1. Introduction

In this unit by Bruce Eunson you will be exploring the educational benefits of using Scots language in the classroom, particularly for the development of learners’ literacy skills – which are a Responsibility for All teachers.

Specifically, you will focus on working with Scots on the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) 2^nd Level (Primary 5-7 classes). You will also investigate the benefits of making links between Scots and other areas of the curriculum. Even if you are currently working at different CfE levels, you will come across useful strategies and activities in the unit which can easily be transferred to and translated into your particular context.

Key learning points

• to learn about using Scots language in a primary classroom as a building block of Scots provision across all levels

• to write your own lesson plan for using Scots to support literacy development in your classroom

• to transfer insights from this unit into your own professional context, even if that is the secondary classroom

• to consider the expectations of teachers’ proficiency in Scots incorporating it in the classroom

• to build upon your existing knowledge and experience and further develop your classroom skills with a focus on Scots language

• to begin considering embedding Scots language in your classroom as a driver for inclusive education
  

2. Input

Activity 1

In this activity, engage with Unit 6, Food and Drink, and Unit 4, Dialect Diversity, of the Open University’s Scots language and culture course.

Undertake as many activities as you can in the units, taking notes on the aspects that are relevant to the key learning points listed for this unit's study and might be useful for teaching Scots in your own classroom. You may want to import your notes by pasting them into your learning log for future reference.

Learning log

Activity 2

In this activity you will begin to think about literacy development in different areas of the curriculum and how Scots language can support you in this. You will now watch an interdisciplinary lesson featuring Scots language.

The lesson was filmed in a Primary School in Shetland with a composite class of P4s to P7s. It is being taught by Bruce Eunson, Scots Language Co-ordinator, Education Scotland. Note that the video does not show the entire lesson taught on this occasion.

A

While watching the lesson it is important you make notes on the following questions:

1. Which different curriculum areas are covered in the lesson?

2. In what way do all activities of the lesson support pupils’ literacy development?

3. What role does the Scots language play during the lesson,

   • as the language of instruction and

   • as the language learners are working with in the different activities?

4. How would you sum up the teacher’s use of Scots and English?

Learning log

Compare your answer to our model answer (56.0 KB) .

B

Consider and respond to the lesson making notes on what you think worked well, and also what you would do differently with your class when teaching a similar lesson. Include the use of Scots as classroom language/language of instruction in your considerations.

Learning log

Activity 3

In this activity, you will begin to explore Scots language in your classroom as a driver for inclusive education. You will learn that there are strong links between embedding indigenous, non-dominant, languages in school education and supporting pupils' equality, diversity and inclusion through nurturing their sense of identity and by enabling the incorporation of their full linguistic repertoire as part of their education.

A

To provide some food for thought, have a look at an extract from the introduction to Benson and Kosonen's edited book publication Inclusive teaching and learning through the use of non-dominant languages and cultures (2013).

When reading, take a note of three aspects that stand out for you in this text.

"Despite the fact that most countries and indeed their societies
are multilingual, their educational systems tend to function in only one or two
languages, due in part to the long-standing fallacy that national unity is built
around a single language. Against this fallacy we would argue that using one
language and excluding many others actually creates divisions, inequalities and
inequities, because it means that hundreds of millions of people worldwide are
forced to learn – or teach – through a language in which they are not proficient.
Lack of proficiency in the language of instruction, when viewed from a
dominant and monolingual perspective, is generally seen as a deficiency, and
learners from non-dominant groups are thus perceived as deficient even before they
begin their school careers. It is common to hear that there is a “language barrier.”
Learners are not seen for what they already know and can do, which would be
consistent with constructivist theory and learner-centered approaches (e.g.
Vygotsky, 1978); instead they are identified by what they are missing. Ruiz (1984)
would call this a “language as problem” orientation. Gogolin (2002; see also
Bourdieu, 1991) gets to the root of this orientation by showing how a monolingual
habitus, or set of unquestioned assumptions concerning the desirability of a single
dominant language, governs a great deal of decision-making in education
worldwide. As a result, bi- or multilingualism is often rendered either invisible or
undesirable.

