Scots Language Awards 2021: The Scots Learning Centre

Weel duin tae The Scots Learning Centre wha hae bin nominatit in Scots Project o the Year sponsored by Scots Hoose in the Scots Language Awards. Vote now!

We askit Laura Green o The Scots Learning Centre thae speirins. Vote now!

Tell us aboot yersel or yer ootfit.
The Scots Learning Centre is a microsite, aff o the main Scots Language Centre site, that offers lairnin games an activities for weans aged 3-18. We developed the activities athin it wi help fae the Scots Language Coordinator at Education Scotland an the Education Officer at the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum. Some o the activities were inheritit fae hings that were in the ‘Scuilwab’, a website (that isnae available onymair) that was developed by Dictionars o the Scots Leid. The activities theirsels were tested oot by lairners in West Lothian, North Lanarkshire, Fife, Dundee an Aberdeen, an hae since been yaised in classrooms an hames aw ower the country.

Whit wis it got ye involvit wi the Scots leid?
Ah come fae a faimly o Scots speakers, an grew up right in the middle o the central belt – West Lothian.
Ah lairnt weans English in secondary schuils fir 13 year. The weans Ah taught ower the years hae been the main reason Ah became mair an mair interestit in teachin Scots, an the impact it could hae on a wean’s confidence an engagement wi lairnin. Every time a excitit wee laddie or lassie in ma class pit their haun up tae tell me whit a Scots wird meant, or were fair pleased wi theirsel tae tell me that they kenned a Scots wird that the rest o the class didnae, or that they had feenished their scrievins in Scots, an couldnae wait tae dae anither yin… it became yin o the pairts o teachin that Ah maist enjoyed.

Ah did a sma amount o wirk fir Education Scotland, redevelopin their ‘Blether’ SharePoint oan ‘Glow’; developin some teachin resources oan Wee Windaes; an visitin schuils tae inform the report cried ‘Scots Language in Curriculum for Excellence’. Syne Ah left the teachin, a stertit wirkin wi the Scots Language Centre daein education an outreach. Ah kept gettin emails fae teachers that were lookin fir resources that tain cognisance o the demands o Curriculum for Excellence an the SQA Scots Language Award. Encouraged by ma ain weans, wha were comin hame fae the schuil an playin lairnin games oan their tablets, I spoke tae the web developer at the Scots Language Centre. We agreed that we could pit somethin thegither that widnae look oot o place nixt tae the established online an interactive materials that weans are familiar wi… an o coorse, that wid make sure that lairnin Scots was fun!

Ony particlar career heighlichts
Developin an maintainin the Scots Learning Centre site has involved hunners o ootreach wirk. When Ah get tae go oot an meet folk in person, it’s braw tae see how much they enjoy the lairnin games. It’s an unco mixture o feelin gey guilty an feelin gey pleased wi masel when mammies hae tae tear their weans awa fae the games, acause they’re enjoyin them that much!

Ah’m mindit an aw o yin experience Ah had wi wirkin wi a teacher. Efter bein consulted oan the resources, they said that it was braw that they were gien the opportunity tae be pairt o a project that heized up the leid, efter bein discouraged fae yaisin Scots when they theirsels were at schuil.

Wha’s yer plans fir the days aheid?
Efter daein hunners o ootreach wirk wi weans o primary an secondary schuil age, Ah’m concentratin oan ootreach athin early years. Ah’ve combined this wi ma new status as a fully-trained Bookbug session leader, an sae Ah’m gaun roon the country talkin tae wee yins, their nursery teachers, an their parents aboot Scots language. Ah’m introducin them tae new Scots words, rhymes an sangs, but maistly mindin them o the yins they awready ken. It’s awfy hert-warmin tae be mindit that parents aw ower the country are routinely passin oan Scots tae their wee yins in the form o auld favourites lik ‘Ally Bally’, or ‘Ye cannae shove yer Granny aff a Bus’, an it’s even better tae be able tae introduce them tae oor lairnin games lik ‘Morag’s Croft’ or ‘Wee Hoose’. The best o it is – Ah can let them ken that oor site is jist yin o the brilliant resources available online tae help folk lairn the leid.

The Scots Language Awards are in the Gardyne Theatre, Dundee on 25th September at 7pm. Tickets are available to buy here: https://www.gardynetheatre.org.uk/show/the-scots-language-awards/ Performing on Saturday 25th September include Ellie Beaton, Anna Stewart, Gemma Johnson and more to be announced.

If you would like to support Hands Up for Trad in their work with Scottish trad music and musicians please consider supporting our Patreon campaign. We have 3 tiers starting at $1 a month and everything helps support us in our work. Read more at www.patreon.com/handsupfortrad

Weel duin tae The Scots Learning Centre wha hae bin nominatit in Scots Project o the Year sponsored by Scots Hoose in the Scots Language Awards. Vote now!

We askit Laura Green o The Scots Learning Centre thae speirins. Vote now!

Wha’s yer plans fir the days aheid?
Efter daein hunners o ootreach wirk wi weans o primary an secondary schuil age, Ah’m concentratin oan ootreach athin early years. Ah’ve combined this wi ma new status as a fully-trained Bookbug session leader, an sae Ah’m gaun roon the country talkin tae wee yins, their nursery teachers, an their parents aboot Scots language. Ah’m introducin them tae new Scots words, rhymes an sangs, but maistly mindin them o the yins they awready ken. It’s awfy hert-warmin tae be mindit that parents aw ower the country are routinely passin oan Scots tae their wee yins in the form o auld favourites lik ‘Ally Bally’, or ‘Ye cannae shove yer Granny aff a Bus’, an it's even better tae be able tae introduce them tae oor lairnin games lik ‘Morag’s Croft’ or ‘Wee Hoose’. The best o it is – Ah can let them ken that oor site is jist yin o the brilliant resources available online tae help folk lairn the leid.