Canadian Parents for French Nova Scotia was delighted to honour Jason Belliveau Wood at their 41st annual general meeting on Saturday, Oct. 20, in Halifax. Belliveau Wood is in his 10th year as a French second language teacher. He is presently teaching at Bluenose Academy in the South Shore Regional Centre for Education (SSRCE).
The CPF Nova Scotia French Second Language Educator of the Year Award recognizes French second language (FSL) educators in the province, celebrates their dedication and continued efforts as educators. The award acknowledges excellence in French second language teaching and teachers’ initiative and innovation.
As a second language learner in an anglophone community, Belliveau Wood can relate to the struggles that come with learning a new language. While a student at Bridgetown Regional High School, he was surrounded by excellent French second language teachers such as Tony Orlando, Meredith Burton and Glen Melanson, who took a genuine interest in his progress, both in the classroom and in the community. Getting to know his students and encouraging them to seek out opportunities to speak French has been an important step in reinforcing his French second language lessons.
Belliveau Wood went on to study in the immersion program at the Université Sainte-Anne in Church Point and later completed his masters of education for FSL instruction. It was in this truly immersive environment that his love and appreciation of the French language and cultures began to take shape. He is grateful for the Acadian people, the community of French second language learners and professors such as Nicole Muise, Stéphanie St-Pierre and Clint Bruce. Belliveau Wood takes his classes to the Université Sainte-Anne each year to participate in a mini immersion camp. He considers it a privilege to share the Sainte-Anne experience with them. His students look forward to the Sainte-Anne trip and remember fondly years later.
Belliveau Wood strives to create a learning environment where students can feel comfortable speaking, listening and writing in their second language, understanding that making mistakes is a part of the process. Embracing the neurolinguistic approach to second language learning, Belliveau Wood encourages his students to be active participants in the classroom. Always looking for different ways to make learning fun, he adapts his lessons to incorporate students’ interests, integrating current technology, using visuals and gestures and even telling a few “dad jokes.” Over the past six years teaching in the SSRCE, Belliveau Wood has been fortunate to work with capable and enthusiastic mentors such as Gaston Comeau, Mary Chisholm and Paige Ferguson.
In Belliveau Wood’s free time, he and his wife raise three children in Lunenburg. It was also at Université Sainte-Anne where Belliveau Wood met his wife, Jackie, who has been an unwavering source of support and encouragement over the past 17 years of educational and professional pursuits.
