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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.
Episodes

Friday Feb 28, 2025
Native Teachers can't Fix Pronunciation - John Levis
Friday Feb 28, 2025
Friday Feb 28, 2025
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Learners can think a native teacher is a vaccine against poor pronunciation. Equally, native teachers can be misinformed in thinking that students should just follow them.
We dive into pronunciation, intelligibility, and teacher effects on learner performance with the great John Levis.
John is Professor of Applied Linguistics and Technology at Iowa State University. He is founding editor of the Journal of Second Language Pronunciation and the founder of the annual Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Conference. His research focuses on pronunciation, intelligibility, pronunciation, and accent. John has received university awards for Excellence in Graduate Teaching, for Career Achievement in Research, and was named Angela B. Pavitt Professor of English in 2018.
In our conversation, John talks about:
- accent vs pronunciation
- the nativeness principle vs the intelligibility principle
- how he coined "the intelligibility principle"
- high and low value features of pronunciation
- why some vowel sounds don't matter
- native and non-native teacher effects on learner performance
- learners viewing native speakers as a vaccine for poor pronunciation
- some native teachers believing learners should just follow them
- getting "caught" with accent
For more from John Levis:
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