Latest News

A selection of language-related news. Does not claim to be comprehensive or represent the views of SCILT.

Latest News

2 May 2025 (Education Scotland)

Taking place from 12 to 16 May there will be a range of LIVE events for learners and educators during the week. Sessions will be run by the Education Scotland digilearn team and lots of guest partners.

The aim of the week is to raise awareness of digital literacy – what it is, why we all need it and how educators might teach it.

The Technology for Everything assembly taking place on both 13 and 14 May may be of interest to language teachers. It's the first assembly in a brand-new series for Year P7 and S1 students and focuses on the subjects of English, Languages, Music, Art and Drama.

Visit the Digilearn Scotland website for full details of this and all the sessions taking place during the week.

Read more...

5 May 2025 (Languagenut)

Calling all language lovers! It’s time to rally your students, and climb the leaderboard in this year’s Languagenut Competition, which is open to all schools!

From Monday 5 May – Tuesday 20 May students will complete activities and assignments on the Languagenut platform to earn points, climb the leaderboard and secure a place in the final Top 30 leaderboard position. Your students won’t want to miss out on this great opportunity to practice their language learning and be within the chance of winning an Amazon voucher!

Visit the website to enrol your school now!

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5 May 2025 (Glasgow Times)

A Glasgow primary school is set to create a British Sign Language animated film for Deaf Awareness Week.

St Roch’s Primary and Deaf School will work with writer and producer Jo Hall on the project, which began on May 5.

The animation, funded by Creative Scotland, will be made by the school's pupils, who will animate their own dancing hedgehogs.

Read more...

4 May 2025 (The Guardian)

The slogan on Niamdh Braid’s powder-blue sweatshirt puts it plainly enough: “I define my own deaf identity.”

“We’re in a world that’s built for hearing people,” says the 16-year-old from Glenrothes in Fife, “and we have to navigate through it to find what works best for us.”

Earlier this year, the teenager won a legal battle with her local council to have a British Sign Language interpreter in lessons, after she realised how much of what was said in class she was missing out on.

Niamdh, who has been deaf since birth, wears hearing aids, but can struggle to follow in noisy environments and her preferred language is BSL.

As a younger child, she didn’t have any deaf people she could look up to on TV or on the news. Now she hopes that through her advocacy “younger deaf kids can look up to me and see that they can achieve anything”.

Read more...

2 May 2025 (SCILT)

For the last few years, SCILT has offered the Big Question series of workshops in May/June, aimed at secondary practitioners and focused on looking at current issues, examining strategies and sharing resources. The idea behind this was to offer concentrated professional learning at a time of year which can be more manageable from a secondary point of view. 

However, as we all know, the concept of extra time during study leave is more and more of a vanishing myth, and this time is becoming ever busier. So, for 2025-26, the Big Question is moving into a year-round feast! We will offer one secondary-focused open access workshop per term, starting in May. This will allow us to be responsive to developments in the educational landscape over the whole year, and will complement the existing open access workshops available to primary colleagues. Our menu of bookable workshops tailored to your school/cluster/local authority will also continue throughout the year; look out for the new menu in August! 

Our first Big Question of 2025-26 is as follows: 

  • Wednesday 21 May 4-5.15pm: Interdisciplinary Learning – What, Why and How? 

As a core context of Curriculum for Excellence, interdisciplinary learning (IDL) offers us the chance to break down traditional subject boundaries and make learning richer, more relevant, and more connected to the real world. For languages teachers, this opens up real-world opportunities to immerse learners in culture, communication, global citizenship, and cross-curricular themes. 

In this workshop we will look at what IDL is (and isn’t!), share approaches and explore how languages can be meaningfully woven into projects across subjects. We’ll look at specific examples including the new SCILT Francofoot/Calciamo materials, together with existing materials such as Espacios Increíbles and Eco-Learning Partners, and there will be lots of opportunities to share ideas and experiences with one another. 

