SCILT > A 1 plus 2 Approach > Newsletters

Dear colleagues

I am pleased to see that Scottish Government emphasised its continued and full commitment to the 1+2 policy in a letter from Scottish Government Learning Directorate to all local authority Directors of Education in August 2016. The government’s Delivery Plan for Education, published 28 June 2016, further underlines the importance of developing the provision of language skills within education:

‘We will take action to help young people develop the skills and knowledge they will need in the workplace in particular in the areas of STEM, digital skills and languages.’ (page 9)

I also read with interest the ‘Review of progress in implementing the 1+2 languages policy’, conducted by the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland (ADES) and Moray House, University of Edinburgh. It is heartening to read that the findings showed there was tremendous overall support for the policy and some authorities had developed what they felt were robust and sustainable models of training to reach full implementation by the target date of 2021. Already most local authorities have provision for L2 up to the end of the broad general education. However, roses are never without their thorns. Provision for L3 remains more mixed and the report calls for more support for secondary schools with the timetabling of L3 as part of the BGE so that it does not ‘borrow’ time from L2, thus compromising depth of learning and risking attainment in the senior phase.

There is, therefore, still a significant amount of work to be done in terms of ensuring the policy’s sustainability, especially in terms of developing teachers’ language skills and confidence. There is still a greater need for collaborative working, not just between primary and secondary sectors but also between local authorities, higher education and teacher education. The report also highlights the importance of the development officer’s role in leading the implementation locally, and this level of leadership can only be sustained with continued support in terms of Scottish Government funding.

All of this is, of course, taking place in a climate where it seems there are so many competing priorities. For 1+2 to be successful, it has to be viewed as part of the solution to the Attainment Challenge and a means of developing important employability skills. As a community, we have to be advocates for language learning. The experience of learning an additional language early in life is known to support key cognitive skill development, boosting mother tongue literacy and developing adaptability, flexibility and resilience. In addition, the 1+2 policy supports the equity agenda by building confidence, fostering interest in other cultures and encouraging tolerance and respect.

Looking forward, the Strategic Implementation Group (SIG) for the 1+2 policy is comprised of representatives from schools and local authorities, universities, teacher education, teaching unions, parents and national agencies such as Education Scotland, the General Teaching Council for Scotland and SCILT. Informed by the finding of the ADES/Moray House report, it is currently developing a strategic plan to support all aspects of 1+2 implementation going forward. This is due to be published by the end of the year.

In conclusion we can take comfort from the enthusiasm for the 1+2 languages policy on the part of teachers, parents and learners and the fact there has been notable progress made in the implementation of the policy since 2013/14. Having said that, we are still some way from 1+2 languages being firmly established in the curriculum, and we all need at both national and local levels to work together to advocate for language learning as a powerful means of addressing key issue around excellence and equity in the Scottish education system.

In the present climate, more than ever, it is vital that we equip all Scotland’s children and young people with the necessary skills that will allow them to operate globally. Language skills help build a more open, tolerant and ultimately cohesive society that values all peoples and cultures. That is the kind of Scotland our children and young people deserve.

Fhiona Mackay, Director

Download entire issue of SCILT 1+2 Newsletter December 2016 as PDF

International and national perspectives on language learning policy and practice

Partnership was the order of the day on 29 November 2016 at Atlantic Quay in Glasgow. The day began with a presentation by Associate Professor Angela Scarino from the University of South Australia hosted by Marion Spöring, Senior Lecturer at University of Dundee and UCMLS chair. Associate Professo...

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Practitioner enquiry pilot: challenging assumptions and finding evidence about current practice

A key feature of each of the GTCS Professional Standards, there is a lot of talk these days about practitioner enquiry as a means of professional learning. With this in mind, SCILT has diversified its CLPL provision and expanded its Leadership Development strand. As such, a team of four SCILT coll...

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Education Scotland update

The draft benchmarks for modern languages will be uploaded to the National Improvement Hub in December (together with the other curricular areas). Draft benchmarks for literacy/English and numeracy/mathematics are already on the Hub. In other news The Education Scotland websites are changing to refl...

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Erasmus+ update from British Council

The reasons may vary - from learning good practice to increased job satisfaction – but 98% of school staff who took part in the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme would recommend it to a colleague. Almost 70% of school education applicants successfully applied for over €4m in Erasmus+ grants in Sco...

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Goethe-Institut supports 1+2

Primary German immersion course at Chryston High School, North LanarkshireThe Goethe-Institut has just concluded a 10-week primary German immersion course for primary teachers in the Chryston High School cluster. Chryston High School, which shows a strong commitment to the teaching and learning of ...

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Learning Japanese in Scotland

Sally Anderson, an undergraduate at University of Manchester, attended the Japanese Youth Conference held in September 2016 in Aberdeen. The conference was organised by the Japanese Language Group. Sally shares her experience below. --- Some 130 million people worldwide speak Japanese, and on the ba...

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Update on UCMLS cross-sector initiatives

On 9 September 2016, UCMLS hosted a cross-sector event to take stock of successes and challenges in the implementation of ‘Language learning in Scotland: A 1+2 approach’. The event was well-received and included the opportunity for participants to take part in a cross-sector debate to establish furt...

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Updates from LFEE Europe

‘Noël’ is upon us already and you will see in the photo that it was celebrated in style along with two of the Pan-Tayside development officers and a group of buzzing primary teachers. Storytelling, a Christmas quiz and plenty of games and songs kept us warm on a cold evening in Perthshire! Immersion...

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A listing of events of interest to 1+2 language practitioners in Scotland. See SCILT's events calendar for full details as well as for more language-related events in Scotland and further afield.

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Thank you to the following local authorities for sharing how they are implementing the 1+2 approach.

1+2 - what’s new? North Ayrshire update

Last year we boosted teacher confidence by training staff to embed French or Spanish into their daily school routines. Training continues this year and staff are attending twilight courses to further extend their language skills and delivery in the classroom. There has also been huge interest from c...

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Aberdeen City Council: 1+2 Modern Languages implementation update

The 1+2 Modern Languages team at Aberdeen City Council are using Abernet, the education homepage, as a means of communication with schools. They have their own area to publicise news. The Glow languages area has been updated and teachers can access primary and secondary resources, lesson planners wi...

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Aberdeenshire Council

Aberdeenshire council send regular email newsletters to support teaching colleagues in the implementation of the 1+2 approach. The June 2016 edition includes information on CLPL opportunities as well as updating colleagues with success stories from within the authority. Return to December 2016 news...

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Dumfries & Galloway Primary Language Learning update

Much of our Primary Language Learning (PLL) training material is at present housed on the Dumfries & Galloway Glow site but in order to widen access to our work, we have created a Modern Languages blog which is accessible to anyone. Our ‘Building your curriculum’ MFL groups have produced bookle...

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PanTayside in collaboration with DCA: Shorts for language practice

PanTayside 1+2 team has worked in partnership with Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA) to link Moving Image Education and languages. PanTayside 1+2 team created resources to engage pupils from P3 to P5 in listening, talking, reading and writing, in French, through the medium of film. These activities wer...

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A 1+2 Approach

December 2016