Author: Zoe Gordon, West Lothian
West Lothian teachers and learners have been embracing the new online culture, and course bookings for CLPL opportunities in all curricular areas have increased. Our 1+2 languages forum is no different.
We started the school year with an online 1+2 conference in September. Here we mixed some live input with pre-recorded sessions. The success of the flexibility of the pre-recorded sessions has helped us to evaluate how we want to shape our CLPL offering for the rest of session 20-21.
In the second term we moved our Primary Language Learning (PLL) online. We delivered eight weeks of sessions in second level French and beginners Spanish at a reduced, one-hour time-slot. The sessions provided lots of resources and practical ideas for delivering lessons in the target languages, as well as pedagogical input and support with pronunciation. Positives from the feedback included the course being accessible to teachers who don’t drive and to those who work part-time. Removing travel has allowed for increased participation.
Our next steps are to pre-record the PLL sessions to allow even more flexibility. We will combine these with drop-in sessions to discuss and practise content. We will also be launching our bitesize programme in January with short, pre-recorded sessions in various languages and pedagogical areas, as requested by our Lead Learners.
As 1+2 Development Officer, I have been modelling language lessons throughout the first and second terms. When we entered a stricter level of lockdown, I was approached to deliver these virtually. Building on my “lessons from lockdown” experiences, I knew I could still deliver engaging language lessons online, with some adaptations. This term I have successfully delivered online lessons from nursery up to P7, as well as training sessions with individual schools.
Our learners have also benefited from the fabulous Virtual Exchange Teacher-led lessons in Mandarin, provided by CISS. Fifteen schools have taken part in 10 weeks of virtual lessons, allowing them not only to learn Mandarin, but about the culture and traditions in China too.
Although this year has been difficult in many ways, we must celebrate the positives of becoming more digitally aware and being able to provide access to a wider variety of learning opportunities for teachers and learners.