Whether you're new to IDL or looking to refresh your approach, the goal is to leave you inspired and equipped with practical tools to bring interdisciplinary learning to life in your classroom. 

All of our seminars are free to attend and are open to all secondary languages teachers and student teachers. The Big Question sessions will be hosted on MS Teams and will not be recorded. Register via the link below. 

Read more...

1 May 2025 (UK-German Connection)

Recently, James Gillespie’s High School reignited their Scottish-German link with their partner school in Bavaria, receiving financial support to organise their first exchange since the Covid-19 pandemic.

During their visit pupils took part in excursions and activities that contributed to their understanding of sustainability and explored how attitudes to sustainability differ between Scotland and Bavaria.

You can read about their exchange and other showcases on UK-German Connection's website, where you can also find information about funding programmes to help your school forge partnerships with Germany too!

Read more...

1 May 2025 (Japan Foundation)

Institutions can apply for up to £2500 for non-profit-making projects or activities which promote Japanese language education in the UK. These projects include introducing Japanese into school curriculums, supporting GCSE/A-Level courses, new Japanese clubs, projects linking primary/secondary institutions with universities, and more.

Application deadline: Thursday 15 May.

Visit the website for more information and to apply.

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1 May 2025 (SCEN / SCIBC)

The Scottish Confucius Institute for Business & Communication at Heriot-Watt is offering a range of inexpensive Chinese language and cultural courses during Semester 3, commencing in May.

Whether you're a beginner, a more experienced learner or just want to try some calligraphy and Chinese brush painting there's something for you!

Visit the website for more information and registration.

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29 April 2025 (Light Bulb Languages)

Light Bulb Languages is seeking submissions for the next issue of Write Away! the magazine which celebrates the the writing primary children do in their language lessons.

The deadline for submissions is Thursday 3 July 2025.

Visit the Light Bulb Languages website for more information and to read previous issues.

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29 April 2025 (SCEN / Engage with China)

SCEN is delighted to share the news of an Engage with China Scholarship which will give students an opportunity to study in China from the end of August 2025-June 2027.

Eligibility criteria include:

  • British passport holder
  • 16 years of age
  • Sitting National 4/5s (English GCSE equivalent) exams or similar this summer

Mandarin is not necessary for applicants but may help in the early days. The scholarship will certainly enable Mandarin learners to develop their language skills onto a further path to fluency and give them an immersive experience of China over two years.

Applications are open now until 9 May with online interviews planned at the end of May. Full details and the application form are available on the Engage with China website.

Read more...

29 April 2025 (Languagenut)

Calling all MFL Trainee Teachers! 

We’re excited to introduce the Languagenut Certified Teacher Programme, an exclusive opportunity to enhance your teaching skills completely free during your training year and the first three months of your teaching career! 

What’s in it for you?

  • Free access to Languagenut’s award-winning language platform
  • Certification to showcase your digital teaching expertise
  • Interactive resources to engage your pupils
  • Tools to save time on lesson planning
  • A confidence boost as you start your teaching journey

Visit the website for more information and to sign up.

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28 April 2025 (The Herald)

British Sign Language totems have been installed at four major rail stations across the country to make travelling on trains more accessible.

The totems provide real-time travel information in BSL and are now in place at Glasgow Queen Street, Edinburgh Waverley, Haymarket and Dundee.

A visual interpreter will translate key travel updates and station announcements into BSL and ensure deaf passengers can access the same information as hearing train users.

The totems also include touchscreen to allow users to request specific information in their preferred language.

It is part of ScotRail’s and Network Rail’s ongoing work to make the railway more inclusive ad it follows BSL customer information screens being added at Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central last year, making them the first stations in the UK to have BSL on the main departure boards.

(Subscription may be required to access full article)

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27 April 2025 (The Herald)

Could artificial intelligence spark a revolution in how we understand minority languages? Or will it force practitioners of the Scots leid out of work? 

