Language support
Teachers' TV video on teaching Modern Languages in the Primary School (MLPS)
This Teachers' TV video focuses on two schools in very different locations - rural Aberdeenshire and inner Edinburgh - and how their teachers deliver modern languages in the primary school.
MFL: The Scottish Experience (Teaching) - video on Teachers' TV
Go to the Training section for details of the corresponding video on training to teach modern languages in the primary school.
Resource pack for primary teachers
It’s important for primary teachers to feel confident in teaching a modern language. It’s vital to help pupils' progression in studying a foreign language pupils as they move from primary to secondary school.
Highland Council has tried to address some of the concerns of primary school teachers by providing a resource pack. It gives a course structure that ensures progression and continuity from primary to secondary school, and also provides language support for primary teachers.
Highland Council: French Learning and Teaching Programme P6-S2
Staff development is crucial to this project and is already in place for all teachers involved in delivering the programme, which has been welcomed by many of the teachers in Highland region. Laura Harper, teacher at Pulteneytown Academy in Wick, has found that the combined package of the programme of study and interlinked staff development has given her and her pupils added confidence in the class.
Laura says:
'The programme finally gave me progression in French - something we have for all other subject areas, but was very much lacking in my French teaching. I found that the vocabulary built up from unit to unit and the children were empowered to believe they could speak French.
'Previously I felt that I jumped from topic to topic with no direction or progression at all. The proof of the success of the package is the ability the children now have to tackle the passages at the end of the course - and being able to translate them and answer the given questions…
'For someone who dropped French in high school as soon as possible, I have come a long way and give all non-speaking French primary teachers hope that it can be done.'
Go to the Highland Virtual Learning Community to download a copy of the programme, or call John Muir, Quality Development Officer for Highland Council, on 01408 623900.
Languages in early years
East Ayrshire local authority has developed a comprehensive guide to teaching a foreign language in early years settings, which you can download in full. This has been used as the basis for teaching French, German, Spanish, Gaelic, Italian and Norwegian as part of the authority’s implementation plan for Citizens of a Multilingual World.
To help you get started with finding audio material for early years, you can now download all the audio files and teacher guides for French, Gaelic and Spanish. Thanks to Kay McMeekin of East Ayrshire Council for providing them.
French Early Stages Language - audio files and teacher guide
Gaelic Early Stages Language - audio files and teacher guide
Spanish Early Stages Language - audio files and teacher guide
Teaching with drama
Teaching with a familiar medium such as drama might help give more confidence to the teacher while providing a fun, motivating task to learners. East Ayrshire's drama pack, based on a German play Kranke Tiere, provides a good start. Even if German is not the language you teach the framework could be easily adapted to a French play. Find it and lots more in the MFLE drama section.
Contributions from Catriona Oates, Scottish CILT; Kay McMeekin, East Ayrshire Council; Esther Green, Banchory Primary School