UBC Education Library’s collection of French-language resources underwent a significant revitalization this year, with the addition of many new titles, the removal of outdated materials, and an expanded collection of French-language board games.
For students in the Faculty of Education’s Language & Literacy Education (LLED) program, the collection is an essential lesson-planning resource.
“The French collection includes materials for teaching French immersion, intensive French, or French as a first language in a Francophone school, along with games and juvenile literature,” says Jennifer Fairchild Simms, Head of Education Library. “A good deal of the juvenile literature was older, and it has been a goal of mine to update the offerings. With input from the LLED faculty, we retained children’s and teen literature that was relevant to their curriculum needs and added new literature.”
“The LLED faculty provided suggestions, and I selected materials based on their feedback. I also focused on purchasing Indigenous fiction and non-fiction to create a more robust selection in French. When possible, I selected bilingual and trilingual Indigenous materials,” notes Fairchild Simms.
In August, the Education Library also received a generous donation of French-language board games for a wide array of age ranges and language proficiency levels. All board games can be used in the library as an interactive way to practice French through memory and matching games, storytelling, strategic challenges and more.
In total, 300 new items were added to the collection, which now includes close to 3,000 items, from picture books to juvenile fiction, teacher guides and educational board games.
Books continue to be added to the French collection, including new titles added in January such as La voix de la nature by Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay, India a un prénom bizarre by India Desjardins, and Comme un ouragan by Jonathan Bécotte.
For teacher candidates enrolled in practicums, contact the Education Library about borrowing boardgames for use in the classroom.
Learn more about the French collection on the branch website.
