Are you an English language teacher in Scotland?
The Scottish Sound School recognises two truths about English language learning and teaching in Scotland:
1. Most international learners of English in Scotland will struggle to understand Scottish speech at some point due to being unfamiliar with its phonological features and vocabulary. Some may even be surprised to discover that other languages, dialects and accents are used in Scotland, having assumed that everyone in the UK spoke the same way using Standard Southern British English.
2. Most teachers of English language (EFL/ESOL/EAP/ EAL) in Scotland have never been taught how to support their learners with Scottish speech, and many teachers report feeling unsure and anxious about tackling Scottish speech in the classroom, especially at the phonological level.
My mission
At The Scottish Sound School, my mission is to provide bespoke training as well as educational consulting services, to learners of English, the teachers that support them, and on a larger scale, to schools, colleges, universities and professional bodies. Through this training, I hope to inspire confidence in learners, and share knowledge, strategies, and resources with teachers so that they feel comfortable bringing real authentic language into their classrooms and normalising the discussion of the languages of Scotland.
New for 2025!
Teacher training - Decoding Scottish speech for the Scottish English language classroom
In 2025, I will begin running a 4-week online course for English language teachers in Scotland (of any nationality and mother tongue background) on how we can support our international English language learners with the sounds of Scottish speech. If, like most English language teachers, you have received limited pronunciation training, especially in Scottish speech, you may not feel totally comfortable or confident
- explaining to students why they are struggling to understand,
- highlighting patterns that will help them notice and decode real speech outside the classroom,
- explaining the differences between Scottish speech and other more familiar varieties of English, and
- preparing them for the realities of the language/s being spoken all around them.
This course hopes to fill this gap, and leave teachers feeling confident in their abilities to prepare their students for real life language in Scotland.
Sign up now
If you'd like to join the waiting list for this course or be on my mailing list to hear more about it, sign up here.
Bespoke pronunciation teacher training
I regularly run teacher training for ESOL, EAP and EFL providers in Scotland, around the UK, and around the world. If you'd like more information on
- practical English pronunciation training for your staff,
- decoding Scottish Speech training for your staff, or
- Level 1 training in the Color Vowel approach,
get in touch or visit Glarcher.com for more information and testimonials.