15 August 2025 (Alliance Française)
The new term is here, along with some new courses for those wishing to begin learning French or to improve conversational skills in the language.
Visit the website for more information! Or head along to the open day this Saturday, 16 August.
Read more...
Teachers of German in Scotland (TOGS) - 2025-26 dates for your diary
15 August 2025 (SCILT)
Calling all Germanists! Dates for this session’s meetings of the Teachers of German in Scotland (TOGS) network are below and registrations are now open on our eventbrite page.
- Wednesday 24 September (4.30-5.30pm)
- Thursday 15 January (4.30-5.30pm)
- Monday 27 April (4.30-5.30pm)
TOGS meetings are 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. Germanists in higher education and cultural institutions are also welcome to attend, so do feel free to come and join us!
If you have already signed up to our TOGS mailing list, please note that you will automatically receive the link prior to each meeting.
Moving Forward with Languages conferences 2025-26 – Registrations now open!
15 August 2025 (SCILT)
In partnership with university language departments across Scotland, SCILT is hosting two one-day language conferences for Higher and Advanced Higher language learners. Registrations are now open via Eventbrite for the first event, which will take place in person on Wednesday 10 September 2025 at the University of Strathclyde. The second conference will be held online on Wednesday 19 November 2025 and registrations for this event will open in October.
The Moving Forward with Languages conferences aim to support senior phase language learners by offering workshops in a variety of languages, providing tips and advice on language learning, and giving insight into studying languages at university.
Please note that, due to SCILT’s funding conditions and the physical capacity restrictions of the in-person conference day, attendance at the September event is open to state schools only. Independent schools will be able to register for the online conference day in November.
15 August 2025 (SCILT)
SCILT’s 2025-26 menu of professional learning workshops for groups launches today!
Free to book for groups of primary or secondary teachers working in local authority schools. Sessions are designed and facilitated by our friendly and experienced Professional Development Officers.
Select a workshop from the menu below, or request a bespoke input tailored to your audience – the choice is yours. Choose your workshop theme(s), pick your dates and submit your workshop request. We’ll confirm arrangements with you promptly.
These workshops offer a chance for groups of colleagues to dive into professional learning that explores engaging language pedagogies and examples of current practice.
Requests from professional learning leads in schools, clusters, local authorities and SCIS welcomed all year round…starting now!
Primary
- Developing a multilingual ethos in your primary school
- First steps in teaching primary languages
- Next steps in teaching primary languages
- Assessment as learning in primary languages
- Getting outdoors with primary languages
Secondary
- Teaching Sprints – Small change, big impact
- Developing a multilingual and multicultural ethos
- BYOW: Build Your Own Workshop!
- The Big Question
For workshop descriptors, and to book one or more session for the group of teachers that you support, find the link the professional learning request form below.
Read more...
Open Access workshops for primary educators - bookings now open
15 August 2025 (SCILT)
A series of four online workshops for in- and pre-service primary teachers with each workshop focuses on a different aspect of pedagogy.
Our experienced Professional Development Officers and enthusiastic invited speakers support you to develop practice related to the home and taught languages in your context.
Informed by the latest guidance and examples of current practice.
The online workshops will be hosted on MS Teams and will not be recorded.
Registrations for all workshops are open now via the links above. Please also see attached flyer which can be shared with your networks.
Cultural Japanese Events - Edinburgh and Glasgow
14 August 2025 (Japan Foundation)
The Japan Foundation would like to highlight the following upcoming events relating to Japan and its culture. Follow the relevant link for more information and registration:
- The Fringe Japan - Ikebana: The art of Japanese flower arrangement (20 August, 11:00 - 12:30, Edinburgh)
- The Fringe Japan - The Way of Kimono (20 August, 12:30-13:30, Edinburgh)
- The Fringe Japan - Performers Showcase (20 August, 13:30 - 15:30, Edinburgh)
- The Fringe Japan - Sumo Demonstration (20 August, 15:30 - 16:30, Edinburgh)
- Art exhibition: Bird, Flowers, Moon, Kimono (15 August to 19 September, Glasgow)
14 August 2025 (UCL)
The British Academy’s look at this year’s A-Level results gives a mixed message for the humanities. Economics and Politics are still drawing in more students, but many other SHAPE subjects are slipping back. Modern Languages share some of these challenges, but hidden in the figures are reasons to be optimistic.
