On May 3-6, 2011, Beth attended a meeting of the Directors and Curriculum Coordinators of Mission Laique Française (MLF) affiliated French schools in North America. The meeting was held at the Awty International School in Houston, Texas. For the past 3 years, we have worked on developing oral language in our schools. Professional Development opportunities were created and implemented for helping to increase oral language in all 3 cycles of the French curriculum, beginning with cycle 1 in the first year, then cycle 2, and then finishing with cycle 3 in the third year. Now that we have come to the end of this training, it is logical to move into the next phase: from oral language to written language. This new plan of development is our focus for the next 3 years. We will be taking oral language into the written form, as appropriate in each cycle, and with particular consideration given to teaching our population of students in French schools in North America. Over the past 3 years, we have been fortunate to include many members of our faculty in the training on oral language. We will continue to offer this professional development plan in the coming years. Soizic Bonnet, Pedagogical Director for MLF Schools in North America, has developed and will continue to offer outstanding conferences to our teachers that include both theory and hands-on implementation in the classroom. Within our network, schools have partnered with nearby schools in their geographical region. For example, L'Ecole Française du Maine works with ISB, the International School of Boston. We look forward to including our newly recruited faculty members in these valuable training opportunities starting next fall.
