Language Ambassadors
25 October 2018 (Press and Journal)
Gaelic could add more than £82 million per year to tourism, Visit Scotland revealed yesterday.
Cabinet secretary for culture, tourism and external affairs, Fiona Hyslop officially launched The Gaelic Tourism Strategy for Scotland 2018-2023 at The Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburgh alongside Lord Thurso, chairman of VisitScotland and Shona Niclllinnein, chief executive of Bòrd na Gàidhlig.
The five-year plan is aimed at boosting the use of Gaelic in the tourism industry and using the language as a “unique selling point” to market to visitors.
The strategy will focus on using the language in everyday use with tourists, and developing the major benefits to businesses that come from the culture and arts associated with Gaeldom.
It will see the introduction of Gaelic ambassadors in every area of Scotland, and “Gaelic spoken here” badges for businesses, in a bid to promote the language to visitors.
Read more...
28 June 2018 (CIOL)
Set in the culturally diverse Crumpsall/Cheetham Hill area of Manchester, Abraham Moss Community School is one of very few schools in northwest England to operate a formal programme that identifies bilingual pupils and offers them basic training in the skills required to act as language mediators within the school environment.
More that 60 languages are spoken at Abraham Moss, which began the programme five years ago with a group of just eight pupils in Key Stage 4 (ages 14-16). Since then it has blossomed into an impressive ‘language army’ – nearly 40-strong – of ‘young interpreters’ aged 12-16, who cover languages as diverse as Arabic, Chinese, Hungarian, Italian, Pashtun, Polish, Spanish, Turkish and Urdu.
Read more...
Coming soon: SCILT Associates
23 June 2017 (SCILT)
New for session 2017/18, SCILT is compiling a database of partners and stakeholders, including teachers from all sectors, who wish to become associate members of the SCILT team.
Throughout the year, we may contact our associates if we are planning either a project or piece of work where we require additional capacity, expertise or advice.
If you think you might like to work more closely with the team and help us enlarge the 'SCILT family', then please keep your eye on the bulletin at the start of the new session when we will be able to give further information and sign up details.
13 June 2017 (Daily Post)
More school students across North Wales will be able to take part in a successful Modern Languages Mentoring programme thanks to a further Welsh Government investment of £140,000 for the third year of the project.
Launched in 2015, the Modern Foreign Languages Student Mentoring project places undergraduates from Bangor, Aberystwyth, Cardiff and Swansea universities into local schools to mentor pupils and encourage them to consider modern foreign languages when choosing their GCSE options.
The mentoring project is part of the Welsh Government’s Global Futures plan, which aims to improve and promote the take-up of modern foreign languages in schools in Wales.
Over the last two years the mentoring scheme has had a significant impact on partner schools, who have reported an increase in pupils choosing languages at GCSE as well as improved motivation to continue learning languages and to consider university.
The Welsh Government is now extending the project to include a new digital platform to increase its reach to schools and pupils who have not been able to engage with the project due to geographical location.
Read more...
21 February 2017 (UK-German Connection)
UK-German Connection offers a number of opportunities for schools in the UK and Germany to develop and maintain partnerships. In their latest Spring 2017 newsletter they highlight the following:
- With the changing landscape of international relations, we want to make sure we're still offering you the right kind of support to keep your connections with Germany alive.We're currently reviewing the opportunities and services we offer and would like to invite you to tell us what you need now for your schools and pupils. Complete the short survey.
- Deadline reminder of 1 March for applications for the following summer courses in Germany:
For upcoming deadlines for the rest of the school year, download our calendar of opportunities for 2016-17.
For further information about UK-German Connection and their activities, visit their website.
Read more...
Posted in:
Primary,
S1-S3,
Senior Phase,
German,
CPD,
Cross-Sector Working,
Foreign Language Assistants,
Funding,
Immersion,
Language Ambassadors,
Language Learning,
Language Teaching,
Promoting Languages,
Study Abroad,
Teacher Education,
News from language & education organisations
8 February 2017 (British Council)
Modern Language Assistants bring authentic language and culture to the classroom. In a recent survey of host schools, Heads of Languages reported improved exam results – raising standards in under-performing students and motivating talented students to achieve more. The support of an Assistant is particularly valuable with the on-going focus on languages in the 1+2 initiative, and can particularly help to complement the development of language teaching in primary schools.
