Beyond School

The 'Beyond School' section of the SCILT website covers language learning options available post-secondary education.

Scotland’s Languages Explorers Programme

Scotland’s Languages Explorers Programme (SLEP) is a mentoring programme, based on the inspirational work carried out at the University of Cardiff, that has a proven track record in raising awareness amongst secondary age learners of the far-reaching benefits of language learning. SLEP consists of a short series of mentoring sessions led by university students with lived experiences of language learning and multiculturalism. It aims to win hearts and minds of young people by giving them time to explore the bigger picture of language learning with a trained, supportive student mentor. Similar schemes running in other home nations have led to an increase in the number of learners continuing with languages into higher levels of study.

SLEP 2023-24 will run in partnership with seven universities: the Universities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling, Strathclyde and the Open University. Weekly online mentoring sessions will run with groups of up to 10 mentees for a six-week block at a time that is agreed between schools and their student mentors.

The benefits of participation in the SLEP are multifaceted: for mentees, working with student mentors can be aspirational and can open their eyes to the possibilities that language learning can offer; for mentors, they have the opportunity to experience the satisfaction of working with learners at secondary school while developing important leadership and employability skills. You can hear from last year’s mentors in the video below.

We are currently taking registrations of interest from schools and prospective mentors for SLEP 2023-24. The programme is free of charge and available to all state schools in Scotland. Further details can be found in the relevant sections below.

What is languages mentoring?

The mentoring programme is designed to change young people’s mindset about language learning. It aims to target and influence learners who have not yet made up their mind about choosing languages in the Senior Phase or those who may be reluctant to do so. SCILT will provide a survey to support schools to select mentees who will most benefit from this intervention. Mentees should therefore be selected from the year group in which they will make their course choices for the senior phase (S2 or S3, depending on your context).

For schools, please be aware that this programme runs online so it is imperative that interested schools have an adequate technical set-up and reliable internet connection to allow for remote interactions between mentees and mentors.

Why do we have a languages mentoring programme?

The number of learners choosing to study a modern language to national qualification level has been falling in Scotland over the past 20 years. According to a 2020 report by five key UK agencies, “We need urgent, concerted and coordinated action to address the critical situation for languages in the UK. If the UK’s citizens had stronger skills in languages other than English, this would help make the UK more prosperous, productive, influential, innovative, knowledgeable, culturally richer, more socially cohesive, and healthier.”

Scotland’s Languages Explorers Programme has been set up to address this deficit by encouraging learners to see the personal and professional benefits of language learning.

Mentors support and motivate learners in the BGE phase by sharing personal, recent experiences of their own language learning and university life. The aim in doing so is to promote reflection on intercultural competency and communication and the benefits of multilingualism. The 6-week programme aims to:

  • Support mentees to realise their languages potential and show how awareness of language builds confident, resilient individuals
  • Raise aspirations to continue with language learning into the senior phase and beyond
  • Encourage young people to develop a love of languages and cultures and a recognition of the value of languages for them

Timeline

  • Monday 11 September – deadline for submission of school’s application
  • Thursday 14 September – successful schools notified
  • Thursday 21 September  – information session for successful schools, schools start selecting mentees, SCILT shares pupil survey with selected schools
  • November – “Meet the mentor” day at your university. When you receive confirmation, you will be advised of the date for your “Meet the mentor" session at your partner university. 
  • November - February – in partnership with your mentor(s), arrange a weekly time slot for the online mentoring sessions (6 weeks in total)
  • March – provide feedback on your experiences via a teacher and mentee experience survey
  • Tuesday 19 March – final online ceremony for all mentors and mentees to share learning and experiences

How to apply

To register your interest in Scotland’s Languages Explorers Programme and to help us to better understand your context, please complete the application form by Monday 11 September 2023.

Testimonials from teachers involved in the programme

“It was a very useful tool for our pupils to broaden their cultural horizons and learn something about languages which they might not have used in the classroom.”

What is languages mentoring?

Scotland’s Languages Explorers Programme pairs up university students with a lived experience of language learning and internationalism/multiculturalism with secondary state school pupils who will soon make their course choices for their national qualifications. The idea is to give them the opportunity to explore the many benefits of language learning with an inspirational mentor and encourage them to continue learning languages in future. Our mentors do this by running engaging online mentoring sessions with small groups of up to 10 mentees agreed around 13-14 years old. You do not have to be a language expert to succeed in this role and you will not be asked to teach any particular language. Rather, you will be asked to use your own informed personal experiences to bring language learning alive and make it relevant to your mentors.

Why do we have a languages mentoring programme?

The number of learners choosing to study a modern language to national qualification level has been falling in Scotland over the past 20 years. According to a 2020 report by five key UK agencies, “We need urgent, concerted and coordinated action to address the critical situation for languages in the UK. If the UK’s citizens had stronger skills in languages other than English, this would help make the UK more prosperous, productive, influential, innovative, knowledgeable, culturally richer, more socially cohesive, and healthier.”

