Today's post is brought to you by my iPhone.

So as I am sitting in the truck while my hubby is fixing his new-to-him swather so we can get it home to do some major mowing of some grass and buck brush, I was checking my Twitter and seeing what was all new.  Well the ATA have a weekend long conference for their Annual  Representative Assembly and they have been actively tweeting all this May long weekend!  I thought it was very cool that the ATA were letting all their followers know what was all happening, being voted on, what was being said, etc.  The one tweet today that caught my attention was about second language being required in grade 4-9 (an idea that has been approximately around since I graduated high school in '04).  

Of course, learning a second language (L2) is near and dear to my heart.  My first language is English and by grade 10 when I went to a high school that had many options, I took French as a Second Language (FSL).  I took French 13, 10, 30, and 31A (I was able to skip 20 since since my Fr. 10 mark was over 80%) and loved every second of it.  In grade 11 I participated in the Alberta-Québec Exchange and spent 3 months in Barraute, QC with a great host family.  My teacher, Grace Fix, was an amazing woman and teacher.  She gave me the inspiration to be a FSL teacher.  Grace did not just teach the language, but she taught a mindset and engaging the students to want to learn more.  

So obviously I went I to teaching with a major in French so I can share the wealth of the experiences, knowledge, and opportunities that a second language can give to a students who is willing to learn and open their mind.  

I know for me knowing French can make it easier for me to find a job, but what I really like is that I can communicate with other French speakers when I travel.  I also love the culture of the French and their quirky differences (a , instead of a . for prices, how they eat later for supper, shoes instead of stockings at Christmas, etc.).  It's just a lot of fun to learn another language!  I know I stressed this to my students during my APT because I don't think the students realized what a L2 can do for them.  

I am a huge advocate for students learning a L2 or more.  I think the European countries have it right to have their students know at least three different languages before they graduate high school. Just think whom they all can make connections with through knowing other languages other than your mother tongue.  So by having students learn a L2 starting at grade 4 here, why not??  It would be beneficial to them and their futures!  My APT school (Daysland) enforced the idea a while back and have continued on.  By high school they can go on a class trip to either Québec or France (every three years they do this trip), and this year was their trip year and they went all over France for 10 days!  How lucky at 15-18 yrs old you get to go on a cool trip. 

I am happy that the ATA is in favour of a mandatory 9Y L2 program for grades 4-9 and I really hope the schools and government will push to follow through.  The ATA last tweet is as followed on the subject: 

@albertateachers: Teachers urge #AbGov to institute and support required additional language learning for students in Gr 4-9. #ARA2013 #abed

Lets hope that  they understand the importance of the L2...