Teacher Talking Time: The Learn YOUR English Podcast

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"That which seems like a false step is just the next step. What if it wasn't the wrong step? What if it was simply necessary? The path is not something you already know. The path is something that starts to appear because you just keep walking."

In this special episode of our entrepreneur series, the tables are turned as Andrew interviews his co-host and business partner, Leo Gomez. Leo reflects on his upbringing in Brazil, the psychological impact of moving across cultures, and how an inherent bias toward action shaped his journey as an educator and founder.

Leo Gomez is an experienced language educator, teacher trainer, and co-founder of Learn Your English. A passionate advocate for task-based language teaching (TBLT) and experiential learning, he also breaks down how he built and launched TBL4T by validating demand before creating a single lesson, demonstrating how every "false step" is simply part of the path.

In this episode, we discuss:

How growing up in Brazil’s necessity-driven, micro-entrepreneurial ecosystem forged a lifelong bias toward action.
The psychological tension between a native, spontaneous Portuguese identity and a structured, academic English persona.
Why traditional schooling fails experiential learners by presenting knowledge as a finished product to memorize rather than a tool to use.
Sidestepping academic dogma to build a practical TBLT framework for real-world teachers facing rigid constraints.
How validating an audience first prevents costly product mistakes.
Using student feedback and "loop input" to evolve an 8-week pilot into a high-level, 10-to-14-week transformative program.
Reframing client rejections, failed launches, and operational mistakes not as errors, but as mandatory steps on the entrepreneurial path.
Why waiting to feel "ready" is an illusion, and why taking scary leaps is the only way to uncover what your market actually wants.

***Prefer video? Watch the episode on YouTube.

FOR MORE FROM LEO GOMEZ:

1. Connect on LinkedIn

2. Teaching Agility

3. Learn YOUR English website (coming soon)

OUR PARTNER: E-Solutions for ELT

E-solutions for ELT helps teachers build an online system that works for them by building practical websites, course platforms, landing pages and automations designed around the real needs of their ELT businesses.

You tailor your teaching to your students. Your tech should be tailored to you.

Explore E-solutions for ELT here.

SUPPORT US:

🫶 Integrate your brand with our podcast in an effort to improve language education.

⭐ Leave a review where you listen.

WORK WITH US:

CPD & Teaching Resources
Book a free 1:1 chat with us to strategize your teaching business.
Monetize your teaching skills

THE THRIVING TEACHERPRENEUR

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Subscribe on Substack here.

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"When you are constantly thinking in scarcity because you're broke... you don't put enough value on yourself, on your time. You will undercharge, you will always look for ways to stretch yourself too thin. And you can also say yes to the wrong customers, too."

We sit down with entrepreneur and BE School founder Zoe Smith.

Zoe Smith is the founder of BE School, a specialized Business English institution that scales corporate communication via an international team of over 50 educators.

A veteran language coach who designs high-touch corporate environments and personally guides Fortune 500 executives, she recently launched The BE Hub: an interactive sister platform providing editable, real-world target curricula directly to language teachers worldwide

In this episode, we discuss:

How helping build a 50-location Canadian childcare ecosystem proved that corporate clients will gladly pay premium fees for high-value operations.
Why failing to separate your personal pockets from business capital keeps you acting like an employee.
How having a newborn and a new business fueled a "failure is not an option" mentality
How eliminating regular month-to-month invoicing in favour of non-refundable upfront class packages entirely deletes the administrative stress of chasing money.
What managing C-suite executives reveals about regulating your own internal nervous system against minor operational fires.
The necessity of duplicating yourself for your business to really take off
The braveness required to shut down classes with CEOs when invoices weren't getting paid.
Launching a sister company - BE Hub - without sinking tens of thousands of dollars into technical development overhead.

***Prefer video? Watch the episode on YouTube.

FOR MORE FROM ZOE SMITH:

1. Connect on LinkedIn

2. Visit the BE School

3. Visit the BE Hub

OUR PARTNER: E-Solutions for ELT

E-solutions for ELT helps teachers build an online system that works for them by building practical websites, course platforms, landing pages and automations designed around the real needs of their ELT businesses.

You tailor your teaching to your students. Your tech should be tailored to you.

Explore E-solutions for ELT here.

SUPPORT US:

🫶 Integrate your brand with our podcast in an effort to improve language education.

⭐ Leave a review where you listen.

WORK WITH US:

CPD & Teaching Resources
Book a free 1:1 chat with us to strategize your teaching business.
Monetize your teaching skills

THE THRIVING TEACHERPRENEUR

Get inspired to start and grow your own education business. Weekly insights, stories, and reflections on education entrepreneurship.

Subscribe on Substack here.

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"People ask me all the time, 'Are you worried that AI's gonna take your job?' and I tell them, no, but I'm worried that you would ask me that question, because it tells me a lot about what you think my job is."

We chat with researcher Matt Coss.

Matt is a professor of applied linguistics in the Department of Modern Languages & Classics at the University of Alabama (USA). A research-practitioner who has taught Mandarin and Spanish across all proficiency levels for 13 years, his work focuses on task-based language teaching (TBLT), assessment, language program design, and student retention. He is also the Interviews Editor for TASK: Journal on Task-Based Language Teaching and a founding co-editor of the Focus on Practice section of Language Awareness.

In this episode, we discuss:

How a childhood happenstance and an adopted aunt bypassed traditional language learning methods completely.
Why tracking technical language gains as an absolute baseline sets a language program up for total institutional collapse.
A direct look inside a Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) classroom where a student successfully performed a task but swore their teacher "didn't teach them anything."
Why language classrooms are the ultimate retention machine for universities, outperforming massive STEM cohorts by fundamentally validating student identities.
How rigid vocabulary lists and zero training in meaning negotiation caused fluent clinicians to completely misdiagnose a critical patient case.
Real strategies for working inside a strict curricular environment by identifying functional communication gaps rather than forcing artificial vocabulary drills.
How to bypass structural paralysis by simply asking learners what they tried to say this week but couldn't.
Why a student asking for a complex grammar rule is actually a cry for comprehensibility, and how to serve chunks over metadata.

***Prefer video? Watch the episode on YouTube.

FOR MORE FROM MATT COSS:

1. Connect on LinkedIn

2. Visit his website

OUR PARTNER: FLUENTIZE

Get 25% off with the code "TTT25"

Want to teach your best lessons — without all the prep? Fluentize turns real-world videos into interactive ESL lessons for teens and adults. Explore 650+ ready-to-teach lessons designed to engage your students, simplify lesson planning, and save you hours of preparation.

Start for free here.

SUPPORT US:

🫶 Integrate your brand with our podcast in an effort to improve language education.

⭐ Leave a review where you listen.

WORK WITH US:

CPD & Teaching Resources
Book a free 1:1 chat with us to strategize your teaching business.
Monetize your teaching skills

THE THRIVING TEACHERPRENEUR

Get inspired to start and grow your own education business. Weekly insights, stories, and reflections on education entrepreneurship.

Subscribe on Substack here.

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"To build a company, it really requires time. At some point, there will be only you who still believes in the product - not your team, not your investors, nobody. You and yourself in the room and your laptop, and that's it."

We sit down with Amazy founder Kate Bodrova.

Kate spent over 10 years as an ESL teacher and language school owner before founding AMAZY, a digital workspace for teachers and institutions to create interactive lessons, track student progress, and keep everything in one place. Backed by UCL EdTech Labs and recognized as Best EdTech Startup in Europe 2024, AMAZY is trusted by 20,000 users worldwide.

In this episode, we chat about:

Why looking at your competition is the ultimate trap, and how Kate found market proof on a crowded street filled with language schools.
How introducing a proactive, problem-solving method disrupted the traditional, rigid classroom structures of Eastern Europe.
The Ultimate "Mom Test" Fail: Why asking customers if they "like" your product is a hollow question, and the specific data you should be tracking instead.
Why seven years isn't enough when building from scratch, and how to survive the brutal phase when you are the only one who believes in your product.
How chasing "false hopes" and trying to mirror another entrepreneur's specific timeline will quietly kill your product.
How saying yes to a massive, multi-city corporate contract forced a 15x scale and triggered a painful but necessary mindset shift.
Why you should stop overthinking your idea at home and focus on the single true metric of business success: trying to sell it in the first 30 days.

*Prefer video? Watch the episode on YouTube.

FOR MORE FROM KATE BODROVA:

Connect on LinkedIn
Check out Amazy

OUR PARTNER: COMMUNICATING FOR IMPACT

The Creative House for Leading Educators & Experts.

Amplify your work with high-end video and podcasts that get results. Create impactful videos and podcasts with their programmes and done-for-you production services.

Start your series here.

SUPPORT US:

🫶 Integrate your brand with our podcast in an effort to improve language education.

⭐ Leave a review where you listen.

WORK WITH US:

Book a free 1:1 chat with us to strategize your teaching business.
Learn how to monetize your teaching skills with TAP.
Our CPD Courses.

THE THRIVING TEACHERPRENEUR

Get inspired to start and grow your own education business. Weekly insights, stories, and reflections on education entrepreneurship.

Subscribe on Substack here.

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"Choice generates agency, agency generates engagement, and engagement is where learning begins. If you aren’t ‘falling over’ as a teacher, you probably aren't pushing yourself or your learners to take ownership of the language."

We sit down with the esteemed Professor Jonathan Newton.

Jonathan is an Associate Professor at Victoria University of Wellington, where he leads postgraduate programs in TESOL and Applied Linguistics. With over 30 years of experience, his work focuses on the "black box" of classroom interaction and how task-based language teaching (TBLT) can foster learner agency and ownership. He has published over 80 articles and several seminal books on classroom interaction and task-based pedagogy.

In this episode, we discuss:

The "Black Box" of communication: understanding the actual mechanism that explains how learning occurs during interaction.
The power of choice: why giving learners agency is the most direct path to motivation and ownership.
Unlearning the security blanket: moving beyond rigid PPP formulas to embrace the "falling forward" of real teaching.
The "Magoo" (MG-O-O) criteria: a simple heuristic for tweaking textbook activities to strengthen meaning, gaps, and outcomes.
Tasks for absolute beginners: why input-based tasks are the perfect entry point for learners with zero English.
Negotiation for meaning: measuring the tangible acquisition of vocabulary through group-work interaction.
The "Atlas Complex" in teaching: letting go of the burden of being the sole source of authority in the classroom.
The desk as the enemy: how small physical shifts in the classroom can reignite learner engagement.

***Prefer video? Watch the episode on YouTube.

FOR MORE FROM JONATHAN NEWTON:

1. Connect on LinkedIn

2. Visit his website

OUR PARTNER: FLUENTIZE

Want to teach your best lessons — without all the prep? Fluentize turns real-world videos into interactive ESL lessons for teens and adults. Explore 650+ ready-to-teach lessons designed to engage your students, simplify lesson planning, and save you hours of preparation.

Start for free here.

SUPPORT US:

🫶 Integrate your brand with our podcast in an effort to improve language education.

⭐ Leave a review where you listen.

WORK WITH US:

CPD & Teaching Resources
Book a free 1:1 chat with us to strategize your teaching business.
Monetize your teaching skills

THE THRIVING TEACHERPRENEUR

Get inspired to start and grow your own education business. Weekly insights, stories, and reflections on education entrepreneurship.

Subscribe on Substack here.

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"It’s 5,000 metres high, and I promise you: it is much scarier to launch a business than it is to jump out of a plane. When you launch, you are open to being judged, and you can fail, but that 80% fear is exactly what drives you to succeed."

We chat with Smart Cookie co-founder Martina Montreal.

Martina is a language educator and the co-founder of SmartCookie. Since 2016, she has taught over 1,000 students, using that experience to go all-in on building a "second brain" that eliminates administrative chaos for teachers. Martina advocates for the power of patience and taking professional leaps, even when launching a business feels scary.

In this episode, we chat about:

The power of "nàixīn" [耐心]: why patience is the most demanding requirement for both language learning and business.
Overcoming the cost of inaction: how saying "yes" to an unplanned Spanish class changed Martina’s entire career.
How a background in abstract logic fueled the creation of a "second brain" for teachers,
Why Smart Cookie focuses on eliminating administrative fat rather than overcomplicating with features.
Why true professional strength is built through failure, not playing it safe.
Why rest is not a luxury: the role trashy television plays in entrepreneurship.

*Prefer video? Watch the episode on YouTube.

FOR MORE FROM MARTINA MONREAL:

Connect on LinkedIn
Visit her website
Check out Smart Cookie

OUR PARTNER: COMMUNICATING FOR IMPACT

The Creative House for Leading Educators & Experts.

Amplify your work with high-end video and podcasts that get results. Create impactful videos and podcasts with their programmes and done-for-you production services.

Start your series here.

SUPPORT US:

🫶 Integrate your brand with our podcast in an effort to improve language education.

⭐ Leave a review where you listen.

WORK WITH US:

Book a free 1:1 chat with us to strategize your teaching business.
Learn how to monetize your teaching skills with TAP.
Our CPD Courses.

THE THRIVING TEACHERPRENEUR

Get inspired to start and grow your own education business. Weekly insights, stories, and reflections on education entrepreneurship.

Subscribe on Substack here.

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"If you only have this theory, you will never be able to swim. You need some water to experience it. Don't be afraid to start with a speaking exam in the first year. If we change the way we assess, we can change the way we teach."

We sit down with the amazing Charline Rouffet.

Charline is a foreign language teacher educator and PhD candidate at Utrecht University, specializing in task-oriented language learning. Her research explores how communicative, classroom-based assessments can transform pedagogical approaches and bridge the gap between theory and classroom practice.

In this episode, we chat about:

Why young teachers struggle to implement communicative methods within a rigid, grammar-obsessed system.
How the constant threat of testing shapes every move a student makes and every lesson a teacher plans.
Why adding unknown elements to assessments is the only way to mimic real-life communication.
Starting with the learning goals to ensure your teaching and testing are actually on the same page.
How an obsession with accuracy and "memorizing verbs" is killing student motivation and closing down university programs.
Why joy and personal connection is the only thing AI can't recreate in the language learning process.

***Prefer video? Watch the episode on YouTube.

FOR MORE FROM CHARLINE ROUFFET

1. Connect on LinkedIn

2. Visit her website

OUR PARTNER: FLUENTIZE

Want to teach your best lessons — without all the prep? Fluentize turns real-world videos into interactive ESL lessons for teens and adults. Explore 650+ ready-to-teach lessons designed to engage your students, simplify lesson planning, and save you hours of preparation.

Start for free here.

SUPPORT US:

🫶 Integrate your brand with our podcast in an effort to improve language education.

⭐ Leave a review where you listen.

WORK WITH US:

CPD & Teaching Resources
Book a free 1:1 chat with us to strategize your teaching business.
Monetize your teaching skills

THE THRIVING TEACHERPRENEUR

Get inspired to start and grow your own education business. Weekly insights, stories, and reflections on education entrepreneurship.

Subscribe on Substack here.

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"One of the mindsets that I really like is that I want to earn more so that I can sometimes offer more to those who can't afford it. It's like a cycle."

We sit down with teacher and creator Jennifer Lebedev.

Jennifer is the creator of English with Jennifer. Launched in 2007, her YouTube channel has over 1M subscribers and 100M views to date. She is also a published author with Pearson, an award-winning blogger, and a speaker on building a healthy learner mindset.

