

Teacher Talking Time: The Learn YOUR English Podcast
teachertalkingtime
Teacher Talking Time is a podcast for language teachers who want more: more clarity, more autonomy, and more lasting impact, both inside and outside the classroom.
Hosted by Leo and Andrew of Learn YOUR English, each episode features thoughtful, in-depth conversations with the educators, researchers, and teacherpreneurs shaping the future of language education. Guests have included Scott Thornbury, Bill VanPatten, David Little, Jennifer Jenkins, John Levis, Angelica Galante, Sarah Mercer, Enrica Piccardo, Claudia Fernández, Shawn Loewen, Paul Nation, Sheila Thorn, and many more.
From the latest in second language acquisition research to honest stories of teachers building lives and businesses on their own terms, every conversation invites you to think deeper, teach more intentionally, and take charge of your professional path.
We release two episodes each month - with full video versions on YouTube - to help you reflect, stay inspired, and grow as a teacher and changemaker.
Subscribe, listen, and join a global community of educators leading with intention.
Hosted by Leo and Andrew of Learn YOUR English, each episode features thoughtful, in-depth conversations with the educators, researchers, and teacherpreneurs shaping the future of language education. Guests have included Scott Thornbury, Bill VanPatten, David Little, Jennifer Jenkins, John Levis, Angelica Galante, Sarah Mercer, Enrica Piccardo, Claudia Fernández, Shawn Loewen, Paul Nation, Sheila Thorn, and many more.
From the latest in second language acquisition research to honest stories of teachers building lives and businesses on their own terms, every conversation invites you to think deeper, teach more intentionally, and take charge of your professional path.
We release two episodes each month - with full video versions on YouTube - to help you reflect, stay inspired, and grow as a teacher and changemaker.
Subscribe, listen, and join a global community of educators leading with intention.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 31, 2022 • 55min
Practically Speaking: The CEFR & Plurilingualism
 Want to use Dogme and TBLT to grow your sustainable teaching business? Schedule a chat with us to see if we can help. 
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.
Episode created with thanks to Tessa Jutstra.
Interviewers:
Amarins Jager, Michelle Leegsma, and Laura Polman are currently doing the Educational Master track for English at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.
Guests on this episode:
Prof. Piet van Avermaet is the head of the Centre for Diversity and Learning at the Linguistics department of Ghent University. His field of expertise is multilingualism and more specifically, how multilingualism can be applied in the classroom and how it can be a cause of social inequality in terms of inclusion and language assessment. 
Dr. Brian North is one of the co-authors of the CEFR and the Companion Volume. He is an expert in the field of foreign language learning, applied linguistics and intercultural communication, and coordinated the 1991 Symposium that recommended the CEFR. North has been involved with the work of the Council of Europe for a long time and developed the levels and descriptors of the CEFR. 
Prof. Enrica Piccardo is also co-author of the Companion Volume of the CEFR. She is a professor at the University of Toronto in the Languages and Literacies Education Program and Head of the Centre for Education Research in Languages and Literacies. Her work focuses on the acquisition and teaching of foreign languages, the structuring of curricula, and the role of multi/plurilingualism in education and she has been cooperating with the Council of Europe on the project of developing the Companion Volume
Read more about this episode on the LYE blog.
Podcast Creation:
This episode was created with support from Thinkific & Podbean. If you're looking to launch a course or start a podcast, we highly recommend them - and use them ourselves. 
As always, thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.
If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com 
For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:
Want to Grow your Teaching Business? Book a Call with us
Join Our Weekly Newsletter
Join our Self-directed Learning Portal
Follow Learn YOUR English
Follow Teacher Talking Time 

Feb 1, 2022 • 59min
TAP into the Future
 Want to teach less and earn more? Find out how. 
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, reduce lesson planning, and achieve better work-life balance, this episode is for you. 
Welcome to 2022!
Read more about this episode on the LYE blog.
Podcast Creation:
This episode was created with support from Thinkific & Podbean. If you're looking to launch a course or start a podcast, we highly recommend them - and use them ourselves. 
As always, thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.
If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com 
For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:
Join Our Teacher Accelerator Program
Join Our Mailing List
Join our Self-directed Learning Portal
Follow Learn YOUR English
Follow Teacher Talking Time 

