The Motivated Classroom

In this episode I am joined by the wonderful, Jonathan McBride, for Part one of a two-part special series. Jonny and I met at The Agen Workshop in 2023. He teaches German and French in a state school in Scotland and he secured funding to go and spend six weeks watching three different CI teachers in three different countries in 2024: Me (Liam Printer) in Switzerland, Adriana Ramirez in Canada and...

Episode 126 is all about Turn and Talk: A classic activity we all do in our classrooms to encourage student discussion, participation and idea generation... but, it can sometimes fall flat, or kids end up speaking about something else entirely or we don't get that engagement we are looking for. In this episode I take youe through a few tiny tweaks and ideas for this strategy to make it more motiva...

I had the pleasure of being joined on this episode by esteemed Åsta Haukås, a professor of language education at the University of Bergen, Norway. Her research focuses on improving students' ability to learn multiple languages and supporting language teachers' motivation and professional development. It was great to learn from Prof. Haukås about language teacher motivation and how we can support i...

In this special, extended, episode I am joined by the wonderful Tina Abour and Grant Boulanger to discuss how a CI approach can boost motivation, acquisition and inclusion in our classrooms. Tina and Grant provide us with their perspective on teaching with a CI approach in the US and Europe whilst also sharing lots of excellent practical strategies you can use in your classroom right away. A truly...

This episode on behaviour comes with a big caveat. I realise completely that behaviour and classroom management looks very different in each of our different contexts. This episode centres around the educational psychology of behaviour, motivation and social norms. I am fortunate to work in a fantastic school with great students and in this episode I share some of the strategies that have worked b...

In this special podcast collaboration episode, Claudia Elliott and I discuss the importance of community and connections for communication in the language acquisition classroom. Claudia hosts the excellent ⁠ Growing with Proficiency ⁠ podcast and she had some wonderful insights to share including lots of easy-to-implement stategies to boost engagement and motivation in the languages classroom. Ple...

It is August, so that must mean The Motivated Classroom is back with it's start of the school year special. In this episode I give my Top Nine low-prep ideas and strategies for a motivated year. It could easily have been 29 and not nine, but these are the absolute essentials in order to allow both motivation and acquisition to flourish in your languages classroom this year! As always, this is just...

Much of professional development is useful, thought-provoking, interesting and even impactful.. but does it actually result in any changes in our practice or indeed on student's learning ? Research suggests that most of it, sadly, does not. In this episode we explore an alternative type of practice-focused professional development called Instructional Coaching. As I start my role as an instruction...

After many questions about what the dreaded oral exams look like in my classroom and in my context, I've decided to do an entire episode on just that topic! Most of us work in systems where they are a mandatory part of student assessment. So how can we make them more motivating and less scary whilst also ensuring they take the least amount of learning time possible. As always, this is just my take...

Leading on from recent episodes on raising positive emotions in the languages classroom, I am delighted to be joined by the inspirational educator, La Maestra Loca , in this episode. Annabelle talks to us about how to use a CI approach in order to build a sense of belonging, joy and happiness in the languages classroom. She also provides us with some brilliant, easy to implement, brain breaks that...

Part Two of the series focusing on my recent research on how using co-created stories in the language acquisition class can foster happiness, joy and other positive emotions in the classroom. In this second part of the study, we look in detail at the methodology and findings. Please let me know what you think! Keep in touch and share widely! Full programme notes are available on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ww...

This first in a mini-series on the importance of positive emotions in the language acquisition classroom. This episode introduces my recent research study on how using co-created stories in the class can help to foster happiness, joy and interest in the language classroom. Next week's episode looks more at the methodology and findings of the study. Please let me know what you think! Keep in touch...

This episode focuses on classroom practice and, in particular, how we can use questions in order to both build connections and to maximise language acquisition. I take you through my favourite strategies in the classroom and those from the research about how to employ questions in the language classroom for maximum gain. Please let me know what you think! Keep in touch and share widely! Full progr...

This third and final episode in the mini-series on Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research and theory. This one looks at Chomsky's concept of Universal Grammar; the idea that we all possess an innate mechanism that allows us to decipher and encode language with ease. In this episode I try to look at both sides of the research on this and also at where the common ground lies. There is, always, l...

This second in a special mini-series on Second Language Acquisition (SLA) explores the Critical Period Hypothesis and language learning. Is there a critical age period for natural, easy, and effortless language acquisition or can anyone achieve success regardless of age? We take a look at various research studies and what the evidence has to say about this key question. Of course, this has major i...

This first episode in a special mini-series on Second Language Acquisition (SLA) focuses on what approach we should use with students who are preparing for a high-stakes test such as entry to university. Is CI enough on its own? We take a look at various aspects and theories of SLA research including the output hypothesis, the interaction hypothesis, the noticing hypothesis and the Input-Interacti...

A special Q&A episode this week with some brilliant questions from the patrons of the podcast. We explore how to keep the motivation high when teaching online , making use of AI tools in the language acquisition class, how long a co-created story should take and how to get started with a free voluntary reading programme and library in class. Please let me know what you think! Keep in touch and...

For the third in the 3-part series on "Story Listening" , I am joined by the wonderful and inspirational Cécile Lainé . After Episode 108 with Dr. Beniko Mason and Alice Ayel, followed by a look at the research in Ep. 109, Cécile now provides the much needed perspective on Story Listening through the eyes of a classroom practitioner. Cécile shares her insights and research on using Story Listening...

Following on from the previous episode on Story Listening with Dr. Beniko Mason and Alice Ayel, and as a preview to Episode 110 with Cécile Lainé on applying Story Listening in the classrom, this episode looks at the research around using storytelling and stories as a core pedagogical approach in our classes. This episode provides an overview of some of the important studies that have been conduct...

This special, extended episode of The #MotivatedClassroom was recorded in 2023 as part of the CIReboot online language teaching conference. Dr. Beniko Mason and Alice Ayel take us through the research and classroom techniques behind the 'Story Listening' approach in the language acquisition classroom. This episode is full of a combination of research and practice with many tips and ideas from 'Sto...

After many emails and requests on the topic, this week's #MotivatedClassroom episode looks at the practicalities of how to go about teaching a class novel in the language acquisition classroom. I go through my 11 step process for beginning and ending the reading of a novel as a class. I use these graded novels in almost every unit and they form the backbone of all of my units! How do you go about...

The third and final part in the three part mini series on how I start the year and work towards a motivated classroom: This episode focuses on how we start the first unit and particularly, how to introduce themes or topics that are potentially a little more serious. I also discuss a variety of comprehensible input techniques and how I try to weave these into the core unit, as well as some strategi...

Part two in the three part mini series on starting the year strong and building a motivated classroom: In this episode we look at what happens in week two of the school year, once we have done the admin tasks in week one and set out some basic routines. Specifically I discuss the first picture talk of the year, the first time we push all the chairs back and focus on intent listening , how we build...

How do you start a new school year? What exactly do you do in the first week or so of classes? How do you set up your class and do the boring admin tasks but keep it motivating ? How do you build motivation among new students? These are some of the most commonly asked questions from patrons and listeners of the Motivated Classroom podcast so in this episode I attempt to answer some of them. I take...

A potentially controversial topic for some listeners but an important one nonetheless: Is Comprehensible Input enough on its own? What about output, grammar and practice ? Is there a role in the language acquisition class for these too? In this episode, I discuss my take on this argument and hopefully provide some thought-provoking questions for everyone to consider as we talk to colleagues who ma...