The British Council Language Assistants programme draws on over 100 years of experience with overseas education authorities to provide a trusted, high quality service.
Applications are now open! For more information visit the
British Council website.
In 2016 the Erasmus+ UK National Agency awarded nearly €1.2m+ to Scotland’s schools and colleges for Key Action 2 (KA2) Strategic Partnerships, and 70% of Scottish applications for school-only partnerships were successful. The next Erasmus+ funding deadline is 29 March. If you are planning to apply, access our tailored guidance for
school-only applications and
school education applications;
pre-recorded videos; and
telephone support sessions.
Read more...
Posted in:
Primary,
S1-S3,
Senior Phase,
Chinese,
French,
German,
Italian,
Spanish,
Scotland,
Foreign Language Assistants,
Funding,
Language Ambassadors,
Language Learning,
Language Teaching,
Promoting Languages,
News from language & education organisations
26 January 2017 (UK-German Connection)
A reminder that the next deadline for grants for UK-German activities is 31 January 2017.
For an 'at a glance' overview of our grants and details about each programme, please visit the UK-German Connection website.
Read more...
Posted in:
Primary,
S1-S3,
Senior Phase,
German,
CPD,
Cross-Curricular Working,
Funding,
Language Ambassadors,
Language Learning,
Language Teaching,
Partnership Working,
Promoting Languages,
Study Abroad,
Teacher Education,
News from language & education organisations
9 November 2016 (UK-German Connection)
The latest funded opportunities from UK-German Connection can be found on their website via the appropriate links below:
For more information about UK-German Connection and their full range of activities, visit their website.
Read more...
Posted in:
Primary,
S1-S3,
Senior Phase,
German,
Funding,
Language Ambassadors,
Language Learning,
Language Teaching,
Partnership Working,
Promoting Languages,
News from language & education organisations
6 October 2016 (University of Strathclyde)
Now in its 5th year, the Language Ambassadors Programme is offering visits to Secondary or Primary schools (and other formats too). As Language Ambassadors we will talk about our varied experiences as language learners and do our best to encourage your pupils to follow in our footsteps…
Motivation, experiences abroad, transition to First year at university, job prospects, university courses… This is what we can tell them about.
Boost your young learners’ motivation, invite us in!
For more information see the Language Ambassadors website and to organise a visit, simply contact: Cédric Moreau, c.moreau@strath.ac.uk.
Read more...
Posted in:
Primary,
S1-S3,
Senior Phase,
HE,
All Languages,
Scotland,
Language Ambassadors,
Language Learning,
Language Learning - Benefits,
Language Learning for Work,
Promoting Languages,
News from language & education organisations
21 September 2016 (UK-German Connection)
Applications for the UK-German Connection's FLA/ELA Ambassador network 2016-17 are now open.
The FLA/ELA Ambassadors are a network of language assistants who are working in schools in the UK and Germany. They run small projects, activities, events or clubs in order to inspire and motivate young people in their schools for the language and culture of the other country.
FLA/ELA Ambassadors run at least one project within their school or in conjunction with other schools in the area. The project is bilateral, run either with a partner Ambassador from the other country, or with an existing partner school. The aims are to enable young people to have direct, meaningful contact with young people in the other country and to make lessons come to life through active involvement in a UK-German partnership.
To find out more about the scheme and previous Ambassador projects which have taken place, visit the UK-German Connection website and apply by 14 October 2016.
Read more...
3 June 2016 (UK-German Connection)
Alex and Ben, our UK-German bears, are preparing for their travels again and can't wait to find out who they'll visit next! We can match you up with a German partner school to work with on this fun, interactive three-week project for primary children, which helps them learn about each other's language and culture.
Find out more about the project and available hosting dates on the UK-German Bears website.