In this episode, we chat about:

18 years on YouTube: starting in 2007 with a digital camera and no tripod.
The "teacher creative" to business owner shift: moving from "doing it for free" to being a responsible entrepreneur.
Overcoming teacher guilt: learning to set boundaries and stop apologizing for charging for value.
The "Happy Money" mindset: seeing money as an exchange of energy rather than a source of stress.
Why 1.5 million subscribers isn't a "get rich quick" scheme: the reality of YouTube revenue and sustaining a business.
Identity-based habits: using sleep and mindfulness to fuel professional performance.
Why one-on-one teaching still matters: using real student interaction to drive content and stay grounded

*Prefer video? Watch the episode on YouTube.

FOR MORE FROM JENNIFER LEBEDEV:

Connect on LinkedIn
Visit her website
Follow her YouTube channel

OUR PARTNER: COMMUNICATING FOR IMPACT

The Creative House for Leading Educators & Experts.

Amplify your work with high-end video and podcasts that get results. Create impactful videos and podcasts with their programmes and done-for-you production services.

Start your series here.

SUPPORT US:

🫶 Integrate your brand with our podcast in an effort to improve language education.

⭐ Leave a review where you listen.

WORK WITH US:

Book a free 1:1 chat with us to strategize your teaching business.
Learn how to monetize your teaching skills with TAP
Download our free guides for teacherpreneurs.

THE THRIVING TEACHERPRENEUR

Get inspired to start and grow your own education business. Weekly insights, stories, and reflections on education entrepreneurship.

Subscribe on Substack here.

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"We’ve got to have a very hard look at ourselves and stop calling ourselves experts just because we have a Master's from 10 or 15 years ago. Those times are over, and we’ve really got to focus on what added value we can bring that AI can’t."

We sit down with BELF trainer Evan Frendo.

Evan Frendo is a freelance trainer and consultant based in Berlin, Germany. He has been active in corporate language and communications training since 1993, and specializes in the fields of ESP and business English. A frequent speaker at conferences, he also travels regularly in Europe and Asia to run courses or to work as a consultant.

In this episode, we chat about:

Why sticking to the syllabus is the fastest way to become irrelevant in the corporate world
Why we need to stop teaching "English" and start teaching English as a Business Lingua Franca (BELF)
Why finding your specialty is 90% luck and 10% being the only person in the room who can stand up in front of a PowerPoint
How AI is killing traditional needs analysis and why your learners are now their own content creators
Why the best "business English" happens the moment the teacher leaves the room
Why being "safe in the harbour" is the most dangerous place for your ELT career right now

***Prefer video? Watch the episode on YouTube.

FOR MORE FROM EVAN FRENDO:

Visit his website
Connect on LinkedIn

OUR PARTNER: WE ARE ENGLISH TEACHERS

Are you struggling to find students as a teacher entrepreneur? Join the Elevate community via the We Are English Teachers community and gain visibility through their network of learners looking for a teacher.

We Are English Teachers: https://weareenglishteachers.com/

SUPPORT US:

🫶 Integrate your brand with our podcast in an effort to improve language education.

⭐ Leave a review where you listen.

WORK WITH US:

Book a free 1:1 chat with us to strategize your teaching business.
Learn how to monetize your teaching skills with TAP
Download our free guides for teacherpreneurs.

THE THRIVING TEACHERPRENEUR

Get inspired to start and grow your own education business. Weekly insights, stories, and reflections on education entrepreneurship.

Subscribe on Substack here.

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"You have to get beyond the 'it’s all about me' and get over that 'non-profit mindset' to realize you have a skillset worth an investment. Don't compromise on your value." - Catherine Angus

We sit down with Catherine Angus, founder of the Hear You Go podcast, to talk about self-worth, education businesses, and standing firm on value.

In addition to the Hear You Go podcast, Catherine is an English language mentor, specializing in helping advanced speakers and teachers maintain fluency while silencing their inner critics. Through her 1:1 coaching and WILDE: The Listening Festival, she uses authentic global conversations to help learners build confidence and rediscover their love for the language.

In this episode, we chat about:

starting a podcast: confidence, doubt, and the unknown
overcoming the 7-episode dropoff [where most podcasters quit]
what perfectionism actually means
why you want to be the tortoise, not the hare
social media toxicity and discovering what clients really want
why passive income is like buying a lottery ticket
using podcasts as a lead magnet, not a product
how to pivot without abandoning your mission

*Prefer video? Watch the episode on YouTube.

FOR MORE FROM CATHERINE ANGUS:

Follow on Instagram
Her website
Her podcast, Hear You Go

SUPPORT US:

🫶 Integrate your brand with our podcast in an effort to improve language education.

⭐ Leave a review where you listen.

WORK WITH US:

Book a free 1:1 chat with us to strategize your teaching business.
Learn how to monetize your teaching skills with TAP
Download our free guides for teacherpreneurs.

THE THRIVING TEACHERPRENEUR

Get inspired to start and grow your own education business. Weekly insights, stories, and reflections on education entrepreneurship.

Subscribe on Substack here.

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"Designing curriculum around proficiency goals for your program is a way of making them a positive, empowering tool instead of something that's punitive" - Caitlyn Pineault.

Caitlyn teaches undergraduate second language acquisition courses at Georgetown University with a dedication to connecting research and practice for language teachers. Her work can be found in the Modern Language Journal and the Foreign Language Annals. She is also the co-founder of the recurring column “Collective Wisdom: Teacher and Researchers in Dialogue” in The Language Educator.

In this episode, we chat about:

Bridging Research and Classroom Practice
The Role of Feedback in Language Learning
Student's Frustration with Language Learning
Challenges in Changing Teaching Practices
The Role of Rubrics in Reflecting Teacher Values
Assessment and Its Impact on Language Programs
Implementing TBLT in Different Educational Contexts
The Future of Language Education and Teacher Mindset

*Prefer video? Watch the episode on YouTube.

FOR MORE FROM CAITLYN PINEAULT:

1. Connect on LinkedIn

2. Visit her website

Collective Wisdom: Teacher and Researchers in Dialogue”

OUR PARTNER: WE ARE ENGLISH TEACHERS

Are you struggling to find students as a teacher entrepreneur? Join the Elevate community via the We Are English Teachers community and gain visibility through their network of learners looking for a teacher.

We Are English Teachers: https://weareenglishteachers.com/

SUPPORT US:

🫶 Integrate your brand with our podcast in an effort to improve language education.

⭐ Leave a review where you listen.

WORK WITH US:

Book a free 1:1 chat with us to strategize your teaching business.
Learn how to monetize your teaching skills with TAP
Download our free guides for teacherpreneurs.

THE THRIVING TEACHERPRENEUR

Get inspired to start and grow your own education business. Weekly insights, stories, and reflections on education entrepreneurship.

Subscribe on Substack here.

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"You don't have to feel confident to be great at what you do."

We talk with Laura Wilkes, founder of Communicating for Impact, about content creation, putting yourself out there, and what it really takes to build a full-service production house.

Laura has 15 years of experience in education leadership and media production for global education brands. She started Communicating for Impact after seeing how high-quality, strategic media can accelerate growth for experts and mission-driven organizations.

In this episode, we chat about:

passions vs businesses
going from reluctant leader to confident director
the role of authenticity and creativity in content creation
Laura launching her own creative production house
how to stand out in saturated markets
understanding buyer psychology
the mechanisms needed to take the entrepreneurial leap

*Prefer video? Watch the episode on YouTube.

FOR MORE FROM LAURA WILKES:

Connect on LinkedIn
Check out Communicating for Impact
Follow her YouTube channel

SUPPORT US:

🫶 Integrate your brand with our podcast in an effort to improve language education.

⭐ Leave a review where you listen.

WORK WITH US:

Book a free 1:1 chat with us to strategize your teaching business.
Learn how to monetize your teaching skills with TAP
Download our free guides for teacherpreneurs.

THE THRIVING TEACHERPRENEUR

Get inspired to start and grow your own education business. Weekly insights, stories, and reflections on education entrepreneurship.

Subscribe on Substack here.

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Want to monetize your skills as a teacher? Book a free 1:1 with us to see if we can help.

"You can be included and still not feel that you belong" - Ben Goldstein.

We sit down with Ben to talk inclusion in ELT - and what that actually means (and what it doesn't).

Ben is a writer, teacher trainer and conference speaker. He taught materials writing for many years on the online MATESOL program of the New School in New York. He has published two methodology handbooks for teachers: Working with Images and Language Learning with Digital Video. 30 Ideas on Inclusion in ELT, a pocket handbook for teachers has also just been published by Cambridge.

In this episode, Ben discusses:

defining inclusion in education
challenges and misconceptions of inclusive teaching
belonging vs inclusion
why "inclusion" isn't the best word to use
how being critical of inclusivity is alright
holistic strategies for teachers to use
engagement, representation, and action in UDL

FOR MORE FROM BEN GOLDSTEIN:

Connect on LinkedIn
Ben's book "30 Ideas on Inclusion."
Visit his website bengoldstein.es

OUR PARTNER: WE ARE ENGLISH TEACHERS

Are you struggling to find students as a teacher entrepreneur? Join the Elevate community via the We Are English Teachers community and gain visibility through their network of learners looking for a teacher.

We Are English Teachers: https://weareenglishteachers.com/

Thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you.

Collaborate with us:

Want to integrate your brand with our podcast in an effort to improve language education?

Reach out here: info@learnyourenglish.com

RESOURCES TO HELP YOU:

Connect with us on our Substack.
Book a free 1:1 chat with us to strategize your teaching business.
Follow the LYE YouTube Channel
Learn how to monetize your teaching skills with TAP
Download our free guides for teacherpreneurs.

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Want to monetize your skills as a teacher? Book a free 1:1 with us to see if we can help.

"Make a decision about which direction you wanna head towards. Start walking and don't do anything else for 30 days" - John Healy

We chat with John Healy about education businesses, how indecision stagnates us, and what teachers can do to execute as entrepreneurs.

John Healy is the founder of My Speaking Score - an AI-powered platform that helps non-native English speakers prepare for the TOEFL Speaking test with confidence. From building a consulting business to teaching in Korea to now founding an edtech company, John's career in ELT is vast. He joins us to talk teaching and education businesses.

In our discussion, we dive into:

navigating self-doubt
analyzing risk - and why people should take more of them
why people are reluctant to make decisive decisions
outcome businesses vs hourly rates
balancing passion and profit in education
powering through early business struggles
how ideas are easy and execution is difficult
being obsessive over getting your customer their results

FOR MORE FROM JOHN HEALY:

Connect on LinkedIn
Check out My Speaking Score

Thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you.

Collaborate with us:

Want to integrate your brand with our podcast in an effort to improve language education?

Reach out here: info@learnyourenglish.com

RESOURCES TO HELP YOU:

Connect with us on our Substack.
Book a free 1:1 chat with us to strategize your teaching business.
Follow the LYE YouTube Channel
Learn how to monetize your teaching skills with TAP
Download our free guides for teacherpreneurs.

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Want to monetize your skills as a teacher? Book a free 1:1 with us to see if we can help.

"So many people are out there doing great things and they aren't ready, either, so I asked myself: Why not me?"

We chat with teacher and entrepreneur Mariela Mondaca.

Mariela is an English teacher, teacher trainer, and entrepreneur who has turned her 25 years of classroom experience into an online business. She designs programmes that bring together speakers of English as a foreign language from around the world, creating supportive communities where wellbeing-based topics spark conversation and help learners achieve real English fluency.

She runs Fluent Connections.

In this episode, Mariela discusses:

Overcoming Self-Doubt and Taking the Leap
Believing in Your Own Path
Dealing with Self-Doubt and Anxiety
Starting and Growing a Teaching Business
Finding Your Niche and Evolving
Learning from Mistakes and Adapting
Advice for New Teaching Entrepreneur
The Turning Point: Strategy and Mindset
A Week in the Life of a Teacherpreneur
Starting Over: Key Steps and Lessons Learned
Reflecting on Personal Growth and Transformation

FOR MORE FROM MARIELA MONDACA:

Connect on LinkedIn
Follow on IG: @profe_mariel
See her programs

Support Teacher Talking Time:

Are you struggling to find students as a teacher entrepreneur? Join the Elevate community via the We Are English Teachers community and gain visibility through their network of learners looking for a teacher.

We Are English Teachers: https://weareenglishteachers.com/

Thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you.

Collaborate with us:

Want to integrate your brand with our podcast in an effort to improve language education?

Reach out here: info@learnyourenglish.com

RESOURCES TO HELP YOU:

Connect with us on our Substack.
Book a free 1:1 chat with us to strategize your teaching business.
Follow the LYE YouTube Channel
Learn how to monetize your teaching skills with TAP
Download our free guides for teacherpreneurs.

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Want to monetize your skills as a teacher? Book a free 1:1 with us to see if we can help.

"How do we make research meaningful for the classroom? What really helps students acquire grammar? Can apps ACTUALLY support second language learning?"

These are some of the questions we tackled in our conversation with Dr. Shawn Loewen.

Shawn Loewen is Professor of Second Language Studies at Michigan State University, where he directs the doctoral program in SLS. His research focuses on instructed second language acquisition, the research-practice gap, and mobile-assisted language learning. He is the author of several influential books and serves as associate editor of The Modern Language Journal.

His new book, "Edited Volume in Instructed SLA" is out now.

In our discussion, we dive into:

whether the explicit vs implicit debate matters
if people can actually learn languages on "those apps"
pattern recognition and why some learners “just get it”
task-based language teaching vs. Instructed SLA
why most institutions don't really know what their approach to learning is
leveraging AI and technology for learning
bridging the gap between researchers and teachers
the limits and potential of communicative language teaching

FOR MORE FROM DR. SHAWN LOEWEN:

His book "Edited Volume in Instructed SLA"
Connect on LinkedIn
His publications
His website

Support Teacher Talking Time:

Do you help students prepare for the TOEFL test? Check out My Speaking Score - an AI platform with data-driven feedback to help students get 26 on TOEFL speaking. Trusted by over 100,000 TOEFL test takers.

My Speaking Score: https://www.myspeakingscore.com/

Thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

Collaborate with us:

Want to integrate your brand with our podcast in an effort to improve language education?

Reach out here: info@learnyourenglish.com

RESOURCES TO HELP YOU:

Join our Substack community.
Book a free 1:1 chat with us to strategize your teaching business.
Follow the LYE YouTube Channel
Learn how to monetize your teaching skills with TAP
Download our free guides for teacherpreneurs.

View Details

Want to chat with us about your business? Book a free meeting here.

"I have no shame whatsoever in marketing my own courses because I feel proud. I know for sure that it works." We chat with entrepreneur Anna Aleksenko

Anna is an entrepreneur based in Georgia who runs Voice it English, a program that helps professionals turn English into their career superpower. She's been teaching for over 17 years and has had to reinvent herself many times: something every entrepreneur can relate to. With a focus on connection, community, and client results, we're thrilled to have Anna on the show.

Her mission is simple: To turn English from a daily challenge into her clients' career strong point.

In this episode, Anna discusses:

understanding that everyone has an accent
burnout and setting boundaries
expatriating and starting a new life
how language can shape identity
emotional barriers in language learning
moving from hourly to results-based pricing
focusing on ideal clients and how to identify them
leveraging LinkedIn for client acquisition
the power of community
advice for new education entrepreneurs

FOR MORE FROM ANNA ALEKSENKO:

Connect on LinkedIn
Voice It English
Her free Friday speaking club

Thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

RESOURCES TO HELP YOU:

Connect with us on our Substack.
Book a free 1:1 chat with us to strategize your teaching business.
Follow the LYE YouTube Channel
Learn how to monetize your teaching skills with TAP
Download our free guides for teacherpreneurs.