Jan 2, 2022 • 37min
The Cult of Learning 18: Fear
 Want to teach less and earn more? Find out how. 
CULT/K^LT/A fashionable belief, idea, or attitude that influences people’s lives/The cult of learning encourages people to find and pursue what they are passionate about/
*”The Cult of Learning” are episodes for learners of languages. These episodes will discuss tools and strategies for learning and provide opportunities for effective listening practice. These episodes are also part of our Self-directed Learning Portal, which helps thousands of people around the world improve the English skills important to them.
Leo and Mike dive into fear. What is it? Why do we have it? What are the consequences of fear? Its benefits? And, of course, how do these apply to learning a language?
As we start a new year, fear - embracing it, conquering it, coping with it - is once again on the to do list. Mike and Leo discuss three strategies for dealing with the fear holding back our potential.
For this episode, we ask you: how do you handle fear in your life?
If you are a learning a language, these Cult of Learning episodes are for you!
Thank you for listening! If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com 
For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:
Teach less and earn more in your teaching
Our Blog post for this episode
Our FREE E-book on Learning. We hope it helps you learn outside the classroom!
Improve your English with our Self-directed Learning Portal
Our Self-study Master Package  
Our Website
Join our Mailing List
Follow Learn YOUR English
Follow Teacher Talking Time 

Dec 19, 2021 • 1h 6min
Episode 37: Twenty Twenty Won
 Want to teach less and earn more? Find out how. 
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 quite the 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.
Happy holidays from us at Learn YOUR English!
Read more about this episode on the LYE blog.
Podcast Creation:
This episode was created with support from Thinkific & Podbean. If you're looking to launch a course or start a podcast, we highly recommend them - and use them ourselves. 
As always, thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.
If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com 
For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:
Join Our Mailing List
Join Our Teacher Accelerator Program
Join our Self-directed Learning Portal
Follow Learn YOUR English
Follow Teacher Talking Time 

Nov 18, 2021 • 59min
Episode 36: Ask Us Anything
 Want to teach less and earn more? Find out how. 
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.
For a non-education episode, this is very educational. 
If you want to give your answer to the questions asked here, make a post in our teacher discussion forum. 
To ask us your "ask me anything" question, shoot us a DM on Instagram: @learnyourenglish  
Read more about this episode on the LYE blog.
Podcast Creation:
This episode was created with support from Thinkific & Podbean. If you're looking to launch a course or start a podcast, we highly recommend them - and use them ourselves. 
As always, thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.
If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com 
For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:
Join Our Mailing List
Join Our Teacher Development Membership
Join our Self-directed Learning Portal
See Our Online CPD Courses for Teachers
Follow Learn YOUR English
Follow Teacher Talking Time 

Nov 7, 2021 • 45min
The Cult of Learning 17: The Art of Noticing Language
 Want to teach less and earn more? Find out how. 
CULT/K^LT/A fashionable belief, idea, or attitude that influences people’s lives/The cult of learning encourages people to find and pursue what they are passionate about/
*”The Cult of Learning” are episodes for learners of languages. These episodes will discuss tools and strategies for learning and provide opportunities for effective listening practice. These episodes are also part of our Self-directed Learning Portal, which helps thousands of people around the world improve the English skills important to them.
Leo and Mike look at an important "technique" that is crucial for those who want to learn a language: noticing.  What is noticing? How does it affect language learning? How do we notice language? Why is noticing important? 
More specifically, they go in-depth on how it works:
1. What noticing language means
2. Why noticing the gap between what you hear or read and what you can say is essential
3. How you should practice applying what you notice in your use of language
If you are a learning a language, these Cult of Learning episodes are for you!
Thank you for listening! If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com 
For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:
Our Blog post for this episode
Our FREE E-book on Learning. We hope it helps you learn outside the classroom!
Improve your English with our Self-directed Learning Portal - only $50/year
Our Self-study Master Package  
Our Website
Join our Mailing List
Follow Learn YOUR English
Follow Teacher Talking Time 

Oct 1, 2021 • 1h 43min
Episode 35:Jane Setter
 Want to teach less and earn more? Find out how. 
Jane Setter joins the show to talk accents, speech prosody, and her new book "Your Voice Speaks Volumes." 
Jane is Professor of Phonetics at The University of Reading, UK.  In addition to her new book, she is also co-editor of the Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary and the Cambridge Handbook of Phonetics. Jane's research interests include speech prosody in children from atypical populations, teaching and learning English pronunciation, and features of the suprasegmental phonology of global varieties of English, such as Hong Kong and Malay speaker English.
*there's some slight static from 5:00 - 12:00
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 
Read more about this episode on the LYE blog. 
More on Jane Setter:
Her book "Your Voice Speaks Volumes"
The Cambridge Book of Phonetics
Twitter: @janesetter
YouTube: Jane Setter
Email: j.e.setter@reading.ac.uk
Podcast Creation:
This episode was created with support from Thinkific & Podbean. If you're looking to launch a course or start a podcast, we highly recommend them - and use them ourselves. 
As always, thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.
If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com 
For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:
Join Our Mailing List
Join Our Teacher Development Membership
Join our Self-directed Learning Portal
See Our Online CPD Courses for Teachers
Follow Learn YOUR English
Follow Teacher Talking Time 

