Parents

Resources to help parents and learners understand the importance of languages and enable parents to support their children in their language learning

For parents

Parents have the greatest influence on the achievement of young people through supporting their learning in the home rather than supporting activities in the school. It is their support of learning within the home environment that makes the maximum difference to achievement.

- (Harris and Goodall, DCFS (2007))

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Languages in a nutshell

Explains how the 1+2 Approach will be put into practice and why learning languages is so important. Suggests ways parents can support their child’s language learning.

Produced by SCILT in partnership with The National Parent Forum of Scotland.

Click on image to download as PDF.

Supporting your child's language learning

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.

The Scottish Government's Report 'Language Learning in Scotland: A 1+2 Approach' was published in May 2012. Local authorities and schools are now implementing the recommendations of the report. The aim is to enable children and young people to study two languages in addition to their mother tongue in all Scottish primary and secondary schools.

You can find out how educational establishments are responding to the recommendations in 'Language Learning in Scotland: A 1 + 2 Approach' by viewing the case studies on our website:

Should you have further questions about the approach please visit our FAQ section for parents/carers.

Languages in Curriculum for Excellence provides an overview of language learning in Scotland. From Education Scotland.

Parents may be interested in the Experiences and Outcomes for Modern Languages, which detail what children should be able to achieve by the end of each curricular Level. Scroll down the page to reach Modern Languages.

Six passionate S6 language learners from across the country took part in SCILT’s first ever Digital Internship programme. From August 2018 - May 2019, they used social media to engage 16-25 year olds with positive messages about language learning and share their experiences of learning other languages.

Bilingual families come in all shapes and sizes, but one thing they all share is the desire to do the best for their children. This area of the SCILT website is aimed at both parents and practitioners. By working as partners, we are able to ensure better academic success and improved social and emotional development.

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Resources

Support your child's language learning with these useful websites.

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