It is always an exciting time for students in their Senior Phase at school as they consider where their studies could take them and how to get there. Students continuing on to university know that learning a language to an advanced level can be challenging, but it is ultimately very rewarding. With opportunities to work and study abroad in one or two countries, during their fourth year, languages students get the opportunity to live in their languages of study, consolidating their language skills and building key relationships with others. With that in mind, I was delighted to be invited to Eastwood High School by Beth Brown, Principal Teacher of Developing the Young Workforce, to lead two essay-writing workshops with her S6 Spanish students. The workshops helped students to craft creative writing pieces for the University of Edinburgh’s creative writing magazine Babble, which showcases senior student’s writing in other languages.
Students worked on themes of nature and the environment, expanding their vocabulary and using their knowledge to develop essays exploring climate change, the impact of this year’s Commonwealth Games on Glasgow and surrounding areas, and the pros and cons of sustainable travel.
In the first workshop, I was able to share the ins and outs of my own study, and how that led to my current position at Global Connects, with students. We discussed the exciting possibilities of working with languages as part of the language services industry and in other industries. We also discussed vocabulary relevant to nature and the environment, sharing our favourite espacios verdes (green spaces) in and around Glasgow and considering how different types of contaminación (pollution) can be reduced to protect them.
In the second workshop, we further expanded our ideas about the importance of nature and protecting our natural environment as we travel abroad or welcome visitors to our local areas. We explored climate change as a global issue and considered the specific challenges in the global south. Students were really engaged and developed a variety of ambitious themes to explore through their writing. We worked on our essay plans, and I enjoyed helping students to sketch out their ideas and find the thread of their writing.
The essays were of a really high quality and I was able to offer further support by reading the final essays, making suggestions and asking questions to help connect ideas back to the question title. Students have developed creative writing skills, worked on creating focused answers to specific questions and used their knowledge of Spanish and the environment over the course of the essay competition. They will hopefully be able to see their work “beyond the classroom” if chosen for publication in Babble, though I am sure that students will continue to expand their ideas and Spanish language immersion.
I was grateful for the opportunity to use my language skills in a different way, especially helping to inspire the next generation of language learners. As always, I look forward to continuing collaboration with local schools by providing insight into the world of work and encouraging language study beyond senior phase. I hope to see a few of these students in language services or using their language skills in a different field in a few years’ time.
Thank you again to Beth Brown, S6 Spanish students and Eastwood High School and ¡mucha suerte! with the competition.