After having chosen a topic for our project that we were all happy with, we set about thinking about the different stages that the project itself was going to have.
For example, firstly we would have to research how languages are currently taught in Scottish schools and examine where we feel the flaws are. Then perhaps we could research how English is taught as a foreign language abroad and whether or not methods used overseas could be utilised in order to improve teaching here.
Even without research, we got the sense that the reason why languages are becoming less and less popular in schools is due to the fact that students do not find it interesting enough to continue studying. That was certainly the case for even us! Trying to change this general attitude was now the basis of our project.
How can we remedy this? – An opinion we shared was that the integration of modern language teaching is introduced at too late a stage in the education system. Why not look at introducing it at nursery level? Originally we hoped to create our very own materials (such as nursery rhymes, games, stories) that could then be tested out in a Glasgow primary school to see how successful we were. As young language students, we felt that we could bring in new exciting material that would be engaging and fun, rather than the methods in which we were taught, which consisted of memorising certain words with no real connection to any other aspect of our learning or indeed to the new language itself.
Then came the research. We had to examine the feasibility of teaching a foreign language at nursery level. How realistic were our plans to create new material? Is nursery in fact too early for the teaching of another language?
The following blog post will be focussed on revealing how some of our peers feel or have felt about learning a foreign language and how these experiences affected their attitude towards languages. This information proved invaluable to us in regards to our project.
Until then!
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