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.

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

ELT is full of disasters, including the destruction of the communicative approach. In this episode, 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.

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, organization 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

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

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

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 is a renowned teacher, trainer, and materials writer. She also founded The Listening Business in 1998.

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

Grammar instruction or grammar learning? We dive into this with today's guests, Silvina Montrul and Tania Ionin.

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 

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.

We chat with Bill about why:

• the majority of teaching is not in accordance with SLA research

• Krashen was right

• Krashen's theories are not used in language education

• 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

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

Lara Bryfonski is an applied linguist and assistant professor of linguistics at Georgetown University. She recently co-authored the book The Art and Science of Language Teaching with Alison Mackey.

In this episode, Lara dives into:

• 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 

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).

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

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:

• our process and struggles with niching down

• why the response "teachers will love that" to our first offer was a bad answer

• the "do one thing" philosophy to business growth

• how you can develop sustainable practices in your business in 2024 

Cecilia Nobre is a PhD candidate, teacher, trainer, and author. She has been an EFL teacher for over 20 years, and is a trainer on DipTESOL, CertTESOL, and Celta trainer. She recently co-authored the book "Using Video to Support Teacher Reflection and Development in ELT" with Steve Mann and Laura Baecher.

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 

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

Paul Nation is an Emeritus Professor of Applied Linguistics and renowned researcher and author in our industry. He joins us for a discussion on learning, putting research into practice, and - of course - the four strands 27 years later. 

Paul touches specifically on:

• his vocabulary niche

• the birth of the four strands

• how it's a basis for course construction, not lesson design

• how he learned Greek on a 2 hour flight

• why teachers who do extensive reading are brave

• why teachers need to believe that by not teaching, people can learn

• the only 3 things that matter in learning

• if there is a fifth strand

Andrew, Mike, and Leo sit down and ponder Dogme....as a new approach? It certainly has experienced a resurgence since the pandemic and we are curious why that is. 

We also dive into:

• the role of the teacher

• the shift away from planning & towards reacting

• what authentic communication actually means

• how teachers can model lifelong learning habits

• using Dogme in your business and using the less is more philosophy

Dylan was born just outside London and has been working in the ELT sector for nearly 25 years. About 12 years ago, he discovered Dogme, or as he prefers to call it “Teaching Unplugged.”

In this episode, he shines a light on:

• how freelancing led him to Dogme

• why he includes reactive teaching in his tool kit for the modern teacher

• the RDS method for dealing with emergent language

• key considerations for designing materials with a reactive mindset

• the future of ELT, AI, and how teachers can innovate

Nicola has been in ELT for over 20 years as a teacher, materials writer, and entrepreneur. Her interest in investing came about almost by accident when she began looking at her own woeful finances and she now supplements her income through investing and runs a course for beginner investors at The Chilled Investor. 

In this episode, Nicola dives into:

• how her childhood impacts her relationship with money

• why many teachers sweep finances under the rug

• what investing is and what it isn't

• demystifying limiting beliefs about investing

• why it's never too late

• how "desperation is the mother of research, self study, and self improvement"

• why precarity in our industry is more reason to invest in yourself, not less

Ken has been in ELT since 1995. A teacher, trainer, and author, he has written or co-written over 20 books, including the recently published Connections 3 coursebook with Pearson.

In this episode, he dives into the lexical approach, why it never caught on and how teachers can use it in their teaching.

Specifically, we dive into: 

• how ELT has evolved 

• why Michael Lewis was "pissed"

• Dogme ELT & its place

• how teachers can decide which vocabulary to focus on in Dogme /TBLT 

• his CAT framework for Dogme

• the post/no methodology era 

• students making "great mistakes" 

• the Lexical Approach 

• the future of ELT and AI

Leo, Mike and Andrew return to the studio to discuss the most common challenges teacherpreneurs face. They get into the three hats that a teacherpreneur needs and how to build up each one.

Specifically, they talk about:

• balancing the teacher, creator, and entrepreneur in you 

• teaching being the only profession where we feel guilty about earning more money

• why a lack of goal clarity means you won't move forward 

• perfectionism as an irrational fear 

• niching and eliminating competition 

• creating equity in your business 

• a system to charge more

Leo, Mike, and Leo hop in the studio to record their annual year-end audit. Here, they reflect on the lessons they learned in 2022. They run through seven specific lessons that drive success, failure, and resilience.

 Specifically, they discuss these concepts:

1. It always takes longer than you think it's going to take

2. Behind mountains are more mountains

3. Know what success looks like

4. Start small

5. Getting over the case of the "What ifs" 

Danny Norrington Davies and Richard Chinn have done extensive research on emergent language and have co-authored "Working with emergent language."

In this episode, Danny & Richard discuss:

• the rise of emergent language

• why many were resistant to the idea

• the imbalance between research on error correction versus emergent language use

• incidents that prevent language from emerging

• the connections between emergent language and task-based learning

• how teachers can develop their "emergent language muscle"

• why the student's agenda supersedes the teacher's

• how teachers can utilize emergent language even with beginners

• why they decided to write a book on emergent language