View Details

Want to move away from 1:1 and build your teaching business? Book a free 1:1 with us to see if we can help.

"There's this myth that kids learn faster than adults. Research shows it's not true; adults are actually better language learners" - Dr. Karen Lichtman.

Dr. Karen Lichtman recently moved to Binghamton University after ten years training language teachers at Northern Illinois University. Her research focuses on instructed second language acquisition, including age differences in language learning and implicit vs. explicit language teaching. Karen presents nationally and internationally to audiences of teachers and researchers.

In this episode, we dive into:

the bad teaching that exists and how to address it
the myth of children learning faster than adults
why adults make better language learners
why easier materials is almost always better
designing a beginner course from scratch
balancing implicit & explicit teaching
addressing skeptical teachers
the role of TPRS in language learning (Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling)

FOR MORE FROM KAREN LICHTMAN:

Connect on LinkedIn
Her website
Her publications
Her book "Teaching Proficiency Through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS): An Input-Based Approach to Second Language Instruction."

Support Teacher Talking Time:

Do you help students prepare for the TOEFL test? Check out My Speaking Score - an AI platform with data-driven feedback to help students get 26 on TOEFL speaking. Trusted by over 100,000 TOEFL test takers.

My Speaking Score: https://www.myspeakingscore.com/

RESOURCES TO HELP YOU:

Book a free 1:1 chat with us to strategize your teaching business.
Subscribe to the LYE YouTube Channel
Learn how to monetize your teaching skills with TAP
Download our free guides for teacherpreneurs.
Connect with us on our Substack.

View Details

*This is episode two of our series highlighting education entrepreneurs. New episodes every first of the month.

Want to chat with us about your business? Book a free meeting here.

"If it doesn't go according to plan, what is the worst thing that could happen that is the minimum I can be satisfied with?" We sit down with entrepreneur Jessica Dias to discuss growing a business.

Jessica is an English teacher and founder of Jessy Academy — an online school that helps Brazilian learners break free from the intermediate plateau and develop real communication skills in English. She started her teaching business in 2020 and has since helped more than 2,000 learners speak with more clarity, confidence, and naturalness. After years of working in traditional schools, Jessica decided to ride solo and build a business that truly reflects her teaching philosophy: practical, human, and focused on real communication.

In this episode, Jessica discusses:

Overcoming Failure and Setting Realistic Goals
The Genesis of the Itch: From School to Side Hustle
Turning Passion into a Full-Time Business
Embracing Change and Growth
Building a Sustainable Business Model
Challenges of Running a Business
Balancing Client Work and Business Operations
Delegation and Use of AI Tools
Scaling While Maintaining Quality
Advice for Handling Business Slumps

FOR MORE FROM JESSICA DIAS:

Follow her on Instagram: @msjessydays
Jessy Academy
Her Clear Pronunciation Program

Thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

RESOURCES TO HELP YOU:

Book a free 1:1 chat with us to strategize your teaching business.
Follow the LYE YouTube Channel
Learn how to monetize your teaching skills with TAP
Download our free guides for teacherpreneurs.
Connect with us on our Substack.

View Details

Want to move away from 1:1 and build your teaching business? Book a free 1:1 with us to see if we can help.

From beginner to intermediate in 9 months: yes, it's possible and Claudia Fernandez tells us how.

Claudia runs her Spanish program at the University of Illinois-Chicago using a task-based curriculum. One result was bringing fifteen A1 students to intermediate over 9 months. She shares her story and how others can do the same.

At the University of Illinois-Chicago, Claudia is a Clinical Associate Professor, where she directs the Spanish Basic Language Program using a task-based curriculum. Her research and teaching focus on task-based language teaching, materials development, and classroom-based language acquisition. She is an award-winning educator, published author, and active contributor to both national and international professional organizations in the field of language education.

In this episode, we dive into:

Implementing task-based language teaching from scratch
Why there is still pushback against TBLT
Mindset shifts every institution needs
Aligning tasks with assessments
Claudia’s experience of helping students go from absolute beginner to intermediate in 9 months
Effective task design
How learners acquire grammar through input-based approaches
Instruction habits that get in the way of learning
How to create needs analyses in task-based learning

FOR MORE FROM CLAUDIA FERNANDEZ:

Connect on LinkedIn
Her university page
Her publication on moving from grammar to proficiency-driven programs

Support the show:

Do you help students prepare for the TOEFL test? Check out My Speaking Score - an AI platform with data-driven feedback to help students get 26 on TOEFL speaking. Trusted by over 100,000 TOEFL test takers.

My Speaking Score: https://www.myspeakingscore.com/

RESOURCES TO HELP YOU:

Book a free 1:1 chat with us to strategize your teaching business.
Subscribe to the LYE YouTube Channel
Learn how to monetize your teaching skills with TAP
Download our free guides for teacherpreneurs.
Connect with us on our Substack.

View Details

This launches the beginning of a new series of our show: education entrepreneurship. We'll release an additional episode monthly, highlighting entrepreneurial voices in our industry doing great things.*

Want to chat with us? Book a free meeting here.

In this episode, we introduce the series and discuss what it takes to start and run your own business. Specifically, we explore the transition from traditional teaching roles to entrepreneurial ventures.

We chat about:

Why waiting until you're uncomfortable might be too late to start your business
The real difference between commitment and consistency and why one matters more
How teachers can build businesses without a one-size-fits-all model
What Andrew's beach business (and Bob the Book) taught him about resourcefulness, scrappiness, and getting started
Why belief in yourself is the most underrated strategy in entrepreneurship
Who this series is for and who it’s not for

Thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

RESOURCES TO HELP YOU:

Book a free 1:1 chat with us to strategize your teaching business.
Follow the LYE YouTube Channel
Learn how to monetize your teaching skills with TAP
Download our free guides for teacherpreneurs.
Connect with us on our Substack.

View Details

50% off our CPD courses for podcast listeners - click here and use the code "TTT"

Does the grammar that is normally taught match the evidence corpus linguistics shows? Dr. Graham Burton helps us dissect the big beasts of English grammar.

Dr. Graham Burton is assistant professor at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano (Italy). His main research interests are applications of corpus linguistics to language teaching, materials development, pedagogic grammar, academic writing and multilingualism.

He has two recent book publications, Grammar in ELT and ELT Materials: Evaluating its History and Current Practice and The Big Beasts of English Grammar: An Exploration of Form and Function in Conversations

*Discount codes:

40% off Grammar in ELT using code ELT40 (valid until the end of July, 2025)
25% on ebook of The Big Beasts of English Grammar via Payhip only, using code bigbeasts25 (valid for 10 downloads only)

In this episode, Graham discusses:

Corpus Linguistics in Language Teaching
Benefits of Corpus for Learners
The Big Beasts of English Grammar
Example-Driven Grammar Teaching
What Teachers Should Unlearn about Grammar
Challenges in Teaching Grammar
Prototypical vs. Natural Grammar Usage
Misconceptions in Grammar Teaching
The Evolution of Grammar Teaching
What the CELTA Should Do to "Re-do" Grammar
The History of Pedagogical Grammar
Why the word "grammar" was negative (and "structure" was used instead)

FOR MORE FROM GRAHAM BURTON:

The Big Beasts of English Grammar: An Exploration of Form and Function in Conversations

Discount of 25% on ebook via Payhip only, using code bigbeasts25 (valid for 10 downloads only)

Grammar in ELT and ELT Materials: Evaluating its History and Current Practice

Discount of 40% on hardbook or ebook, using code ELT40 (valid until the end of July, 2025)

Connect with Graham on LinkedIn

Thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

RESOURCES TO HELP YOU:

Book a free 1:1 chat with us to strategize your teaching business.
Follow the LYE YouTube Channel
Learn how to monetize your teaching skills with TAP
Download our free guides for teacherpreneurs.

View Details

Want to move away from 1:1 and build your teaching business? Book a free 1:1 with us to see if we can help.

"Don't teach at the students. Teach off them." Scott Thornbury becomes our first repeat guest and helps us dissect this and more.

Scott Thornbury is a teacher, teacher trainer, and award-winning author in English language education. He has taught and trained teachers around the world, including on the MA TESOL program at The New School in New York, and is widely recognized for his contributions to ELT methodology and teacher development.

He co-authored Teaching Unplugged (2009) and Dogme in Practice (2025), both with Luke Meddings. His latest book is called Scott Thornbury's 66 Essentials of Lesson Design.

In our chat, Scott delves into:

tensions between planning & spontaneity
what an effective lesson design process looks like
if the communicative approach can be rehabilitated
shifting from surface-level communication to meaningful interaction
adapting teacher training and institutional expectations
the role of technology in education

FOR MORE FROM SCOTT THORNBURY:

Visit his website
Book: Domge in Practice
Book: 66 Essentials of Lesson Design
Connect on LinkedIn

Thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

RESOURCES TO HELP YOU:

Book a free 1:1 chat with us to strategize your teaching business
Follow the LYE YouTube Channel
Learn how to monetize your teaching skills with TAP
Download our free guides for teacherpreneurs
Join our Substack community

View Details

Want to monetize your skills as a teacher? Book a free 1:1 with us to see if we can help.

Learner autonomy is something that happens INSIDE the classroom, not out of it. Teachers can't sit back and wait for their students to become autonomous.

This is part of what the esteemed Dr. David Little shared with us in our conversation.

David Little is Fellow Emeritus at Trinity College Dublin and a leading scholar in learner autonomy, linguistic diversity, and the application of the CEFR in language education. He played a key role in developing the European Language Portfolio and has led several national and international projects focused on language support for migrants and refugees. He currently coordinates the Council of Europe’s Romani–Plurilingual Policy Experimentation and is the author of influential works on educational inclusion and language learning.

In this episode, David discusses:

Understanding Language Learner Autonomy
Defining Autonomy in Language Learning
Pedagogical Models for Autonomy
Autonomy in Diverse Educational Contexts
Challenges and Collaborative Solutions for Teachers
Language Learner Autonomy and Writing
Developing Reflective Dialogue in Classrooms
Practical Advice for Fostering Learner Autonomy

FOR MORE FROM DR. DAVID LITTLE:

His page at Trinity College, Dublin
His Research Gate page
Language Learner Autonomy: Theory, Practice, and Research

Thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

RESOURCES TO HELP YOU:

Book a free 1:1 chat with us to strategize your teaching business.
Follow the LYE YouTube Channel
Learn how to monetize your teaching skills with TAP
Download our free guides for teacherpreneurs.

View Details

Want to monetize your skills as a teacher? Book a free 1:1 with us to see if we can help.

"It's such social injustice to expect people to use English like native English speakers, whichever country they're in." We dive into this and English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) with Jennifer Jenkins.

Jennifer Jenkins is a British linguist and academic. She was Chair Professor of Global Englishes at the University of Southampton until her retirement in 2019. She is a leading figure in the study of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF), and is an expert on communication in English between non-native speakers. She has published and lectured widely and is a founder editor of the Journal of English as a Lingua Franca.

In this episode, Jennifer tackles:

what English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) is
native speakers vs local speakers
why she was shunned from many rooms for her views
the cultural and linguistic bias in language testing
how tests are not predictive of academic success
the myth that ELF lowers English standards
the role of adjusting language rather than mimicking it
having a pioneer mindset even when people dismiss you
how international universities have hypocritical linguistic standards
the future of English as a global language

FOR MORE FROM JENNIFER JENKINS:

Her Google Scholar page
Her page at the University of Southampton
Accommodation in ELF: Where from? Where now? Where next?

Thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

RESOURCES TO HELP YOU:

Book a free 1:1 chat with us to strategize your teaching business.
Follow the LYE YouTube Channel
Learn how to monetize your teaching skills with TAP
Download our free guides for teacherpreneurs.

View Details

Book a complimentary meeting with us to help grow your business.

Learners can think a native teacher is a vaccine against poor pronunciation. Equally, native teachers can be misinformed in thinking that students should just follow them.

We dive into pronunciation, intelligibility, and teacher effects on learner performance with the great John Levis.

John is Professor of Applied Linguistics and Technology at Iowa State University. He is founding editor of the Journal of Second Language Pronunciation and the founder of the annual Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Conference. His research focuses on pronunciation, intelligibility, pronunciation, and accent. John has received university awards for Excellence in Graduate Teaching, for Career Achievement in Research, and was named Angela B. Pavitt Professor of English in 2018.

In our conversation, John talks about:

accent vs pronunciation
the nativeness principle vs the intelligibility principle
how he coined "the intelligibility principle"
high and low value features of pronunciation
why some vowel sounds don't matter
native and non-native teacher effects on learner performance
learners viewing native speakers as a vaccine for poor pronunciation
some native teachers believing learners should just follow them
getting "caught" with accent

For more from John Levis:

Pronunciation for Teachers
His faculty page
His publications

Thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

Ways we can help you right now:

Book a free 1:1 chat with us to strategize your teaching business.
5in30: Get 5 clients in the next 30 days
Just starting your business? Get free guidance in our support group.
Download our free guides for teacherpreneurs.

View Details

Book a free 1:1 to strategize your goals for your teaching business.

Native speaker or non-native speaker? Monolingual or plurilingual? Why do we have a binary bias in modern society?

These are some of the questions we tackled with Dr. Angelica Galante.

Dr. Angelica Galante is an Associate Professor in Second Language Education and Applied Linguistics, and William Dawson Scholar at McGill University. As the Director of the Plurilingual Lab, Dr. Galante conducts studies with language learners, teachers and educational leaders in the areas of plurilingual education, language teaching and learning, linguistic discrimination and justice, teacher education, and curriculum design. She speaks Portuguese, English, Spanish, and a bit of French and Italian.

In our conversation, Dr. Galante talks about:

Linguistic and Cultural Discrimination
Strategies to Combat Prejudice in Education
Plurilingual and Pluricultural Competence
Navigating Binary Bias in Language Discussions
Exploring Common Ground in Controversial Topics
The Role of Language in Identity and Mental Health
Practical Applications of Plurilingualism in Education
Balancing Plurilingualism and Language Acquisition
Challenges and Facilitators of Plurilingualism

For more from Angelica Galante:

Her professional page
McGill's Plurilingual Lab
Her publications

Thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

Ways we can help you right now:

Book a free 1:1 chat with us to strategize your teaching business.
5in30: Get 5 clients in the next 30 days
Just starting your business? Get free guidance in our support group.
Download our free guides for teacherpreneurs.

View Details

Book a free 1:1 to strategize your goals for your teaching business.

Escaping precarity in ELT? Join our free support group here.

Why do some teachers thrive as entrepreneurs while others struggle? We dissect this question.

Many teachers want to earn more, teach online, and gain more clients - but struggle to implement a sustainable strategy. We go over seven "Cs" to help.

In this episode, we dive into the "seven Cs of success for teacher entrepreneurship" and discuss:

confidence as a skill rather than a feeling
getting granular on goals
strategizing goal achievement at both the macro and the micro
reflecting on why having a business is (or isn't) a priority
how consistency compounds over time
why getting more clients is nearly impossible if you have nothing to sell
normalizing struggle and self doubt
first steps to starting your business in 2025

Your Action Plan from this Episode:

1. Pick one “C” to focus on this week.
2. Journal daily to track your progress and reflect on your journey.
3. Share your experience in our community to inspire and be inspired.

Thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

Ways we can help you right now:

Book a free 1:1 chat with us to strategize your teaching business.
5in30: Get 5 clients in the next 30 days
Just starting your business? Get free guidance in our support group.
Download our free guides for teacherpreneurs.

View Details

Book a free 1:1 to strategize your teaching business goals.