UK-German Connection offers a variety of funded activities including professional development opportunities for teachers to visit Germany, the chance to host a German teacher at your school, as well as a Youth Ambassadors programme for young people interested in German language and culture. See the calendar of opportunities available on the UK-German Connection website for full details.
Read more...
Posted in:
Primary,
S1-S3,
Senior Phase,
German,
CPD,
Funding,
Language Ambassadors,
Language Learning,
Language Teaching,
Promoting Languages,
Study Abroad,
Teacher Education,
News from language & education organisations
22 December 2015 (University of Aberdeen)
Students from the University of Aberdeen have been helping to inspire the next generation of language learners in Aberdeen city and shire.
They have visited schools across the region as part of a scheme run in conjunction with SCILT, Scotland's National Centre for Languages, which aims to encourage school pupils to continue learning other languages.
Read more...
3 November 2011 (UK-German Connection)
The new cohort of UK-German Youth Ambassadors is now up and running, and this year there are two Youth Ambassadors in Scotland!
At the introductory seminar in London the ambassadors planned a range of creative projects which aim to create contact and dialogue between young people from both countries and enthuse pupils and their local communities for German and British culture. We are really looking forward to seeing these projects develop!
Find out more about this year's Youth Ambassadors from their profiles.
Contact UK-German Connection if you would like to be involved in their local projects.
Read more...
21 October 2015 (University of Strathclyde)
Boost your pupils' interest in languages by organising a visit to your school as part of the University of Strathclyde’s Language Ambassadors Programme.
Our ambassadors will come to your school and talk about their own experiences of studying languages at university, the joys and challenges they faced living and working abroad during their intercalary year, their motivations for choosing to study languages and their hopes for the future.
The programme has been growing from strength to strength since starting five years ago, now working with both Secondary and Primary schools across the west of Scotland, so don’t be left behind… Join in and organise a visit this year!
For more information see the website and if you would like to set up a visit simply e-mail: c.moreau@strath.ac.uk.
Read more...
Appeal for Schools to take part in The Scots Language Ambassador scheme
21 August 2015 (Education Scotland)
Education Scotland’s Scots Language Coordinators Katrina Lucas and Simon Hall are looking for more schools who may be interested in taking part in a new scheme to promote the use of Scots Language in schools. The Scots Language Ambassador scheme, which launched in Edinburgh during Book Week on 24
th November 2014, has so far attracted 40 confident Scots speakers from different walks of life from all over Scotland, who have volunteered their time to work in partnership with schools to promote the use of Scots and foster a love of the language. If any schools would like to find out more or to request a partnership with an Ambassador, please contact
Simon Hall and
Katrina Lucas at Education Scotland.
22 January 2015 (Education Scotland)
Education Scotland’s Scots Language Coordinators Katrina Lucas and Simon Hall are looking for more schools who may be interested in taking part in a new scheme to promote the use of Scots Language in schools.
Read more...
6 December 2014 (UK-German Connection)
Read about the exciting projects the new UK-German Youth Ambassadors have just begun in schools.
Read more...
26 November 2014 (The Herald)
A scheme to promote and encourage the use of Scots language within schools has been launched.
The ambassador scheme, unveiled at the Scottish Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh, will see Scots speakers from all walks of life become champions of the language.
The individuals will be paired with schools and work with them for three years to foster a love of the Scots language in pupils.
Read more...
21 November 2014 (SCILT)
Let your pupils see that languages are valuable in the world of work by visiting the 'Job Profiles' section of the SCILT website. People from a range of sectors - including sport, marketing, technology and many more - explain how language learning has influenced their professional lives.
NEW to the job profiles section:
- Chris Cusack explains how languages have helped him in his music career
- Martin Peterson of Shell shares his view of languages in the world of business
See these and other job profiles on our website now.
Read more...
18 November 2014 (Project Trust / SCILT)
Project Trust and SCILT have been developing ways for the two organisations to support each other's work, not least through the Language Linking, Global Thinking pilot programme.
In this blogpost, read how volunteering overseas inspires young people to engage with language learning, and how in turn those young people can motivate pupils to learn languages in UK schools.
