Ulster-Scots Education Resources
A series of on-line education resources for teaching and learning Ulster-Scots will be available soon.
Background
The introduction of Ulster-Scots as a language subject into the schools’ curriculum in Northern Ireland depends on the availability of an appropriate range of foundational textbooks and classroom resources. Because of this, the Education Programme of the Ulster-Scots Academy is closely related to our Language Development Programme and the provision of these resources to support accredited courses (to examination standards). These consist of dictionaries, spelling guides, grammar books, Ulster-Scots texts in the form of ‘readers’, and — in particular — classroom materials in the form of model ‘lessons’ with appropriate notes for teachers.
For adults, a need has also been identified for the provision of:
- Language acquisition classes for non-speakers
- Ulster-Scots literacy for native speakers
- Creative writing classes in Ulster-Scots
All accredited language classes require evidence of skill acquisition in each of the following areas:
- Speaking
- Listening (understanding)
- Reading
- Writing
Of course, Ulster-Scots adult classes attract a wide range of abilities, from fluent native speakers (many of whom are unfamiliar with written Ulster-Scots), to non-speakers (many of whom can understand an amount of the written material). Because of the relatively close linguistic relationship between English spoken colloquially in Ulster and ‘light’ Ulster-Scots, most beginners have a head start, but the teaching approach (and materials required) are not the same as with other languages entirely distinct from English.
Important resource preparation work for adult classes has been done by the USLS in the piloting of classroom resources for an accredited (OCN) 3-year course at North Down College. These include classroom materials in the form of work-sheets covering all the required speaking, listening, reading and writing skills in the context of an appreciation of the historical literature (in year 1) and folk culture (in year 3).
The materials provided include:
- Listening Resources: A series of Ulster-Scots ‘teacher monologues’, read to students to teach and test their understanding of spoken Ulster-Scots
- Speaking Resources: Classroom ‘dialogues’ to enable non-speakers and speakers alike to converse in Ulster-Scots in pairs in the classroom
- Reading Resources: Historical and contemporary classroom material in the form of short sample texts of Ulster-Scots writing
- Writing Resources: Suggested themes and topics, with samples of students’ work
- General Lesson Resources: Classroom worksheets and progressive lesson plans
Classroom materials (sample ‘lessons’):
OCN 1 (Year 1)
- Lesson 1 — classroom worksheet
- Lesson 2 — classroom worksheet
- Lesson 3 — classroom worksheet (sample provided)
- Lesson 4 — classroom worksheet
- Lesson 5 — classroom worksheet
- Lesson 6 — classroom worksheet
- Lesson 7 — classroom worksheet
- Lesson 8 — classroom worksheet
OCN 2 (Year 2)
- Lesson 1 — classroom worksheet
- Lesson 2 — classroom worksheet
- Lesson 3 — classroom worksheet
- Lesson 4 — classroom worksheet
- Lesson 5 — classroom worksheet
- Lesson 6 — classroom worksheet
- Lesson 7 — classroom worksheet
- Lesson 8 — classroom worksheet
OCN 3 (Year 3)
- Lesson 1 — classroom worksheet
- Lesson 2 — classroom worksheet
- Lesson 3 — classroom worksheet
- Lesson 4 — classroom worksheet
- Lesson 5 — classroom worksheet
- Lesson 6 — classroom worksheet
- Lesson 7 — classroom worksheet
- Lesson 8 — classroom worksheet