We can thus ask this question: Is the school designed for the learner, or is it
trying to impose on that learner a single dominant language, culture and way of
life? Further, if we adopt the complementary views that the process of education
can be liberated and liberating (e.g. Freire, 1970) and that a habitus can change as
the result of new experiences (e.g. Bourdieu, 1991), we must ask a follow-up
question: How can people’s eyes be opened to the alternatives?

• Imagine you had to make a short presentation to your colleagues at school about embedding Scots in your classroom to facilitate a multilingual education approach. To inform your presentation summarise Giannini's views in about 100 words on why multilingual education matters.

Activity 4

• Watch Jane's first video in which she shares insights from her practice of embedding Scots language in her teaching, and take a note of your three main take-aways from the video.
• Also consider in what way the insights Jane shares are important for your own practice and how they could shape your understanding of Scots as a driver for inclusive teaching and learning practice.

• In the video you observe A. telling his story The Windmill in Scots.

• Pay attention how she elecitis his story and encourages his use of Scots.

3. Tutorial

Activity 5

In this activity you will explore the connections between literacy development and Scots language in some more detail.

A

First of all, engage with the Education Scotland publication focused on the Scots language in the Curriculum for Excellence (2017). In particular, read sections 3 to 5 of the document and take some notes that are particularly relevant to your professional context and literacy development through using Scots language in the classroom.

Learning log

B

The ‘3-18 Literacy and English Review’ recognises that Scots can make a strong contribution to the development of children and young people’s literacy skills. This includes Scots as part of CfE, which can help motivate some learners and their families by showing them that any and all languages they may use at home are valued in school. Scots can encourage reluctant readers and writers to become involved as texts written in Scots can capture the imagination and speak to them in a familiar voice. Similarly, offering learners the opportunity to write in Scots broadens a learner’s idea of what their creative writing can look like.

All of these literacy development skills have been built into the Education Scotland resource Keen tae Ken yir Kin, which is a learning journey structured into eight stages, with six learning episodes provided and two further lessons to be developed by those involved.

Read through the first six learning episodes of ‘Keen tae Ken yir Kin’. Make note of ideas you have which you may then use in your own teaching practice, for example in lesson planning in the next activity, Activity 4.

Learning log

3.1. Lesson planning

Activity 6

To prepare for the tutorial, start preparing your own lesson by writing the activities and learning outcomes you plan to include – use the ideas for your own lesson based on what you studied thus far in this unit. You may wish to refer to the ‘3-18 Literacy and English Review’ as well as the Education Scotland resources.

Continue the lesson planning after you have discussed your ideas during the tutorial.

The CfE Experiences and Outcomes for Literacy and English should be referenced as often as possible.

Compare your answer to our  model answer (61.0 KB) .

Key aspects to consider when planning a Scots language lesson or activity

• You now need to consider what you need to do before you can use your lesson plan in the classroom. Identify what you will need, say, why, and plan which order you will structure the activities.

• Education Scotland have prepared word lists for the various regional varieties of Scots which you may wish to use as a guide to Scots vocabulary suitable for classrooms across the country depending on where your school is.

• Each lesson should be planned using the experiences and outcomes document. These describe the knowledge, skills, attributes and capabilities of the four capacities that young people are expected to develop.

• The CfE Benchmarks set out clear statements about what learners need to know and be able to do to achieve a level across all curriculum areas. Here are the Literacy and English Benchmarks.

• Learning in the broad general education may often span a number of curriculum areas (for example, a literacy project planned around science and technology might include outdoor learning experiences, research and the use of ICT). This is likely to be in the form of themed or project learning which provides children and young people opportunities to show how skills and knowledge can be applied in interesting contexts. The term often used for this is interdisciplinary learning and Scots language opens a wealth of possibilities for such lessons. Read the paper "Interdisciplinary Learning: ambitious learning for an increasingly complex world" for more on IDL best practice.

Don’t forget to share examples of the fantastic teaching and learning going on in your classrooms. Share on social media using  #OUScotsCPD, and tagging us in your posts @OUScotland, @OULanguages, @EducationScot.

4. Application

Activity 7

Using the notes and ideas that you began to gather during the tutorial, complete steps 1-5. 

1. Try out your planned activity/lesson with your learners. 

2. Gather some feedback from your learners about the lesson/activity as well, which you can bring to the course and share with your fellow students. 