Read more...
6 November 2014 (SCILT)
SCILT’s Business Language Champions programme helps schools and businesses to build exciting and sustainable partnerships that equip young people with the international communication and employability skills they need for their future careers.
This case study shows how a partnership between Kilwinning Academy and the Scottish Football Association demonstrated to pupils that languages are necessary in all walks of life. S3 learners visited the Scottish Football Museum and took part in a range of activities which highlighted the relevance of learning French.
Read more...
6 November 2014 (NUS Scotland)
NUS Scotland are looking to work with schools around Scotland between 17th -21st of November to celebrate and promote International Education Week. We will also be able to offer further sessions up to March as needed. The training is absolutely free as it is funded by the Scottish Government and we are ideally looking for S3-S6 cohorts although this is flexible with a training session of roughly 1 hour.
This is an innovative module on study abroad opportunities which was first launched on a pilot basis last year. Funded again by the Scottish Government as part of the Investing in Scotland’s Global Future project, the training module is now ready to be delivered by a Scotland Goes Global Ambassador at your school absolutely free of charge.
Scotland Goes Global Ambassadors are students who have studied abroad as part of their course. This scheme is a pilot project of paid students ambassadors designed to go out to schools, colleges and universities and deliver training on study abroad opportunities to students.
Schools Module
The schools module works from the basis of young people’s experience of global experiences that they might have locally and sets these in the context of their daily lives. It then takes them on a journey to understand why they should consider going global, either locally by opening up their minds to people in their community who might be from other cultures or online opportunities, or how they might go about trying to set themselves apart from the crowd by studying abroad as part of their future college or university choices.
Book a Global Ambassador or download the materials
Booking an Ambassador to come to your school couldn’t be easier. Complete the request form on the Scotland Goes Global website.
For more information on any aspect of our work, please do not hesitate to contact us by emailing scotlandgoesglobal@nus-scotland.org.uk or by phoning Helen O’Shea on 07515 575375 or Kate Samuels on 07974305692.
Read more...
23 October 2014 (University of Strathclyde)
This year again we are offering to visit schools (Secondary or Primary) to talk about our varied experiences as language learners and try to enthuse pupils to follow in our footsteps.
Motivation, experiences abroad, transition to first year at university, job prospects, university courses…this is what we can tell you about.
Boost your young learners’ motivation, invite us in!
For more information visit the Language Ambassadors Programme webpage and to organise a visit contact:
Cédric Moreau, c.moreau@strath.ac.uk.
Read more...
27 August 2014 (The Guardian)
Nominations are now open for the second Guardian Public Language Champion Award. We’re on the hunt for someone in the public eye who flies the flag for languages in the UK. Last year, Arsene Wenger, Arsenal football club manager, was crowned the inaugural champion.
Read more...
13 May 2014 (UK-German Connection)
Do you have pupils who are enthusiastic about the German language and culture, and want to share their experiences and provide authentic cultural input for younger pupils? The UK-German Youth Ambassadors are a network of young people in the UK and Germany who have a genuine interest in the other country and are keen to help promote UK-German activities and encourage other young people to get involved. They do this through engaging with younger pupils in their own school and local area, by planning and running their own projects and activities.
Membership of the network is free and UK-German Connection covers the costs for the twice-yearly meetings. The school's support for their Youth Ambassador is essential.
We welcome applications from young people aged between 15 and 19 who are still in school and who are open-minded, reliable and excellent communicators.
Please visit our website for further details about the Youth Ambassadors network, the programme framework and the application procedure. The application deadline is 30 June 2014 (please note the earlier deadline this year) and the first meeting will take place in London in October.
Read more...
British Council English Language Assistant ambassadors promoting language learning in Scottish schools
6 March 2014 (British Council)
Calling all schools in and around Aberdeen, Glasgow, North Lanarkshire and Stirling! Are you looking for someone to come and speak to your pupils about the importance of language learning and the opportunities it can open up?
