My Fellowship is about rethinking the way we teach foreign languages, and using co-created stories and storytelling to enable young learners to successfully acquire a new language.

I am a secondary German and French teacher at The Edinburgh Academy. I will be researching an approach to languages teaching called TPRS that involves teaching languages through co-creating stories with the students, and extensive reading and storytelling. The method allows learners to naturally acquire a language, without the need for the rote learning of grammar rules and vocabulary, which many learners find challenging. It has been proven to be a motivating and accessible way to learn a language that leads to impressive rates of language acquisition.

I will be observing teachers and students in Canada, Switzerland and Germany, and will bring this expertise back to the UK. I hope to be able to help fellow teachers develop new teaching strategies in the classroom and develop curriculum ideas that can be used within UK schools. Ultimately, my aim is to encourage more UK young people to learn a foreign language, and to experience the many cultural and vocational benefits this brings.