Storlann releases new series of short Gaelic language films.

The first short film in the series went live last week online at https://www.gaidhlig-nan-og.scot/ from.

‘Giog-ort!’ which roughly translates as ‘Keek-a-Boo’ is a collection of topical short films bringing together the key elements of Stòrlann’s recently launched ‘Gàidhlig nan Òg’ resource which was created to support children in early years (and all those adults supporting them in their Gaelic language journey. The resource has also already been used to support Gaelic learners of primary school age.

Each short film is around 15 minutes in length and focuses on a Gàidhlig nan Òg language learning topic (e.g. weather, clothes, colours etc). Within each film, you can expect to find opportunities to learn new vocabulary and some basic sentence structure as you listen and repeat. There are also three songs in each film with plenty of encouragement to do the actions. Each film contains a simple story which in turn reinforces the main language learning for its topic. Each learning clip (vocabulary, stories, songs) is repeated in order to reinforce the learning.

Stòrlann Chief Executive Donald W Morrison welcomed the films, saying: “ The ‘Giog-ort’ collection is a welcome addition to supporting Gaelic usage and acquisition amongst the young. At this time, when many of the traditional Gaelic language learning settings for parents, carers and toddlers have been restricted, this series of fun films adds to the range of options available for the home and learning settings. Be sure to log on and sing along! “

The films provide an ideal way to bring Gaelic language development into both the home and learning environments. It is hoped too that they will arm the adults with lots of songs and stories to use spontaneously in a variety of settings.

Jackie Mullen, who scripted and presented the series of films, said: “It was a lot of fun putting together this little series of learning experiences. I hope that it gets everyone singing along and joining in with the actions. I look forward to hearing from parents and practitioners alike once they’ve started using the films. I’ve already delivered some online training in this respect and so far, everyone has been very enthusiastic about the resource.”

Giog-ort! will also be streamed as part of the Bòrd na Gàidhlig #cleachdiaigantaigh initiative.The series has been supported by Bòrd na Gàidhlig, Comann nam Pàrant Nàiseanta & the Scottish Government through a CYPFEIF and ALEC Fund Grant.

Bòrd na Gàidhlig welcomes the series, stating: “Bòrd na Gàidhlig recognised that restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic have had a particular impact on early years provision, with many groups unable to meet. In working in partnership with Stòrlann and Comann nam Pàrant we were delighted to bring this project to fruition to help support parents at home. We hope that the fun yet structured series of videos, which can be accessed online, will encourage more families to use Gaelic within the home.”