About Us

Scotland's National Centre for Languages

SCILT is the national centre for languages, supporting a wealth of language learning and diversity across Scotland’s schools and communities. As a nation, we are developing the language skills that equip us for life in a globally interdependent world, thus contributing to a fairer, smarter, more successful Scotland. We achieve this by promoting and supporting high-quality language learning and fostering a climate that celebrates all languages.

SCILT receives a grant from the Scottish Government to fund its core activities.

SCILT has three core priorities:

1. to support high quality language learning and teaching in line with national priorities
    
2. to highlight and demonstrate the benefits of multilingualism and intercultural competencies so that languages are widely recognised as a key skill for life and work
    
3. to share information and language-related research, and facilitate knowledge exchange in Scotland and beyond.

Supporting high quality language learning and teaching

High quality professional learning opportunities support the teaching and learning of languages across all sectors and all parts of the country and are delivered in partnership with local authorities and teacher education institutions. SCILT also offers a programme aimed at early career and student teachers.

Scotland's Languages Leadership Programme equips local authorities in designing, promoting and supporting high quality professional learning for teachers.

Professional Learning Partnerships offer schools, clusters or local authorities the opportunity to work with a SCILT Professional Development Officer over a period of time to improve an aspect of learning and teaching. This is a collaborative and enquiring approach to improvement.

Promoting languages as a key skill for life and work

Our Parental Engagement toolkit, case studies and series of information leaflets support teachers and schools to engage parents in the benefits of language learning.

Outputs from SCILT's partnership in the Erasmus+ international project Generation Global include three toolkits, and facilitate the key languages foci of employer and industry engagement and attitudinal change in wider society.

The Scottish Languages Employability Award helps schools and businesses to build partnerships through languages in order to develop young people’s learning about the world of work and the value of language skills.

Annual competitions and events, including the Mother Tongue Other Tongue poetry competition, Languages Week Scotland and the European Day of Languages give schools the opportunity to celebrate success in language learning.