Black Friday 2024: 50% off CPD (click here).

Escaping precarity in ELT? Join our free support group here.

If you use vocabulary and grammar tests, you don't teach communicatively. Audrey Rousse-Malpat tells us why.

Audrey Rousse-Malpat is an assistant professor in second language acquisition at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. She is also an entrepreneur and leads a teacher training company called Project Frans specializing in usage-based pedagogies for French as second language. She hosts the "Je suis #profdeFLE" ("I am a French language teacher") podcast.

Her research focuses on the AIM method: the Accelerative Integrated Method. In our conversation, she argues why it's a method education should adopt.

In our conversation, Audrey talks about:

thinking like a scientist
schools as factories
AIM (Accelerative Integrated Method) and how it works
feeling like the Marry Poppins of error correction
structure-based teaching vs Dynamic usage
why teachers need to relinquish control
what went wrong with the communicative approach
tips for implementing AIM
multilingual approaches in higher education

For more from Audrey Rousse-Malpat:

Project Frans
Connect on LinkedIn

Thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

Ways we can help you right now:

Book a free 1:1 chat to strategize your teaching business.
5in30: Get 5 clients in the next 30 days
Just starting your business? Get free guidance in our support group.
Download our free guides for teacherpreneurs.

View Details

Book a free 1:1 to strategize your teaching business goals.

Escaping precarity in ELT? Join our free support group here.

Education is designed around focusing on the learner first and the teacher as a medium to support the learner. Sarah Mercer tells us why this leads to unhealthy teachers.

Sarah Mercer is a Professor of foreign language teaching at the University of Graz, Austria. Her research interests include all aspects of the psychology surrounding the foreign language learning experience. She is co-editor of Multilingual Matters’ Psychology of Language Learning and Teaching book series, currently vice-president of IAPLL, and ambassador for IATEFL.

In this episode, Sarah expounds on:

why connecting with learners is fundamental
cell phone addiction and what we CAN'T do about it
re-framing what "student-led" means
defining "engagement" and pedagogical caring
students faking engagement out of respect for their teacher
burnout and stress are the result of the systemic element of teacher well-being

For more from Sarah Mercer:

Visit her website
Read her publications
Her handbook "Teacher Wellbeing"

Thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

Ways we can help you right now:

Book a free 1:1 chat to strategize your teaching business.
5in30: Get 5 clients in the next 30 days
Just starting your business? Get free guidance in our support group.
Download our free guides for teacherpreneurs.

View Details

Book a free 1:1 to strategize your teaching business goals.

Escaping precarity in ELT? Join our free support group here.

ELT is full of disasters, including the destruction of the communicative approach. Dr. Enrica Piccardo tells us why.

Dr. Piccardo is a Professor of Applied Linguistics and Language Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto. Her research spans language teaching approaches/curricula, multi/plurilingualism, creativity and complexity in language education.

She recently published The Action-oriented Approach. A Dynamic Vision of Language Education 2019) Bristol: Multilingual Matters, co-authored with Brian North.

In this episode, Dr. Piccardo discusses:

leveraging the messiness of learning
how Headway destroyed the communicative approach
multiple disasters in ELT: the separation of languages, the native speaker model, organizing curriculum around grammar, and others
how we're still teaching in a grammatical way because it's easier
what mediation is, its role in learning, and its 3 types
updating the CEFR to include mediation
the link between mediation and plurilingualism
the action-oriented approach and its benefits
why teachers need to delegate learning

For more from Dr. Enrica Piccardo:

Check out her new book here.
Her University of Toronto profile

Thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

Ways we can help you right now:

Book a free 1:1 chat to strategize your teaching business.
5in30: Get 5 clients in the next 30 days
Just starting your business? Get free guidance in our support group.
Download our free guides for teacherpreneurs.

View Details

Book a free 1:1 to strategize your teaching business goals.

Escaping precarity in ELT? Join our free support group here.

What do toad venom, the 5 stages of grief, and precarity all have in common? Andrew, Leo, and Mike explain.

Sustainability in the ELT industry as a teacher is pretty simple:

It is precarious
We all need to earn more money
It's unlikely to do that by having just one job.

In this episode, we discuss strategies to earn more by creating your own offer. Specifically, we dive into:

the 5 stages of grief pertaining to precarity
two paths teachers have: stay in ELT or move on
why earning more money is a requisite to stay in the industry
how to create a compelling offer that will actually sell
why focusing on lesson frequency is restricting
not creating solutions to problems no one cares about
toad venom and how you can apply it to your teaching business

Thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

Ways we can help you right now:

Book a free 1:1 chat to strategize your teaching business.
5in30: Get 5 clients in the next 30 days
Just starting your business? Get free guidance in our support group.
Download our free guides for teacherpreneurs.

View Details

Escaping precarity in ELT? Join our free support group here.

Want to move faster? Book a free 1:1 to strategize your teaching business.

ELT provides the wrong input: language as it should be spoken not as it is spoken. This is wrong and Sheila Thorn gives us another way.

Sheila Thorn is a teacher, teacher trainer and materials writer whose niche focuses on teaching listening. She founded The Listening Business in 1998 and is the author of countless seminal books that have moved our industry forward. She has recently embarked on a new career as an artist, specialising in portraits of people and animals.

Her latest publication, "Integrating Authentic Listening into the Language Classroom" is a must-read.

In this episode, Sheila discusses:

ELT having the wrong input
coursebooks as impoverished language
learners being scared of real language
how teacher training fails teachers as much as coursebooks fail students
the 5 listening goals every learner should have
a 3-pronged approach to teaching listening
the problem she is trying to solve in ELT

For more from Sheila:

The Listening Business
Connect on LinkedIn

Thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

Ways we can help you right now:

Book a free 1:1 chat to strategize your teaching business.
5in30: Get 5 clients in the next 30 days
Just starting your business? Get free guidance in our support group.
Download our free guides for teacherpreneurs.

View Details

Join our free support group for teachers building their business.

Grammar instruction or grammar learning? We dive into this with today's guests.

Tania Ionin is a Professor of Linguistics and Director of Graduate Studies in Linguistics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her areas of expertise include second language acquisition and experimental semantics, with a focus on the nominal domain.

Silvina Montrul is Marjorie Roberts Professor of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and Professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is the director of the Second Language Acquisition and Bilingualism Lab, founder and director of the University Language Academy for Children, and former director of the Doctoral Program in Second Language Acquisition and Teacher Education (SLATE).

Together, they have written and published the book "Second Language Acquisition: Introducing Intervention Research."

In this episode, they discuss:

grammatical knowledge in the context of language acquisition
what intervention research is
why we expect too much of adult learners
how instruction contributes or doesn't contribute to grammar acquisition
efficacious conditions for grammar instruction
how educators can influence the learning of grammar
why studying monolinguals helps to understand L2 acquisition
literate vs illiterate native speakers for a study on grammatical knowledge

For more on today's guests:

Get their book "SLA: Introducing Intervention Research"
Silvina's website
Tania's website

Thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

Ways we can help you right now:

Book a free 1:1 chat to strategize your teaching business.
5in30: Get 5 clients in the next 30 days
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So many teachers focus on teaching when they should focus on something else. In this episode, we dive into this with the great Bill VanPatten.

Bill VanPatten is an award-winning scholar and teacher with an international reputation in the fields of second language acquisition and second language teaching. He is a requested speaker at conferences and meetings and over the course of his career he has given over 500 keynote speeches, plenaries, invited talks, and workshops.

We chat with Bill about why:

the majority of teaching is not in accordance with SLA research
Krashen was right
teachers need to get rid of the "Atlas Complex"
most people don't understand what a communicative classroom means
grammar rules are not psychologically real
many researchers don't want to talk to teachers
understanding how non-college educated L1 speakers process language shows explicit instruction's ineffectiveness
if learners can do your assignments using AI, the assignment is flawed

For more from Bill:

Visit his website.
His recent article "Krashen forty years later: Final comments"

Thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

Ways we can help you right now:

5in30: Get 5 clients in the next 30 days
Just starting your business? Get free guidance in our support group.
Already have clients? Share your vision with us: book a free chat to strategize your business goals.
Follow us on IG: @learnyourenglish

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Join our free support group for teachers building their business.

So many teachers feel they can't teach pronunciation if their speech doesn't sound a certain way. Listen to this episode to discover why that isn't true.

Robin Walker and Gemma Archer are pronunciation specialists who co-authored "Teaching English Pronunciation for a Global World," which aims to encourage pronunciation instruction from a lingua franca and intelligibility perspective.

We chat with Robin & Gemma about:

intelligibility, comprehensibility, and accentedness
why the Lingua Franca Core is what teachers should learn
their disdain for Jennifer Jenkins' criticism of them - before realizing she was right
how intelligibility is the thing that allows pronunciation to do its job
weak forms and why they're not necessary for intelligibility
why the goal of international intelligibility doesn't exclude other goals
how to measure intelligibility & use Linca Franca Core diagnostics with your students

Grab their book here.

For more from Gemma:

Follow her on LinkedIn
The Scottish Sound School

For more from Robin:

Follow him on LinkedIn
His website - Englishglobal.com

As always, thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

Ways we can help you right now:

5in30: Get 5 clients in the next 30 days
Just starting your business? Get free guidance in our support group.
Already have clients? Share your vision with us: book a free chat to strategize your business goals.
Follow us on IG: @learnyourenglish

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Find your niche & get 5 new clients. Start here.

Many teachers are wary of using a task-based approach. Learn how to overcome that and start using it in your business or classrooms.

Lara Bryfonski is an applied linguist and assistant professor of linguistics at Georgetown University. Her research focuses on task-based language teaching and she is the Project Director of STARTALK-TASK, an NSA-funded task-based training program for critical language teachers. She recently co-authored the book The Art and Science of Language Teaching with Alison Mackey.

In this episode, we chat with Lara about:

if "TBLT" is a fad
the myth that novice teachers can't handle TBLT
why experienced teachers are often the most resistant to try it
using a TBL approach within a strict syllabus
where grammar instruction fits into a TBL approach
what a task is and isn't
navigating a learner's internal syllabus
task design and how to apply it in your courses tomorrow
Twitch, gaming, and asynchronous TBLT
her advice for aspiring TBLT practitioners

For more from Lara:

Connect on LinkedIn
Find her new book "The art and science of language teaching"
Read her published works
Her website

As always, thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

Ways we can help you right now:

5in30: Get 5 clients in the next 30 days
Sandbox your own course ideas in our free support community for teacherpreneurs.
Map your first course in 60 minutes or less - your free guide here
See our free guides for teachers starting their own business
Try our TAP program free for 7 days
CPD: Teaching Listening Made Easy
Follow us on IG: @learnyourenglish

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Our 5in30 community helps you get 5 new clients in 30 days. Start here.

Donna M. Brinton is a methodologist, trainer, author, and distinguished figure in applied linguistics. A key aspect of Donna's work is her advocacy for Content-Based Instruction (CBI). Over her five decades in the field, she has authored and co-authored many books, including the famed "Apple Book."

In this conversation, Donna expounds on:

her beginnings as a teacher & her struggles with methodology
why she decided to focus on methods as a point of emphasis
content-based instruction and how it impacts language learning
developing and using a CBI syllabus
the 6 "t's" framework & the 3 CBI prototypes
CBI case studies around the world
the problem with minimal pairs and what can be done instead
the future of methodology & teacher development

For more from Donna, connect on LinkedIn

As always, thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

Ways we can help you right now:

5in30: Get 5 clients in the next 30 days
Sandbox your own course ideas in our free support community for teacherpreneurs.
Map your first course in 60 minutes or less - your free guide here
See our free guides for teachers starting their own business
Try our TAP program free for 7 days
CPD: Teaching Listening Made Easy
Follow us on IG: @learnyourenglish

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Our 5in30 helps you get 5 new clients in 30 days. Start here.

Leo, Mike, and Andrew grab some nog, get in the holiday spirit, and chat about authenticity - Merriam-Webster's word of the year for 2023. We delve into what the word means to us and how we and anyone building a business can bring as much authenticity as possible into 2024.

Specifically, we dive into:

LYE's beginnings
our process and struggles with niching down
why the response "teachers will love that" to our first offer was a bad answer
the highs and lows of developing your own business
the "do one thing" philosophy to business growth
unconventional niche fusions
how you can develop sustainable practices in your business in 2024

Watch the Pharrell Williams/Maggie Rogers niche-fusion video mentioned in this episode.

As always, thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

Ways we can help you right now:

5in30: Get 5 clients in the next 30 days
Sandbox your own course ideas in our free support community for teacherpreneurs.
Map your first course in 60 minutes or less - your free guide here
See our free guides for teachers starting their own business
Try our TAP program free for 7 days
CPD: Teaching Listening Made Easy
Follow us on IG: @learnyourenglish

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We help teachers start their own online business for free. Click here to join in.

Cecilia Nobre is a Ph.D. student in Applied Linguistics at Warwick, has been an EFL teacher for over 20 years, and is a trainer on DipTESOL, CertTESOL, and Celta trainer. She has co-authored the book "Using Video to Support Teacher Reflection and Development in ELT" with Steve Mann and Laura Baecher.

Her research interests lie in the areas of teacher development, video reflection, and reflective practice. In this episode, Cecilia touches on:

video-based observation as a form of development
how videos can foster more critical reflection
using video recordings in both the physical and digital classroom
why every teacher should record their own lessons - and then watch them
how video observation can be incorporated into pre-service training courses
why video observation reduces the hierarchical relationship of traditional observation and how it can foster community building
advice for new educators just getting started

For more from Cecilia:

Follow her on LinkedIn
See her co-authored book "Using Video to Support Teacher Reflection and Development in ELT"

As always, thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

Ways we can help you right now:

5in30: Get 5 clients in the next 30 days
Sandbox your own course ideas in our free support community for teacherpreneurs.
Map your first course in 60 minutes or less - your free guide here
See our free guides for teachers starting their own business
Try our TAP program free for 7 days
CPD: Teaching Listening Made Easy
Follow us on IG: @learnyourenglish

View Details

We help teachers start their own business for free. Click here to join in.

Geoff Jordan is a teacher, trainer, academic, and author. Geoff has a Ph.D. in Second Language Acquisition, has worked at ESADE, Barcelona for 28 years, and recently co-authored a book with the late Mike Long called "ELT Now and How It Could Be."His main academic interests are: theories of SLA, psycholinguistics, teaching practice and computational linguistics.

Specifically, Geoff touches on:

his beginnings in the ELT industry
working alongside Mike Long, Peter Skehan and Henry Widdowson in the early days
his new book "ELT Now and How It Could Be," co-written with the late Mike Long
how commercialization has hurt the language industry
why students should be angry after 300 hours of study when they still can't "go to the pub in London"
why task-based learning is the only way to go
why "presenting" language is inefficacious
how the future of the industry is in niche courses
advising students to be more resourceful in their learning
listener questions

More from Dr. Nassaji:

His website

Some of his prominent books:

Corrective Feedback in Second Language Teaching and Learning: Research, Theory, Applications, Implication
The Interactional Feedback Dimension in Instructed Second Language Learning: Linking Theory, Research, and Practice
Teaching Grammar in Second Language Classrooms: Integrating Form-Focused Instruction in Communicative Context
The Cambridge Handbook of Corrective Feedback in Second Language Learning and Teaching

Podcast Creation:

This episode was created with support from Thinkific & Podbean. If you're looking to launch a course or start a podcast, we highly recommend them - and use them ourselves.