Spanish entries are up by 1.1%, and “Other Modern Languages” – from Arabic and Mandarin to Italian and Polish – have seen a bigger rise of 3.8%. Behind those numbers is a clear trend that points to a growing curiosity about a wider range of global languages, and to the way the UK’s own diversity is influencing what students choose to study.
Read more...
14 August 2025 (Goethe-Institut)
The renowned author and illustrator, Viviane Schwarz, is coming to primary schools alongside the Goethe-Institut and will run an exciting programme for your pupils. Viviane Schwarz's visit and the supporting teaching materials are designed to inspire students to learn German and help your school to incorporate German into the language curriculum. Are you interested in this free offer? Then apply for a visit with your school!
Visits take place 15-19 September.
Visit the Goethe-Institut website for full details. Note the application deadline has been extended to 22 August!
Read more...
12 August 2025 (TES)
This month’s annual results day data from the Scottish Qualifications Authority includes the number of entries for every subject, but also equivalent figures for every year going back to 2019.
That year marked the end of the final full school year before the Covid pandemic, so what has changed in terms of the numbers of entries since? Which subjects have rapidly gained students and which have seen numbers drop?
[..] The decline in the uptake of languages continues, with, for example, falling entries in Higher French (a 31.5 per cent drop since 2019) and German (23.6 per cent) only marginally offset by a 3.8 per cent rise in Higher Spanish entries between 2019 and 2025.
(Note - subscription may be required to access full article).
Read more...
12 August 2025 (Goethe-Institut)
Get ready for an exhilarating new challenge in the realm of sustainability research and journalism! Building on the success of last year’s debating competition, the Goethe-Institut is thrilled to launch a dynamic new hybrid format that merges hands-on investigative work with innovative digital storytelling in German.
Each team of four students will act as German-speaking researchers, exploring one sustainability topic relevant to their school community. As valuable preparation for the Individual Research Project (IRP), students will investigate how the issue is addressed locally, analyse and summarise their findings, propose improvements, and present their findings in a creative digital format. The project concludes with a live online press conference, where teams will present and discuss their work with other participants, applying their German in a real-world context.
Open to pupils Year 11 to 12 (England & Wales) or Year 12 to13 (Northern Ireland) or S4-S5 (Scotland).
Visit the Goethe-Institut website for full details and to apply. Application deadline: 5 October 2025.
Read more...
12 August 2025 (Consejería de Educación)
The Education Office of Spain in the United Kingdom and Ireland, in collaboration with the Association of Spanish Language Schools in Andalusia, is pleased to offer a series of online workshops for Spanish teachers based in the UK and Ireland. These sessions will address various aspects of Spanish language teaching.
Dates:
- 23, 30 Sept and 7 Oct: 2 sessions (16:30–18:30)
- 14 Oct: 3 sessions (16:30–19:30)
Certified individually; open weekly registration.
Visit the website for more information and regististration.
Read more...
12 August 2025 (SCILT)
Scottish schools can now register interest in the next block of the Mandarin Virtual Exchange Teacher programme, beginning w/c Monday 27 October until w/c Monday 15 December. Over eight weeks, classes will be allocated a pair of student teachers who will work with their class to delivery weekly live streamed Mandarin lessons. The project provides classes for beginner level 1, 2, & 3. The courses are suitable as L3 provision for BGE pupils in P5-7, as well as being suitable for Secondary BGE learners.
There will be an online information meeting (with a choice of two dates in September), to give an overview of the course and what is required of Scottish class teachers. Attendance at an information meeting is a requirement to participate in the programme, with the exception of teachers who have previously attended an information session and/or taken part in the VET programme within the last year. Teachers who are new to the programme are required to attend the meeting, even if the school has taken part previously.
Interested teachers should fill out the registration form. More information about the programme can be found on the SCILT website, and any questions can be directed to scilt-chinese@strath.ac.uk.
