Aaron joined CISS as a Professional Development Assistant in May 2024. He is a GTCS fully qualified Mandarin teacher who is passionate about the place of Mandarin in the Scottish curriculum.
Aaron graduated from Nottingham Trent University with a Dual BA(Hons) in Mandarin Chinese with Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, however his passion for Mandarin started much earlier as a pupil as Queen Anne High School where he had the opportunity to study Mandarin throughout. He completed his year abroad at Yunnan Normal University in Kunming. He has worked a variety of jobs that used his linguistic skills. He successfully gained a PGDE qualification in 2022, from Moray House School of Education and Sport (University of Edinburgh).
Prior to joining CISS, Aaron was an NQT and then full time member of staff at Grove Academy, where he acquired a real range of valuable practical teaching experience, including both primary and secondary experience.
As a teacher of young people, Aaron recognises that his role is not only to teach the language but also to ignite a passion for language learning in all learners. Aaron is particularly passionate about intercultural communicative competence and utilising digital learning tools to "super-charge" learning.
His current remit includes teaching a variety of face-to-face and online Mandarin classes to learners across Scotland, developing suitable teaching materials and supporting the team with professional learning activities.
Aaron is excited to be part of the SCILT/CISS team, and he is enthusiastic about working with colleagues, school staff and pupils to ensure a high quality of teaching and learning for Scottish Mandarin learners.
Contact:
The Ramshorn
98 Ingram Street
Merchant City
University of Strathclyde
Glasgow, G1 1EX
aaron.nicoll@strath.ac.uk
Follow Aaron on X @MrNicoll1