Oor News, a new media start-up, may be a key litmus test. The website, which uses an AI large language model (LLM) to translate news articles into three types of Scots, was founded last year by chemical engineer Dr Rory MacDonald.

(Subscription may be required to access full article)

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24 April 2025 (BBC)

The first Scottish Gaelic translation of JRR Tolkien's fantasy adventure The Hobbit has been completed by a professor at the University of Aberdeen.

Moray Watson, a professor of Gaelic and translation - and a lifelong Tolkien fan - started work on A' Hobat before the start of the Covid pandemic.

The translation was supported by the Gaelic Books Council.

Read more...

24 April 2025 (SCILT)

Check out Issue 38 of the Scottish Languages Review (SLR), SCILT’s online journal for language practitioners in Scotland, which has been published in the past few days.

A central theme of this Spring 2025 issue is interdisciplinary projects involving languages across primary and secondary levels, while there is also a contribution on the viability of Latin as a viable L3 within the 1+2 landscape and another on potential strategies for community languages. As always, the digest section provides links to recent publications and forthcoming events.

Read more...

23 April 2025 (STV)

A number of Scottish idioms and phrases feature prominently in a British Council list that sheds light on the evolution of English. 

Launched to coincide with World English Day, Phrase-ology highlights how language is constantly evolving, shaped by global influences and pop culture, while preserving phrases with origins that date as far back as Ancient Greece. 

[..] The research also looked at familiar English phrases with international origins.

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23 April 2025 (The Scotsman)

Race Across the World will take viewers to China tonight - and it’s bound to leave some intrepid watchers wanting more.

The show’s eagerly anticipated fifth season is set to premiere on at 9pm Wednesday, April 23 on BBC One. Five teams of two will once again conquer language barriers and explore new countries on a shoestring budget - without the help of their phones - for the chance to win a £20,000 grand prize.

This season will kick off on the Great Wall of China, with teams racing 14 thousand kilometres to the southernmost tip of India. Although a competition, the hit series is about adventure and embracing the world and all it has to offer at heart - and viewers back home will no doubt find themselves curious to learn more about some of the destinations on show.

Some might find their interests piqued by the Chinese language and culture in tonight’s premiere, so we’ve created a list of apps you can use to start learning Mandarin.

Read more...

22 April 2025 (Murray Edwards College, University of Cambridge)

Here at Murray Edwards, Professor Charles Forsdick and Professor Wendy Ayres-Bennett, are both deeply invested in language education and research as well as actively shaping national policy and advocating for systemic change. 

In the interview that follows, Charles and Wendy reflect on their roles within the College, the importance and purpose of languages in education and society, and the powerful ways in which Murray Edwards fosters learning and research in languages and linguistics. 

The article also includes a link to the DOME Languages Summer School, a two day fully-funded summer residential in August 2025 for 16-year-old women and non-binary students who are interested in learning more about Cambridge University degrees that have a language component.

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22 April 2025 (UK Ekiden)

Originating in Japan over 100 years ago, the Ekiden is a long-distance, multi-stage relay running race. The word “ekiden” comes from eki (station) and den (message), symbolising the passing of a message from one station to another. The first ekiden race took place in 1917, and today, schools across Japan continue the tradition with annual races.

UK Ekiden are seeking primary schools in Scotland who would like to organise and host their own mini Ekiden (secondary can also be considered) in June. Participating schools will receive a box with resources to run their mini Ekiden.

It's a fantastic opportunity for children to learn about Japanese culture, explore the traditions of the Ekiden race, and understand the importance of teamwork in sports. 

Visit the website or see the attached flyer for more information and if interested complete the participation form to receive your resource box.

Read more...


Related Files

22 April 2025 (Open University)

TELT is the Teachers Learning to Teach Languages programme offered by the Open University. Now in its 9th year, this professional learning opportunity has upskilled over 300 teachers across Scotland. It is aimed at educators working in the primary sector and carries GTCS Professional Recognition.

