Languages in a Nutshell

LANGUAGES IN A NUTSHELL The National Parent Forum of Scotland Guide to learning additional languages

Languages The 1+2 Approach to language learning is a Scottish Government policy that was launched in 2012 and is due to be implemented by 2021. It aims to enable children and young people to study two languages in addition to their mother tongue in all primary and secondary schools in Scotland up to the end of S3 – and beyond. This leaflet explains how the 1+2 Approach will be put into practice and why learning other languages is so important. It also suggests ways you can support your child’s language learning. If your child attends a Gaelic medium school The 1+2 Approach also applies if your child is at a Gaelic medium school, where s/he will be learning Gaelic through an immersion approach. That means that Gaelic will be the normal language of instruction in every classroom from P1 onwards. An additional language, such as French or Spanish, will be introduced no later than P5 in order to give your child the full entitlement to 1+2 languages. If your child has additional support needs Children with additional support needs are also entitled to learn additional languages. They will be given support and an appropriate curriculum to help them overcome any barriers to their learning. Parents may wish to discuss this with their school as part of the normal review procedures for support planning. Where can you find out more?

By 2021 every pupil will have the opportunity to learn an additional language from P1 onwards, and a second additional language no later than P5. Many schools have already started on the programme and have made good progress towards implementing it fully. The policy can be found at www.gov.scot/Publications/2012/05/3670 In schools For younger learners, the first additional language will be taught a little bit at a time. For example, teachers may use it for daily routines such as taking the register and ordering school lunches. This is already a normal part of life for many children in the early stages of primary school in Scotland. As learners progress through primary school, they are likely to take part in discrete lessons but the language will also be practised and consolidated by the class throughout the week and embedded into the wider curriculum. • In primary schools, the classroom teacher will normally teach the first additional language. In secondaries, the teacher will be a modern languages specialist. Modern language assistants, people from business, parents and other language speakers from the wider community may also work with teachers to help promote language learning. • The language your child starts in P1 will be any language that is also offered in the local secondary school. This is to ensure that learners have the chance to develop their skills in enough depth to allow them to go on to gain an SQA qualification or award. French, German, Italian, Spanish, Gaelic, Urdu, Mandarin and Cantonese can all be studied up to Higher level. • The second additional language can be one that fits the circumstances of your child’s school. This could be Gaelic, Scots, French, Mandarin, Polish, Hindi or British Sign Language and even Latin, among many others. Ideally, secondary schools will allow pupils to continue learning this language, and where possible as an option leading to an additional qualification or award in the senior phase.Personally, I think that languages are very important in education. Educating our young people in school to have an international outlook and to be comfortable operating in a foreign language will remain very important economically as we move forward. KAREN BETTS, CHIEF EXECUTIVE SCOTCH WHISKY ASSOCIATION

I wish I’d learned Spanish when I lived in Spain. It’s something I regret not doing. I can understand a fair amount, I’m just not comfortable speaking it. ANDY MURRAY I’m an internationalist. I’ve lived in France and Portugal and I’ve studied French and German. I love having these cultural associations. They make me stronger. JK ROWLING

Languages in the workplace

Languages have always been important in the hospitality and tourism industries, but they also give candidates a head start in many other jobs, from IT and business to charities and the armed forces. To discover how some companies in Scotland are using languages other than English every day, see the business case studies on the website of Scotland’s National Centre for Languages, www.scilt.org.uk/Business/tabid/1297/Default.aspx The 2017 CBI Education and Skills survey shows the growing importance of employing people with language skills. For more information see www.cbi.org.uk/insight-and-analysis/helping-the-uk-thrive • Young people in Scotland will be learning to read, listen, talk and write in different languages – all key skills for life and work. • Learning additional languages is a good career move. The Scottish economy needs a workforce with strong language abilities. It’s vital that young people leave school with the skills they’ll need for a successful future in a global society. • By 2020 it is forecast that in the UK there will be 15.6 million more highly qualified jobs, of which a huge percentage will require more than one language. • Three quarters of employers are looking for school and college-leavers with better language skills. • Critical thinking is a skill in demand. Language learners tend to be good at critical thinking and are open to new ideas and perspectives. The number of jobs where critical thinking matters has doubled since 2009. As well as being a fun and motivating experience, learning languages boosts brainpower… Studies have shown that learning a language can have many benefits. For example: • Children who engage in sustained language learning develop a better understanding of their mother tongue, which in turn has a positive effect on literacy. Learners are encouraged to see the links between languages and to recognise how languages work. • Learning additional languages helps to develop other key skills such as intercultural understanding, empathy, tolerance and appreciation of diversity. • Children from as young as three possess better critical thinking skills and score higher in maths and problem solving. • Learning a language can delay the symptoms of dementia by up to five years, as well as aid recovery after a stroke. …and is very good for business. Did you know that 104 different languages are spoken by young people in Scotland? Language skills are useful – even if you’re not completely fluent Why is language learning important? We live in a complex, interdependent world. We have to understand and appreciate different backgrounds and languages. If we have stronger skills in languages, it gives us a greater foundation on which we can build our aspirations to connect with and do business with other countries. JOHN SWINNEY, DEPUTY FIRST MINISTER