As always, thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

For more info on what we do at LYE, check out: Our Teacher Development Membership

Join Our Mailing List

Our Online CPD Courses for Teachers

Follow Learn YOUR English

Follow Teacher Talking Time

Corrective Feedback in Second Language Teaching and Learning: Research, Theory, Applications, Implications (ESL & Applied Linguistics Professional Series Book 66)

Teaching Grammar in Second Language Classrooms (ESL & Applied Linguistics Professional Series)

The Cambridge Handbook of Corrective Feedback in Second Language Learning and Teaching (Cambridge Handbooks in Language and Linguistics)

The Interactional Feedback Dimension in Instructed Second Language Learning: Linking Theory, Research, and Practice (Advances in Instructed Second Language Acquisition Research)

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We're thrilled to announce our new partnership with Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, to produce an 8-part mini series on the topic of Corrective Feedback. The series explores the area of corrective feedback through interviews with 8 scholars in the field. All interviews are conducted by students in Dr. Eva Kartchava's MA class at Carleton University as a means of assessment to connect researchers to their audience and have her students generate a greater level of understanding and investment in the research from the course. If you are interested in having a similar series produced for your class or institute, you can contact us: info@learnyourenglish.com

This is the introductory episode to our series on Corrective Feedback. Here, we invite Dr. Eva Kartchava - Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics and Discourse Studies in the School of Linguistics and Language Studies at Carleton University, Canada - and Dr. Hossein Nassaji - Professor of Applied Linguistics in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Victoria, Canada - to help kick off the series.

In this episode, Dr. Kartchava and Dr. Nassaji help elucidate many questions the series aims to answer, some of which are:

what is corrective feedback?
how do you give CF?
what is the purpose of CF?
how many different types of CF are there?
when should we provide CF?

Partnership with Carleton University: Throughout the series, MA students from Dr. Kartchava's class will interview leading experts in the field of corrective feedback. We thank Dr. Kartchava for joining this episode and for spearheading this initiative.

For more information on this episode, this project, and those involved:

view Carleton and Dr. Kartchava's website on Corrective Feedback
view the LYE blog post on this episode

Podcast Creation:

This episode was created with support from Thinkific & Podbean. If you're looking to launch a course or start a podcast, we highly recommend them - and use them ourselves.

As always, thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

Our Teacher Development Membership

Join Our Mailing List

Our Online CPD Courses for Teachers

Follow Learn YOUR English

Follow Teacher Talking Time

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/CULT/K^LT/A fashionable belief, idea, or attitude that influences people’s lives/The cult of learning encourages people to find and pursue what they are passionate about/

*”The Cult of Learning” are episodes for learners of languages. These episodes will discuss tools and strategies for learning and provide opportunities for effective listening practice. These episodes are also part of our Self-directed Learning Portal, which helps thousands of people around the world improve the English skills important to them.

Leo and Mike continue our mini series “What are Habits and the Science Behind Them.” In the second installment, they discuss:

how long it takes to adopt a new habit
the story behind that magic number & where it came from
if that number is real or fabricated
a study dedicated to discovering just how habits are formed
what we can learn from all of this

If you are a learning a language, these episodes are for you!

Also, check out our blog post for more information on today's episode for more information.

Thank you for listening! If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

Our E-book for FREE on our website. We hope it helps you learn outside the classroom!

Our School of Learning for Teachers & Students - only $5/month

Our Website

Join our Mailing List

Follow Learn YOUR English

Follow Teacher Talking Time

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Scott Thornbury joins Leo, Mike, and Andrew in studio.

Scott has taught and trained in Egypt, UK, Spain, and in his native New Zealand. Until recently he taught an online MA TESOL program for The New School in New York. His writing credits include several award-winning books for teachers on language and methodology. He is also the series editor for the Cambridge Handbooks for Language Teachers, and a trustee of the Hands Up Project, which promotes drama activities in English for children in under-resourced regions of the Arab world. At present, he is working for the Mosaik Foundation, training teachers of refugees in the Middle East in how to integrate communicative activities into their online classes.

We delve into Scott's career journey, and he discusses:

his career beginnings
his early influences and the "mother goose approach"
a paradigm shift away from drills and accuracy to a fluency-based, communicative approach
views on teacher development
his writing process and how nothing on the page in front of you is alright when there's a lot behind you
Dogme and Leo Van Lier's influence on him

For more on Scott Thornbury:

His website is www.scottthornbury.com

He tweets at @thornburyscott

His highly acclaimed blog https://scottthornbury.wordpress.com/

Mosaik Foundation

Hands Up Project

For more information on this episode, see our blog post about it.

Podcast Creation:

This episode was created with support from Thinkific & Podbean. If you're looking to launch a course or start a podcast, we highly recommend them - and use them ourselves.

As always, thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

Our Teacher Development Membership

Join Our Mailing List

Our Online Courses for Teachers

Our Sandbox of Lessons and Lesson Ideas

Follow Learn YOUR English

Follow Teacher Talking Time

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/CULT/K^LT/A fashionable belief, idea, or attitude that influences people’s lives/The cult of learning encourages people to find and pursue what they are passionate about/

*”The Cult of Learning” are episodes for learners of languages. These episodes will discuss tools and strategies for learning and provide opportunities for effective listening practice. These episodes are also part of our Self-directed Learning Portal, which helps thousands of people around the world improve the English skills important to them.

In the first COL episode of 2021, Leo and Mike introduce our new mini series on habits called “What are Habits and the Science Behind Them.” In the first episode, they talk about maintaining good habits. Why are they so hard to start and seemingly impossible to keep? Our 3-part series will explore this, how it connects to learning, and much more.

In part one, Mike and Leo tackle:

why most people fail to create good habits
how long it takes to form a new habit
a technique you can use to stick to a good habit and how to track your habits effectively

If you are a learning a language, these episodes are for you!

Also, check out our blog post for more information on today's episode for more information.

Thank you for listening! If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

Download our E-book for FREE on our website. We hope it helps you learn outside the classroom!

Improve your English with our Self-directed Learning Portal - only $5/month

Our Website

Join our Mailing List

Follow Learn YOUR English

Follow Teacher Talking Time

Use our LYE Discount on your Next Creative Project. Get your First Month Free when you:

Start a Podcast with Podbean

Publish an Online Course with Thinkific

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To kick off 2021, Mike, Leo, and Andrew hold Teacher Talking Time’s first ever live episode to commemorate two years of podcasting with Learn YOUR English. They invite members of the LYE community to share their experiences with podcasts and, specifically, how they use them to develop as educators.

This episode was also broadcast live on the LYE Youtube channel, and in the first episode of 2021, they guys along with their guests discuss:

why and how Teacher Talking Time came to fruition
using podcasting as a tool for CPD
using podcasting as an asset for classroom assessment
Leo’s Master’s dissertation on podcasting in ELT

We also hear from some of our listeners on how they use podcasts for their development.

We also want to give a shoutout to other ELT Podcasts that inspire us. A lot of these influenced us in our careers and in the development of our show. Please check them out:

TEFLology

Tefl Training Institute

TEFL Commute

SLB Coop Podcast

Language Testing Bytes

For more information on this episode, see our blog post about it.

Podcast Creation:

This episode was created with support from Thinkific & Podbean. If you're looking to launch a course or start a podcast, we highly recommend them - and use them ourselves.

As always, thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

Our Memberships

Join Our Mailing List

Our Online Courses

Follow Learn YOUR English

Follow Teacher Talking Time

View Details

/CULT/K^LT/A fashionable belief, idea, or attitude that influences people’s lives/The cult of learning encourages people to find and pursue what they are passionate about/

*”The Cult of Learning” are episodes for learners of languages. These episodes will discuss tools and strategies for learning and provide opportunities for effective listening practice. These episodes are also part of our Self-directed Learning Portal, which helps thousands of people around the world improve the English skills important to them.

In the final Cult of Learning episode of 2020, Leo, Mike, and Andrew share their words of the year. From Zoom Fatigue to Cancel Culture to Social Distancing and Quarantine, our vocabularies grew enormously over the past 12 months.

What words were the most impactful this year? What relevance do they have? How did they come about?

The guys chat about this, reflect on living through a pandemic, and discuss how this year has taught us all a lot about learning.

If you are a learning a language, these episodes are for you!

Also, check out our blog post for more information on today's episode for more information.

Thank you for listening! If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

Download our E-book for FREE on our website. We hope it helps you learn outside the classroom!

Improve your English Skills with our Self-directed Learning Portal - only $5

Our Website

Join our Mailing List

Follow Learn YOUR English

Follow Teacher Talking Time

Use our LYE Discount on your Next Creative Project. Get your First Month Free when you:

Start a Podcast with Podbean

Publish an Online Course with Thinkific

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Mike, Leo, and Andrew sit down and reflect on the year that was in 2020. In a year unlike any other in our lifetime, many things happened. They discuss:

takeaways from the top 5 most listened to Teacher Talking Time episodes of the year
lessons learned in 2020 and reflecting on their 2019 goals
what goal setting for next year looks like staring down a pandemic

For more information on this episode, see our blog post about it.

Podcast Creation:

This episode was created with support from Thinkific & Podbean. If you're looking to launch a course or start a podcast, we highly recommend them - and use them ourselves.

As always, thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

Our Memberships

Join Our Mailing List

Our Online Courses

Follow Learn YOUR English

Follow Teacher Talking Time

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/CULT/K^LT/A fashionable belief, idea, or attitude that influences people’s lives/The cult of learning encourages people to find and pursue what they are passionate about/

*”The Cult of Learning” are episodes for learners of languages. These episodes will discuss tools and strategies for learning and provide opportunities for effective listening practice. These episodes are also part of our Self-directed Learning Portal, which helps thousands of people around the world improve the English skills important to them.

Mike, Leo, and Andrew all cram into the digital studio for the first ever Cult of Learning episode with all three musketeers. The guys talk about conversations, why they can be difficult, reasons for them breaking down, and strategies to use to increase your conversation skills.

They also present a technique they've designed called the "4 A's: Mastering the Art of Conversation." The 4 A's are:

ask
answer
add
ask

If you're looking for tips to improve your English conversation skills, this is the episode for you. Listen to the full episode for examples, analysis, how to use the A's - and a few stories, jokes, and humour along the way.

If you'd like to take your English conversation skills to the next level, check out our online lesson on just this topic.

Also, check out our blog post for more information on today's episode.

Thank you for listening! If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

Download our E-book for FREE on our website. We hope it helps you learn outside the classroom!

Improve your English Skills with our Self-directed Learning Portal - only $5/month

Our Website

Join our Mailing List

Follow Learn YOUR English

Follow Teacher Talking Time

Use our LYE Discount on your Next Creative Project. Get your First Month Free when you:

Start a Podcast with Podbean

Publish an Online Course with Thinkific

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Leo invites Luke Meddings into the digital studio. Luke is a teacher, trainer, and author with over 30 years in the ELT industry. In 2009 he co-authored "Teaching Unplugged" with Scott Thornbury, a book that represented a revolution in English Language Instruction. In 2020, Luke founded "The Context," which helps students, teachers, and institutions in the industry.

Luke reflects on the Dogme movement, why it was viewed as controversial, where it is now, and if he still views it as contentious.

In much more detail, he tells us:

his teaching beginnings and why it led him to a "teaching unplugged" approach (3:00)
the first school he started - "Explore Your English" - and why it was idealistic (18:00)
the genesis of Dogme and meeting Scott Thornbury (25:00)
why presenting on Dogme at conferences was met with both excitement and contempt (40:00)
the writing of "Teaching Unplugged" and why they didn't use the word "Dogme" (44:00)
the 10 principles of Dogme and why they chose the 3 they did for their movement (55:00)
his thoughts on progressive education and how we still need to do better (1:02:00)

For more on Luke Meddings:

Follow him: @LukeMeddings

Visit his website

Follow The Context on Instagram: @thecontext_edu

Get your copy of Teaching Unplugged

For more information on this episode, see our blog post about it.

Podcast Creation:

This episode was created with support from Thinkific & Podbean. If you're looking to launch a course or start a podcast, we highly recommend them - and use them ourselves.

As always, thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

Our Memberships

Join Our Mailing List

Our Online Courses

Follow Learn YOUR English

Follow Teacher Talking Time

Teaching Unplugged (Delta Teacher Development Series)

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/CULT/K^LT/A fashionable belief, idea, or attitude that influences people’s lives/The cult of learning encourages people to find and pursue what they are passionate about/

*”The Cult of Learning” are episodes for learners of languages. These episodes will discuss tools and strategies for learning and provide opportunities for effective listening practice. These episodes are also part of our Self-directed Learning Portal, which helps thousands of people around the world improve the English skills important to them.

Mike and Leo discuss "visualization" and how it can help you become a better language learner. Visualization or "mental imagery" is is commonly used by many top performers, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Michael Phelps, and athletes when preparing themselves for a competition, a race, or a match.

How does this apply to learning a language? Mike and Leo talk about:

how important the mind is in language performance
famous athletes who use this technique
how we visualize all the time even if we don't do it on purpose
why it's important to have realistic goals in your language learning
strategies you can use to visualize your "future L2 self"

Check out our website for more information on today's episode.

Thank you for listening! If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

Download our E-book for FREE on our website. We hope it helps you learn outside the classroom!

Improve your English Skills with our Self-directed Learning Portal - only $5/month

Our Website

Join our Mailing List

Follow Learn YOUR English

Follow Teacher Talking Time

Use our LYE Discount on your Next Creative Project. Get your First Month Free when you:

Start a Podcast with Podbean

Publish an Online Course with Thinkific

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Leo and Mike chat with Dr. Masatoshi Sato about academic research, second language teaching, and why a lack of implementation still exists between research and classroom pedagogy.

Dr. Sato (PhD: McGill University) is a Professor in the Department of English at Universidad Andrés Bello, Chilé. He currently teaches pre-service and in-service English teachers in Chile. His research agenda is to conduct theoretical and practical research in order to provide practitioners with evidence-based pedagogy. In particular, he has conducted research focusing on peer interaction, corrective feedback, learner psychology, teacher psychology, and research-pedagogy dialogue.

He recently published a paper titled "Do Teachers Care about Research? The Research-Pedagogy Dialogue" which is the focus of this episode.

*Note: the paper is free to read.

Dr. Sato tells us:

how he became a researcher (2:00)
misconceptions on the purpose of second language research (12:00)
what the "research-pedagogy" dialogue is and why it's important (18:00)
why he believes teachers usually don't interact with research (30:00)
what researchers need to do for their work to be more useful to teachers (34:00)
why motivation cannot be the cause of learning (47:00)
his study analyzing motivation and the "ideal self system" and its link to second language learning (52:00)

For more on Dr. Sato:

Follow him: @masatoshi_sato

Read his research

For more information on this episode, see our blog post about it.

Podcast Creation:

This episode was created with support from Thinkific & Podbean. If you're looking to launch a course or start a podcast, we highly recommend them - and use them ourselves.

As always, thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

Our Memberships

Join Our Mailing List

Our Online Courses

Follow Learn YOUR English

Follow Teacher Talking Time

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/CULT/K^LT/A fashionable belief, idea, or attitude that influences people’s lives/The cult of learning encourages people to find and pursue what they are passionate about/

*”The Cult of Learning” are episodes for learners of languages. These episodes will discuss tools and strategies for learning and provide opportunities for effective listening practice. These episodes are also part of the Learn YOUR English Learner Membership Community.

In this episode, Andrew joins Leo in studio and they discuss reasons for learning a new language, both good and bad. In the last segment, the guys talk about motivation vs discipline, and how to make language learning a habit and not a chore.

