In Unit 2 you engaged with the report Scots language in the Curriculum for Excellence (2017), which investigated the role and standing of Scots language and culture in Scottish education. The key finding from this report is important for the study of this unit:

Scots can support children and young people to develop a range of important skills in literacy, including advanced reading and writing skills required for success in national qualifications. Scots as part of Curriculum for Excellence can support young people in developing their confidence and a sense of their own identity. It can help to engage learners whose mither tongue is Scots by making them feel more valued and included, and therefore more motivated to take part in lessons, to lead learning, and to achieve more highly. (p. 7)

As teachers, you will be deliberating how you can support your pupils in developing the above-mentioned literacy skills when Scots does not have an agreed standard, a set of rules for its use in writing, for example. You might ask how you can be confident in assessing the Scots language outputs your pupils produce and whether there is a right or wrong way of using Scots.

This activity is designed to help you develop your understanding of the close links between Scots and English and help build your confidence in bringing Scots into your teaching.

A.

First of all, read the input text below and take notes on the following aspects explored within it:

1. Connections between English, Scottish Standard English (SSE) and the Scots language

2. Considerations for teaching the Scots language

You may want to keep a record of your notes in your learning log. Compare your notes with our model answer.

Learning Log

Although Scots is a non-standard language, it and can be taught formally using techniques available for teaching any other language. Scots is spoken by at least 1.5 million people within and more outwith Scotland. As such it will be the first language of many pupils in Scottish classrooms.

As Scots is a minoritized and largely a spoken language, there are additional considerations when approaching learning it, compared with dominant languages. Teachers and pupils alike may fall within a wide range of levels of proficiency in Scots language production and comprehension. Identifying a particular level of Scots to be taught in a particular classroom can therefore be difficult.

Why is that the case?

Scots has existed in a state of language contact with English for a number of centuries. A highly simplified model of the degree to which a person’s Scots is influenced by language contact is its ‘broadness’. This is often conceptualised as the extent to which a person’s language deviates from what some consider the prestige language of Scotland, Scottish Standard English (SSE). SSE may be considered Standard English as spoken using the phonological system of Scots, commonly conceptualised as an ‘accent’.

For some the replacement of the Scots accent with the accent of Received Pronunciation (or R.P. as it is commonly known) when speaking English is the standard that is sought. Historically this type of vocal production would be learned through elocution lessons, and today through what is known as accent reduction training. Not only do we not teach elocution in Scottish education we do not seek to reduce accents – or allow any discrimination against anyone for their home language being one other than English. This is the case for children and young people in Scotland’s schools, as much as it is for adults living and working in the wider Scottish society today.

As Scots has been in a state of language contact with English over the centuries concurrent with the development of modern scientific linguistics, when teaching Scots as a language we often encounter what is termed ‘folk linguistics’ - received wisdom about language which is not derived from current scientific linguistics. It is worth bearing this in mind as you explore Scots as a language, often this will yield valuable knowledge and understanding that can be applied to all language learning.

One consequence of the over-simplified conception of the continuum of language varieties is that people believe there ought to be a distinct cut-off point where English ends and Scots begins.

Becoming caught up in trying to draw a line on this continuum can be a stumbling block in language learning, leaning towards Prescriptivism, where one speaks about how a language ought to be spoken, while descriptive linguistics is where one speaks about how a language is spoken.

Whilst prescriptivism may make it easier for a new learner, it may well alienate the native speaker from their own language. Taking a descriptive linguistic approach allows the exploration of Scots as it is spoken. From this stance of linguistic awareness, speaker and learners alike can use both spoken and written forms of the language with confidence.

Coming back to the research on spoken Scots in Scottish classrooms, this finding from Scots language in the Curriculum for Excellence (2017) exemplifies the blurred boundaries between Scots and English and the fact that these do not impact negatively on teacher and pupil confidence in using Scots. However, observe the positive impact of the amount of Scots spoken by the teacher on pupils’ proficiency:

Most teachers observed spoke in Scottish Standard English whilst speaking to the whole class. They also used occasional Scots words and phrases. A small number of teachers spoke extensively in Scots to the class, for example when giving directions or asking questions. Where this occurred, most children and young people spoke Scots in response, demonstrating their understanding of the teacher’s use of Scots and their own proficiency in using the language. Repeated use in lessons of Scots words initially unfamiliar to pupils helped them increase their Scots vocabulary and their confidence. (p. 5)

Model Answer

B.

Now watch another part of the video Dignity, minutes 4:00 to 9:20. In this section you will hear Michael talk about folk songs, approaches to singing and some of the challenges around these ways of using the Scots language he identifies.

*Please note: You can watch this video with subtitles/closed captions by activating this feature on the YouTube player

Again, take notes on aspects that are relevant to you personally and to teaching Scots in your specific context.