Modern Languages Blog

A series of documentaries in both Gaelic and English have been produced as part of a European project showcasing bilingual life in the Outer Hebrides. The POOLS project, represented in the UK by former European Award for Languages winner Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, has created slices of contemporary Hebridean life and work for pre-intermediate to post-intermediate learners. All materials are available for use and adaptation free of charge.

Read more on the CILT website.

You can get into the latest online issue of the Scottish Languages Review right now!

In this edition we start off by featuring early language learning from three different perspectives. Helen Shanahan
reports on an action research project where she was trying to increase
her own use of the target language with her young charges in a French
Club class. She took inspiration from the evaluation report on Early Partial Immersion Teaching of French at Walker Road Primary School in Aberdeen, which showed that even very young learners can cope with much more foreign language input than expected.

Still staying with early language learning, Lorraine Sweeney
discusses two different models of teaching modern languages in the
primary class: delivered by the class teacher – which she terms the
‘generalist’ or by a qualified teacher who only sees the class once a
week, in other words a ‘specialist’. Lorraine has first-hand experience
of both models so feels in a strong position to argue which has more
advantages.

Finally, Elaine Pasternak
provides a detailed account of how early language learning has been
implemented in her own local authority. This is a very valuable
contribution because it allows readers to have greater insight into the
many considerations that have to be grappled with in order to implement
an authority-wide language policy.

We included a number of articles on the different language learning & teaching methods of China and Scotland in our last edition. Here, Yimei Li,
a teacher of English who is currently spending a year in Scotland as a
Comenius Language Assistant, gives an illuminating account of her
contrasting experiences.

Moving to the secondary sector, Hannah Doughty
reports on a Scotland-wide survey which investigated the ways in which
pupils in their third year of secondary schooling think about their
future career aspirations and how they relate these goals to language
learning. One of the encouraging findings from the survey is that
schools can make a difference.

Some possible
ways in which schools can market languages to their pupils through
cross-collaboration with colleagues in further and higher education are
highlighted by Murray Hill.
He also calls for increased political activity on the part of teachers.
Murray speaks from experience, having collaborated himself with
secondary schools on the award-winning Languages Work! events, and more
recently having lodged a petition with the Scottish Parliament calling
for a step change in language strategy.

Registration is now open for the Scottish Learning Festival.

The Learning Festival hosts an extensive conference programme comprising of keynotes, spotlights and seminars. Please consult the ‘How to book’ page for guidance on this process. You can also register by completing and returning the booking form at the back of the programme.
Copies of the conference programme have been sent to schools. Alternatively you can download a copy now.

Here’s a selection which might interest you:

Keynote speakers

Towards the Curriculum for Excellence: Curriculum Architecture - Barbara Thomson, Development Officer, LTS

How Feuerstein Methodologies can Develop the Four Capacities of the Curriculum for Excellence -Anne-Theresa Lawrie, Depute Head of Teaching and Learning, Scottish Borders Council

Glow Learn - Virtual Learning Environment - Dawn Adams, Development Officer, LTS

Glow: Hands-on for Primary – speaker to be confirmed

Glow: Hands-on for Secondary - speaker to be confirmed

European School Linking and the Curriculum for Excellence: eTwinning, Comenius and the EC Lifelong Learning Programme: The View from the Classroom – Susan Linklater, British Council

A Scottish woman married to a Belgian man with bilingual daughters educated in the Flemish school system, talks of the dilemma her children faced when choosing a university.

Read this story on the Scotsman website.

Aberdeen University has caused controversy by inviting youngsters to enter a national short story competition in which they can write in any language of their choosing, including text, street slang and Doric.

Read more on the Scotsman website.

Once the preserve of private schools, the language of the Romans is now booming in Britain’s inner cities.

Read more on the Education Guardian website, or find out how ‘id quod circumiret, circumveniat’ in the Independent Online.

A group of foreign students from Stevenson College are preparing to sit exams in English for the first time. Staff at the college were at the forefront of developing the new Scottish Qualification Authority’s exam – Higher English for Speakers of Other Languages.

Read more on the Scotsman website.

Prime Minister Tony Blair posted video messages in English and French on the popular video sharing website YouTube last week. His messages congratulated Nicolas Sarkozy on winning France’s presidential election.

Watch Mr Blair’s video message on YouTube.

A new resource from CILT, the National Centre for Languages, launched on 9 May helps young people to demonstrate their language and communication skills to potential employers. The Language Work Placement Toolkit has been specially designed for those undertaking, organising or hosting languages work placements.

Find out more on the CILT website.