caslt.wildapricot.org/event-4045680

Sessions will be 45 minutes, with Q & A to follow. All content will be posted on our CASLT Learning Centre afterwards.

Find Out What’s New on the Language Portal of Canada

Public Services and Procurement Canada’s Translation Bureau has made some major changes to the Language Portal of Canada, notably to their Language Navigator.

Language Navigator is a search engine that allows you to simultaneously search in all of the Portal’s writing tools to find answers to questions on difficult points of language in English and French. It also allows you to find solutions to common translation problems and stay up to date on evolving language usage. With a modernized interface, the improved Language Navigator includes new options for searching and filtering results.

Winnipeg French language school switching to remote learning

CTV News
One Winnipeg school is moving its students to remote learning because of COVID-19. Centre Scolaire Leo-Remillard, located on St. Anne's Road, is switching students to remote learning, saying COVID-19 cases in the school continue to grow.

Indigenous language curriculum is coming to schools across the territory
CKLB Radio
Our Languages is an Indigenous language curriculum set to launch across schools in the NWT. The GNWT describes the curriculum as a whole-school approach to language learning to ensure that Indigenous languages are heard and spoken throughout schools, at assemblies, and during routines and in all Northwest Territories classrooms.