Our first term of Scottish Gaelic beginner classes at Làmhan’s studio in Callander has been a wonderful and, if I’m honest, slightly surprising success. When we opened the doors in September, we hoped a handful of people might be curious enough to give Gaelic a try. Instead, we found ourselves welcoming full classes, enthusiastic learners, and a warm sense of community forming around the language. Much of this is thanks to our brilliant tutor, Mhairi Nic Aoidh, whose energy, knowledge and kindness have shaped every session. The progress people have made in just a few weeks has been remarkable. I’ve loved listening in on Saturday mornings, especially when Mhairi introduces a song. Last week I even joined in with her for a singsong, and it felt like a small reminder of how central music has always been to Gaelic learning and memory (Newton 2009).
Because of the demand, we’ve decided to expand what we offer. An online beginners class will start on Sunday evening, 30th November, so those who can’t attend in person—or who live further across the Trossachs—can still take part.
We’re delighted that this online expansion also means we will be welcoming our first international students, which feels like a wonderful step forward for Làmhan and for Callander’s Gaelic story. In January, even more classes will be added in the studio. This growth reflects a genuine wish to reconnect with Gaelic in a place where it was once part of everyday life. Callander and the surrounding area were part of a strong Gaelic-speaking region well into the nineteenth century (Withers 1988). Re-embedding the language here feels like a cultural homecoming, and, with my own Masters in Highlands and Islands Culture from UHI, I feel deeply committed to helping our community reconnect with that heritage.
We’re also planning a little get-together to celebrate everything our learners have achieved. On the evening of 12th December, we’ll be heading to the pub for a wee ceilidh to mark Christmas and toast the success of our first term bringing Gaelic back to Callander. And by ceilidh, we mean the Gaelic kind—often misunderstood today as something centred entirely on dancing.
Traditionally, a ceilidh was simply a gathering: a warm, unhurried evening of conversation, storytelling, songs, tunes, and community company in what was known as the taigh-ceilidh (ceilidh house). People brought whatever they had to share—a song, a story, some news, or simply their presence. That is very much the spirit we’re aiming for: relaxed, friendly, and rooted in the older meaning of ceilidh as social connection rather than set dances.
Uisge beatha, Water of Life. An important element of any ceilidh! *
Song, of course, is at the heart of this heritage. Singing together helps build confidence, supports pronunciation, and connects learners to the rhythms and stories of the language in a way that textbooks never could. It’s no surprise that after many years of Gaelic decline, community singing remains one of the strongest surviving traditions (Shaw 2020).
Mhairi and I have found ourselves talking more and more about how to bring these strands together, and that conversation has now grown into a plan: we want to establish the first-ever Fèis in Callander. A Fèis would bring language, music, arts and community participation into one place, creating opportunities for children, families and adults alike. But we’ll need volunteers, ideas and local support to get it off the ground, so we’re holding a meeting at Làmhan’s studio in Callander on Friday 5 December at 7pm for anyone who would like to help shape it.
Common European Framework of Reference for Languages
Looking ahead to January, our classes will follow the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (Council of Europe 2020). To help people understand what each level means in practice, here is a little more detail:
A0 (Complete Beginners): This is for those who have never learned Gaelic before. We start with pronunciation and the building blocks of spoken Gaelic—basic greetings, personal introductions, simple questions and answers, and key vocabulary such as family, numbers and everyday objects. Learners begin forming short, useful phrases straight away.
A1 (Beginner / Early Stage): Our A1 groups are for learners who already have some early Gaelic—often those who have completed an A0 block with us. At this stage, learners can understand and use familiar expressions and begin to talk about themselves, their families, daily routines and simple needs. We build on sentence structure, introduce regular verbs, start to look at lenition and gender, and expand vocabulary each week.
A2 (Post-Beginner / Elementary): Learners at A2 can handle everyday conversations with increasing ease and understand the gist of slow, clear speech. We work with past and future tenses, talking about plans, experiences and events. Vocabulary broadens into themes such as home life, hobbies, work, places and community. At this level, learners can hold a basic chat with a Gaelic speaker and follow classroom conversations more naturally.
Across all levels, our approach prioritises listening and speaking, with reading and grammar woven in steadily and supportively. And of course, song is a thread that runs through every class. What has started as a small experiment has already begun to grow into something much larger. Together, we are not only learning a language but helping to bring it home.
References
Council of Europe (2020) Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.
Newton, M. (2009) Warriors of the Word: The World of the Scottish Highlanders. Edinburgh: Birlinn.
Shaw, M. (2020) Singing the Nation: Gaelic Music and Identity. Glasgow: CLÒ Ostaig.
Withers, C. (1988) Gaelic in Scotland 1698–1981: The Geographical History of a Language. Edinburgh: John Donald
*: Before any (German) lawyers spend weeks emailing me about supposed copyright infringement when there’s none, this image too comes from Canva which gives me the right to publish it on here.