Scottish trainee teachers in a French primary school: Getting ready for 1+2

This article reports on a pilot project involving eight students enrolled on the Bachelor of Education Primary Teaching Programme at the University of the West of Scotland, who undertook a short outward mobility placement in a French primary school. The project was specifically aimed to address the Scottish Government’s commitment to the 1+ 2 language policy and was designed to enable participants to play a full part in this development after the completion of their studies. Participants observed a different educational system while being immersed in the French language and culture. They also contributed to guided activities involving English and Scottish culture to French Primary School children. The author used qualitative content analysis of participant logbooks to evaluate the impact of their experience. Overall, the importance and added value of increasing language proficiency as part of a greater engagement in the wider world beyond Scotland as well as developing cross-cultural sensitivity skills whilst being immersed in another culture were acknowledged as most noteworthy assets.