Katarina Mentzelopoulos joins Leo and Andrew to talk about exceptionalism in language learning. She co-authored two books with the late Zoltán Dörnyei called “Stories from Exceptional Language Learners Who Have Achieved Nativelike Proficiency” and “Lessons from Exceptional Language Learners Who Have Achieved Nativelike Proficiency.”

In this episode, Katarina discusses:

• what flow is and how it leads to language acquisition

• how the theory of psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has been adapted to language learning

• characteristics of flow experiences

• how tasks and TBLT are innate elements of flow

• activities that are more conducive to creating flow

• why flow and tasks are possible with all proficiency levels

Chris Jacobs joins Mike and Andrew to talk about flow theory. Flow is a state of deep focus on an enjoyable activity that is at once challenging and accessible.

In this episode, Chris dives into:

• what flow is and how it leads to language acquisition

• how the theory of psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has been adapted to language learning

• characteristics of flow experiences

• how tasks and TBLT are innate elements of flow

• activities that are more conducive to creating flow

• why flow and tasks are possible with all proficiency levels

Leo, Mike, and Andrew talk about burnout in education, Learn YOUR English beginnings, their journey, and how teachers can overcome obstacles.

Specifically, they discuss:

• creating non-obvious solutions to obvious problems

• how to follow the path of most resistance

• why French impressionists decided to be big fish in a small pond

• Ikea as an example of the five-factor psychological model of successful enterprises

• delaying gratification as one of the most important tools for a teacherpreneur

• how to exercise the idea muscle

• why becoming the person you want to be means challenging the person you currently are

This is a very special episode of Teacher Talking Time, in partnership with the University of Groningen in The Netherlands. This episode was created as part of an MA course "The CEFR in Context: Learning, Teaching, Assessment and Research" by Prof. Dr. Marije Michel and Dr. Audrey Rousse-Malpat. We at Learn YOUR English are thrilled to be a part of it coming to life.

Episode Description:

The CEFR is a useful tool for assessment and can be used to better align assessment across Europe. But is this what is actually happening? In this podcast episode, assessment and the CEFR in the Dutch school system will be discussed from the perspectives of experts in the field of research, secondary school teachers of English, and students studying to become teachers of English

Anthony Gaughan is a teacher and teacher-trainer with over 25 years of experience. Together with his then-colleague, Izzy Orde, Anthony first applied Dogme ELT principles to running CELTA courses in 2009, and has been advocating for simplifying initial teacher education ever since.

In this episode, Anthony dives into:

• how a Japanese balloon pushed him towards Dogme

• teaching versus teaching-like behaviours

• transforming CELTA training into unprescribed, dogmatic experiences

• why he was called irresponsible and dangerous at IATEFL

• training as a suspension of disbelief

• debunking myths about beginner students, beginner teachers, and new beginnings

Florencia Henshaw has a Ph.D. in Second Language Acquisition and Teacher Education from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where she is now the Director of Advanced Spanish.

In this episode, Florencia discusses:

• if people are born teachers

• classrooms as artificial environments

• why empathy is required for teachers to relinquish control in the learning process

• how we should prioritize learner perceptions and attitudes

• the backwardness of how most assessments are set up

• strategies to scaffold and increase the presence of target language

• how her new book helps teachers incorporate new SLA research into the classroom

This is a very special episode of Teacher Talking Time, in partnership with the University of Groningen in The Netherlands. This episode was created as part of an MA course "The CEFR in Context: Learning, Teaching, Assessment and Research" by Prof. Dr. Marije Michel and Dr. Audrey Rousse-Malpat. We at Learn YOUR English are thrilled to be a part of it coming to life.

Episode Description:

This episode of Moments Mediating Matters explores the influence of plurilingualism on the Dutch educational system, examines how the concept of mediation is presented in the Companion Volume, and further discusses how mediation can accompany not only teachers but also learners in their learning process. To do so, three guests with different levels of expertise were invited to converse on the influence of the CEFR, and more specifically, the concept of mediation in an increasingly plurilingual society.

How much lesson planning is required? Should I use a coursebook? Are teaching 1-1 or groups are the only options? How do I set up my business to be scalable? Mike, Leo, and Andrew kick off 2022 by examining the most common questions teachers going freelance ask.

They also examine teacher profiles who have joined LYE's new Teacher Accelerator Program and what they have in common. If you're a teacher looking to escape precarity and venture into starting or scaling your own tutoring service, this episode is for you.

Welcome to 2022!

Mike, Andrew, and Leo sip some nog and reminisce on the year that was. From COVID to a corrective feedback series to interviews with amazing scholars, it was a great year for the Teacher Talking Time Podcast. Here, the guys touch on the year's most listened to episodes, words of the year, how language has changed during the pandemic, which is ebb and which is flow, and predict what 2022 might have in store - including some work-life balance goals. Thanks for listening this year and stay tuned for many exciting things we have in store for 2022.

