Months long learning of new languages for UGDSB elementary students

Elementary school learners will have the opportunity to learn a new language through the International and Indigenous Languages Program.

This is the third time the program has been by Upper Grand District School Board. The 2022/2023 school year had 75 students register and the 2023/2024 school year had 115. 

“We’re anticipating more this year,” said Melissa McDowall, principal of continuing education at UGDSB.

The free program is for UGDSB students Grade 1 to 8 and they don’t have to have any prior language experience with the languages offered. 

The classes run on Saturdays from Nov. 9 to June 14 at Tytler Public School at 131 Ontario St. from 9:30 a.m. to noon. 

Here are the languages being offered:

• Bengali
• Dari
• Greek
• Hindi
• Marathi
• Punjabi
• Spanish
• Tigrinya
• Arabic

The amount of languages that can be taught depends on how many students register, so the list is subject to change. There are roughly 25 students per class and to learn the language the classes are focused on conversational learning. 

Last year the program saw many students who come from families where the languages offered are what they speak at home. Anyone who is interested in learning a familiar or new language is welcome to join the program.

For some students it may be a good opportunity to learn a language family members, like their grandparents speak, so they can better communicate with them and hopefully it can lead to more learning, said McDowall.

Throughout the last couple of years the program has been offered UGDSB has learned how important the program is to the community and how families appreciated the opportunity for their children to be able to learn new languages.

“We also learned about how … different cultures can learn about each other because we have them all in the same space that it kind of brings them cross cultural learning,” said McDowall.

“I hope they build a connection to the language and the culture that they're learning about,” said McDowall. She also hopes students make friends, explore a new language they didn’t know before and join again the next year to continue their learning. 

As the program continues McDowall wants more languages added to it and as it grows she’d like to see it offered outside of Guelph as well.

Students interested in joining can register online.