We have a group of former English Language Assistants just back from their year abroad and currently in their final year of studying languages at university who are interested in engaging with schools and inspiring pupils to continue with language learning. They could come and speak to a class, at a languages event within school or even engage with parents.
If you are interested please contact Rosanne Hirst on
rosanne.hirst@britishcouncil.org. Support is subject to availability.
7 January 2014 (SCILT/University of Strathclyde)
Are you planning a languages event in your school? Do you need some help promoting language learning to your students? Why not arrange a visit from one of the student Languages Ambassadors from Strathclyde University's award-winning programme?
The Languages Ambassadors Programme is designed to provide support to schools by sending teams of two or three students to deliver a range of activities such as:
- A general presentation by students about their experiences as language learners
- Practical workshops or class-based activities focussing on fun language development
- Q&A sessions about the benefits of studying a foreign language
As role models the Ambassadors will share their experiences and their successes, and they will also be honest about the challenges they have faced studying a foreign language.
Visit the Languages Ambassadors webpage to find out more and, if you would like to participate in the programme, please contact Cedric Moreau, Senior Language Teaching Fellow:
cedric.moreau@strath.ac.uk
Read more...
30 August 2013 (UK-German Connection)
If you have a language assistant from Germany in your school this year, then do encourage them to apply to be an FLA Ambassador. They can run a project of their choice in school to enthuse and interest pupils in the German culture and language, and through a small project fund we offer financial support for projects. Deadline: 22 October.
Once they complete the necessary documentation this could 'double up' as their British Council project, and if successful, would be included in the national British Council/SCILT showcase event at the end of April/beginning of May next year.
Read more...
20 August 2013 (British Council)
International Education Week (IEW) is an opportunity to promote the importance of building an international dimension into the education of young people in the UK at primary and secondary levels. We know that familiarity with other cultures and modern foreign languages skills are an essential part of preparing young people to work in the increasingly globalised economy.
The British Council is an authoritative voice on language learning, through our English teaching around the world, and we bring an intercultural dimension to foreign language learning in the UK through sharing our experiences, providing research and data and bringing in examples of international best practice.
This year IEW will support a major policy shift in UK schools. From September 2014 primary schools in England will be required to teach a foreign language to pupils at Key Stage 2 (upper primary). There is also increasing policy support in other UK countries for language learning at primary level.
International Education Week will form the starting point of a longer-term campaign to promote language learning in UK schools, with events taking place throughout the academic year.
Read more...
Posted in:
Primary,
S1-S3,
Senior Phase,
All Languages,
Foreign Language Assistants,
International Education,
Language Ambassadors,
Language Learning,
Policy,
Promoting Languages,
News from language & education organisations
Strathclyde Language Ambassadors – Year 2
31 October 2012 (University of Strathclyde)
After last year's successful pilot, the School of Humanities at the University of Strathclyde are once again offering you the opportunity to have a team of Language Ambassadors visit your school. The aim of a visit by a team of Language Ambassadors is to raise awareness amongst young people of the opportunities on offer in Higher Education and in the world of work in general if you study languages. Through presenting their experiences of studying languages and living abroad we hope that our young ambassadors' enthusiasm will rub off on your pupils and influence their choices when thinking about their pathways.
The recruitment for the Ambassadors scheme has been very successful this year with a pool of nearly 80 students interested in taking part. A webpage for the Language Ambassadors scheme will be launched in the coming days and teams will be ready to travel from early November. In the meantime, if you are interested in setting up a visit to your school or want more information about what we offer, do not hesitate to contact Cédric Moreau.
25 October 2012 (Consejería de Educación)
Ruta Quetzal BBVA is an “enlightening" and “scientific” journey of initiation in which culture and adventure come together. Thanks to this initiative, over the past 22 years nearly 8,000 young people from Europe, the Americas and countries such as Morocco, Equatorial Guinea, the Philippines and China have had the opportunity to discover the human, geographic and historical dimensions of other cultures. Successful participants will travel to Panama and different regions of Spain.
To learn more about the competition, eligibility and how to apply visit the Ruta Quetzal 2013 webpage.
Read more...