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Want to teach more reactively and in line with what SLA research says? Join LYE founders Leo, Mike, and Andrew for monthly long-form interviews with language acquisition experts so you can throw that textbook away. Whether you’re building your own business, working for a school, or just love learning about trends in language teaching, this is your bridge between the research lab and practical classroom.
Episodes

Sunday Nov 01, 2020
Episode 30: Luke Meddings
Sunday Nov 01, 2020
Sunday Nov 01, 2020
Leo invites Luke Meddings into the digital studio. Luke is a teacher, trainer, and author with over 30 years in the ELT industry. In 2009 he co-authored "Teaching Unplugged" with Scott Thornbury, a book that represented a revolution in English Language Instruction. In 2020, Luke founded "The Context," which helps students, teachers, and institutions in the industry.
Luke reflects on the Dogme movement, why it was viewed as controversial, where it is now, and if he still views it as contentious.
In much more detail, he tells us:
- his teaching beginnings and why it led him to a "teaching unplugged" approach (3:00)
- the first school he started - "Explore Your English" - and why it was idealistic (18:00)
- the genesis of Dogme and meeting Scott Thornbury (25:00)
- why presenting on Dogme at conferences was met with both excitement and contempt (40:00)
- the writing of "Teaching Unplugged" and why they didn't use the word "Dogme" (44:00)
- the 10 principles of Dogme and why they chose the 3 they did for their movement (55:00)
- his thoughts on progressive education and how we still need to do better (1:02:00)
For more on Luke Meddings:
Follow him: @LukeMeddings
Follow The Context on Instagram: @thecontext_edu
Get your copy of Teaching Unplugged
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:

Sunday Oct 18, 2020
The Cult of Learning 7: Visualizing Yourself in English
Sunday Oct 18, 2020
Sunday Oct 18, 2020
/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.
Mike and Leo discuss "visualization" and how it can help you become a better language learner. Visualization or "mental imagery" is is commonly used by many top performers, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Michael Phelps, and athletes when preparing themselves for a competition, a race, or a match.
How does this apply to learning a language? Mike and Leo talk about:
- how important the mind is in language performance
- famous athletes who use this technique
- how we visualize all the time even if we don't do it on purpose
- why it's important to have realistic goals in your language learning
- strategies you can use to visualize your "future L2 self"
Check out our website for more information on today's episode.
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:
Download our E-book for FREE on our website. We hope it helps you learn outside the classroom!
Improve your English Skills with our Self-directed Learning Portal - only $5/month
Use our LYE Discount on your Next Creative Project. Get your First Month Free when you:
Publish an Online Course with Thinkific

Tuesday Sep 29, 2020
Episode 29: Dr. Masatoshi Sato
Tuesday Sep 29, 2020
Tuesday Sep 29, 2020
Leo and Mike chat with Dr. Masatoshi Sato about academic research, second language teaching, and why a lack of implementation still exists between research and classroom pedagogy.
Dr. Sato (PhD: McGill University) is a Professor in the Department of English at Universidad Andrés Bello, Chilé. He currently teaches pre-service and in-service English teachers in Chile. His research agenda is to conduct theoretical and practical research in order to provide practitioners with evidence-based pedagogy. In particular, he has conducted research focusing on peer interaction, corrective feedback, learner psychology, teacher psychology, and research-pedagogy dialogue.
He recently published a paper titled "Do Teachers Care about Research? The Research-Pedagogy Dialogue" which is the focus of this episode.
*Note: the paper is free to read.
Dr. Sato tells us:
- how he became a researcher (2:00)
- misconceptions on the purpose of second language research (12:00)
- what the "research-pedagogy" dialogue is and why it's important (18:00)
- why he believes teachers usually don't interact with research (30:00)
- what researchers need to do for their work to be more useful to teachers (34:00)
- why motivation cannot be the cause of learning (47:00)
- his study analyzing motivation and the "ideal self system" and its link to second language learning (52:00)
For more on Dr. Sato:
Follow him: @masatoshi_sato
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:

Monday Sep 14, 2020
The Cult of Learning 6: Why Learn a New Language?
Monday Sep 14, 2020
Monday Sep 14, 2020
/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 the Learn YOUR English Learner Membership Community.
In this episode, Andrew joins Leo in studio and they discuss reasons for learning a new language, both good and bad. In the last segment, the guys talk about motivation vs discipline, and how to make language learning a habit and not a chore.
Why do you learn new languages? What habits have you developed along the way?
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Ted Talk - 4 Reasons to Learn a Language
Download our E-book for FREE on our website. We hope it helps you learn outside the classroom!
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
If you like the show, we have a Tip Jar on our website for people looking to help with the creation of our show.
For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