Read more...
Teacher survey on proposed Society for French Studies prize
12 August 2025 (Society for French Studies)
The Society for French Studies is considering launching a new prize aimed at Year 12/S6 learners studying French. The goal is to support and celebrate learner engagement with French studies while also helping teachers prepare learners for the A-Level Independent Research Project or equivalent coursework such as the AH Portfolio or Scottish Baccalaureate in Languages Interdisciplinary Project.
In planning this competition, the Society has developed a survey for secondary teachers in order to gather opinions and ideas and would be grateful for your views. The insights obtained through the survey will help ensure this initiative is useful, manageable, and engaging for both teachers and learners. It will also help shape key aspects such as competition format, timing, and resources. Responses to the survey will be used solely for research and planning purposes.
Access the survey via this link
12 August 2025 (SCILT)
The Scottish Languages Review (SLR) is the electronic journal for language practitioners in Scotland.
The SLR publishes articles written by researchers, practitioners and students on the themes of multilingualism and languages education. We invite contributors to share practice, research and insights and each issue is compiled with a diverse range of contributors and readers in mind, national and international.
We aim to publish the SLR once or twice a year, so contributions can be accepted at any time.
If you have a paper or an idea you would like to be considered for the next issue, visit the SLR webpage or see the attached flyer to express interest and for submission guidelines.
Read more...
12 August 2025 (Institut français)
The Institut français d’Ecosse offers online courses to support French language teachers in primary and secondary schools across Scotland.
The objective of the training is to help you top up your French and/or boost your confidence with language, pronunciation tips and culture around the theme of Francophonie.
All 4 sessions planned this term will be online, on Thursdays from 4pm to 5.30pm.
The next sessions will be on:
- 25 September, on the theme of “Back to school”
- 30 October, on the theme of “Halloween”
- 27 November, on the theme of “Festive season”
The Institut français d’Ecosse organises a free online training programme for primary school teachers of French with no or very basic knowledge of French to develop their language skills.
This programme is intended to help teachers develop their language skills in order to feel more confident in the classroom. Please note that the course will not cover the pedagogy of teaching French and will not provide any teaching materials or techniques.
Interested? Please register by sending an email to Charlotte HYVERNAUD, Attachée de coopération pour le français
education.ifecosse@institut-francais.org.uk
Please give you surname/first name/position/school name and address/level of French/level taught (P1, P2, P3, etc.).
Visit the Institut français website for more information about their offerings and support for language teachers and learners.
Read more...
11 August 2025 (BBC)
Some acts at the Edinburgh Festivals are guaranteed to stop the traffic.
But it's a practicality for Mary and Danielle, who as well as negotiating the city cobbles in sky high heels, are also deaf.
Their show Deaffy Drag Queens: Glitter, Gags and GSV is one of 70 at this year's Edinburgh Deaf Festival, which got under way at the weekend.
At 64, Mary is ready to hang up her heels, but not before she trains her successor, 18-year-old Danielle.
[..] Mary says she's be delighted to pass the baton (or perhaps the sceptre) to Danielle since it would also continue her passion for GSV – gay sign variant.
A flamboyant version of British Sign Language, developed by the deaf LGBT community, Mary first learned it when she moved from Ireland in the 1980s and joined the London-based Brothers and Sisters Club.
The language allowed deaf, gay people to communicate discreetly.
Read more...
8 August 2025 (TES)
This week’s National 5 results in Scotland - broadly comparable to GCSEs in England, Northern Ireland and Wales - show more needs to be done to retain learners at key transition points.
The British Council’s Language Trends research provides a UK-wide picture with corresponding reports for each nation, and it shows that Scotland is not immune to decreasing appetite for language learning.
While four in 10 young people in England take a modern language for GCSE, the comparable figure for National 5 in Scotland is thought to be smaller, given that out of 333,995 National 5 entries in total for 2025, 14,885 were in French, German, Italian and Spanish, compared with more than 50,000 entries for English (taken by almost all of the age 15-16 cohort).
