Author: Karen Faulds, SCILT
In March, Tighnabruaich Primary hosted an intergenerational Gaelic learning afternoon in partnership with the Gaelic Department at Dunoon Grammar, Cowal Befrienders Group and TPS’s catering manager. The event was organised and co-ordinated by Gwen McCrossan, Argyll & Bute’s 1+2 Development Officer, with support from the staff at Tighnabruaich Primary. The event was held to showcase the benefits of intergenerational learning through language learning which, in this case, was Gaelic.
Cowal Befrienders organised volunteers and transport to bring some vulnerable, elderly members of the local community into school for lunch and then to take part in some activities led by Dunoon Grammar senior Gaelic pupils to learn numbers to ten. It was great to see so many people in attendance as the weather had been very wet and windy on that particular day. The catering manager provided a lunch of soup and shepherd’s pie, followed by apple crumble. Pupils in P6/7 served lunch to the visitors and sat with them to enjoy it.
After lunch, everyone went into the P1-3 class and paired up for a series of Gaelic themed activities. This session was led mostly by the pupils from Dunoon Grammar and involved learning basic greetings in Gaelic, introducing oneself in Gaelic and counting up to ten. We even managed to learn a song in Gaelic too! The afternoon came to a close after a few games of bingo in Gaelic, which was fun and enjoyed by all. All pupils were highly engaged and it was reported that some of the elderly participants were much more animated than usual. It was a pleasure to witness the interactions across the generations, with language learning as the focus.
The event was viewed favourably by all parties. In particular, the Cowal Befrienders’ Co-ordinator received positive feedback from both group members and staff who stated that the children in the primary school and the senior pupils from Dunoon Grammar were lovely and chatty. One older gentleman named John, who can speak a bit of Gaelic, particularly enjoyed the event. This view was shared by the senior pupils from Dunoon Grammar, who stated that they really enjoyed helping young children and older people learn Gaelic together.
