Grade 5/6 students have participated this year in a cultural exchange with Lyon France, thanks to the French department at Ottawa Catholic School Board for arranging this cultural exchange. The students have learned about geography, history, food and holidays.
On our last Skype session the French students inquired about the Canadian Geography and the pronunciation of the Provinces and Territories in English. At the end of the last session my students sang for them the Canadian National Anthem and shared with them the concept of distances from across Canada.
Our Skype session this Friday started by having the French students sing their national anthem. Today the students compared winter activities between the two countries. Students from France were so surprised at the way we live in these cold conditions. How do students commute to and from school? How do we manage to survive in this cold?
Since September the students have had this opportunity to connect and learn with another culture and become more of global citizens. The students have the opportunity to grow in cultural perspectives, geography knowledge, language competencies by speaking both languages and interpreting the spoken English from the French students. Communication skills were enhanced by listening carefully for understanding the language and the accent and be able to respond by explaining and clarifying their intentions.
These experiences have encouraged the students to understand that Global Citizenship is global collaboration of learning that fosters global competency for many years.
How do we continue fostering these global collaboration and give our students the chance to become Global citizens?
Amazing experience for all students! It reminds me of my penpal days. We kept in touch by sending letters back and forth to England for 6 years and eventually we met. I wonder if our new global learners will continue on with their conversations now that they've experienced such rich moments?
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