Author: Maggie Mroczkowski
Date of Publication: September 2021
Notes: Scottish Languages Review Issue 36
Modern language teachers in Anglophone contexts face a unique problem in motivating their pupils to learn languages other than English, given its global predominance. In an effort to better cultivate a multilingual society, the Scottish government is currently rolling out the 1+2 initiative, which guarantees pupils the opportunity to learn two modern languages in addition to their mother tongue. Unlike other Anglophone contexts where the amount of target language use may be policy driven, Scottish teachers are at liberty to decide how much target language to use in the classroom. There are few studies to date that explore attitudes toward language use in the Scottish language classroom in general, let alone pupil attitudes specifically. As 1+2 is expected to be fully implemented across Scotland by 2021, an understanding of the factors influencing pupil perceptions, such as the teacher’s language use practices, will become increasingly important in raising awareness of the Anglophonic language learning experience. This paper presents an exploratory PhD case study that conducts questionnaires and interviews with teachers and pupils of Spanish, French, German and/or Italian in Scottish secondary schools. Additionally, the use of metaphor analysis and a cartoon storyboard-drawing task offer a creative alternative in seeking to better understand wider social and emotional dimensions influencing pupils’ thinking.