89% of people in Scotland believe learning an additional language from the age of five is important Showing a positive attitude to other languages and cultures will go a long way to keeping your child interested in learning languages. Here are some other ideas to try: • Ask your child to teach you what they’re learning in school • Encourage your child to have fun with languages – read comics and books in another language, look at interesting language websites, or learn a song in another language. • Challenge each other to find words in your first language that come from other languages. • Look for words that come from other languages used in advertising and packaging or in magazines. • Watch films and television shows in other languages with subtitles. • Learn the language alongside your child – there are lots of ways to learn a new language (or refresh one you learned in school) without digging out the old grammar books. • Discuss the benefits of language learning when your child is considering study or career options.

For more information about supporting your child, please visit www.scilt.org.uk/LearnersParents/Leaflets/ tabid/1875/Default.aspx If your child’s mother tongue is not English, the 1+2 Approach still applies. Being brought up in a bilingual or multilingual home reinforces all the benefits that language learning brings and you can help your child make the most of this opportunity. The more you use your home language with your family, for example, the more fluent your child will become. To learn more about raising a child with more than one language please visit www.bilingualism-matters.ppls.ed.ac.uk

Google it! In 1979, when Sergey Brin was five years old, his family left Moscow and emigrated to the United States. He went to school in Maryland where he learned to speak English, but his parents gave him more lessons at home, helping him to retain his Russian language skills. Today, as the co- founder of Google, Brin is the 13 th richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of $40 billion. Another famous computer scientist and internet entrepreneur wasn’t lucky enough to be bilingual, but he knows how important foreign languages are. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg (with $63 billion, currently the fifth richest person in the world) has been learning Mandarin for the past seven years. Why? “I want to be able to communicate with my Chinese in-laws and learn about Chinese culture, and because I like a challenge!” he says. How you can support your child’s language learning English? English?English? English? English is the mother tongue of just 6% of the world’s population, and 75% of people do not speak any English at all, so it’s a myth that “English is enough”. Having a grasp of other languages will enable your child to explore different cultures in more depth in order to become a true global citizen. In the UK, only 38% of people can hold a conversation in another language.

www.parentforumscotland.org enquiries@parentforumscotland.org

parentforumscotland

parentforumscot The ‘Big 3’ languages…

The languages most commonly taught in Scotland’s schools continue to be French, German and Spanish. These are the most widely spoken languages across Europe – but they are much more widespread than that: French is an official language in Belgium, Luxembourg, Haiti, Canada and more than 15 African countries. It is also the unofficial second language of Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Lebanon and Syria. Spanish is the official language of most countries in Central and South America. It is also the unofficial second language of parts of the USA (Texas, Arizona, California, Miami), parts of Morocco and the west coast of Africa. German is an official language in Austria, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, eastern France, northern Italy and eastern Belgium. It is also an important second language in many Eastern European countries and is the number one language required by UK businesses according to research by the British Council. …and Mandarin The Scottish Government is committed to increasing the number of young Scots able to speak Mandarin because: With a billion Mandarin speakers at home in China, and several million more speakers living in nearly every country in the world, Mandarin is one of the most widely spoken languages on earth. It's also one of the most popular languages on the internet. But remember

A language’s worth can never really be measured by its number of speakers. The cognitive benefits of bilingualism are the same no matter which languages you speak and learn. Knowledge of Scottish Gaelic, for example, will give you access to the rich history and culture of our nation. The same applies to other languages spoken widely in Scottish communities such as Urdu, Hindi, Polish, Cantonese or British Sign Language. Whatever language your child learns can open doors to careers in fields as diverse as business, music and the media, at home and abroad. All languages provide richness and opportunity to those who learn them. Top 10 languages for cultural, educational, diplomatic and security purposes This list comes for the British Council “Languages for the Future” report. French SpanishGerman ItalianMandarin Dutch ArabicPortugueseRussianJapanese If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart. NELSON MANDELA OCT 2018 Visit the SCILT website to find out more about the claims made in this leaflet http://bit.ly/SCILT_Parents