Author: Sarah Spiller, Edinburgh City Council
The City of Edinburgh 1+2 team has been working in partnership with Edinburgh University Student Association (EUSA) to help support language learning in our primary schools. Last year we recruited Volunteer Language Assistants (VLAs), students who were either native speakers or students of French and Spanish at degree level. The programme saw students volunteering in our primary schools for up to two hours a week to help support language learning and the implementation of the 1+2 approach. The enthusiasm and dedication of the VLAs has made the project a real success. Their differing experiences of language learning and culture have provided an extra dimension to language learning in our schools, bringing language learning to life.
Due to the success of the project, we are continuing to work with EUSA this year to further support our primary schools. The recruitment and training process for this year is now complete and students are due to start volunteering in primary schools within the next few weeks.
We are very fortunate in Edinburgh to have such an enthusiastic student body who is passionate about encouraging language learning in its local community.
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