About Us

SCILT is the national centre for languages, supporting a wealth of language learning and diversity across Scotland’s communities.

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 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 generate language-related research, share information and facilitate knowledge exchange in Scotland and beyond.

Our work

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SCILT-CISS Annual Report for 2018-19
Our work over the period of our last funding cycle (November 2019)
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SCILT-CISS Strategic Plan 2019-20
Activities we aim to undertake over the next funding cycle (August 2019)
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Working together for languages
Evaluation of four SCILT collaborative language promotional initiatives (August 2019)
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External review
In-depth, external review of the organisation (August 2018)
Website

SIG Wider Engagement Network
Find out about SCILT's involvement in the SIG Wider Engagement Network

SCILT newsletter

Our newsletter is published twice a year and contains contributions from schools, local authorities and cultural organisations. 

If you would like to contribute to the next issue of the newsletter, we would love to hear from you. Read our newsletter guidelines to find out more.

Our priorities

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/Open University course ‘Learning to teach languages in primary school’ offers flexibility for teachers to undertake their learning at a time and place that best suits them and gives language beginners the confidence they require to embed the language into the curriculum. Email for further information.

The 1+2 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. Email for further information.

Promoting languages as a key skill for life and work

Three case studies and a series of information leaflets support teachers and schools to engage parents in the benefits of language learning.

A toolkit of activities that schools could implement to encourage young people to consider languages for their future careers, supported by a series of films, demonstrating the benefits of different languages in a variety of sectors.

In 2018 SCILT submitted a successful bid to secure Erasmus+ funding for a three year international project to facilitate the key languages foci of employer and industry engagement, and attitudinal change in wider society. Generation Global partners are the respective national centres for languages in Denmark and Norway..

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

Sharing key research and information

The weekly news bulletin and enquiries service share key information, news, statistics and research relating to language teaching, learning and trends.

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Language Trends Scotland is an annual statistical analysis of national qualifications. It provides a useful quantitative understanding of trends.

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Scottish Languages Review is our electronic journal for language practitioners in Scotland and is published twice each year.

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Learn more about the SCILT team and contact us

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