Why do you learn new languages? What habits have you developed along the way?

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Ted Talk - 4 Reasons to Learn a Language

James Clear - Atomic Habits

The Michelle Obama Podcast

LYE Quick Fix

LYE YouTube Channel

Download our E-book for FREE on our website. We hope it helps you learn outside the classroom!

Thank you for listening! If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

If you like the show, we have a Tip Jar on our website for people looking to help with the creation of our show.

For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

Our School of Learning for Students - only $5

Our Website

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Andrew sits down with Ana-Marija Petrunic to discuss her work in post-conflict Kosovo in the late 1990's, how language & identity factor into teaching, and if there is such a thing as neutrality in education. Ana-Marija spent years in post-war Kosovo as part of a project working towards reconstructing an education system in the ethnically diverse region.

Ana-Marija is the Chair of the School of ESL at Toronto’s George Brown College. Previous to that, she spent more than a decade with the University of Calgary, serving roles as instructor, professional development advisor, and in education management. She is continuing her academic path with doctoral studies in the School of Management at the University of Bath.

In this episode, Ana-Marija delves into:

how her feeling of being "suspended in identity" led her to a career in ELT
her work in Kosovo - what it was, why she went, and how it happened
the challenges of re-constructing education in a post-war region
how identity impacts language learning and teaching
why she believes neutrality does not exist in education
why teachers need to embrace tension and discomfort in their classrooms, and have tough, meaningful, and impactful discussions with their students that will impart social change

For more information on Ana-Marija:

Follow her: @ampetrun

Read her thesis from the University of Calgary

For more information on this episode, see our blog post on our website.

Podcast Creation:

This episode was created with support from our listeners. If you enjoy our work, consider contributing to our tip jar

As always, thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you like the show, consider subscribing on Spotify, iTunes, or Google Podcasts, and sharing it with a friend. If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

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/CULT/K^LT/A fashionable belief, idea, or attitude that influences people’s lives/The cult of learning encourages people to find and pursue what they are passionate about/

*”The Cult of Learning” are episodes for learners of languages. These episodes will discuss tools and strategies for learning and provide opportunities for effective listening practice. These episodes are also part of the Learn YOUR English Learner Membership Community.

In episode 5, Leo and Mike complete our mini series on setting clear language goals. The series looks at the 7 "Cs" of goal setting. This episode looks at the last two Cs:

The Sixth C: Character

A good CHARACTER to guide us and keep us on a proper course.

The Seventh C: Capacity

A capacity to enjoy the PROCESS along the way
Playing the long game

For each, they pose these questions:

What are they?
How do they help us learn?
Why are they important?

The LYE School of Learning:

If you would like to join our School of Learning, it’s only $5 one time. Sign up and start learning today!

Download our E-book for FREE on our website. We hope it helps you learn outside the classroom!

Thank you for listening! If you like the show, consider subscribing on Spotify, iTunes, or Google Podcasts, and sharing it with a friend. If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

If you like the show, we have a Tip Jar on our website for people looking to help with the creation of our show.

For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

Our School of Learning for Students - only $5

Our Website

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In Teacher Talking Time’s first round-table episode, we focus on the topic of teaching and developing listening skills. Leo and Andrew are joined by Marc Jones and Chiara Bruzzano, both researchers on the topic of listening.

Marc and Chiara help us parse what current research and findings on listening says, and discuss what strategies and approaches we as teachers can utilize in our classes to best help our students.

This episode is divided into 3 sections:

The Differences between teaching, practicing, and testing listening (3:20)
Analyzing the standard approach to teaching listening (34:00)
Looking at what can be improved and suggestions of how to go about it. (1:02:00)

Three questions were used to help us define this round table discussion:

Is there a problem that our industry faces that you would like to address?
How is this topic relevant to teachers?
What outcomes do we expect to achieve at the end of this round table?

*This episode works in conjunction with the LYE Course "Teaching Listening Made Easy."

Follow Chiara:

Twitter: @chiara_bruzzano

View her website: ETprofessional

Read her work

Chiara is also the founder of LanguagEd, a group of teachers, researchers and graphic designers producing professional development courses for teachers.

Follow Marc:

Twitter: @marcjonestyo

View his websites: Marcjones.tokyo and getgreatenglish.com

Read his most recent article

*For anyone interested in learning more about teaching listening, listen to the end of the episode for a discount code for the LYE course “Teaching Listening Made Easy.”

For more information on this episode, see our blog post on our website.

Podcast Creation:

This episode was created with support from our listeners. If you enjoy our work, consider contributing to our tip jar

As always, thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you like the show, consider subscribing on Spotify, iTunes, or Google Podcasts, and sharing it with a friend. If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

Our Memberships

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Follow Learn YOUR English

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/CULT/K^LT/A fashionable belief, idea, or attitude that influences people’s lives/The cult of learning encourages people to find and pursue what they are passionate about/

*”The Cult of Learning” are episodes for learners of languages. These episodes will discuss tools and strategies for learning and provide opportunities for effective listening practice. These episodes are also part of the Learn YOUR English Learner Membership Community.

In episode 4, Mike and Leo continue our podcast series on Setting Clear Goals in Language Learning. In this series, we discuss the 7 Cs of Goal Setting. In Part I, we talked about the first two: conception and confidence.

In this episode, we talk about the next 3 Cs: Concentration, Consistency, and Commitment:

What are they?
How do they help us learn?
Why are they important?

Mike and Leo also talk about very exciting announcements for Learn YOUR English:

A. Free E-book for Students called "The 3 Myths of Learning" - download for free now!

B. The LYE School of Learning - learn for only $5 for your whole life!

C. LYE Quick Fixes: Improve one part of your language quickly and effectively.

The LYE School of Learning:

If you would like to join our School of Learning, it’s only $5 one time. Sign up and start learning today!

Download our E-book for FREE on our website. We hope it helps you learn outside the classroom!

Thank you for listening! If you like the show, consider subscribing on Spotify, iTunes, or Google Podcasts, and sharing it with a friend. If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

If you like the show, we have a Tip Jar on our website for people looking to help with the creation of our show.

For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

Our School of Learning for Students - only $5

Our Website

Join our Mailing List

Follow Learn YOUR English

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In episode 26, Andrew invites Jason Anderson into the studio. Jason is a teacher educator, educational consultant, award-winning author and researcher, working in both language teaching and mainstream education. He has published research on aspects of language teaching, multilingualism, teacher reflection, lesson planning and teacher education. His main interests include teaching methodology, translanguaging and the contextual challenges of primary and secondary teachers working in low- and middle-income contexts, where he has spent much of his career as a teacher educator.

He is a proponent for the use of multiple frameworks in language classrooms - "all of these approaches do and can work." In 2016, he published "A Potted History of PPP" in which he outlines the history of the framework and argues that research is not simply against it, as many believe. Jason also has designed a new framework called "The TATE Model."

In this episode, Jason discusses:

His recent project in India (4:00)
The history of the PPP Framework (11:00)
Why the Zone of Proximal Development is misunderstood in second language acquisition (19:00)
Lexis, Grammar, the lexical approach and a synthetic syllabus (22:00)
If TBLT is appropriate in developing world contexts (28:00)
What it means for an approach "to work" (36:00)
Creating appropriate outcome measures (39:30)
Research and practice together in a reflective model of teacher education (50:00)
The TATE model (57:30)

*For links to the resources mentioned in this interview, see our blog post about this episode on our website.

Follow Jason:

Twitter: @jasonelt

Website: jasonanderson.org.uk

Read his work

Podcast Creation:

This episode was created with support from our listeners. If you enjoy our work, consider contributing to our tip jar

As always, thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you like the show, consider subscribing on Spotify, iTunes, or Google Podcasts, and sharing it with a friend. If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

Our Memberships

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Our Online Courses

Follow Learn YOUR English

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/CULT/K^LT/A fashionable belief, idea, or attitude that influences people’s lives/The cult of learning encourages people to find and pursue what they are passionate about/

*”The Cult of Learning” are episodes for learners of languages. These episodes will discuss tools and strategies for learning and provide opportunities for effective listening practice. These episodes are also part of the Learn YOUR English Learner Membership Community.

In episode 3, Mike and Leo introduce our podcast series on Setting Clear Goals in Language Learning. In this series, we will discuss the 7 Cs of Goal Setting.

In this episode, we talk about the first 2 Cs:

Conception:

The first condition to success is establishing a clear conception of what we want to achieve or accomplish.

What does that mean?
What steps do we need to take to do that?
Confidence

The second step is developing confidence.

What kind of confidence?
How do we overcome challenges?
What's the difference between confidence and courage?

We cover this and more in Part 1 of our series on setting clear language goals. Send us a message and let us know how you plan for success.

For LYE Members: All of our members will be discussing this episode in our classes this month and performing learning activities to achieve their language goals.

Become a member now.

Thank you for listening! If you like the show, consider subscribing on Spotify, iTunes, or Google Podcasts, and sharing it with a friend. If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

If you like the show, we have a Tip Jar on our website for people looking to help with the creation of our show.

For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

Our Memberships

Our Website

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In episode 25, Mike and Leo chat with the great Jane Willis. Jane started her career teaching French in Ghana and has since worked extensively overseas (Cyprus, Iran, and Singapore) as an English teacher and trainer. She began writing in Iran with Teaching English Through English, for local teachers who found it difficult speaking English in their classes.

She has run teacher development courses and taken part in ELT consultancies in many countries, including China, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, the Middle East, South America, and Europe. She especially enjoys working with teachers of Foreign Languages who want to adopt a task-based approach

Jane recently completed and published "Winning the Grammar Wars – what grammar really is and how we use it" - a book her late husband Dave Willis started - which describes English in a holistic way and provides a broad overview for teachers, parents, and educators.

In this episode, Jane delves into all things teaching, including:

Her early beginnings in teaching (4:00)
One of her first books "Teaching English through English" (10:00)
The COBUILD syllabus
The restrictions course books put on training the next generation of teachers (26:00)
Why Task-based Language Teaching (38:30)
Why TBLT isn't PPP upside down (53:30)
TBLT with beginners (56:30)
If TBLT is appropriate for all teachers (1:01:30)
The latest Willis book "Winning the Grammar Wars" (1:07:30)
What an input-rich course would look like (1:33:00)
Raising Bilingual Children (1:39:00)

Contact Jane Willis:

Via her website

Her list of works from her personal website

Read "Winning the Grammar Wars," which Jane finished after Dave's passing.

See many more resources referenced in this episode on our website.

If you like the show, we have a Tip Jar on our website for people looking to help with the creation of our show.

As always, thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you like the show, consider subscribing on Spotify, iTunes, or Google Podcasts, and sharing it with a friend. If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

Our Memberships

Join Our Mailing List

Our Online Courses

Follow Learn YOUR English

Follow Teacher Talking Time

Teaching English Through English (Longman Handbooks for Language Teachers)

Winning the Grammar Wars: what grammar really is and how we use it

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/CULT/K^LT/A fashionable belief, idea, or attitude that influences people’s lives/The cult of learning encourages people to find and pursue what they are passionate about/

*”The Cult of Learning” are episodes for learners of languages. These episodes will discuss tools and strategies for learning and provide opportunities for effective listening practice. These episodes are also part of the Learn YOUR English Learner Membership Community.

In episode two, Mike and Leo talk about myths around learning. There are many beliefs about how people learn in the 21st Century - especially about how people learn languages - that are not actually true.

The guys talk about three of them:

Myth 1: We can only learn in the classroom

Myth 2: We can only learn from a textbook

Myth 3: We can only learn with a teacher

At the end of the first segment, Mike and Leo assign a reflection task. Listen for that and let us know your answers!

For LYE Members: All of our members will be discussing this episode in our classes this month and performing learning activities to achieve their language goals.

If you like the show, we have a Tip Jar on our website for people looking to help with the creation of our show.

Thank you for listening! If you like the show, consider subscribing on Spotify, iTunes, or Google Podcasts, and sharing it with a friend. If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

Our Memberships

Our Website

Join our Mailing List

Follow Learn YOUR English

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In episode 24, Leo welcomes Dr. Marije Michel to the studio. Dr. Michel has a PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Amsterdam and is an associate professor and Chair of Language Learning at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. She conducts research into language learning processes in a second language, foreign language didactics, and multilingualism in educational contexts.

In this episode, Dr. Michel discusses the second language learning process, the role of input, and her most recent research on alignment.

Dr. Michel focuses on:

Learning by doing (11:00)
The role of input (17:00)
The role of grammar instruction and repetition in task-based approaches (24:00)
CAF - Complexity, Accuracy, Fluency (32:00)
Training students to give meaningful peer feedback (41:00)
An important refugee project called The English Academy for Newcomers (45:00)
Alignment - what it is, how it works, and how teachers can incorporate it (52:00)

Follow Dr. Michel:

Twitter: @marijemichel

Read her work

If you like the show, we have a Tip Jar on our website for people looking to help with the creation of our show.

As always, thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you like the show, consider subscribing on Spotify, iTunes, or Google Podcasts, and sharing it with a friend. If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

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In episode 23, Mike and Leo invite Fernando Rosell-Aguilar into the virtual studio. Fernando is an author, course designer, and currently delivers lectures at Coventry University in the UK. He is pursuing a Pd.D. in Computer-Assisted Language Learning from the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (UPV), and his research interests are online learning, with an emphasis on the integration of technologies into teaching and learning.

In the times of COVID-19, we are truly grateful for Fernando's insights and expertise into online teaching.

In this episode, he discusses:

the main differences between online and face-to-face teaching
practices to use and avoid in online teaching
if the mass move to teaching online will re-shape traditional education
what he believes the term "supplementary" means in education
the myth that a teacher is required for learning
how much teaching should be done online
techniques teachers can use to improve their online teaching

Follow Fernando:

Twitter: @FRosellAguilar

And read his research

If you like the show, we have a Tip Jar on our website for people looking to help with the creation of our show.

As always, thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you like the show, consider subscribing on Spotify, iTunes, or Google Podcasts, and sharing it with a friend. If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

Our Memberships

Join Our Mailing List

Our Online Courses

Follow Learn YOUR English

Follow Teacher Talking Time

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/CULT/K^LT/A fashionable belief, idea, or attitude that influences people’s lives/The cult of learning encourages people to find and pursue what they are passionate about/

*”The Cult of Learning” are episodes for learners of languages. These episodes will discuss tools and strategies for learning and provide opportunities for effective listening practice. These episodes are also part of the Learn YOUR English Learner Membership Community.

In Teacher Talking Time’s first episode for learners, Mike and Leo introduce the Cult of Learning podcast, discuss why it’s called “The Cult of Learning,” what “Learn YOUR English” really means, and what we hope to accomplish by helping people learn the language that’s important to them.

This episode is all about learning. Mike and Leo go over the three most important rules for learning:

Effectiveness (the what)
Adherence (the why)
Efficiency (the how)

They also talk about how languages are not taught but learned, discuss several common myths about language learning, and why you shouldn’t say “sayonara” in Japanese.

If you like the show, we have a Tip Jar on our website for people looking to help with the creation of our show.

Thank you for listening! If you like the show, consider subscribing on Spotify, iTunes, or Google Podcasts, and sharing it with a friend. If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

Our Memberships

Our Website

Join our Mailing List

Follow Learn YOUR English

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*If you're interested in attending the Learn YOUR English webinar on March 22, 2020, please RSVP here. We'll be talking Language Awareness & Knowledge! It's free for all ELT professionals.

