Author: Kathryn Graham, City of Edinburgh Council
After moving our professional learning online from March 2020, we were concerned about the impact on course numbers and participation in classes as language learning is not a passive process. However, we were pleased to see good engagement in our online offerings. High numbers of teachers shared ideas via our Teach Meets and some even signed up for our summer language classes!
We were keen to build on this momentum, so we funded places on the OU/SCILT Teachers Learning to Teach Languages (TELT) course, and encouraged and supported our teachers to take part. This offered practitioners an opportunity to learn a language and to develop their skills in teaching the language to primary pupils. This year we were delighted to have our highest number of participants ever on the course – over 20 teachers signed up!
Although the course offers opportunities to collaborate with colleagues from across Scotland and beyond, we wanted to support our teachers to build capacity and sustainability within the learning communities in our authority. We created a MS-Team for participants and offered additional support at key points throughout the course. We drew on the expertise of colleagues and used our Jules Verne teachers creatively to support course participants. In addition to language and pedagogy tutors, teachers had a lead contact in City of Edinburgh.
This support received positive feedback, with many of our teachers reporting that they found it helpful and that it improved their confidence. Sandie, a participant in the French beginner course said: “I have found the course incredibly useful. Not only for improving my own French vocabulary, but also for gaining lesson ideas from other teachers. The level of support from tutors and my authority has been great. It was amazing and incredibly valuable to have the opportunity to practise my speaking with a native French teacher who was excellent at listening and providing feedback on my pronunciation.”
Moving forward, we hope that this cohort will continue to lead language learning in their classrooms, schools and learning communities in a collaborative way. We will use feedback to improve our support further and allow more teachers to take part in 2021-22. We will continue to build capacity within our staff to deliver high quality learning and teaching experiences in languages, ensuring City of Edinburgh has a sustainable approach to the 1+2 policy.