The 2025-26 session is the concluding presentation of the TELT programme in its current format and will offer post-beginners level study.

Available languages are French, German, Mandarin or Spanish for teachers who already have a working knowledge of their chosen language, equivalent to A1 on the Council of Europe’s Common European Framework of Reference for languages (CEFR). This can either have been acquired through previous study of the TELT programme introductory level modules LXT192 (French), LXT193 (German), LXT194 (Spanish), LXT197 (Mandarin Chinese), through other equivalent study, or extended visits to the countries where the target language is spoken.

Registration for 2025-26 intake is now open. Enrolment closes 11 September 2025. Modules begin in October. 

Visit the TELT website for full details about how the course works and how to register. For further information please contact: Scotland-languages@open.ac.uk.

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22 April 2025 (Stephen Spender Trust)

The Stephen Spender Prize is an annual competition for poetry in translation that celebrates the creativity of young people across the UK and Ireland – and their teachers! The Prize has categories for schools, teachers and individual young people, which welcome translations from all languages, as well as a special ‘Spotlight‘ strand that each year focuses on a different widely spoken language. In 2025 this will be Portuguese.

The competition is open for entries from 1 May until 31 July 2025. Teachers visit the website to register pupil participation now!

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22 April 2025 (SCILT)

The outdoors is a dynamic and creative learning environment where children and young people can thrive and connect their broader learning with the world around them. Research has shown that outdoor learning improves child development and supports health and wellbeing, with the outdoors providing a space that promotes inclusion and engages learners.    

In these in-person workshops, we will consider how languages feature within an Outdoor Learning agenda. We will explore connections to Learning for Sustainability, discussing how this area can be implemented through an interdisciplinary approach within an outdoor context. Ideal preparation for 30 Days Wild in June.  

Ready to get your hands dirty? Register via the link below to attend the workshop at the venue closest to you: 

  • Wednesday 14 May, 4–5pm at Grandtully Primary School, Pitlochry

  • Friday 23 May, 1:30pm–3pm at The Howff, Outdoor Learning Hub, Queen Margaret University, Musselburgh 

  • Tuesday 3 June, 4–5pm at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow

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20 April 2025 (STV)

The number of modern languages teachers in Scotland has fallen by more than a fifth since 2008, figures have shown.

Analysis of the Supplementary Schools Statistics by the Scottish Liberal Democrats also found that the number of French and German teachers is at a record low.

Since 2008, there has been a 22.3% reduction in the number of modern languages teachers – a decrease of 347.

Scotland has lost 44.2% of its French teachers since then, with 597 currently teaching.

German teacher numbers fell by 63.3%, with 66 still at Scotland’s schools.

Willie Rennie, the Lib Dem education spokesperson at Holyrood, urged the Scottish Government to reverse the trend.

Read more...

15 April 2025 (University of Strathclyde)

The Institute of Education at the University of Strathclyde is seeking views on their current CLPL (Career-Long Professional Learning) provision across schools, colleges, the third sector and any other organisations felt relevant. Completion of a short survey will help inform understanding around what’s working, where there may be gaps, and how future CLPL offerings could be improved to better support different partners.

If you’re able to take a few minutes to complete the survey - and/or share it with others in your network - it would really be appreciated. Thanks so much for your time and input!

Read more...

15 April 2025 (UK-German Connection)

UK-German Connection has a range of international upskilling opportunities for teachers and schools to enhance intercultural awareness and understanding. Follow the relevant link below to learn more about the upcoming activities and apply now for the 2025-26 session!

  • Host a teacher from Germany - host a German teacher (in-person or virtually) for one, two or three weeks during the academic year – no costs involved for UK schools and no requirement to teach German.
  • Professional Enrichment programme - funded opportunity for qualified UK teachers of any subject and school type to visit a German school in-person for one or two weeks during the academic year of 2025-26.
  • Sustainable Development training seminar (10-13 June, Belfast) - This seminar in partnership with LFEE will bring together teachers from the UK and Germany to discuss sustainable development in schools and to devise strategies on implementation across the curriculum with an international outlook. Open to schools with no existing UK-German partnership and no requirement to offer German at your school.