In episode 22, Leo pulls up a chair with Vinicius Nobre. Vinicius, a Brazilian native, has been teaching English since 1995, has worked as an instructor, trainer, coordinator, writer, and is currently the head of Troika, an ELT consultancy based out of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Vinicius has also written two methodology books “Getting into Teacher Education: a handbook” and “Teaching English Today: Contexts and Objectives.” He served as the president of the biggest association of English Language Teachers in South America, BRAZ-TESOL, where he still works as a member of the Advisory Board.

In this episode, Vinicius talks about:

learner motivation, and the role teachers play - or don’t play - in it
the deficiencies in teacher training courses
textbooks, the intention behind how they are written, and why they shouldn’t be used as recipes
the ELT context in Brazil, including the hurdles to reaching proficiency, and why the English language rarely has any tangible benefits for Brazilians
the challenges to professionalizing ELT in Brazil

Contact Vinicius or Troika:

@vinnienobre; @troika.br

Website: Troika

If you like the show, we have a Tip Jar on our website for people looking to help with the creation of our show.

As always, thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you like the show, consider subscribing on Spotify, iTunes, or Google Podcasts, and sharing it with a friend. If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

Join Our Mailing List

Our Online Courses

Follow Learn YOUR English

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In episode 21, Leo chats with Neil McMillan. Neil is an experienced teacher, teacher-trainer, writer, and translator. He holds a Diploma in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) as well as a Ph.D in literature from the University of Glasgow, and has over 15 years’ classroom experience working with adults, teenagers, and children from all over the world. Neil is also the president of the Cooperative de Serveis Linguistics de Barcelona, a forward-thinking language cooperative based in Barcelona, Spain, and is an active advocate of Task-based Language Teaching.

In this episode, Neil talks about:

the gap between standardized tests and necessary performative tasks, especially in the case of immigration;
what SLB is, how it works, and how teachers elsewhere can form a cooperative;
if ELT is a genuine career given the lack of regulation in the industry;
TBLT myths, SLB's TBLT course, and how teachers can implement tasks from coursebooks;
EAP contexts and how understanding a professor's expectations is integral before creating language curriculum.

Contact Neil or SLB:

Twitter: @neil_mcm; @SLBCoop

Website: Cooperative de Serveis Linguistics de Barcelona

Follow "The SLB Podcast" in any podcast app, or stream on their website.

Read Neil's blog "Animalising ELT"

If you like the show, we have a Tip Jar on our website for people looking to help with the creation of our show.

As always, thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you like the show, consider subscribing on Spotify, iTunes, or Google Podcasts, and sharing it with a friend. If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

Our Website

Our Online Store

Our catalog of online courses on Thinkific

Join our Mailing List

And don't forget to follow us online:

Instagram: @learnyourenglish/@teachertalkingtimepodcast

Twitter: @LYEnetwork/@TTTthepodcast

Facebook: Learn Your English Network

Or shoot us an email: info@learnyourenglish.com

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To kick off 2020, Leo, Mike, and Andrew take a light and casual look at the year that was. In their first roundtable episode in a while, the boys reflect on the past 12 months - and decade - and look forward to 2020. Grab a drink, go for a walk, or enhance your commute by listening to them failing to stay on topic, wandering deep into tangents, and debating the pronunciation of "vice versa."

This episode has 4 segments:

A review of the top 5 most-downloaded Teacher Talking Time episodes of 2019 (2:30).
A discussion on 3 types of change and how it applies to them (25:30).
What worked and didn't work in our classrooms this year and sharing their "formidable" resolutions for 2020 (59:00).
The Lightning Round: the boys share their goals for the year, their favourite movies of the past year, and the people who influence them every year (1:12:00).

At the end of the episode, the guys talk about LYE's new initiatives for 2020, including:

Monthly Teacher Talking Time Webinars
New podcast episodes for Learners
LYE Professional Memberships
More autonomous CPD options

If you like the show, we have a Tip Jar on our website for people looking to help with the creation of our show.

As always, thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.

If you like the show, consider subscribing on Spotify, iTunes, or Google Podcasts, and sharing it with a friend. If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

Our Website

Our Online Store

Our catalog of online courses on Thinkific

Join our Mailing List

And follow us online:

Instagram: @learnyourenglish

Twitter: @LYEnetwork

Facebook: Learn Your English Network

Or shoot us an email: info@learnyourenglish.com

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In this episode, Andrew sits down with Michigan State University Associate Professor Dr. Paula Winke. Dr. Winke is a leading researcher on foreign and second language testing. At MSU, she researches if tests are valid, if tests measure what they should, methods for assessment, and differences among learners that affect assessment outcomes. She co-directs the Second Language Studies Eye-tracking Lab at MSU, and gave a plenary talk at the 2019 Task-based Language Teaching Conference in Ottawa, Canada called "We Need to Align Our Classroom Tasks with ACTFL & CEFR Can-Do Descriptors so that Our TBLT Programs are Chock-full of Proficiency Indicators."

In this episode, Dr. Winke provides insight on:

what proficiency is, the models usually used to measure it, and what problems exist in that model;
how proficiency progresses vertically, horizontally, and spherically, and questions why we usually only gauge progress on a vertical scale;
how programs can evaluate if they are assessing accurately;
why student reflection and self-assessment is crucial;
the problem with measuring proficiency across different program levels;
how course grades do not correlate to proficiency and that most assessments don't test what is being learned;
ACTFL and CEFR scales and how tasks can be great assessment tools.

*For further explanations of how language grows - or how we think it grows - check out our blog post for this episode. Dr. Winke generously provided more insight after the recording of this episode.

More About Dr. Winke:

Check out her website here

See her list of publications here

Contact her: winke@msu.edu

As always, thank you for listening. If you like the show, consider subscribing on Spotify, iTunes, or Google Podcasts, and sharing it with a friend. If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

If you like the show, we have a Tip Jar on our website for people looking to help with the creation of our show.

For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

Our Website

Our Online Store

Our catalog of online courses on Thinkific

Join our Mailing List

And follow us online:

Instagram: @learnyourenglish

Twitter: @LYEnetwork

Facebook: Learn Your English Network

Or shoot us an email: info@learnyourenglish.com

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October 5 is Teacher Appreciation Day in Canada, and in over 100 countries globally. To help celebrate teachers and teaching professionals the LYE podcast - Teacher Talking Time - has organized a special two-part series called “Why did you become a teacher?” We interviewed six teachers from different countries and contexts to hear their stories, and celebrate the stories of all educators around the world.

We asked six teachers eight questions over two episodes. We talked about becoming a teacher, remaining a teacher, thinking about leaving teaching, misconceptions of teaching, rewarding experiences, and much more.

The teachers who graciously took part in this mini series are as follows. Please feel free to reach out to them and to support the projects they are working on.

Angela Barone

Angela has been teaching for over six years and now teaches 8th grade Spanish 1 and 7th grade exploratory Spanish in Columbus, Ohio. She also taught abroad in Costa Rica, delivering general and business English courses. In her school district, Angela serves as a diversity liaison, and also runs the “We Are United” club at her school, navigating discussions of race, cultural appropriation, bullying, and more with students. When she’s not teaching, she loves travelling and her cats.

Danny McGee

Danny has been teaching English since 2002. Originally from England, Danny is based in Toronto, Canada and teaches English for Academic Purposes at colleges and universities there. He is an advocate for mindfulness and meditation in pedagogy. He also does private tutoring. Visit his Facebook page @ESLTeacherDanny.

Mandy Welfare

Based in Berlin, Germany, Mandy Welfare specialises in HR English, communications and business English. She has delivered business English and multi-cultural communication training in Germany, Finland, and Spain, and is a Hueber and Cornelsen author. She has a Masters of Education and enjoys volunteering for her local teaching association. Furthermore, she is on the IATEFL BESIG publications team.

Check out all she’s doing on her website: mandywelfare.com

Marina Faquetti

Marina lives and works in Chapecó, Brazil. She runs her own business as an English tutor and translator. Marina started delivering English lessons at the young age of 14, and she has never looked back. A passionate professional, she strives to invoke the love of learning in her students in ways that are meaningful to them. Follow her on Instagram @mamorandini

Matthew Brown

Matthew lives and teaches in Toronto, Canada where he delivers English for Academic Purposes classes at Ryerson University. He has been teaching for over 20 years in a variety of different contexts. When he’s not teaching, Matthew is a graphic novel writer and artist. Check out his Instagram Page (@poopsiepenguin) and his blog “Ambient Zero Comic Book Blog.”

Mostafa Hasrati

Mostafa has been teaching for over 30 years. He received his Ph.D. from King’s College in London and has taught in many countries around the world. He is now based in Toronto, Canada where he is a professor of English, English for Academic Purposes, and Communication Studies in the Centre for Preparatory & Liberal Studies at George Brown College. Mostafa identifies as a researcher, and his most recent article “The rise of non-dissertation track master’s programmes: An academic literacies approach” can be found here.

In Part 2, we ask our instructors the final four questions:

5) What are the challenges of being a teacher? (10:00)

6) What gives you the longevity to keep going and have you ever thought about leaving teaching? (30:00)

7) Are any of the misconceptions about teaching sensitive to you? (46:30)

8) What advice do you have for a teacher starting today, and as well for yourself on your first day? (1:02:00)

As always, thank you for listening. If you like the show, consider subscribing on Spotify, iTunes, or Google Podcasts, and sharing it with a friend. If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

If you like the show, we have a Tip Jar on our website for people looking to help with the creation of our show.

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*The following episode contains subject matter pertaining to mental health. These topics may be sensitive in nature and could be triggering to some listeners. This episode is not intended to be a substitute for professional or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you or someone you know is in crisis, please visit your local emergency department or call 911.

**Please see our blog post about this episode for a list of mental health services in the Toronto, Canada area. All of these come recommended by the professionals involved in this episode.

World Mental Health Awareness Day is observed on 10 October every year, with the overall objective of raising awareness of mental health issues around the world and talking about what more needs to be done to make mental health care a reality for everyone.

The topic of “care” was the inspiration for this episode. The original idea was drawn from our own struggles, as teachers, in helping our students, and feelings of frustration in not knowing what our school offered in terms of help - and how the school could actually help our students. Then, we realized that probably many teachers might be in the same position. Research for this podcast has helped us immensely, and we hope teachers and institutes will find it helpful.

The episode’s focus is on post-secondary and international study, where Mental Health rates among university and college students are on the rise in Canada. Issues of Mental Health can be even tougher in a new country, in a new language, in a new culture. International students, refugees, and other newcomers experience mental health as anyone else would, perhaps moreso, with factors like stigma, shame, and survivor’s guilt lingering. '

For those of us in education, the question remains: what can we do?

There are three segments to the show to help unpack all of these questions:

In segment 1, we talk to three international students in Canada to hear their perspective on mental health.
In segment 2, Natalie Roach, the mental health coordinator for Toronto’s Ryerson University joins us to talk about strategies instructors and programs can implement.
In the final segment, we talk to Sakeena Mihar, one of the co-founders for startup Savyn Tech - an app designed to help newcomers and refugees with PTSD.

Here, we want to advocate listening, learning, raising awareness, and continuing the discussion and ending the stigma, not only on World Mental Health Awareness Day, but every day.

About the professionals involved with today’s episode:

Natalie Roach:

Natalie Roach is a wellness and mental health expert who is currently Ryerson University’s Mental Health Coordinator. She leads campus-wide initiatives on how to best serve students, staff, and faculty from a mental health and well-being perspective. She has been featured in national and Toronto conferences as a host, speaker, and moderator and delivers talks on topics such as the “intersection of mental health and inclusion” and “promoting mental health through policy change.”

Sakeena Mihar:

Sakeena is one of the founders of Savyn Tech, an online platform designed to help those with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in multiple languages. Savyn Tech uses clinically proven techniques to overcome and reduce trauma, both with panic attacks and long-term healing.

Sakeena has PTSD and is an advocate for mental health awareness, dialogue, and providing assistance to those who need it.

Contact Sakeena: sakeena@gmail.com

Contact Savyntech: savyn.tech@gmail.com

As always, thank you for listening. If you like the show, consider subscribing on Spotify, iTunes, or Google Podcasts, and sharing it with a friend. If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

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October 5 is Teacher Appreciation Day in Canada, and in over 100 countries globally. To help celebrate teachers and teaching professionals the LYE podcast - Teacher Talking Time - has organized a special two-part series called “Why did you become a teacher?” We interviewed six teachers from different countries and contexts to hear their stories, and celebrate the stories of all educators around the world.

We asked six teachers eight questions over two episodes. We talked about becoming a teacher, remaining a teacher, thinking about leaving teaching, misconceptions of teaching, rewarding experiences, and much more.

The teachers who graciously took part in this mini series are as follows. Please feel free to reach out to them and to support the projects they are working on.

Angela Barone

Angela has been teaching for over six years and now teaches 8th grade Spanish 1 and 7th grade exploratory Spanish in Columbus, Ohio. She also taught abroad in Costa Rica, delivering general and business English courses. In her school district, Angela serves as a diversity liaison, and also runs the “We Are United” club at her school, navigating discussions of race, cultural appropriation, bullying, and more with students. When she’s not teaching, she loves travelling and her cats.

Danny McGee

Danny has been teaching English since 2002. Originally from England, Danny is based in Toronto, Canada and teaches English for Academic Purposes at colleges and universities there. He is an advocate for mindfulness and meditation in pedagogy. He also does private tutoring. Visit his Facebook page @ESLTeacherDanny.

Mandy Welfare

Based in Berlin, Germany, Mandy Welfare specialises in HR English, communications and business English. She has delivered business English and multi-cultural communication training in Germany, Finland, and Spain, and is a Hueber and Cornelsen author. She has a Masters of Education and enjoys volunteering for her local teaching association. Furthermore, she is on the IATEFL BESIG publications team.

Check out all she’s doing on her website: mandywelfare.com

Marina Faquetti

Marina lives and works in Chapecó, Brazil. She runs her own business as an English tutor and translator. Marina started delivering English lessons at the young age of 14, and she has never looked back. A passionate professional, she strives to invoke the love of learning in her students in ways that are meaningful to them. Follow her on Instagram @mamorandini

Matthew Brown

Matthew lives and teaches in Toronto, Canada where he delivers English for Academic Purposes classes at Ryerson University. He has been teaching for over 20 years in a variety of different contexts. When he’s not teaching, Matthew is a graphic novel writer and artist. Check out his Instagram Page (@poopsiepenguin) and his blog “Ambient Zero Comic Book Blog.”

Mostafa Hasrati

Mostafa has been teaching for over 30 years. He received his Ph.D. from King’s College in London and has taught in many countries around the world. He is now based in Toronto, Canada where he is a professor of English, English for Academic Purposes, and Communication Studies in the Centre for Preparatory & Libeal Studies at George Brown College. Mostafa identifies as a researcher, and his most recent article “The rise of non-dissertation track master’s programmes: An academic literacies approach” can be found here.

In Part 1, we ask our teachers the first four questions:

What are the reasons you became a teacher, and do you feel that you have always been one? (10:30)
What did you want to be growing up? (22:15)
Did you have a favourite teacher when you were younger? If so, what made them that? (32:00)
Have you had a “lollipop moment” in your teaching career *”lollipop moment” explained in episode. (38:30)

Thank you for listening to Part 1! Part 2 of the mini series will be released on October 26.

As always, thank you for listening. If you like the show, consider subscribing on Spotify, iTunes, or Google Podcasts, and sharing it with a friend. If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

If you like the show, we have a Tip Jar on our website for people looking to help with the creation of our show.