3. Write an account of 250 to 300 words, highlighting the successes and challenges you encountered when applying what you have learned in terms of pedagogy and Scots language. It may be helpful to consider these questions: 

• What do you think worked particularly well in your classroom application? 

• Is there anything you would do differently if you were to repeat this lesson?  

• What are the next steps for your learners? 

• How will you provide further opportunities to practise and reinforce the use and awareness of the Scots language? 

4. Then post your reflective account in the Unit 2 application strand in the Course Forum. 

5. Read and comment constructively on an application task post by at least one other colleague. 

You maybe also want to keep a record of your reflective post in your Learning log or elsewhere you choose.

You may want to compare your post with our model answer (43.5 KB) .

Don’t forget to share examples of the fantastic teaching and learning going on in your classrooms. Share on social media using  #OUScotsCPD, and tagging us in your posts @OUScotland, @OULanguages, @EducationScot.

5. Community link

Shetland ForWirds: www.shetlanddialect.org.uk

We also suggest visiting the group ‘Wir Midder Tongue’ which is run by members of the Shetland public on Facebook.

www.shetlanddialect.org.uk

Shetland ForWirds was formed in 2004 after a conference focussing on Shetland dialect was held by the local Arts Trust. Support for, as well as passion for, the dialect of Scots language unique to the isles was such that this voluntary group was created and registered with OSCR as a charity.

For over 16 years now, the group has been active and responsive to the cause of fostering and promoting the use of written and spoken Shetland dialect. The central aim of the group is for the dialect to be a valued and essential element of Shetland’s distinctive heritage and culture. The group not only creates their own projects, but also raises money to fund partnership projects and commission new work.

Their website includes the entire Shetland Dictionary, complete with sound recordings of each word, as well as an extensive Learning section where education materials are available. These learning materials have all been printed and packaged by the group as resource boxes and given to every school in Shetland.

6. Research on teaching Scots

Activity 8

Throughout this course you are engaging with academic papers that explore aspects of Scots language and its use, especially in educational contexts. 

In this unit you will work with the following article:

Jo Arthur Shoba (2010) ‘Scottish classroom voices: a case study of teaching and learning Scots’, Language and Education, nr. 24, vol. 5, pp. 385-400

It provides an interesting summary of the role of Scots language in Scottish education and is an insightful study of a teacher’s attempts to raise the profile and use of the language in her classroom.

Although the article was published more than 10 years ago, many parallels can be seen to the situation teachers and pupils find themselves in today, when it comes to when and how Scots language features in the Scottish school education system. At the same time, you will be able to identify areas where things have evolved.

We are asking you to engage with Shoba’s well-written study, because we think this sets the tone and focus for your study of this CPD course well. Throughout the course, think back to reading Shoba’s article and reflect on developments and attitudes then and today.

1. Read Shoba’s text and highlight aspects you personally find interesting and important.

2. Now take notes to answer the following questions about the content of the article:

   • What does the quote from Macafee (2000, p. 5) that Scots is ‘not well-defined in the public mind’ indicate?

   • What have you learned about the use of the Scots language and people’s sense of identity through reading this article?

   • What does Shoba say about the use of Scots and Scottish English in the classroom?

   • How does Shoba explain that in Scottish education the appreciation of Scots language in the works of people like Robert Burns goes hand in hand with the rejection of the same language for day-to-day use in the classroom?

   • Why is the extension of pupils’ vocabulary 'seen as a ‘safe’, i.e. socially sanctioned, language learning activity’, and what effects, do teachers hope, can the intensified teaching of Scots words have in the development of the language?

   • How does Shoba answer the following question: ‘From prohibition to promotion: how far can we go’?

   • Which teaching strategies used by Mrs Reid in Shoba’s study would you like to try out in your own classroom and why? Take a note of the relevant examples for future use.

3. Finally, reflect on your own attitudes towards Scots being a central part of education in Scottish schools, and attitudes you have noticed in your professional context. What differences can you see between what Shoba describes and what you and your pupils are experiencing?

You may want to post your notes in your Learning log.

Now read our model answer (78.7 KB) .

