In an increasingly globalised world, the most popular languages are becoming more and more widespread. In the case of English, for example, there are now more non-native English speakers globally than native speakers. Notably these speakers are confidently communicating using a wide variety of accents but are able to understand and be understood ..read more

One of the most common arguments for using educational technology in the classroom is that it is uniquely able to motivate and inspire students to engage in learning. The prevailing wisdom goes that students are already using technology in their leisure time and that as “digital natives” they will therefore get more from a lesson which makes use of such tools ..read more

Feedback is now well-established as a part of our everyday lives. After we have visited a restaurant we write a review, we’re encouraged to like and reply when we read a social media post and our chosen streaming services present recommendations on what we say we’ve enjoyed or not. Ultimately, these feedback loops are designed to make our lives better and the same is certainly true for second language learners - it’s vital that they receive good quality feedback from educators showing where further work might be needed to progress ..read more

From textbooks to timetables and from menus to movies, there’s a multitude of different materials and resources for language educators to use in their teaching. Yet for many educators, the most effective and engaging resources they use are materials created in the target language they’re teaching. These truly expose learners to how the language is actually spoken and used in the real world ..read more

Although there are a wide variety of different approaches to language teaching and an infinite variety of pupils, classroom environments and educators, most learning tends to take place in a unit of time known as a lesson. Whilst the content of each lesson is usually determined by the teacher, lesson structures can provide a useful template to give learners a wide variety of different content and contexts ..read more

Making the study of foreign languages as accessible and inclusive as possible is one of the challenges facing schools today. How can teachers develop language learning pathways for students with learning disabilities ..read more

As every language educator will be well aware each classroom and each student is different. All learners flourish in response to a carefully tailored teaching approach that is specifically suited to their needs and requirements. This is particularly true of students with learning disabilities or special educational needs (“SEN”). The problems they face in their native language will still be present, or may even be magnified, when learning a new foreign language. These can adversely affect their ability to acquire language-based skills such as listening, reading, spelling and writing.  ..read more

The importance of learning languages will be obvious to all readers of this blog, but for many young people across the world, languages are increasingly seen as an unattractive option to study in school. In the UK, for example, foreign language learning is now at its lowest level in UK secondary schools (11-16 years) since the turn of the millennium. Moreover, a third of all secondaries have dropped at least one language from their GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) options ..read more

In common with the rest of education, language teaching and learning have been significantly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and the rapid deployment of educational technology (EdTech). Of course, these changes have created some challenges but they’ve also opened up new opportunities for students to improve their core language skills ..read more

Anyone who has ever tried to learn a new skill knows that it takes time. Whether it’s learning to juggle, how to paint or studying a new language, lots of patience is required and progress can sometimes be painfully slow. But while mastering a new skill can be a challenge, there’s no reason for it to be a boring or unenjoyable experience ..read more