The Motivated Classroom

This episode is all about engagement, active learning and retrieval practice. 'Retrieval practice' is a study technique where mental effort is used to recall information. It focusses on bringing information to mind which enhances and boosts learning. Deliberately recalling information forces us to pull our knowledge “out” and examine what we know.  Engagement and active learning strategies align closely in the research. When students are up out of their seats they are often more engaged in that moment. That is not to say they should be up doing games all lesson but now and again, getting students out of their seats can be hugely beneficial. Especially when coupled with 'retrieval practice' activities.  In this episode I outline 11 (not 10!) zero-prep, active learning, strategies designed to engage learners in retrieval practice: Bingo Pointless  Give one get one Elimination game Draw from last lesson or story Silent reading with instructions Free voluntary reading Circle clicks Create something great Pass the alarm Pop with a song Full programme notes with further information and links to research and resources are available at www.liamprinter.com/podcast. Follow The Motivated Classroom on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation with the hashtag #MotivatedClassroom. Enjoying The Motivated Classroom podcast? Join me on my patreon page here. Keep sharing and spreading the word. I'd love to know what you think, please get in touch or leave me a review 🙏

Relatedness is the second key component of motivation that we have looked at in The Motivated Classroom podcast. Listen back to Episode 1 to learn about the three basic psychological needs we all have and want to be satisfied in order to be intrinsically motivated. In Episode 3 we discussed 'autonomy' and its critical role in boosting motivation. This Episode goes into detail about the psychological need of 'relatedness'. What is relatedness? How is it different to relationships? How do I build relatedness in my languages classroom? The episode introduces some of the main educational research on building relationships and how we can apply this in our classrooms. This episode is a must-listen for language teachers as it gives lots of zero-prep activities and tips you can implement right away in your classes to connect with your students. I explain some of the following activities I use in my classes to foster relatedness and relationships right from the first class: ✔️ The class password ✔️ Personal questions and answers (PQA) ✔️ Story sharing ✔️ Special person interviews ✔️ Using pets and photos of you ✔️ Student jobs ✔️ Intent listening ✔️ Use of 'high 4s' or 'high 3s' ✔️ Allow the lesson plan to go  ✔️ How to be fair but strict ✔️ Using class constitution for classroom management Full programme notes with further information and links to research and resources are available at www.liamprinter.com/podcast. Follow The Motivated Classroom on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation with the hashtag #MotivatedClassroom. Enjoying The Motivated Classroom podcast? Join me on my patreon page here. I'd love to know what you think, please get in touch or leave me a review 🙏

The 'one-word image' activity is an absolute must-listen for all MFL  and world languages teachers! It allows you to teach languages in an engaging, student-centred way by creating an invisible character with your students, which will result in active listening, huge all-class engagement and high motivation. The strategy was originally developed by Ben Slavic and is now a mainstay in many language classrooms. Rather than teaching long lists of vocabulary for describing people through worksheets or a textbook, the 'invisible character' approach uses students' own creativity and autonomy to develop the character traits and feelings. This activity enables students to acquire language naturally through intent listening and high interest. It will: ✔️ Build relationships ✔️ Foster belonging ✔️ Lead to excited engagement ✔️ Nurture students' creativity & autonomy ✔️ Embed vocabulary in long-term memory Full programme notes with further information and links to resources are available at www.liamprinter.com/podcast. Follow The Motivated Classroom on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation with the hashtag #MotivatedClassroom. I'd love to know what you think, please get in touch or leave me a review 🙏

What is 'autonomy-supportive' teaching and how do we do it in the #languages classroom? Autonomy is an essential component of intrinsic motivation and is often considered in the research as more central to building motivation than any of the other basic psychological needs. In this episode, I share how I build perceptions of autonomy in my learners and also the classroom strategies that allow us, as teachers, to develop our own autonomy and thus foster our own teacher motivation.  Full programme notes are available on www.liamprinter.com/podcast.  Follow The Motivated Classroom on Instagram @themotivatedclassroom and Twitter @motclasspodcast. Join the conversation with the hashtag #MotivatedClassroom. I'd love to know what you think, please get in touch or leave me a review.

How can we set up the very first class of the year to ensure the three basic needs of intrinsic motivation are right at the heart of lesson? In this episode, I start by looking at classroom management and how we can allow student autonomy but maintain structure. I then speak about how I set up the first lesson with all my classes in order to foster autonomy, build competence and develop a sense of belonging in the classroom through the 'class constitution'. Full programme notes are available on www.liamprinter.com/podcast. Follow The Motivated Classroom on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation with the hashtag #MotivatedClassroom. I'd love to know what you think, please get in touch or leave me a review.

In this first episode of The Motivated Classroom podcast I discuss: An overview of what motivation is and how we can 'do' it in class Current knowledge on language learning motivation  Self-Determination Theory of motivation and applying it in the classroom The three basic psychological needs for intrinsic motivation Tips for activities to boost motivation in the classroom Full programme notes are available on www.liamprinter.com/podcast  Join the conversation on social media: Twitter: @motclasspodcast Instagram: @themotivatedclassroom Facebook: The Motivated Classroom