The Senior Phase is an opportunity to provide learners with a rich language learning experience which offers opportunities to gain accreditation, build broader skills for life and experience wider achievement. It is a key stage where young people can deepen their learning and develop ownership and autonomy over their education and their choices.
Learner experiences in the Senior Phase might include:
- Leadership e.g. developed through leading learning, learner ambassador initiatives and supporting with languages development initiatives
- Learner participation e.g. Learner contribution to / leadership of learner feedback forums or learner language working groups
- Learner voice e.g. Senior learner language forums, presenting to younger learners about why they have chosen languages in the Senior Phase
- Intercultural learning opportunities e.g. Working with partners to use language in real and relevant contexts
- Authentic engagement with culture e.g. Cinema, books, songs, food, opportunities to speak to other young people about culture
- Promotion of Scottish, UK and international mobility e.g. cultural trips and developing learner confidence in living/traveling/working abroad. See SCILT Language Linking, Global Thinking in Resources for more information
In terms of the Senior Phase, recommendation 16 in the Language Learning in Scotland: A 1+2 Approach report states that:
“The Working Group recommends that schools provide all young people with flexible opportunities and encouragement to study more than one modern language to the level of a National Qualification Unit or course, in the senior phase, whether in their own school or through cluster arrangements with other schools.” (Scottish Government, 2012)
A Senior Phase experience which transitions from the Broad General Education (BGE) and offers accreditation in multiple languages is thus one of the key recommendations in the 1+2 Languages policy. Senior leadership which values, supports and promotes language learning, supportive curriculum architecture and sufficient numbers of languages teachers are key in enabling the delivery of this. This latter point is reiterated by Education Scotland in their document, Language Learning in Scotland: A 1+2 Approach. Working within the recommendations:
Schools should remain mindful of the need to maintain sufficient staffing in modern languages departments to meet this recommendation [of young people being offered accreditation in more than one language in the Senior Phase]. Consideration should be given to appropriate groupings of modern language Units with other subjects such as business education for example. (Education Scotland, 2014, P2)
Even with a full complement of staffing, developing two or more languages in the Senior Phase can be a challenge for smaller departments/faculties where there is less capacity to offer multiple languages. However, teachers have worked creatively to enable this through initiatives such as:
- Partnership offers of SQA courses across local groups of schools e.g. travel column offer in partner schools
- Digital and online learning to offer a greater range of languages across schools e.g. emerging models around languages such as Gaelic, Mandarin, British Sign Language and Arabic offered through organisations such as SCILT and E-Sgoil
Networks, partnership working, and digital solutions are all key factors in supporting ongoing development in this area. This is particularly key at Advanced Higher level where smaller numbers of learners can be pooled across groups of schools.
