The Staff

Our team of staff working in our curricular area includes Ms Davies (Curricular Leader), Ms Boyd, Ms Ryan, Ms Tai and Ms Bowbelski.  We also have the pleasure of student teachers from Glasgow, Stirling and Edinburgh. They work alongside us where they can “learn the tips of the trade” or share our expertise! We are fortunate in that we are able to offer our pupils the chance to learn some Mandarin Chinese.

What we teach

We currently teach French and Spanish. All S1 and S2 pupils learn French for 2 periods and Spanish for 1 period. In S3 they have the choice to choose either language. We teach both languages up to Advanced Higher.

Special Arrangements

If you are a native speaker of Spanish or French or another language, we can support you to complete exams. 

How we teach

We enjoy using games and activities to teach languages and those are a permanent feature of our lessons. Feedback is also important to us to know if we are getting it right and you will be often asked how you feel about your learning. We like to give you feedback too so you can find out if you are getting it right and how you can improve.

Day trips, activities, and excursions

As a Modern Languages curricular area, we feel people need to see languages “in action”. We want you to see and feel that they are real and not just something you do 3 times a week in a 50 minute lesson! We have had trips to both France and Spain, in conjunction with PE which have been an amazing experience for our pupils.

Technology

All pupils have iPads. We use those for a multitude of activities such as speaking, delivering presentations and research. All our courses are on Teams which means that all vocabulary and many task are easily accessible. 

Here are a couple of handy sites:

• https://www.linguascope.com (please see you Teacher for the password)
• https://www.sqa.org.co.uk – This website contains Past Papers which N5 and Highers may access.
• https://languagesonline.org.uk

Finally

If you are needing space to revise or need help with your studies, we offer study times, just ask your Teacher.