15 April 2025 (Scottish Poetry Library)

The Scottish Poetry Library seeks submissions to the fourth year of its talent development scheme for poetry writers aged 16 to 25 years. We are looking for poets who are unique, imaginative and bold – a lot like Scotland itself.

We will select five young makars in total: three writing in English or Scots, a writer in Scottish Gaelic and a Spoken Word performer. A bursary of £500 will be made available to each poet to support their engagement with the programme.

Entrants should submit two new poems of any length on the theme of ‘My Generation’. Deadline is 12 May 2025.

Visit the website for full eligibility criteria and how to apply.

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11 April 2025 (The Conversation)

Languages are windows into the worlds of the people who speak them – reflecting what they value and experience daily.

So perhaps it’s no surprise different languages highlight different areas of vocabulary. Scholars have noted that Mongolian has many horse-related words, that Maori has many words for ferns, and Japanese has many words related to taste.

Some links are unsurprising, such as German having many words related to beer, or Fijian having many words for fish. The linguist Paul Zinsli wrote an entire book on Swiss-German words related to mountains.

In our recently-published study we took a broad approach towards understanding the links between different languages and concepts.

Using computational methods, we identified areas of vocabulary that are characteristic of specific languages, to provide insight into linguistic and cultural variation.

Our work adds to a growing understanding of language, culture, and the way they both relate.

Read more...

10 April 2025 (Scottish Book Trust)

Are you someone with stories to share? Or a teacher working with young writers we should know about? We're looking for our next Scots writer of the year. 

Stories, poems, spoken word pieces, comics, videos or other pieces of writing – we want to see it all, as long as it's in Scots and under 2,500 words or up to ten minutes long.

Open to ages 11-18.

Visit the Scottish Book Trust website for more information. Entry deadline: midday 16 July 2025.

Read more...

8 April 2025 (Express Yourself NE)

Wow! We are amazed and delighted at the level of participation in Express Yourself: North East Festival of Languages this year. 93,798 children and young people from 428 schools took part in a wide range of free Festival activities and events for 3-18 year olds from January to March. This figure is higher than the number who took part in our first four annual festivals combined.

Designed to spark curiosity, inspire a passion for learning languages and celebrate diverse home languages and cultures, as well as having lots of fun – the Festival also aims to help children and young people build the skills, confidence, awareness and attributes they need in an increasingly interconnected, multilingual and multicultural society.

Headlines in the article include links to a range of resources available free anytime to UK schools to support language learning and teaching from North East, national and international organisations.

Read more...

7 April 2025 (The Herald)

A classic Scots phrase meaning bed or sleep has been added to the Oxford English Dictionary. 

The term 'beddy-baw', which dates back to at least the 1860s, was added to the dictionary last month. 

It has been used for generations to tell children it's time to get to bed.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary's website, the earlier evidence for the use of beddy-baw is from the Buchan Observer in 1864. 

It said: "My sonsy wean! My darlin' bairn! My bonnie sweet wee lammie! Cosy i' yer beddy-baw, Crawin' to yer mammy!"

Read more...

27 March 2025 (Institut français)

Earth Month 2025 offers a series of events during April and May aimed at fostering cultural enrichment and cross-cultural exchange on climate action, strengthening ties between France, Germany, and Scotland.

Through a collaboration between the Goethe-Institut Glasgow, Institut français d’Écosse, and ClimateCulture, the Earth Month brings together artists, thinkers, and changemakers to showcase the essential role of culture in addressing sustainability challenges through film, music, performance, and more.

There's a mix of events, including French storytelling for children, some of which incur a charge. 

Visit the Institut français website for programme details.

