The contents of this programme have arisen from work carried out in mainstream and special schools over the last 10 years or more, and have been subject to trialling, evaluation and development in mainstream schools over the last seven years. Thanks are due to the many teachers in mainstream and special schools who have been willing to share their insights and practice over the years, to school and education authority management personnel who have promoted and supported the projects, and to the young people who have responded enthusiastically to the various initiatives.
Dr Mike Gibson, formerly Lead Inspector for special educational needs, set the ball rolling in 1994 when he set up a two-year project to look into 'Europe, Language Learning and Special Educational Needs' (ELLSEN) (SOEID, 1997). Hilary McColl was the Development Officer for the project. Carol Hewitt and Heather Baldry of Strathclyde University acted as mentors.
Since 2001, materials and procedures arising from the work of ELLSEN have been trialled by 10 schools in Aberdeenshire, Argyll and Bute, the City of Edinburgh and Morayshire.
These schools, with support from Hilary McColl, embarked on year-long projects which have brought together pairs of modern language teachers and teachers who provide support for learning in modern language classes. Together the teams have undertaken analysis of the barriers facing pupils in so-called ‘difficult’ classes and have devised strategies for teaching and learning which have better suited those needs.
The experiences of these teachers and their pupils have informed the developments which led to the current programme.
Publishers David Fulton and Taylor & Francis gave permission to use the exemplar grid in Unit 2. Mary Simpson gave permission to use the work that has provided the basis for Unit 3. Catriona Oates, Outreach Officer at Scottish CILT, provided research support for the most recent in-school projects. The illustrations on the PowerPoint presentation and throughout the website are by Heather Clarke, courtesy of MLG Publishing (Miniflashcards).
This online version of the programme has been produced by the team responsible for the Modern Foreign Languages Environment (MFLE) in partnership with Hilary McColl and Catriona Oates from Scottish CILT.
The materials which make up MFLE’s Maximising Potential programme were brought together by Hilary McColl. Supplementary support pages and archive material from previous projects will continue to be available on the Languages without Limits website.
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