Remembering More, Forgetting Less (with Lesley Painter-Farrell)

Remembering More, Forgetting Less (with Lesley Painter-Farrell)

In this episode, I  had the privilege of speaking with Professor Lesley Painter Farrell about how we can help students retain more language lessons for the long haul. During the podcast, Lesley outlines the difference between short-term learning and long-term memory. We discuss evidence-based techniques teachers can implement to optimize retention. Lesley also shares some simple but effective techniques such as recycling content across lessons, building in reflection time, avoiding cognitive overload, and using retrieval practices. Listen now to uncover how we can help our students remember more.

How can Language Teachers Use AI?

How can Language Teachers Use AI?

Dave Weller joins the show to discuss the benefits and limitations of AI for teachers. Dave explains how AI can help automate administrative tasks and free up time for the more creative aspects of teaching. He also talks about how AI can help teachers in lesson planning, creating customized materials, and analyzing student performance data to differentiate instruction. We also talk about some of the limitations of AI and why it is important to treat AI as a tool rather than outsourcing everything to it.

Spoken and Written Academic English (with Paul Thompson)

Spoken and Written Academic English (with Paul Thompson)

Paul Thompson from Birmingham University joins me to talk about English for academic purposes. What is academic English? How much does it vary between subjects? How can teachers assigned to teach academic English figure out what to teach? Which activities from general English classes translate best to academic English classes? And asides from listening to lectures, what do university students need English for?

Using Corpora (with Michael McCarthy)

Using Corpora (with Michael McCarthy)

Professor Michael McCarthy joins me to talk about using corpora in language teaching. Mike tells us how teachers should use corpora when planning lessons, the advantages and disadvantages of showing corpora to students. We discuss how teachers can create their own corpora and how to use corpora to create better materials.

Episode 200! Best and Worst Common and Uncommon Teaching Practices

Episode 200! Best and Worst Common and Uncommon Teaching Practices

We talk to friends and experts and ask two questions about changes they’d like to see in classrooms: what common teaching practices would you like to see less? And, which less common teaching practices would you like to see more? Guests include Penny Ur, Karin Xie, Ian McGrath, Kathleen Baily, Donald Freeman, Rod Bolitho, Anne Burns and Tessa Woodward.

What Motivates Teachers to Develop? (With Amol Padwad)

What Motivates Teachers to Develop?  (With Amol Padwad)

I speak with Amol Padwad from Ambedkar University Delhi about teacher motivation and teacher development. What incentives make sense for teachers at different stages of their career? What demotivates teachers from wanting to develop? And how can schools encourage all their teachers to develop without forcing them?