YELLOWKNIFE - Students at Allain St. Cyr will be rolling their "r"s even more as they are introduced to the Spanish language.

After principal Jacques Angers took a class vote on whether the students wanted Spanish lessons, instructor Oscar Aguirre was brought in last week for the students' first class.

Jessica Ledud, 11, Ann Baribeau, 13, Renaud St-Pierre, 12, and Veronique Veevaete-Maurice, 12, will be taking on a third language as Ecole Allain St. Cyr introduces Spanish classes. - Christine Grimard/NNSL photo

Aguirre, a consultant for the Association Franco-tenoise, said that he expects the students to pick up the language quickly.

Although he has only taught one class to the students, he said the similarities between French and Spanish make it an easy language for French speakers to pick up. Aguirre also said being able to speak another language should open the students' eyes to cultures outside of Canada.

Gerard Lavigne, directeur general for the Commission scolaire francophone de division, said that with a number of Spanish speakers in the francophone community, many parents had shown interest in adding Spanish lessons to the system.

Aguirre has previously given Spanish lessons in Quebec, and is also a specialist in developing and evaluating cultural education systems.

Jessica Ledud, 11, who is learning Spanish, said she is excited to learn the language because of the prospect of travelling abroad and maybe even attending university in another country.

Ann Baribeau, 13, said that one of the bonuses of learning another language is being able to show off.

Lavigne said that learning a new language at such a young age will help them learn other languages easier later on in life.

Spanish class is offered every Friday and will count towards their school credit.