S1-S3

Recommended resources for teaching and learning languages in the secondary classroom. For pupils in S1-S3.

Classroom resources

Learning for Sustainability - toolkit for schools

Learning for Sustainability is an entitlement for all learners within Curriculum for Excellence, and as languages teachers we are uniquely positioned to incorporate Learning for Sustainability into our learning and teaching. This toolkit brings together a wide range of reading and resources aimed at supporting teachers who wish to incorporate Learning for Sustainability and Global Citizenship into their languages curriculum.

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Resources from the European Parliament

Materials in the Kids Corner are available in the different languages of the EU. Challenge your learners to find out more about the EU in the language they are learning in class.

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ebooks - The Happy Emperor and other stories

Produced by CISS, these ebooks support Chinese language learning at all levels. 

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Remembering Empire: S3 learners of French

Remembering Empire is an interdisciplinary learning programme developed by academics at the University of Stirling. It brings together French language, history, culture and global citizenship to engage pupils of different ages through clear classroom materials.

Remembering Empire

Astérix chez les Pictes

Education Scotland has developed this resource to support learning French, using all four language learning skills. The resource also explores the cultural aspects of Bandes Dessinées (BD) – comic books - in the French speaking world.

These materials are aimed at learners working towards or at second level in primary and could be adapted for learners in S1/2 in secondary BGE.

Astérix chez les Pictes

Films

Every year, in October and November, the latest French films are shown at film festivals across Scotland, and teachers are invited to bring their pupils to these showings. The films are shown at the Discovery Film Festival in Dundee, during the National Schools Film Week, and at the French Film Festival in Scotland.

Teachers can also borrow DVDs from the library of the Institut Français in Edinburgh or from the Alliance Française in Glasgow.

DELF resources for S1-S2

DELF (Diplome d’Etude en Langue Française) is a diploma for French language as a foreign language. It is recognised in various countries and it is available at different levels.

DELF A1 can be used with S1-S2 pupils. The exercises can be done at the end of the year or at the end of topics.

Three skills are covered (Reading, Listening and Talking and Writing). You can download and use all the resources for free from the DELF website

Songs

World Voice - resources designed to support teachers connecting children in the UK with others across the world through songs and singing.

CânSing Project - CILT Cymru and CânSing have been collaborating to produce a suite of resources to support the teaching of Modern Foreign Languages through singing. 

La Musique aux Draveurs - a variety of songs in different music styles, with videos and lyrics. Cycle 3 suitable for early secondary.

Poetry

National Poetry Day takes place in October every year, why not celebrate in French?  

Visit our poetry resources webpage.

There are two forms of Gaelic Education in Scotland – Gaelic Medium Education (GME), immersion education which results in qualifications in Gàidhlig, and Gaelic Learner Education (GLE) where learners learn it in the same way as second or third language like French or German, and may lead to qualifications in Gaelic (Learners).

The resources below are marked (F) for Gaelic Medium, (L) for Learners and (F/L) for both Gaelic Medium and Learners.

Fileanta(F) - A range of resources covering all skills and contexts for the BGE and Senior Phase.

Ceumannnan (L) - A S1-S6 course for Learners developed by Stòrlann.

Learn Gaelic (L) – A one stop shop for many Gaelic resources as well as finding out about community classes.

Am Faclair Beag (F/L) – An independent website run by donation which incorporates Dwelly’s Dictionary into a modern dictionary for a comprehensive online dictionary resource.

Call na h-Iolaire (F) – a resource looking at the Iolaire Tragedy in 1919  

BBC Iolaire 100 (F) – a resource looking at the Iolaire Tragedy in 1919 and the 100th Anniversary Commemorations  

Giglets ann an Gàidhlig (F) – A massive library of texts, original and classic for independent reading by children by Giglets

Seachd – The Inaccesible Pinnacle (F) – a Secondary resource developed by Into Film for the Gaelic Feature Film, Seachd

BBC Bliadhna nan Òran (F) – a massive database of some of the most famous or important songs in Gaelic culture, lyrics, videos and information

e-Stòras (F/L) – a range of interactive resources, including songs, videos and texts from Comhairle nan Eilean Siar 

The GIMAGINE Award for young learners

The Gimagine Award is a highly engaging, innovative self-learning platform for young learners (14-18 years), equipping them with beginner German skills and current global knowledge about a broad range of topics. By completing modules, participants collect points that lead to the GIMAGINE Award Certificate.

Find out more.

German Language Adventure

e-book aimed at learners from P7 to S2. If your school has taken part in the Goethe Institute’s German Adventure project, or even if it hasn’t, you will be find this interactive book an enjoyable way to develop German language skills while discovering more about the culture of the EU’s most populated country. 

Launch German Language Adventure ebook as a new page in your browser.

Tourism: My home town

Kirsten Herbst-Gray, a teacher at Langholm Academy in Dumfries and Galloway, has very kindly agreed to share resources on home town she has used with S3 German pupils. Some of these materials could be adapted to suit National 4/5 pupils.

The resources below can be adapted to feature pupils' own home towns.

Gwiadza Kopernika – The Star of Copernicus

From Education Scotland. Offers learners an L3 experience to develop a basic knowledge of Polish language and culture through film. 

Suitable for second level L2 in primary or L3 insert/stand-alone within secondary BGE.

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Spanish texts

Support pupils make progress across the levels in the BGE. Use texts on a common theme to deliver Added Value Unit at National 4. Use in conjunction with Bloom’s Taxonomy to help pupils develop Higher Order Thinking Skills.

TECLA

Published by the Consejería de Educación. Each online issue includes texts for 2nd level to Advanced Higher, reading comprehension tasks and recordings of written texts.

We have collated a series of resources to help support newly-arrived children from Ukraine in Scotland.

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