Monday Aug 31, 2020
Episode 28: Ana-Marija Petrunic
Monday Aug 31, 2020
Monday Aug 31, 2020
Andrew sits down with Ana-Marija Petrunic to discuss her work in post-conflict Kosovo in the late 1990's, how language & identity factor into teaching, and if there is such a thing as neutrality in education. Ana-Marija spent years in post-war Kosovo as part of a project working towards reconstructing an education system in the ethnically diverse region.
Ana-Marija is the Chair of the School of ESL at Toronto’s George Brown College. Previous to that, she spent more than a decade with the University of Calgary, serving roles as instructor, professional development advisor, and in education management. She is continuing her academic path with doctoral studies in the School of Management at the University of Bath.
In this episode, Ana-Marija delves into:
- how her feeling of being "suspended in identity" led her to a career in ELT
- her work in Kosovo - what it was, why she went, and how it happened
- the challenges of re-constructing education in a post-war region
- how identity impacts language learning and teaching
- why she believes neutrality does not exist in education
- why teachers need to embrace tension and discomfort in their classrooms, and have tough, meaningful, and impactful discussions with their students that will impart social change
For more information on Ana-Marija:
Follow her: @ampetrun
Read her thesis from the University of Calgary
For more information on this episode, see our blog post on our website.
Podcast Creation:
This episode was created with support from our listeners. If you enjoy our work, consider contributing to our tip jar
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 like the show, consider subscribing on Spotify, iTunes, or Google Podcasts, and sharing it with a friend. 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:

Monday Aug 03, 2020
The Cult of Learning 5: Setting Clear Language Goals, Part III
Monday Aug 03, 2020
Monday Aug 03, 2020
/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 the Learn YOUR English Learner Membership Community.
In episode 5, Leo and Mike complete our mini series on setting clear language goals. The series looks at the 7 "Cs" of goal setting. This episode looks at the last two Cs:
The Sixth C: Character
-
A good CHARACTER to guide us and keep us on a proper course.
The Seventh C: Capacity
-
A capacity to enjoy the PROCESS along the way
-
Playing the long game
For each, they pose these questions:
- What are they?
- How do they help us learn?
- Why are they important?
The LYE School of Learning:
If you would like to join our School of Learning, it’s only $5 one time. Sign up and start learning today!
Download our E-book for FREE on our website. We hope it helps you learn outside the classroom!
Thank you for listening! If you like the show, consider subscribing on Spotify, iTunes, or Google Podcasts, and sharing it with a friend. If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com
If you like the show, we have a Tip Jar on our website for people looking to help with the creation of our show.
For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

Sunday Aug 02, 2020
Episode 27: Chiara Bruzzano & Marc Jones
Sunday Aug 02, 2020
Sunday Aug 02, 2020
In Teacher Talking Time’s first round-table episode, we focus on the topic of teaching and developing listening skills. Leo and Andrew are joined by Marc Jones and Chiara Bruzzano, both researchers on the topic of listening.
Marc and Chiara help us parse what current research and findings on listening says, and discuss what strategies and approaches we as teachers can utilize in our classes to best help our students.
This episode is divided into 3 sections:
1. The Differences between teaching, practicing, and testing listening (3:20)
2. Analyzing the standard approach to teaching listening (34:00)
3. Looking at what can be improved and suggestions of how to go about it. (1:02:00)
Three questions were used to help us define this round table discussion:
1. Is there a problem that our industry faces that you would like to address?
2. How is this topic relevant to teachers?
3. What outcomes do we expect to achieve at the end of this round table?
*This episode works in conjunction with the LYE Course "Teaching Listening Made Easy."
Follow Chiara:
Twitter: @chiara_bruzzano
View her website: ETprofessional
Chiara is also the founder of LanguagEd, a group of teachers, researchers and graphic designers producing professional development courses for teachers.
Follow Marc:
Twitter: @marcjonestyo
View his websites: Marcjones.tokyo and getgreatenglish.com
*For anyone interested in learning more about teaching listening, listen to the end of the episode for a discount code for the LYE course “Teaching Listening Made Easy.”
For more information on this episode, see our blog post on our website.
Podcast Creation:
This episode was created with support from our listeners. If you enjoy our work, consider contributing to our tip jar
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 like the show, consider subscribing on Spotify, iTunes, or Google Podcasts, and sharing it with a friend. 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:

Wednesday Jul 01, 2020
The Cult of Learning 4: Setting Clear Language Goals, Part II
Wednesday Jul 01, 2020
Wednesday Jul 01, 2020
/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 the Learn YOUR English Learner Membership Community.
In episode 4, Mike and Leo continue our podcast series on Setting Clear Goals in Language Learning. In this series, we discuss the 7 Cs of Goal Setting. In Part I, we talked about the first two: conception and confidence.
In this episode, we talk about the next 3 Cs: Concentration, Consistency, and Commitment:
- What are they?
- How do they help us learn?
- Why are they important?
Mike and Leo also talk about very exciting announcements for Learn YOUR English:
A. Free E-book for Students called "The 3 Myths of Learning" - download for free now!
B. The LYE School of Learning - learn for only $5 for your whole life!
C. LYE Quick Fixes: Improve one part of your language quickly and effectively.
The LYE School of Learning:
If you would like to join our School of Learning, it’s only $5 one time. Sign up and start learning today!
Download our E-book for FREE on our website. We hope it helps you learn outside the classroom!
Thank you for listening! If you like the show, consider subscribing on Spotify, iTunes, or Google Podcasts, and sharing it with a friend. If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com
If you like the show, we have a Tip Jar on our website for people looking to help with the creation of our show.
For more info on what we do at LYE, check out:

Monday Jun 29, 2020
Episode 26: Jason Anderson
Monday Jun 29, 2020
Monday Jun 29, 2020
In episode 26, Andrew invites Jason Anderson into the studio. Jason is a teacher educator, educational consultant, award-winning author and researcher, working in both language teaching and mainstream education. He has published research on aspects of language teaching, multilingualism, teacher reflection, lesson planning and teacher education. His main interests include teaching methodology, translanguaging and the contextual challenges of primary and secondary teachers working in low- and middle-income contexts, where he has spent much of his career as a teacher educator.
He is a proponent for the use of multiple frameworks in language classrooms - "all of these approaches do and can work." In 2016, he published "A Potted History of PPP" in which he outlines the history of the framework and argues that research is not simply against it, as many believe. Jason also has designed a new framework called "The TATE Model."
In this episode, Jason discusses:
- His recent project in India (4:00)
- The history of the PPP Framework (11:00)
- Why the Zone of Proximal Development is misunderstood in second language acquisition (19:00)
- Lexis, Grammar, the lexical approach and a synthetic syllabus (22:00)
- If TBLT is appropriate in developing world contexts (28:00)
- What it means for an approach "to work" (36:00)
- Creating appropriate outcome measures (39:30)
- Research and practice together in a reflective model of teacher education (50:00)
- The TATE model (57:30)
*For links to the resources mentioned in this interview, see our blog post about this episode on our website.
Follow Jason:
Twitter: @jasonelt
Website: jasonanderson.org.uk
Podcast Creation:
This episode was created with support from our listeners. If you enjoy our work, consider contributing to our tip jar
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 like the show, consider subscribing on Spotify, iTunes, or Google Podcasts, and sharing it with a friend. 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:

Monday Jun 01, 2020
The Cult of Learning 3: Setting Clear Language Goals, Part 1
Monday Jun 01, 2020
Monday Jun 01, 2020
/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 the Learn YOUR English Learner Membership Community.
In episode 3, Mike and Leo introduce our podcast series on Setting Clear Goals in Language Learning. In this series, we will discuss the 7 Cs of Goal Setting.
In this episode, we talk about the first 2 Cs:
1. Conception:
The first condition to success is establishing a clear conception of what we want to achieve or accomplish.
- What does that mean?
- What steps do we need to take to do that?
2. Confidence
The second step is developing confidence.
- What kind of confidence?
- How do we overcome challenges?
- What's the difference between confidence and courage?
We cover this and more in Part 1 of our series on setting clear language goals. Send us a message and let us know how you plan for success.
For LYE Members: All of our members will be discussing this episode in our classes this month and performing learning activities to achieve their language goals.
Thank you for listening! If you like the show, consider subscribing on Spotify, iTunes, or Google Podcasts, and sharing it with a friend. If you have a comment or question about today's show, we'd love to hear from you: info@learnyourenglish.com
If you like the show, we have a Tip Jar on our website for people looking to help with the creation of our show.
For more info on what we do at LYE, check out: