Staff

Ms Lyall

Mrs Maclean

We are an enthusiastic and approachable team who strive to promote the many benefits that learning a language can bring young people.

 

Modern Languages in the BGE (S1-S3)

• S1 French and German
• S2 French and German
• S3 Pupils choose French or German or French and German

All of our pupils learn French and German in S1 and S2. In S3, pupils choose to continue either French or German and they can take both languages. The emphasis in the BGE is on practical, hands-on, interactive learning. Lessons are fun, vibrant and fast paced, and pupils learn through a wide range of different activities and tasks that are designed to build up their skills in communicating in a foreign language. Consistent differentiation allows all pupils to participate and achieve to the best of their ability. Pupils are enthusiastic about the range of engaging topics covered in the BGE. They particularly enjoy learning about the cinema, travel and tourism, first aid and life in other countries.

 

Scottish Languages Employability Award

The department has been commended by SCILT (Scotland’s Centre for Languages) for its strong links with other departments and with a range of local and national businesses and won a Gold Scottish Languages Employability Award in June 2024. This award recognises partnerships between schools and businesses that use foreign languages in order to develop young people’s learning about the world of work and the value of language skills.

Our S1 German course is linked to the Scottish Dolphin Centre in Spey Bay.  In S2 our French pupils work with Visit Moray Speyside and the Dowans Hotel in Speyside to create brochures advertising the best of our region (see "Brochure" link at the bottom of the page). They learn first aid techniques in French, as part of a unit of work on health, and are taught CPR in class. In S2 German they make connections with a school in Germany and share cultural information. In S3, our French pupils work with Visit Scotland and create a promotional video in French. Visit Scotland posted this year’s winning video on Twitter (see "Milne's High School winning Visit Scotland video" links at the bottom of the page).  In their English classes S2 pupils learn how to use persuasive language to promote the French speaking countries around the world they have been researching in French. In their ICT classes, our S1 pupils learn how to use Publisher to create professional brochures whilst our S3 pupils are taught how to use movie editing software to create high quality adverts for Visit Scotland.

The department’s submission was rated as “outstanding” by SCILT who described our submission as “one which richly deserves a GOLD Scottish languages Employability Award”. They said, “All of the projects in this submission were highly praised by the team, who commented on the range of projects, the accessibility of activities, the relevant focus of tourism for their location, and the integration of the projects as a thread running right through the BGE languages curriculum at Milne’s High School.”

 

 

Modern Languages in the Senior Phase

• N4 French
• N5 French
• Higher French
• AH French
• N4 German
• N5 German
• Higher German

In the senior phase pupils may choose to continue learning one or two languages to N4, N5 and Higher level. AH French is available (see "French Pathway" & "German Pathway" links at the bottom of the page).  A qualification in a Modern Language is a valuable addition to your CV in today’s global workplace. Language skills open doors to opportunities to travel, study and work in other countries. In fact, there are many jobs that go hand in hand with knowledge of foreign languages (see "Languages and Careers" link at the bottom of the page).  If you are thinking about university, there is a huge number of degrees combining languages with another subject (see "Languages & University Degrees" link at the bottom of the page) or you could choose to study one or more languages alone.

We are a strong department with a proven track record of excellent results and high uptake. As in the BGE, in the senior phase our pupils experience interactive learning and they enjoy the range and variety of different activities we do in class. When asked what they enjoy about learning a language, their responses were very enthusiastic (see "Senior Pupil Survey" link at the bottom of the page). Pupils also have a clear understanding of the value of being able to speak another language (see "The Value of Language Skills" link at the bottom of the page) and they are highly motivated to succeed.

 

Resources

Pupils can find links to useful websites in the Resources channel of their class Team. All pupils’ homework is posted on Teams where pupils can contact their teachers if they have any questions or need support with homework outwith the school day.

•   Brochure [pdf 1MB]
•   Languages and Careers [pdf 395KB]
•   German Pathway [pdf 324KB]
•   French Pathway [pdf 220KB]
•   The Value of Language Skills [pdf 246KB]
•   Senior Pupil Survey [pdf 356KB]
•   Languages and University Degrees [pdf 1MB]