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The use and impact of the Scots language in classrooms
By Brian Henson
Through GTC Scotland's teacher researcher programme, one teacher has explored the use and impact of the Scots language in classrooms, writes Brian Henson.
Aye deein', but nevir deid.
Young people, argues a retired teacher, could be the saving of the Scots language.
From primary school through secondary, research has shown pupils are enthusiastic about its use, and very positive about the need to keep the language not only alive, but developing its use in day-to-day speech and writing.
Curriculum for Excellence should be the key to Scots' future, according to one researcher who has just completed a three-year project in north east Scotland.
Celia Craig, a former principal teacher at Westhill Academy in Westhill, Aberdeenshire, worked with children from seven to 17 and found in them a positive attitude to the use of Scots in the classroom.
"A very large percentage of P7 pupils believed they could be taught lessons in Scots by their teachers speaking Scots," she said. "Some responses were very perceptive - one pupil told me, 'Your teacher could teach you in Scots, but she would need to be very good at it.'"
Another told her: "Scots should continue forever. It is Scotland's traditional way to speak. It's a language you should be proud of. It makes us who we are."
Celia began her research shortly after she retired. "I loved teaching and the interaction with young minds, and I worried that I would I find the separation especially hard. Scots language and literature has always been a love of mine, and carrying out the research would be an ideal interest that would keep me in touch with school and pupils for a while longer."
Celia believes CfE should be used to spark interest among young people to find out more for themselves about our language. "Some people may think a lot will depend on the proportion of pupils who have a Scots background and have heard Scots spoken at home. But my research also suggests that some of the strongest advocates of the Scots language have come from outside Scotland.
"Most youngsters who are studying in Scotland will have heard Scots words and may have wondered what they meant. This in itself may give them the stimulus to find out more. Another aspect is the current - and future - status of the Scots language. Is it fading or is it flourishing?
"TV programmes such as River City have re-opened the door to the Scots language. Pop star Paolo Nutini regularly regales fans at his concerts with Robert Burns' 'A Man's a Man for a' That'. And tourists are introduced to the guid Scots tongue with couthy words on coasters, mugs and placemats.
"There's plenty of room for further research to be done. My own research set out to find the current status of Scots and its use by primary and secondary school pupils in Aberdeenshire.
"I wanted to assess their attitude to Scots as a language - its status, its place and its use. I wanted to assess pupils' understanding of linguistic terms - and whether they thought Scots was a language, dialect, accent or slang."
Celia added: "I also wondered whether they would find it easier to translate from Scots to English, or from English to Scots? That exercise was great fun for the pupils, and showed me that young people have a great facility with language, be it Scots or any other."
Celia's research project A comparative analysis of the use of Scots language and literature in selected primary and secondary schools in Aberdeenshire (2008/2009) is archived with the Elphinestone Institute at Aberdeen University and can also be found in the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh.
A detailed abstract is also available from: www.scotseducation.co.uk/reports