Gaelic Residential Course
Students immerse themselves in Gaelic language and culture
At the end of the 2008-09 term, two tutors and 18 students from Kilmarnock College and Stow College headed to the Isle of Lewis for a Gaelic Residential Course. The week long immersion course, which was funded by the Scottish Funding Council, was held at Lews Castle College in Stornoway.
The programme for the week consisted of lessons delivered by the College's Gaelic tutors and cultural tours conducted in Gaelic. One of their trips included a visit to a Primary School just outside Stornoway, where more than 50 pupils are taught through the medium of Gaelic. The students had a tour of the classes and were treated to some wonderful examples of singing, recitation and story-telling by the Gaelic pupils.
Their week was rounded off with an evening of song, and music highlighting the role of textiles in the islands in the last century. The students' exposure to and interaction with local people who use Gaelic in their work, education and leisure, confirms that Gaelic is still very much a living language in every sense.
