teaching and learning
Ross Thorburn
The Downsides to Speaking (with Professor ...

Students need to speak to learn a language and the more students talk, the more they learn. Not according to Professor Stephen Krashen. For 40 years he has championed the concept that what students should be doing in class is reading (and listening), not speaking. In this episode, Stephen tells Ross some of the arguments against forcing students to speak, something which might not just be inefficient, but in some cases counterproductive.

The Downsides to Speaking (with Professor Stephen Krashen)
Ross Thorburn
Remembering More, Forgetting Less (with Lesley ...

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.

Remembering More, Forgetting Less (with Lesley Painter-Farrell)
Ross Thorburn
Teacher Evaluation - A Double Edged Sword (with ...

Professor Kathi Bailey joins us to discuss teacher evaluation. Teacher evaluation can do so much good, but it can also end up doing even more harm. Professor Bailey tells us about what supervisors can do to earn trust, why supervision and evaluation is important, and how everyone can make the most out of the process.

Teacher Evaluation - A Double Edged Sword (with Professor Kathleen Bailey)
Ross Thorburn
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.

Using Corpora (with Michael McCarthy)
Ross Thorburn
Episode 200! Best and Worst Common and Uncommon ...

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.

Episode 200! Best and Worst Common and Uncommon Teaching Practices

young learners

Knowledge and Challenges for Young Learner Teachers (With Wendy Arnold)

Knowledge and Challenges for Young Learner Teachers (With Wendy Arnold)

Wendy Arnold passes on a wealth of experience of teaching and writing about young learners. Wendy tells us about how young learners' home lives affect their development, how the expectations of teachers and materials writers can effect student achievement and the problems associated with one size fits all curricula and coursebooks.

Involving Students' Parents in Language Learning (with Jake Whiddon)

Involving Students' Parents in Language Learning (with Jake Whiddon)

Parents are one of the most important factors in determining how successful students are. In this episode, Jake Whiddon and I discuss how to involve parents in young learners’ learning. Why is it important to involve students' parents in language learning? How can we demonstrate learning to parents? What can teachers do to help parents understand language learning?

Teaching Phonics (with Lesley White)

Teaching Phonics (with Lesley White)

Letterland teacher trainer Lesley White tells Ross about phonics. We touch on the history, the advantages of phonics over other approaches, different options to teachers within the phonics system and some of the differences between learning to read in your first language and in your second language.

Using Storybooks and Graded Readers (with Jake Whiddon)

Using Storybooks and Graded Readers (with Jake Whiddon)

Jake Whiddon joins me to talk about using storybooks in class. So many schools have graded readers, but so few teachers use these in class. Graded readers can be used with students of any age group and any level. They’re a great alternative to the coursebook and a contextualized way of presenting new language. In this episode, you’ll hear a simple five step approach that you can use to use graded readers with your students.

Using The Tools Of Positive Discipline (with Dina Emser)

Using The Tools Of Positive Discipline (with Dina Emser)

Author and positive discipline trainer, Dina Esmer, joins me to talk about tools for managing young learners’ behavior. What can teachers do to encourage long term positive behavior in class? How can teachers train learners to solve their own behavior problems? And what can teachers do when conflicts happen in their classes?

Doing Task Based Teaching with Children (with Jane Willis)

Doing Task Based Teaching with Children (with Jane Willis)

Tasks and task-based learning are often associated with adults and higher level learners. But can we use tasks and task-based teaching with young learners? Jane Willis, author of Doing Task Based Teaching and A Framework for Task-based Learning joins us to talk about using TBL with beginners and very young learners.

Managing Behavior with Pre-school and Primary Children (with Carol Read)

Managing Behavior with Pre-school and Primary Children (with Carol Read)

Carol Read joins us to talk about managing behavior with young learners. Carol tells us about the use of different strategies to encourage positive behavior, the use of praise with different age groups and how teachers can help learners to become more responsible for their own behavior.