intELEcast News

Oh no!  Not another podcast about AI and how we might all be out of a job! 

Well, yes and no.  This is a podcast about AI and how latest innovations mean that test takers can now practise anywhere and get reliable feedback at the click of a button.  And yes, the AI test bots are getting better and better.

But no - it's not all doom and gloom!

We look at our sponsor MTS' new platform that enables IELTS test takers to practise with lifelike speaking avatars and get instant bandscore feedback.  We also take a little look at the technology behind the platform and celebrate how this makes practise accessible to so many.

As to why this doesn't spell the end - well, this blurb wasn't written by AI (or was it...)

To find out more about MTS' IELTS Practice Hub, go to: https://ielts.mtsglobal.uk.com/

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IntELEcast News: The podcast that takes you inside the world of English Language Education.

IntELEcast News is sponsored by MTS - Exams with Integrity.

Did you know that the average English Language Teacher asks 300 questions per day and on average, we give our students 1.6 seconds to answer?

That's a LOT of questions and not a lot of time to respond.

It's also not particularly Special Educational Needs (SEN) friendly.  So what can we do to make sure our classrooms, whether in person or online, are more accessible?  How can we ensure our resources serve as wide an audience as possible?

We talk to Laura Broadbent who shares her expertise and tips on this important matter.

If your school would like Laura's expertise and help, you can contact her directly [email protected]

intELEcast news is sponsored by MTS: Exams with Integrity.

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IntELEcast News: The podcast that takes you inside the world of English Language Education.

IntELEcast News is sponsored by MTS - Exams with Integrity.

As teachers and small business owners, we often see ourselves as ‘just teachers’  and it's so easy to think that LinkedIn is not the place for us.  We use it, but are we using it to its full potential?  Do we even know what its full potential is?  Probably not!  Why do we find LinkedIn so scary and what can we do to overcome this fear? 

Louise Brogan, an expert in LinkedIn, raising your visibility online, and all round small business champion kindly shares her wisdom with us.  Listen now to find out how you can use LinkedIn to share your knowledge and grow your community.

You can find out more about the courses and services Louise and her team offer by visiting her website, www.louisebrogan.com and/or connecting with her on LinkedIn (naturally!)

To buy her brand new book, Raise Your Visibility On LinkedIn head over to Amazon.

intELEcast news is kindly sponsored by MTS

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IntELEcast News: The podcast that takes you inside the world of English Language Education.

IntELEcast News is sponsored by MTS - Exams with Integrity.

AI in 2025.  Where are we at and where are we going?  Is it something we’re using, abusing, fearing or embracing? 

If we are scared of it, are we actually worrying about the wrong things, or if we are using it, are we using it the same as everyone else?

Martin and Sona explore this hot topic and hear from Ioana Cretu and Neil Harris, two leading AI experts in the field of ELT.

To listen to the full interviews with Iona and Neil, click here and for further details of the IATEFL talks on AI, you can click here.  To read the British Council's report into AI, click here.

If you'd like to contact Ioana Cretu, you can do so via her website or LinkedIn.  Her IATEFL talk, 'Teaching scientific writing as process while the process is changing' scheduled for Tuesday, 8 April,  can be previewed at https://www.iateflconference.org/about-the-conference/preview-brochure and you can also catch her at the pre-conference event '21st century skills in the ESP classroom' on Monday, 7 April, by the ESP Special Interest Group in IATEFL.

Neil Harris began his career in English Language Teaching in 1993 and has worked in a number of functions in language teaching organisations, including as a teacher, DOS, teacher trainer and as Director of Marketing and Academic Development. He regularly presents online and in person at conferences globally and for organisations such as Macmillan, Hueber, the British Council and Quality English. He has a particular interest in online learning and teacher development and has presented widely on artificial intelligence in ELT.  You can get in touch with Neil Harris via his website or LinkedIn.  

intELEcast News is sponsored by MTS Global.  

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IntELEcast News: The podcast that takes you inside the world of English Language Education.

IntELEcast News is sponsored by MTS - Exams with Integrity.

As we come to the end of 2024 (and before the festivities take over!), we take a look back at our first year of intELEcast news and go over some of the highlights.

What does 2025 bring?  Well, partly, that's over to you, our listeners: let us know what you would like us to cover.  We also promise to continue to bring you the hot topics from the world of ELT and hear from more industry leaders and influencers.

Thanks to MTS our sponsors for their support, and to all of you, our listeners.  We've so enjoyed our first year and look forward to 2025!

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IntELEcast News: The podcast that takes you inside the world of English Language Education.

IntELEcast News is sponsored by MTS - Exams with Integrity.

In our latest episode of IntELEcast News, we chat to Tom O'Reilly of Prosperity Education and the company's fascinating journey from digital, to print, and then back again to digital, but this time, with an AI twist! 

Find out about how they are leveraging AI in the exams preparation market and hear about their work with tech start up, Gradingly on their latest product, Prosperity English,  a new digital platform for exam-preparation that comprises a great selection of Cambridge exam preparation material - written by humans - but with the grading powered by AI. 

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IntELEcast News: The podcast that takes you inside the world of English Language Education.

IntELEcast News is sponsored by MTS - Exams with Integrity.

In this episode we chat to Rebecca Bush from the OET to discuss how exams that focus on English for Specific Purposes, like the Occupational English Test (OET), can play a huge part in the exams landscape across the world. 

We look at how the test has had a powerful impact on healthcare professionals, allowing them to work across borders without the need to take multiple language exams and how the OET stays relevant in the healthcare industry by ensuring its test aligns with the latest communication trends that focus on patient-centred language.

Here's the link to the Preparation Partners page, which is where new teachers can find out more about our free teacher training including registration

https://oet.com/access/preparation-partners

Here's a link to the general website https://oet.com/

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IntELEcast News: The podcast that takes you inside the world of English Language Education.

IntELEcast News is sponsored by MTS - Exams with Integrity.

We talk to Giovanni Rottura about the many things he's doing to connect teachers from around the world. Listen and find out how EdYOUfest and other programmes Giovanni runs, are creating opportunities for teaching professionals around the world. 
https://www.edyoufest.org/

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IntELEcast News: The podcast that takes you inside the world of English Language Education.

IntELEcast News is sponsored by MTS - Exams with Integrity.

In this episode, we listen to an interview with Michal Mazanek, founder and CEO of MTS (and our sponsor) who talks to us about 10 years of success in the exams sector and more.  Michal is definitely one of the success stories of immigration into the UK!  Listen now to hear about his journey so far, the state of exams today in the ELT world, and a little look into what the future might bring.

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IntELEcast News: The podcast that takes you inside the world of English Language Education.

IntELEcast News is sponsored by MTS - Exams with Integrity.

As the UK enters the final weeks of a fraught election campaign, all the major parties are still vying for votes.  With the ELT industry  generating millions of pounds for the UK economy annually, we wondered how industry experts see this against a growing tide of anti-immigration rhetoric.   

Listen to the podcast to hear what Mark Rendell, CEO of International House, London; Huan Japes, Membership Director, English UK; Hugh Dellar, Author; Ilaria Tarulli, RefuAid; Tom O’Reilly, Prosperity Press and Michal Mazanek, CEO @MTS, have to say on the subject and what they would like to see from the next government to help the ELT industry in the UK.

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IntELEcast News: The podcast that takes you inside the world of English Language Education.

IntELEcast News is sponsored by MTS - Exams with Integrity.