​How to use this exemplar to improve practice

Language assistants are native speakers who bring the language and culture of their country to the classroom.

Teachers should therefore use every opportunity to help make language learning relevant and fun for their pupils – some of whom may never have visited the target language country or met a young person from it.

If your school/cluster is considering employing an MLA, you may want to think about the following:

• Can the MLA work in the cluster primary schools to support delivery of 1+2?
• If deployed only in secondary, can you ensure that the MLA has the opportunity to work with BGE classes, as well as in the senior phase?
• In which ways can you make use of the MLA's skills across the rest of the school?

What was the impact?

Schools report positively on their experiences of working together with the MLA to bring language lessons alive through contact with a native speaker.

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Word file: Modern Language Assistants (MLAs) in Scottish schools - transcript (15KB)