John Muir, primary adviser in Highland, says that the alternative of living with fellow teachers and their families has linguistic benefits although it does not automatically prevent teachers unsure of their language competence speaking to their hosts in English.

“We felt this course should identify and reinforce areas which are part of the primary modern languages programme,” Mr Muir says.

“For primary teachers it is not just a question of knowing grammatical structures, but of embedding the language and delivering it in the context of the Scottish primary classroom.

“We also felt the standard course which is delivered totally in French, from the first moment you step into the classroom, might be difficult for some of our teachers.”