7. Professional recognition

Activity 9

In this activity you will write your reflective blog post for the professional recognition element, which should be informed by your learning during the unit. You should write critically and in some depth about at least one of the following: 

• your understanding of/thinking about the theme of the unit in general, 

• a particular experience/incident arising either in the peer community of the course or in your workplace, 

• a specific piece of reading associated with the theme. 

You must also include in your reflection how the Scots language and culture activity which you tried out in your classroom could have had an impact on and been suitable for addressing pupils' Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in learning. 

Your post should: 

• be 300-500 words in length. 

• address the programme’s three Masters level criteria: 

In writing your post, you may choose to: 

• use one or more prompt from the bank of reflective prompts provided to frame your writing, 

• make connections between readings related to the theme and your practice,  

• explore the extent to which you agree/disagree with or were surprised/impressed by an aspect of the peer discussion in the course forum. 

The GTCS professional recognition task should be posted in your Reflective blog, as opposed to the course forum. Your blog posts will be read and commented on by your tutor. Your successful completion of the GTCS professional recognition element is based on your posts in the Reflective blog.

8. Further reading

Activity 10

Read this interesting research by James Costa, a sociolinguist who explores aspects of language diversity and the use of minority languages in Europe, including the standardisation of minority languages such as Scots. In this article, Costa asks ‘Can schools dispense with standard language?’. In his study Costa explores the use of Scots language for literacy development in a primary school context and discovers some ‘unintended consequences’ of the use of Scots. He also investigates the changes in the teacher-pupils relationship and lesson dynamics through the introduction of Scots into the classroom. Note that Costa wrote this publication before the launch of the Scots Language Policy in 2015.

When reading the article, focus in the introduction, take some notes on the following points as well as on aspects you found interesting and which you think are particularly relevant for your own work.

• How is a teacher’s authority in the classroom defined in connection with language use, and what impact has the use of Scots language on this authority?

• What does Costa say about legitimising Scots in educational contexts?

• What are the unintended consequences of using Scots in education, which Costa mentions in the article titles?

Other relevant literature

    • ‘Challenges in Scots language planning – and the way forward’ James K. Puchowski 

    • ‘On the Pros and Cons of Standardizing Scots: Notes from the North of a Small Island’ James Wilson Costa 

    • ‘Fitting in: why Polish immigrant children say “aye” to the Glasgow vibe’ Sadie Ryan 

9. References

Benson, C. and Kosonen, K. (2013) “Introduction: Inclusive teaching and learning through the use of non-dominant languages and cultures,” in Language Issues in Comparative Education. The Netherlands: Springer. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6209-218-1. (Accessed 28/07/2024)

Education Scotland (2015) ‘3-18 Literacy and English Review’ [Online] Available at 3-18 Literacy and English Review (education.gov.scot) (Accessed 28/07/2024)

Education Scotland (2017) ‘Benchmarks Literacy and English’, National Improvement Hub, June [Online] Available at https://education.gov.scot/improvement/Documents/LiteracyEnglishBenchmarks.pdf (Accessed 28/07/2024)

Education Scotland (2017) ‘Scots Language in Curriculum for Excellence’ [Online] Available at https://education.gov.scot/nih/Documents/ScotsLanguageinCfEAug17.pdf (Accessed 28/07/2024)

Education Scotland (2023) ‘Interdisciplinary Learning: ambitious learning for an increasingly complex world’,  October 2023 [Online] Available at https://education.gov.scot/media/bdahf0lv/idl-ambitious-learning-for-an-increasingly-complex-world-oct23.pdf (Accessed 26/8/2024)

Education Scotland (2021) ‘Keen tae Ken yer Kin’, National Improvement Hub, 22 February [Online] Available at https://education.gov.scot/improvement/learning-resources/scots-language-keen-tae-ken-yir-kin/ (Accessed 28/07/2024)

Education Scotland (n.d.) ‘Curriculum for Excellence: Literacy and English experiences and outcomes’ [Online] Available at https://education.gov.scot/Documents/literacy-english-eo.pdf (Accessed 28/07/2024)

Scots Language Centre (2013) ‘Da International Press’, 12 August [Online] Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haBzq-eRgXg (Accessed 28/07/2024)

Shoba, J. A. (2010) ‘Scottish classroom voices: a case study of teaching and learning Scots’, Language and Education, nr. 24, vol. 5, pp. 385-400.