SCOTS VALUE their badges of national identity. Landscape, literature, history - all are part of what makes us Scottish. When the rest of the world joins us in bringing in the New Year singing a Scots song, shouldn't we be proud and speak Scots?

Until recently, it was only the oral tradition which kept Scots alive but today it's everywhere: in novels, children's books, in advertising and on websites, as a spoken and written language of the 21st century - and speakers are starting young. ItchyCoo, an imprint which specialises in Scots-language books for youngsters, won an award last year for its illustrated tale Katie's Moose. A success for older readers was the graphic novel Kidnappit, published as part of the Unesco City of Literature's One Book, One Edinburgh reading campaign.

The Scots presence on the internet is considerable, too, whether it's home-grown recordings of Burns's songs on YouTube or debates on Maw Broon's Cookbook.

Children and young people enjoy and learn from the diversity of language used in their homes, their communities, in the media and by their peers. When taught well, children in Scottish schools are learning about what constitutes good English. Likewise they should be guided on the value of Scots language and its use.

Spoken media is also having a profound effect on Scots language, with increasing pressure from dialects from across the UK. Teenagers are also using words from other styles heard on television, such as American English. And with different languages heard on our streets, perhaps Polish and Mandarin will enrich our daily speech. No language stands still, and Scots can benefit from these new influences, but it would be wrong to allow it to be replaced by them.

There has been a gradual erosion of Scots from the modern landscape, too. In our new housing estates, we no longer seem to live in "braes", "straths" or "wynds" but in avenues and crescents. While this may seem a minor point, it is worth remembering that the languages, dialects and literature of Scotland provide a sense of identity and are a valuable resource for young people.

This week, Learning and Teaching Scotland will release the draft outcomes for literacy under the new Curriculum for Excellence, which puts new emphasis on literacy and all aspects of communication in the teaching of three to 15-year-olds.

But in defining literacy for the 21st century, we must consider the forms of language young people experience and use in daily life. Consider that in a 24-hour period they encounter Scots, dialects of English, text messaging, computer language, numerical formulae, and foreign languages and the task is brought into focus.

It is important that Scots is considered no less valuable than other languages. Through the Curriculum for Excellence, we want to ensure pupils are exposed to the literature and languages of Scotland by teachers using relevant, real-life and enjoyable resources.

By engaging them through different media, from prose to the spoken word to songs, our young people can develop their appreciation of Scotland's indigenous languages and their teachers can value the languages the children bring to school.

Across the EU, languages such as Breton and Cornish are attracting more interest. Under Part II of the European Charter for Minority or Regional Languages, the Scottish government is committed to promoting and developing the use of the Scots language - where better to start than in our schools?

Now is the time for the children of Scotland to rediscover Scots.

Maureen Watt MSP is the minister for schools and skills