Teachers and schools have less than a week to complete a short languages survey that could prove “crucial” to the future of the subjects in Scottish schools.
There is deep concern about the declining number of students taking languages in Scotland. The survey from British Council Scotland is seeking views on how languages can be boosted in Scottish education, to “ultimately benefit our students in an increasingly interconnected world”.
The Language Trends Scotland survey, aimed at all primary and secondary schools, and designed to “provide a comprehensive view of language education across the country”, is part of the broader British Council Language Trends survey that has been running for more than 20 years.
The survey takes about 15 minutes to complete and it is open until 11.59pm on Monday 30 September.
The Language Trends Scotland survey is being run by the Northern Ireland Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research, at Queen’s University Belfast, with help from a panel of Scottish education experts.
‘Invaluable’ for understanding languages in Scottish schools
Harish Lokhun, head of education at British Council Scotland, said: “Language Trends Scotland represents a crucial step in understanding the current state of language education in our schools.”
Schools and teachers who take part will “contribute to an invaluable set of insights that can inform policy, improve teaching practices and ultimately benefit our students in an increasingly interconnected world”.
Separate surveys have been tailored for different school sectors, British Council Scotland said, to “ensure the perspectives of each sector are captured accurately”.
Schools and teachers can find the surveys via separate links for primary schools, local authority secondary schools and independent secondary schools.
More Information can be found on British Council Scotland’s Language Trends Research site, while educators can also sign up for British Council Scotland’s Education newsletter.
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