Mike and Leo discuss "visualization" and how it can help you become a better language learner. It’s a wonderful technique, and this episode talks 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"

In this episode, 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)

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?

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

This is the last episode in our series on Setting Clear Language Goals. In this series, we discuss the seven “Cs” of goal setting. In Part 1 and II, we discussed the first 5. In Part II, we discuss the final 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

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:

1. The Differences between teaching, practicing, and testing listening (3:20)

2. Analyzing the standard approach to teaching listening (34:00)

3. Looking at what can be improved and suggestions of how to go about it. (1:02:00)

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.

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)

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

1. Conception:

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

2. Confidence

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.

The second step is developing confidence.

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)

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!

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

• The role of input

• The role of grammar instruction and repetition in task-based approaches

• CAF - Complexity, Accuracy, Fluency

• Training students to give meaningful peer feedback

• An important refugee project called The English Academy for Newcomers

• Alignment - what it is, how it works, and how teachers can incorporate it

In this episode, Fernando 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

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)

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 to Brazilians

• the challenges to professionalizing ELT in Brazil

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.

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 year - and decade - and look forward to a new year. 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." 

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;

• the problem with measuring proficiency across different program levels;

• how course grades do not correlate to proficiency and that most assessments don't est what is being learned

• ACTFL and CEFR scales and how tasks can be great assessment tools.

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 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?