Modern Languages Blog

A new information leaflet on how to select mentors for probationer teachers has been launched by the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS).

Providing guidance on everything from selection and training to support, the leaflet aims to help key stakeholders select the people who will mentor probationer teachers.

A copy of the complete guidance document is available on the GTCS website. For more information about this release contact Martin Osler, GTCS PR on 07739185522 or at martin@oslermedia.com.

Today sees the launch of the MFLE’s Maximising Potential, a new online resource for teachers to support inclusion in modern languages.

Written by educational consultant Hilary McColl and Catriona Oates, professional services officer at Scottish CILT, it supports individual modern language teachers and modern language departments in meeting the needs of an ever-widening range of learners.

In collaboration with learning support colleagues, Maximising Potential invites teachers to reflect on current methodology and on the learning experiences of pupils who may be causing concern. The programme gives you a structure for working out strategies to help improve both.

It was piloted in three City of Edinburgh schools in session 2006-7 with considerable success; feedback from the teachers involved has helped to determine the online version made available to you through the MFLE website with help and encouragement from Scottish CILT.

If you’re an MFLE member, you can discuss any aspect of the programme, large or small, in the discussion forums with colleagues, local authority officers or advisers and other professionals involved with languages. It’s also a great place to give feedback on the programme. If you’re not a member, and you work in Scotland, it’s easy to register.

A man whose wife has Alzheimer’s disease is appealing for Bulgarian speakers to help her communicate after she ‘forgot’ how to speak English. Petranka Davies, 81, lives in Winchester but was born in Bulgaria and used to be fluent in six languages. Dementia has affected her ability to speak English but when she is spoken to in Bulgarian she responds well.

Read this story on the BBC website.

Top grades have improved again on average in the GCSE exam entries across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, this BBC article reports. The gap between boys and girls continues to narrow. Science entries rose, but French and German fell. However, there was a 3% increase in the number of entries for Spanish and other modern languages as a whole - these include such things as Chinese, Arabic and Polish - were up 5%.

The Independent reports that a further decline in the take-up of modern foreign languages will be revealed when GCSE results are published on Thursday. Figures will show the number of 16-year-olds taking French and German has slumped to its lowest level for more than a decade.

The Evening Times reports that record numbers of parents are enrolling their children at Glasgow’s new Gaelic superschool.

Final scrutiny of a plan to launch a dedicated digital television channel for Gaelic programmes has begun, the BBC website reports.

The Gaelic Digital Service is to be run as a partnership between BBC Scotland and Seirbheis nam Meadhanan Gàidhlig (Gaelic Media Service).

The BBC Trust has begun a public value test and independent regulator Ofcom has launched a market value assessment.

Trustee for Scotland, Jeremy Peat, said the service must prove it is value for money to licence fee payers.

The BBC’s national governor for Scotland also said the public value test will be a full and open assessment of the proposal.

Read more on this story on the BBC website and Herald website.

Hibs boss John Collins today revealed in the Scotsman that he wouldn’t have signed French-speaking players if he didn’t speak the language.

Patrick Noubissie became the seventh member of Collins’ squad with a Gallic connection on signing a two-year contract, joining Guillaume Beuzelin, Thierry Gatheussi, Abdessalam Benjelloun, Merouane Zemmama, Yves Ma-Kalambay and Torben Joneleit.

But, while former Monaco player Collins insists he hasn’t made a conscious decision to target players from French- speaking nations, the one-time Scotland ace admitted his ability to speak French had been a factor in his signings.

Like most of the French- speaking contingent, 24-year-old Noubissie can converse in English although Collins’ ability to talk to them in their native tongue has been of benefit in putting his thoughts over to them.

Read this story on the Scotsman website.

The BBC reports that an archive of the Scots language is now available all over the world thanks to a comprehensive new website.

The site, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, can be accessed on the SCOTS Project website. People from the US, Australia, China, Japan and South America have already logged on to use the service, as well as people in Scotland. Project researcher, Dr Wendy Anderson said, ‘The Scots language is a source of interest across the world as it is one aspect of a long and flourishing cultural heritage. The website will be a useful language resource for academic researchers and students, language learners and teachers, dictionary writers and secondary school language teachers, not to mention for the large number of general users who just want to satisfy a curiosity about the Scots language.’