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In this episode, Leo talks to teacher, trainer, and author Brett Reynolds. Brett has almost thirty years in the ELT industry, getting his start in Japan in 1992. Since 2003, he has worked at Toronto, Canada's Humber College, in the EAP and TESL programs. Brett was also the editor for TESOL Ontario's Contact Magazine from 2012 until 2019.

In this episode, Brett talks to Leo about his recent publication in the ELT Journal called "Against Teaching Collocations."

Are collocations connected to language acquisition?
Are they actually a beneficial strategy for vocabulary building?
Does it matter if students can notice and identify collocations?
Should they only be for receptive practice?
Are collocations simply another form of native speakerism?

Brett gives us his insights on these questions and much more in this episode. We thank Brett for his generous time and for sharing his knowledge with all of us.

Contact Brett:

Email: brett.reynolds@humber.ca

Twitter: @brettrey3

As always, thank you for listening. If you like the show, consider subscribing on Spotify, iTunes, or Google Podcasts, and sharing it with a friend. If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

If you like the show, we have a Tip Jar on our website for people looking to help with the creation of our show.

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In episode 13, Leo sits down with Dr. Susan Hunston. Dr. Hunston is a professor at the university of Birmingham, where she has taught applied linguistics and English language since 1986. She also did her PhD at Birmingham, and her thesis is titled "Evaluation in experimental research articles." Dr. Hunston won the Fellowship of of the Academy of Social Science Award in 2010, and the Officer of the most Excellent Order in 2017.

Her main research areas are in Corpus Linguistics and Discourse Analysis. Some of her more popular books include:

2002 Corpora in Applied Linguistics. Cambridge University Press.
1999 Pattern Grammar: a corpus-driven approach to the lexical grammar of English. Benjamins. (with G. Francis)

Her projects on pattern grammar can be found here, and her main research page can be found on the University of Birmingham website. She also works in conjunction with Collins Dictionary to bring pattern grammar to the fore.

In this episode, Leo talks with Dr. Hunston about pattern grammar and how it is associated with language acquisition. She argues that patterns enable the expedition of acquisition - especially in the area of lexis - and emphasizes that it is the teacher's responsibility to activate and seek those patterns in texts and curricula, even if they are not explicitly stated.

We thank Dr. Hunston for being generous with her time and expertise. We invite her back any time.

As always, thank you for listening. If you like the show, consider subscribing on Spotify, iTunes, or Google Podcasts and sharing it with a friend. If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

If you like the show, we have a Tip Jar on our website for people looking to help with the creation of our show.

Contact Dr. Hunston:

Email: s.e.hunston@bham.ac.uk

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In this episode, Leo chats with Dr. Patsy Lightbown, PhD. Dr. Lightbown has been in ELT for over forty years, and her research has focused on the teaching and learning of second and foreign languages in classroom contexts.

Professor Lightbown is co-author of How Languages Are Learned, one of - if not the - most renowned books in the industry. There are now 4 editions in the award-winning series.

Lightbown also wrote Focus on Content-based Language Teaching and numerous articles, many of which can be found in Learning a Second Language Classroom.

She is currently a distinguished Professor Emerita at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and continues her work as a writer, editor, consultant, teacher, adviser, policy maker, conference presenter, and curriculum developer in our field.

Her complete bio can be seen here.

In this episode, Dr. Lightbown talks to Leo about How Languages are Learned, and how that continues to shape second language teaching twenty years after being published. They also discuss:

second language acquisition and if there is a "best way"
the strengths and weaknesses of Paul Nation's Four Strands of Language Acquisition;
the micro elements of teaching and learning;
the role of textbooks;
Dr. Lightbown's teaching experience and inspiring career.

We thank Dr. Lightbown for her generous time and endless expertise. We invite her back any time.

As always, thank you for listening. If you like the show, consider subscribing on Spotify, iTunes, or Google Podcasts and sharing it with a friend. If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

If you like the show, we have a Tip Jar on our website for people looking to help with the creation of our show.

Contact Dr. Lightbown:

Email: patsy.lightbown@verizon.net

For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

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How Languages are Learned 4e (Oxford Handbooks for Language Teachers)

Oxford Key Concepts for the Language Classroom Focus On Content Based Language Teaching: Focus On Content Based Language Teaching

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LYE's Leo and Andrew jumped across the atlantic recently to attend the annual ELT conference at International House, Barcelona. Teacher Talking Time is happy to present a mini series chronicling their travels, the conference, and all teaching related (and some non-teaching related) takeaways from the journey.

The final installment looks at Scott Thornbury's plenary on a performance-based approach to language teaching. Mike, Leo, and Andrew ponder the differences between competence and performance, or, as Chomsky says, the difference between "knowing" about a language and the ability to put it in to use. The guys then discuss if it's important for teachers to distinguish between the two, and what impact that has - or should have - on the classroom. They also wonder why many curriculum and syllabi do not focus much on performance (as Thornbury defines it) and what the implications of that are.

This episode also includes some interviews with teachers and soundbites of speakers from the International House Conference. It ends with the boys answering rapid fire questions on re-thinking the use of performance in the classroom and perhaps why the industry has strayed slightly - and, of course, how to get back on track.

As always, thank you for listening. If you like the show, consider subscribing on Spotify, iTunes, or Google Podcasts and sharing it with a friend. If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

If you like the show, we have a Tip Jar on our website for people looking to help with the creation of our show.

Show Notes:

What's the difference between competence and performance? - 5:30

Chomsky's Distinction between competence and performance - 11:50

Errors: Competence or Performance? - 15:00

Performance, Syllabi, and Marketing - 22:30

Interview with teachers from Ukraine - 32:40

What makes a good production stage? - 40:00

Adding psychological stress to the classroom - 43:30

Rapid Fire Questions - 52:05

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In this episode, Leo chats with teacher and teacher trainer Neil McCutcheon. Neil lives in Strasbourg, France and is the head of CELTA and DELTA training at the ELT Hub in both Strasbourg and Leon. He began teaching in 1991 and has taught in Ghana, Hungary, the UK, and now in France. His main interests are teacher education and developing materials that reflect what we know about second language acquisition.

On this note, one of Neil's areas of focus is TBLT: Task-based Language Teaching, sometimes referred to as Task-based Learning. He strongly believes this approach is one of the most effective in terms of language acquisition, and he encourages more teachers and programs to adopt it. In this episode, he sits down with Leo about the approach, how it works, why it is effective, and why he thinks many teachers are apprehensive about implementing it in their classrooms.

Neil has also recently published a book on TBLT, co-authored by Neil Anderson, called "Activities For Task-Based Learning." It's a fantastic book on TBLT, not only because it outlines the approach and activities used therein, but it allows novice teachers to use it includes language that is likely to emerge from each proposed task - a common apprehension among instructors with low levels of language awareness, Neil explains.

Pick up your copy on Amazon today.

Neil McCutcheon and Neil Anderson also founded an enterprise called "Fluency First ELT" where they believe that learning is prompted by the need to communicate, and that out of fluency comes accuracy.

As always, thank you for listening. If you like the show, consider subscribing on Spotify, iTunes, or Google Podcasts and sharing it with a friend. If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

If you like the show, we have a Tip Jar on our website for people looking to help with the creation of our show.

Contact Neil:

Email: neil.mccutcheon@theelthub.com

On Twitter: @NeilJMcCutcheon

Website: Fluencyfirstelt.com

Show Notes:

Challenges in Teacher Training - 6:00

Most don't Identify TBLT in Training Courses - 16:00

Experienced Teachers too Reluctant to Change - 20:00

Value of Tasks and "deep end" teaching - 22:00

Focus on Form vs Focus on Forms vs Focus on Meaning - 32:00

Why PPP Doesn't Work - 35:00

Neil's book motivation - 38:00

Tips for Implementing TBLT in your classroom - 48:30

For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

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Activities for Task-Based Learning: Integrating a fluency first approach into the ELT classroom. Book with photocopiable activites (Ideas in Action)

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In this episode, Mike, Leo, and Andrew discuss the theme of a recent Learn YOUR English workshop: Language Awareness. What is Language Awareness? Does it matter? Is it only important for teachers? For students? Does it actually improve proficiency? Do conventional textbooks advocate language awareness and choices or only "McNuggets"? Are there drawbacks to having a high level of language awareness? How can teachers increase their language awareness?

The boys tackle all of these questions and more. As always, they ask the listeners to ponder the question "why do we do what we do?" There are many approaches to teaching language, but to what extent can those approaches be implemented without language awareness?

As always, thank you for listening. If you like the show, consider subscribing in Spotify or on iTunes and sharing the podcast with a friend. If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com

If you like the show, we have a Tip Jar on our website for people looking to help with the creation of our show.

Show Notes:

What is Language Awareness and how does it apply to teachers: Beginning - 24:30

Language Awareness for students: 32:00

Discussion on Josh Waitzkin's book The Art of Learning: 33:30

Four benefits of Language Awareness for students: 36:30

Limitation of Language Awareness: 37:40

Classroom tasks to apply Language Awareness: 41:30

For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

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LYE's Leo and Andrew jumped across the atlantic recently to attend the annual ELT conference at International House, Barcelona. Teacher Talking Time is happy to present a mini series chronicling their travels, the conference, and all teaching related (and some non-teaching related) takeaways from the journey.

This is part III, and is dedicated to a talk by Dr. Angi Malderez. Malderez is an Honorary Senior Fellow of the School of Education, the University of Leeds, and her bio and many works can be seen here. Her research area is mostly in the practices of supporting teacher learning.

At the IH Conference in Barcelona, she spoke about the need for teacher's to be able to respond in real time to what is happening in the classroom. She highlighted that this is something that needs to be developed, and is much more difficult than it seems. Maldarez identified common "blinkers" and touched on the difference between observing and noticing, and how teachers very rarely give "feedback" in the conventional sense.

In this episode, Mike, Andrew, and Leo sit down to discuss the topic and how we as teachers can learn to apply it in our classrooms. Dr. Malderez was also kind enough to sit down with us to give us a 1-1 interview (14:35). Many thanks to Angi for her generous time!

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In this episode, Andrew talks to language teacher and advocate Aileen Bowe. Aileen is from Ireland and advocates for fairness and regulation in the ELT industry. As a result of her work with ELT Advocacy and Manchester Advocacy, she has seen legislation pass which will provide language teachers in Ireland and the UK with the working conditions they have long been waiting for. Aileen shares her stories of below-average working conditions, job loss, and questions why the industry has so few regulations globally. Her message? If teachers work together, they can achieve not only what they want, but what they deserve.

Contact Aileen:

Email: eltmanchester@protonmail.com

Twitter: @eltmanchester; @eltadvocacy

For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

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In this episode, Andrew chats with the extremely talented Barbara Mendes. Barbara has been in the ELT industry for over 20 years and wears many hats: teacher, teacher trainer, language coach, small business founder, and, currently, the Director or Studies at the International Language Academy of Canada.

Andrew asks Barbara about her experience, how she got started in the industry, about the characteristics she looks for when hiring new teachers, and how she is trying to impart a new mindset when it comes to professional development at ILAC.

She has also started a new venture with three colleagues called Vertices Language Coaching. Together, they are offering language and proofreading services for students and educational opportunities for teachers.

Contact Barbara:

Email: barbara.celt@gmail.com or b.mendes@ilac.com

Social Media:

Instagram - @babimendes; @vertices.team; @ilac_canada
LinkedIn

International Language Academy of Canada

Vertices Language Coaching If you like the show, we have a Tip Jar on our website for people looking to help with the creation of our show.

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LYE's Leo and Andrew jumped across the atlantic recently to attend the annual ELT conference at International House, Barcelona. Teacher Talking Time is happy to present a mini series chronicling their travels, the conference, and all teaching related (and some non-teaching related) takeaways from the journey.

Part II is a special edition of Teacher Talking Time and is dedicated to those who love learning all over the world. In this episode, Andrew and Leo continue their travels and conduct three separate interviews, focusing on the differences and challenges in learning in different parts of the world. The first (8:23) tackles Germany and German; in the second (18:00), the boys participate in a high school project in Barcelona, and, finally, they sit down with good friends Claudia and Victor to dive into the Catalan-Spanish debate (33:05).

Thanks for listening, and don't forget to subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts!

For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

Our Website

Our catalog of online courses on Thinkific

Or shoot us an email: info@learnyourenglish.com

If you like the show, we have a Tip Jar on our website for people looking to help with the creation of our show.

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LYE's Leo and Andrew jumped across the atlantic recently to attend the annual ELT conference at International House, Barcelona. Teacher Talking Time is happy to present a mini series chronicling their travels, the conference, and all teaching related (and some non-teaching related) takeaways from the journey.

In Part I, we hear from them at different stages of their trip as they discuss their challenges with jetlag, settling into Spanish culture, and what they are anticipating from the conference. Mike also makes an appearance as he sits down with Andrew to go over the plenary talks from Day 1 of IHBCNELT 19.

Thanks for listening, and don't forget to subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts!

If you like the show, we have a Tip Jar on our website for people looking to help with the creation of our show.

For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

Our Website

Our catalog of online courses on Thinkific

Or shoot us an email: info@learnyourenglish.com

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In this episode, Andrew sits down with teacher, author, and advocate Marek Kiczkowiak. They talk about the long-standing bias against non-native speaker teachers in the English training industry. As Marek explains, it has been a significant problem for a long time, but it doesn't need to be. Through his organization - TEFL Equity Advocates - and his Academy where he runs his own courses for tackling the stigma - TEFL Equity Academy - Marek has made quite a positive impact. And he's only just getting started.

On that note, he has also co-authored a book with Rob Lowe, called Teaching English as a Lingua Franca: A Journey From EFL to ELF. In the book, they look at ways to encourage our classrooms, in every sense, to be more inclusive of English as a global language instead of only through the lense of native speakers or from the perspective of nations that speak English natively.

Contact Marek:

Email: info@teflequityadvocates.com

TEFL Equity Advocates

TEFL Equity Academy

Teaching English as a Lingua Franca: A Journey From EFL to ELF is available on Amazon and at Klett-sprachan.de

*Get a free 30-day trial with all new accounts with TEFL Equity Academy!

If you like the show, we have a Tip Jar on our website for people looking to help with the creation of our show.

For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

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Teaching English as a Lingua Franca: The Journey from EFL to ELF (Delta Teacher Development Series)

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In this episode, Leo, Mike, and Andrew discuss the failings of their New Year's Resolutions one month into 2019. They ponder why resolutions don't work, why we put so much pressure on ourselves to make them, and if "cultvating habits" would be more fruitful, especially as teachers. They conclude by asking the listeners how they plan to create better habits in their personal and professional lives.

For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

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In this episode, Andrew speaks with English teacher and school owner Fabi Neves. Fabi, a native of Brazil, has lived and taught in many countries over her 12 year career. She tells Andrew about her experience, her views on learning - and the teacher's role in it - challenges Brazilians are facing in terms of their acquisition of the English language, and also about her institute, The Buxton School, located near Rio de Janeiro.

Contact Fabi:

Email: english.now@hotmail.com

The Buxton Blog

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In Teacher Talking Time's inaugural episode, Leo, Mike, and Andrew discuss how Learn YOUR English came to be, its goals - including its different approach to teacher and student education - and how developing a growth mindset is crucial to being a lifelong learner.

For more info on what we do, check out:

Our Website

Our catalog of online courses

Or shoot us an email: info@learnyourenglish.com

If you like the show, we have a Tip Jar on our website for people looking to help with the creation of our show.

Teacher Talking Time: The Learn YOUR English Podcast: Recent Episodes

teachertalkingtime