Écrire un livre pour enfants en français lui a offert une nouvelle expérience mondiale.
Ask Joshua where he is from and you may get an answer like this: Born in the U.K., spent 13 years in Oman, and now lives in Canada.
His father, a pastor, served at an English-speaking church in Oman before the family landed in Canada. Joshua enrolled at London Christian High (LCH) in 2024.
“I attended a British school for my whole time in Oman, and kids from lots of other countries went there as well,” says Joshua, a Grade 9 student.
The eclectic mix of students meant he was exposed to many cultures. He also took several language courses, including Arabic, French, and Spanish. Joshua found himself drawn to French.
Creating storybooks for children
For his Grade 9 French course, he and his classmates created storybooks for children at London Christian Elementary School (LCES). They interviewed each student in the Grade 2 class, asking them about their daily lives, families, and favourite activities and such.
“We wrote everything down on a big sheet of paper,” says Joshua, “and then over the next few weeks, we created a picture book about each child, trying to make it as entertaining and colourful as possible.”
For the two books he created, Joshua wrote the story in English, translated it into French, and added AI-generated images.
He and the rest of the French class returned to LCES to individually share the results. First, each Grade 2 student read the English version. Then, Joshua read it aloud in French.
“The kids really enjoyed seeing their story in book form, and they laughed at the pictures I used,” he adds. “I heard afterwards that one of them brought the book home and told his family about it.”
Joshua plans to continue with French. “I’ve already chosen to take Grade 10 French, as well as music,” he says. “Those are my top two choices.”
Learning another language is a goal for him. “It’s slightly annoying that I lived in Oman for 13 years and I’m nowhere close to being fluent in Arabic,” he adds, “but I’m not giving up. I still enjoy–and want to–learn both languages.”
Joshua and Grade 2 student read Joshua's story together
“Coming from another country and a different school setup, I really appreciated how kind the teachers and staff have been to me. As I’ve adjusted to LCH, they’ve been eager and ready to help.”
