LAFAYETTE, La. — For decades now, French Immersion schools have worked to bring French back into Louisiana, but now Paroles de la Louisiane helps to bring Louisiana French into those schools.
"To have a French Immersion teacher who is actually from Louisiana and also speaks Louisiana French is, nowadays, extremely rare," said Ryan Langley, one of the hosts of Paroles de la Louisiane and a French Immersion teacher at Myrtle Place Elementary School. "I know as a teacher, my very first year, I said to myself 'I'm going to integrate—I'm going to go in and speak just in Louisiana French, and it's going to be great.'"
But, that proved to be difficult for a first-year teacher.
"And it's very similar to the teachers who are coming here from out of country," Langley said. "While they may have taught in their home countries for years...it's different when they come and integrate into the American education system."
Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB) and the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana makes it a little easier for those teachers.
"The new series is called Paroles de la Louisiane, which means, literally, 'words of Louisiana,' and the show is about words, but it's not only about words," said Amanda LaFleur, the show's other host. "It's also about the structure of the language, the way we pronounce things and what happens when certain words come together."
At just around 10 minutes an episode, the series can serve as an aid for teachers looking to incorporate more Louisiana French.
"French Immersion was born out of the idea, or the hope, to be able to save this aspect of our culture," Langley said. "So, I think that this program will help lessen the load of being able to integrate these things into their teaching."
Seven episodes of Paroles de la Louisiane have already been filmed, and the first is available to watch here.
