Over 120 foreign language teachers from throughout Louisiana gathered at the Natchitoches Events Center January 17-18 for the Louisiana Foreign Language Teachers Association’s annual conference. The association is for teachers of world languages at every level from pre-k through college in Louisiana. Natchitoches parish was represented by Latin & Greek teacher Morris Tichenor and Spanish teacher Telba Espinoza of the Louisiana School for Match, Science and the Arts.
The teachers attended workshops and browsed vendor’s offerings. The Consulat General de France from the French Consulate in New Orleans was one of the more notable sponsors.
Spanish is the most common language taught in Louisiana schools with approximately 80,000 students, followed by French and German. Other languages such as Mandarin and ancient languages such as Latin are also offered in some schools. It is possible for a student to earn a “seal of biliteracy” on his or her high school diploma, a most valuable credential, first offered in 2014.
From immersion schools in which much of the children’s day is spent using the language taught, to conventional high school courses, the teachers of the LFLTA are providing an invaluable service to our state’s young people.