Sep 21, 2021 • 49min
The Cult of Learning 16: S.M.A.R.T. Goals for Effective Language Learning
 Want to teach less and earn more? Find out how. 
CULT/K^LT/A fashionable belief, idea, or attitude that influences people’s lives/The cult of learning encourages people to find and pursue what they are passionate about/
*”The Cult of Learning” are episodes for learners of languages. These episodes will discuss tools and strategies for learning and provide opportunities for effective listening practice. These episodes are also part of our Self-directed Learning Portal, which helps thousands of people around the world improve the English skills important to them.
Many language learners get frustrated because, in their heads, they’re thinking they’re just "learning a language." Their goal is usually "to be able to speak the language they’re learning." But what does this actually mean? If you want to make progress, you really need to know right from the outset what it is that you’re trying to learn.
S.M.A.R.T. Goals help with this. Mike and Leo discuss this 5-step process to achieving goals. Listen to this episode to learn:
what is each step of the process
how each step applies to you learning a language
how you can put this into practice right away
If you are a learning a language, these Cult of Learning episodes are for you!
Thank you for listening! If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com 
For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:
Our Blog post for this episode
Our FREE E-book on Learning. We hope it helps you learn outside the classroom!
Improve your English with our Self-directed Learning Portal - only $50/year
Our Website
Join our Mailing List
Follow Learn YOUR English
Follow Teacher Talking Time 

Aug 29, 2021 • 1h 20min
Episode 34: Chris Jones
 Want to teach less and earn more? Find out how. 
Chris Jones joins us to talk conversation, strategies, and speaking. 
Chris Jones is a Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics and TESOL at the University of Liverpool, UK. He has been involved in English language teaching for over twenty five years and holds the Cambridge CTEFLA and DTEFLA qualifications alongside an MA and PhD from the University of Nottingham. Chris' main research interests are related to spoken language.
He joins us to talk about that and his new book called "Conversation Strategies and Communicative Competence."
Specifically in this episode, 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
More on Chris Jones:
Twitter: @ELTResearch
His talk to launch his new book
Details on his new book "Conversation strategies and communicative competence" 
His University of Liverpool staff page 
For more information on this episode, see our blog post about it. 
Podcast Creation:
This episode was created with support from Thinkific & Podbean. If you're looking to launch a course or start a podcast, we highly recommend them - and use them ourselves. 
As always, thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.
If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com 
For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:
Join Our Mailing List
Join Our Teacher Development Membership
Join our Self-directed Learning Portal
See Our Online CPD Courses for Teachers
Follow Learn YOUR English
Follow Teacher Talking Time 

Aug 9, 2021 • 51min
Corrective Feedback 8: Exploring the Discourse with Dr. Miroslaw Pawlak
 We're thrilled to announce our new partnership with Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, to produce an 8-part mini series on the topic of Corrective Feedback. The series explores the area of corrective feedback through interviews with 8 scholars in the field. All interviews are conducted by students in Dr. Eva Kartchava's MA class at Carleton University as a means of assessment to connect researchers to their audience and have her students generate a greater level of understanding and investment in the research from the course. If you are interested in having a similar series produced for your class or institute, you can contact us: info@learnyourenglish.com 
Producer's note: the internet was quite tired on the day of recording. While the interweb didn't put in its best effort, the humans involved sure did, and we hope all the great content in this episode comes through from Jewel, Meghana, and Dr. Pawlak. 
Dr. Miroslaw Pawlak shares his thoughts in our final episode of our series on corrective feedback. Dr. Pawlak is the Head of the Department of English Studies and part of the Faculty of Pedagogy and Fine Arts in Kalisz, Poland at Adam Mickiewicz University. Additionally, he is the editor-in chief of the journals Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, and Konin Language Studies, and the editor-in chief of the book series Second Language Learning and Teaching (Springer). His areas of research include form-focused instruction, corrective feedback, pronunciation teaching, classroom interaction, study abroad, and a range of individual difference factors such as motivation, willingness to communicate, language learning strategies and boredom. His most recent research article “Corrective Feedback, Developmental Readiness, and Language Proficiency” can be seen in The Cambridge Handbook of Corrective Feedback in Second Language Learning and Teaching.
In this episode 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.
Partnership with Carleton University:
Throughout the series, MA students from Dr. Kartchava's class will interview leading experts in the field of corrective feedback. We thank Dr. Kartchava for joining this episode and for spearheading this initiative. 
For more information on this episode, this project, and those involved:
view Carleton and Dr. Kartchava's website on Corrective Feedback
view the LYE blog post on this episode 
For more about Dr. Pawlak:
See his page from Adam Mickiewicz University
His Handbook on Corrective Feedback
His Google Scholar author page 
As always, thank you for listening. Your support has been overwhelming and we couldn't do what we do without you. We hope this podcast serves as an effective CPD tool for you.
If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com 
For more on what we do at LYE:
Join Our Mailing List
Join Our Teacher Development Membership
Join our Self-directed Learning Portal
See Our Online CPD Courses for Teachers
Follow Learn YOUR English
Follow Teacher Talking Time 


