SAHLA's Fall 2015 Symposium for community-based language school teachers and administrators is scheduled to take place on Saturday 31 October at the Executive Royal Inn (2828 - 23 Street NE) in Calgary.

Registration begins at 8:30 am followed by a number of workshops, including 2 by Constantine Ioannou (ILEA, ON and CLA). Please contact Mike Gretton at SAHLA for more info @ tel: 403-233-7998 or e.mail for more info:  sahla-languages@telus.net

The CLA's upcoming AGM is scheduled for Friday, 3 October 2014.

The AGM will run from 8:00 pm (Eastern time) - 9:00 pm (Eastern time).

The meeting will be held electronically and is open to anyone interested in participating. Please contact us asap to indicate your interest and we will make efforts to include you. The meeting will be held via Skype so you will need to let us know your Skype name. This info can be sent directly to:  info@canadianlanguages.ca

ILEA / CLA presentation at Le programme d’enseignement des langues d’origine, mieux connu sous son acronyme PELO on May 2. Constantine Ioannou, Program Director for the centre of Ottawa International Projects and Exchanges (OIPE). at the Ottawa Carleton District School Board, will be discussing International Language education in Ontario.

Le programme d’enseignement des langues d’origine, mieux connu sous son acronyme PELO, a été mis en oeuvre au Québec il y a plus de trente‐cinq ans afin de soutenir l’adaptation des écoles de langue française à la présence accrue des élèves allophones suite à l’adoption de la loi 101. L’impact positif du PELO, qui a rapidement été étendu aux écoles de langue anglaise, est aujourd’hui bien établi sur la connaissance par les élèves concernés de leur langue et de leur culture d’origine, leur valorisation au sein des écoles participantes, ainsi que le maintien des liens intergénérationnels au sein des familles. Il a aussi souvent joué un rôle significatif dans l’établissement de relations positives entre les parents immigrants et les établissements scolaires.

October 2014 Update:  SAHLA will continue to strategize with MLA Jason Luan on how to best resurrect the bill in Alberta Legislature this year ahead, in light of the recent government changes with our new premier Jim Prentice and new Education Minister Gordon Dirks. SAHLA is working hard to get the Act to recognize and support and strengthen community based languages education in support of Alberta Education.

SAHLA is recommending that the Act would promote a partnership between Alberta Education, public schools, SAHLA & IHLA to eliminate community language school classroom facility rental costs from public schools; and introduce Alberta Education funding to assist community schools to assist with overhead costs including providing honorarium for community language instructors for their classroom instructional work.

The Vision: A Canadian Languages Strategy

A Canadian Languages Strategy is an imperative against a background of profound national and international change. We envision this Canadian Languages Strategy as vital in fostering public acceptance of language competence and intercultural understanding as essential components in the make up of an informed international citizen.

While we fully support Canada’s Official Languages Act, it is also important to formally recognize and support linguistic plurality. According to the 2006 Canadian Census, Canada is becoming more and more a multilingual society with more than five million Canadians having a mother tongue other than English or French. Canadians also reported more than 100 languages spoken. As Dyane McAdam, former Commissioner of Official Languages said: “We’re seeing a nation that is embracing official bilingualism and multilingualism… We will continue to embrace diversity.”

The Canadian Languages Strategy would clearly communicate the Federal Government’s commitment to increasing Canada’s languages capability, and a vision of languages as “a life long skill – to be used in business and for pleasure, to open up avenues of communication and exploration, and to promote, encourage and instill a broader cultural understanding.”

Language Learning and Multiculturalism: The Inseparable Link

International/heritage languages, together with multiculturalism are part of an inseparable family. The teaching of languages reinforces our Canadian multicultural identity and strengthens our country’s unique way of life. The result is social cohesion, which includes anti-racism, peace-building, civic participation and cross-cultural understanding.Further, international/heritage languages are essential to Canada’s relationships with the global community in the areas of international relations and cooperation, international trade and international development.

In short, Canadians possessing skills in more than our official languages are an invaluable human, social, cultural and economic resource for our communities and for our country.

Supporting the CLS Vision

Senator Mobina Jaffer's statement supporting a Canadian Languages Strategy here.