Read more...

27 March 2025 (SCILT)

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

Our most recent verification date in November 2024 saw two more schools achieve an award. The first of these was for SLEA - Local, an award which aims to encourage and support the development of partnership activities involving a number of schools within a local area or network. We were also delighted to receive our first event SLEA - Green submission, which seeks to encourage the development of a global citizenship approach to employability in the languages curriculum. You can find out more about each of these projects below:

The next SLEA verification date for all awards, including the recently launched SLEA - Multilingual, is 16 May 2025. Visit the SLEA webpage via the link below for details on how to apply.

Read more...

25 March 2025 (Civil Service Languages Network)

British Council, GCHQ and the Civil Service Languages Network are working together to promote language learning among pupils in UK schools.

Your S2/S3 pupils, who will be choosing their National Qualifications, and S4/S5 pupils choosing their Highers, are invited to our open, online events – see dates below. There, they will hear from speakers with different roles across government who have used languages in their career, and how either studying a language in school, or speaking a heritage language, has enriched their life and career. Pupils will have the chance to ask the speakers questions (via their teacher) through a Q&A session.

You can see an example of a previous event here: Where will languages take me? | British Council.

The online events are free of charge, and I hope to make recordings available of some of the events. To express interest, and help us keep in touch, please complete the form.

We look forward to welcoming your pupils to our events!

Summer term 2025

S4/S5: Tue June 3rd 2025, 09:15-10:15

S2/S3: Wed June 11th 2025, 09:15-10:15

Autumn term 2025

S4/S5: Wed Oct 15th 2025 09:00-10:00

S4/S5: Tue Nov 11th 2025 09:15-10:15

S2/S3: Thur Nov 20th 2025 09:00-10:00

Spring term 2026

S2/S3: Wed Jan 14th 2026 09:00-10:00

S4/S5: Thur Jan 20th 2026 09:00-10:00

S2/S3: Tue Feb 10th 2026 09:15-10:15

28 January 2025 (SCILT)

Calling all German teachers! The next meetings of the TOGS network will take place on MS Teams on:

  • Monday 12 May (4.30-5.30pm) 

Open to all primary and secondary practitioners who teach – or would like to teach – German in their context, this network offers colleagues a chance to share experiences, practice and ideas to enable German to grow in Scottish schools. If you are not yet on our direct mailing list, please visit the Eventbrite page to sign up for our next meeting. Wir freuen uns Euch zu sehen! 

Read more...

23 August 2024 (SCILT)

Calling new and recent entrants to primary teaching in Scotland. Undergraduate and postgraduate primary education students at Scottish universities and qualified primary teachers in your first four years post-qualification – we mean you! 

If you have an interest in developing your practice relating to the languages - both home and taught, signed and spoken – represented in your classroom, then you will not want to miss SCILT’s ECT Primary Languages Signpost Sessions. Tailored just for you. 

Our Signpost Sessions will be chock full of: 

  • ideas and advice on how to support multilingual pupils and their families

  • strategies for teaching additional languages 

  • the chance to network informally with others at a similar stage in their career across the country 

Join us online on MS Teams, after school on the last Wednesday of the month every second month. It’ll be a friendly, informal opportunity to connect and ask questions, to find support and solutions. Whatever you need, we will point you in the right direction. 

  • 25 September 2024, 16.00–17.00. Signpost 1: First steps in teaching languages in primary 

  • 27 November 2024, 16.00–16.45. Signpost 2: Pedagogies for multilingual primary classrooms 

  • 29 January 2025, 16.00–16.45. Signpost 3: Digital tools for primary languages 

  • 26 March 2025, 16.00–16.45. Signpost 4: Target language phonics 

  • 28 May 2025, 16.00–16.45. Signpost 5: Interdisciplinary language learning 

Sign up for as many as you wish.

Please also find attached flyer which can be shared with colleagues. 

We can’t wait to see you there. 

Read more...


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