Retaining foreign language teachers is challenging, Smith tells Maine Public Radio
Maine Public Radio spoke with Jane Smith, chairwoman of the University of Maine’s Modern Languages and Classics Department, for a story on the challenge of retaining the already limited supply of foreign language teachers in Maine’s public schools. Smith told the network about two of her students, both French speakers from Africa, who taught at schools in Lincoln. “I know they left that area because culturally, it was hard for them,” Smith said. “They also were surprised at the attitudes of students; that they don’t need to learn. There wasn’t that eagerness for learning. I know other teachers north of Bangor have lamented at how hard it is to motivate students. For them it’s completely foreign. Well, we need to do what we can to make it not so foreign.”