Scotland is, in fact, a linguistic powerhouse, with more than one in every 20 learners having English as an additional language and all learners having had access to a rich language learning experience through the well-conceived “1+2” approach to modern languages during the Broad General Education - a policy that means Scottish pupils should begin studying two languages in primary school, in addition to their language of instruction.
Yet entries for National 5 qualifications in the big three of French, German and Spanish have collectively declined over the past 10 years - somewhat surprising, given the growing language capital of Scotland’s learners.
(Note - subscription required to access full article).
Read more...
7 August 2025 (The Herald)
A new study will seek to establish whether learning Gaelic gives school leavers an advantage in their careers.
Researchers at the University of the West of Scotland will examine the impact of Gaelic Medium Education (GME), which is currently available in 17 out of 32 Scottish local authorities.
(Note - subscription required to access full article).
Read more...
6 August 2025 (TES)
The annual Scottish Qualifications Authority results day publications have released a staggering amount of data that teachers and school leaders can pore over.
Much of it we have already highlighted yesterday, but today we look at the likelihood of achieving an A grade at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher.
We compared all subjects with 1,000 or more entries in 2025 SQA National 5 and Higher courses, and all subjects with 500 or more entries in Advanced Higher courses.
The data reveals big disparities. For example, at Higher there are only two subjects in which more than half of entries result in an A: Spanish (51.8 per cent) and French (51.4 per cent).
In contrast, only 10.9 per cent of health and food technology entries at Higher result in an A grade - meaning that the likelihood of an A among the French and Spanish cohorts is almost five times higher.
(Note - subscription required to access full article).
Read more...
5 August 2025 (The Conversation)
Different countries and regions use various models for integrating immigrant students who need to learn or improve the language of schooling.
In Québec, one model for young people is the classe d’accueil, which could be translated in English as welcoming class or reception class.
It is part of the linguistic, school and social integration program of the Ministry of Education of Québec. According to provincial documents, the welcoming class is for those “in need of support” to improve their language skills.
It can be used from preschool to high school in the province, but it is notably used in secondary schools and in regions where the number of students learning the language of schooling is high, such as Montréal.
Students who do not speak French well enough to be placed in the mainstream class are placed in the welcoming class for French learning. Students in high school study mainly French, but also math, arts and physical education. This happens separately from students attending the mainstream class.
Read more...
1 August 2025 (Japan Foundation)
New films now available to stream from JFF Theatre! Visit the website to learn more about the available titles and create your account to stream the movies and documentaries for free.
Read more...
1 August 2025 (SCILT/University of Strathclyde)
The Department of Humanities at the University of Strathclyde, West of Scotland BSL and SCILT are delighted to announce a new British Sign Language Microcredentials course commencing September 2025.
The 10-week online British Sign Language (BSL) for Beginners and Deaf Awareness course is a dynamic and welcoming programme designed to help you build confidence in communicating using BSL while deepening your understanding of Deaf culture. Whether you're learning for personal interest, professional development, or to connect more meaningfully with the Deaf community, this course is the perfect place to start. No prior knowledge of BSL required.
For more information see the video or visit the University of Strathclyde website and enrol now.
Read more...
31 July 2025 (Higher Education Policy Institute - HEPI)
A new report from the Higher Education Policy Institute, The Languages Crisis: Arresting decline by Megan Bowler (HEPI Report 192), sponsored by Duolingo, shows a big drop in formal language learning.
- More A-Levels in PE than in French, German & Classical Languages combined.
- Language teacher recruitment is at just 43% of the official target.
- Undergraduate enrolments in ‘Language & Area Studies’ down 20% in 5 years.
Read more...
4 July 2025 (Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce)
A group of HND Games Design students at North East Scotland College (NESCol) have teamed up with pupils from Kemnay Academy to create a virtual reality (VR) game designed to help users learn sign language.
The concept for the game originated last year, when four S2 pupils from Kemnay Academy developed the idea as part of a school project. Through a partnership between the school and the College, the pupils were able to share their vision with a team of HND Games Design students who brought the idea to life.
Read more...
Open online language events for S2/S3 and S4/S5 pupils
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