St Margaret’s School for Girls in Aberdeen is preparing to mark European Day of Languages on Thursday, September 26 following new data which revealed the dwindling number of Scottish students opting to study languages at Higher level. Head of Modern Languages, Karen Williamson will host an interactive taster session giving learners and parents the opportunity to gain insight into the EPI (Extensive Processing Instruction) approach; a technique designed to help students learn more effectively by reducing cognitive overload.
Last month TES reported that Higher entries for the four main modern languages in Scottish schools had, in overall numbers, been steadily declining since 1986. In 1986, entries for French, German, Spanish and Italian made up 6.5 per cent of all Higher entries (10,833 out of 166,403). By 2024, the same four languages only made up 3.1 per cent of all SQA Higher entries (6,075 out of 196,250).
Whilst modern language qualifications are seeing falling numbers of students taking on this subject nationally, uptake and success by girls in languages has always been strong at St Margaret’s. This year, the school reported a 100 percent pass rate (A-C) in French, German, Spanish and Latin at all levels. By exploring ways to make the language curriculum more engaging, staff hope to encourage its students to continue studying a language at Higher. Italian linguist Gianfranco Conti spoke to modern language teachers across Scotland at an event held by the school in June. Conti’s EPI technique is currently being introduced to Junior students and focuses on teaching languages through chunks and patterns rather than the teaching of single words and grammar rules.
With 33 nationalities in its senior school alone, St Margaret's enjoys a diverse pupil body and all girls are encouraged to study at least one language other than English at National 5 level.
Karen Williamson, Head of Modern Languages at St Margaret’s School for Girls, said: “The European Day of Languages promotes the rich linguistic and cultural diversity of our world and encourages lifelong language learning in and out of school. We live in a linguistically diverse world, so it’s important our students are aware of the many different languages spoken across the world. This year's success at National 5 and Higher level is brilliant to see. In recent years there have been numerous reports about the fall in the number of Scottish pupils learning a language and the latest findings by TES puts these into perspective. Introducing techniques like the EPI approach is an effective way to deliver the curriculum, providing students with skills to learn a language more competently, particularly at beginner and intermediate level.”
A steady stream of St Margaret’s students have gone on to study languages at higher education level including Jane Somerset who is studying Spanish and Linguistics at Edinburgh University.
Speaking of her experience studying a language, Jane Somerset, said: "It's been extremely helpful studying a language. I've been incredibly lucky being able to travel and it's been invaluable being able to meet new people and have experiences I would never have had otherwise through being able to interact with others. Learning a language brings a new sense of confidence and can open up so many doors in the world of work and in other areas of life."