Mike, Leo, and Andrew get back in the studio for a special, bizarro episode. In this "Ask Us Anything" show, the guys prepared secret questions for the others. The only rule? They can't be about teaching or education.

Of course, they're not great at following rules.

Touching on Nickelback, self doubt, being vulnerable, accepting or rejecting dinner invitations, Stephen King, pending life goals, long distance relationships - and much more - they invite you on a different type of journey.

Dr. Jane Setter joins the show to talk accents, speech prosody, and her new book "Your Voice Speaks Volumes.". In this episode, Jane dives into:

• the influences that pushed her into a career in phonology

• speech classes and how Margaret Thatcher learned to "unshrill" her voice

• being the first phonetician invited to speak at the IATEFL conference

• the why and how of (unconscious) linguistic judgement

• the significance of four seconds in speech recognition

• why television shows choose certain accents for certain roles

• why men can't make their voices sound sexy

• what it means to have a voice that doesn't represent who you are

Chris Jones joins us to talk speaking. Specifically, he tackles:

• his early influences, including Ron Carter, Scott Thornbury, and Dave Willis

• his impetus for his new book "Conversation Strategies and Communicative Competence"

• his writing process

• the difference between speaking and conversation

• the difference between conversation strategies and communication strategies

• reasons why conversation strategies are often neglected in teaching

• how teachers can help their students with improving their spoken communication

In the final episode of our series on corrective feedback, Dr. Miroslaw Pawlak joins us. Dr. Pawlak tells us:

• how to increase teacher interest in the topic of corrective feedback (CF)

• how CF affects the willingness of learners to communicate

• if it's preferable to over correct or under correct

• what we can learn from studying developmental readiness

• the role CF plays in form-focused instruction in comparison to more prescribed learner performance approaches

*This interview was conducted by Meghana Akavoor and Jewel Little.

In episode 7 of our series on corrective feedback, Dr. Shaofeng Li joins us. In this episode, Dr. Li discusses:

• learner and teacher beliefs on corrective feedback (CF)

• how his own beliefs of CF have evolved over time

• how teachers often view CF differently than learners and they impact that can have on learning gains

• why teachers should take learner beliefs on CF into account

• cognitive variables affecting CF

• how CF fits into a Task-based Learning and Teaching (TBLT) model

*This interview was conducted by Abdi Mohamed and Neal Power.

This is Episode 6 in our Corrective Feedback series in partnership with Carleton University. In this episode, In this episode, Dr. Neomy Storch shares:

• the drawbacks of looking at corrective feedback research in a vacuum

• examples of explicit and implicit feedback

• the differences between collaborative and cooperative writing

• the differences between feedback and uptake

• her optimism about the future of collaborative writing

*This interview was conducted by Zahra Azizi and Shrouk Abdelgafar

This is Episode 5 in our Corrective Feedback series in partnership with Carleton University. In this episode, Dr. García Mayo discusses:

• the Spanish EFL context

• recent studies revolving around language learning and the high school context in Spain

• the arguments for and against self-repair, recast, and implicit & explicit feedback

• why there is such a research gap with children

• teacher training and corrective feedback

• the role of research - and researchers - in classroom application

*This interview was conducted by Jean Charlebois and Sarah Langridge

This is Episode 4 in our Corrective Feedback series in partnership with Carleton University. In this episode, Dr. Yilmaz discusses:

• the interactionist approach

• explicit correction versus recast

• why direct feedback being more effective needs to be taken with a grain of salt

• computer versus face-to-face mediated feedback

• how to implement oral and written feedback

• how teachers can learn about corrective feedback research and apply it to their own contexts

*This interview was conducted by Heather Shugart, Aria Rubinoff, and Fereshteh Khaffai Azar.

This is Episode 3 in our Corrective Feedback series in partnership with Carleton University. In this episode, Dr. Rebecca Adams from the University of Memphis joins us.

In this episode, Dr. Adams highlights:

• the benefits of peer feedback when compared to teacher-provided feedback

• how to establish a conducive classroom environment for peer feedback to be most effective

• types of corrective feedback and their effectiveness

• whether students are actually hesitant to provide feedback to their peers

• if teachers should wait for peer feedback to occur naturally or if providing students with training is beneficial

• the connection between task-based language teaching and peer corrective feedback

*This interview was conducted by Marcel Zhang and Leo Liu.

This is Episode 2 in our Corrective Feedback series in partnership with Carleton University. This episode is a sit down with Dr. Hossein Nassaji.

Specifically in this episode, Dr. Nassaji tells us about:

• the roles corrective feedback plays in language learning

• how culture impacts feedback effectiveness

• the debate between immediate and delayed feedback

• written vs oral feedback and the efficacy of written feedback

• the what, when, why, and if of explicit & implicit feedback

• how teachers can learn about and implement corrective feedback in their classes

*This interview was conducted by Kelsey Ulrich-Verslycken and Lana Haj Hamid

This is the introductory episode to our Corrective Feedback series. 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, they 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?