Scotland’s Languages Explorers Programme has been set up to address this deficit by encouraging learners to see the personal and professional benefits of language learning.

Mentors support and motivate learners in the BGE phase by sharing personal, recent experiences of their own language learning and university life. The aim in doing so is to promote reflection on intercultural competency and communication and the benefits of multilingualism. The 6-week programme aims to:

  • Support mentees to realise their languages potential and show how awareness of language builds confident, resilient individuals
  • Raise aspirations to continue with language learning into the senior phase and beyond
  • Encourage young people to develop a love of languages and cultures and a recognition of the value of languages for them

Who are our language mentors?

Our mentors are language activists! Language mentors do not have to be studying languages at university. They are people from all disciplines who know from their own experience the richness and rewards that learning a language can bring to our lives and who want to share that knowledge with their mentees. They are enthusiastic and open-minded with an internationalist outlook. They are active listeners who embrace the opportunity to work with young people and help them to explore languages and culture, allowing them to see themselves as true global citizens and languages as a key skill for their future.

Hear from our mentors

(video – link to video on main page)

What skills and qualities does a good mentor have?

A good mentor is able to:

  • create an environment of trust
  • be a good listener (showing active, person-focussed listening skills)
  • show empathy
  • be sensitive
  • be respectful
  • be honest
  • offer encouragement
  • facilitate opportunities for mentees to explore and expand on their ideas
  • be credible

You will be expected to:

  • be an activist for languages
  • be aware that you will be working with young people from a range of different backgrounds and with aspirations which may or may not involve university
  • encourage and inspire all young people to see the relevance and benefit of language learning in their life

Timeline

  • Wednesday 4 October (2-4pm) – online briefing from SCILT to provide more information about the programme and answer any questions you may have prior to submitting your application
  • Monday 9 October – deadline for submission of your application and letter of motivation
  • Friday 13 October – deadline for initial selection of mentors 
  • *Saturday 21 October (10.30am – 4pm) – In-person training day in Glasgow and final confirmation of mentors (reimbursement for travel costs can be applied for via your university)
  • *Wednesday 25 October – online training session (2-4pm)
  • *Wednesday 1 November – online training session (2-4pm)
  • November (date to be confirmed with your partner school) – Meet the Mentor online session: Prior to beginning your mentoring workshops, you will be asked to arrange an online welcome session so that you can start to get to know your mentees, and so that they can get to know you. This will be a structured but informal session to break the ice before your first mentor session
  • November - February – in partnership with the contact teacher from your school, arrange a weekly time slot to run your online mentoring sessions (6 weeks in total)
  • March – provide feedback on your experiences via a mentor experience survey and short testimonial video
  • March (Tuesday 19 TBC) – final online ceremony for all mentors and mentees to share learning and experiences

* attendance at all three training sessions is mandatory so that you are fully prepared to engage in a confident, meaningful and professional way with your mentees. Please check that you can attend all three sessions before you submit your application as absence at any one of the sessions will disqualify you from participating as a mentor for this session.

Training

  • The training will take place over three sessions: an initial in-person day at SCILT’s Ramshorn office in Glasgow, and two subsequent online training sessions. Attendance at all three sessions is a mandatory part of being a mentor, so please check that you can commit fully to this before applying.
  • ***Rescheduled Dates*** - Saturday 4 November (10.30am-4pm in Glasgow); Wednesday 8 November (2-4pm online via Microsoft Teams); Wednesday 15 November (2-4pm online via Microsoft Teams).
  • Mentor training will add valuable leadership and employability skills to your repertoire and will offer you the chance to learn more about leading and facilitating mentoring sessions online. More details will be provided if you are selected to attend the training sessions.

Application

To allow us to get to know you, please complete the mentor application form. This includes a few open questions so that you have the freedom to really give us a flavour of who you are, why you want to be a mentor and what you believe you can bring to your mentees. Here is a summary of the questions included in the application form if you would like to consider them in advance.

Deadline for mentor applications: Monday 9 October.

Mentors will be notified by their university by Friday 13 October if they have been selected to attend the training day in Glasgow. At the end of that first training day, mentor participation will be confirmed by SCILT. Reimbursement for travel costs to Glasgow can be applied for through your university.

Testimonials from previous mentors

“I really enjoyed the sessions and sharing my passion with the pupils, and I really hope they got something out of it and that their perspective on language learning has changed for the good!”

Testimonials from pupils

I never realised how important languages are for the future till now.

I think it helped me think about my future and opened up new ideas.

It teaches you lots of skills and makes you realise how important languages are.

A good thing about it was the fact we learned a lot, another good thing was that it included lots of different aspects, not just language but also things like culture too.

University of Strathclyde Education Scotland British Council Scotland The Scottish Government
SCILT - Scotlands National centre for Languages