The Kate Languages Podcast

CW: This episode contains discussions about mental health and thoughts of self harm.

In this episode of the podcast, I outline five warning signs that might mean it’s time to think about quitting or changing/reducing your work.

From feeling physically ill, to constantly procrastinating and daydreaming, to feeling out of alignment with your values, these are my own red flags when it comes to knowing when to quit.

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts on the episode, so get in touch on Facebook and Instagram (I’m Kate Languages on both) or email me through my website https://katelanguages.co.uk/

Joe Dale is my podcast producer and the music is by Coma-Media from Pixabay.

This was such a great conversation with the brilliant Emily Armstrong about real teacher well-being. And I’ll give you a clue… it’s not about cakes in the staffroom or mandatory yoga sessions after school!

In this episode, we discussed strategies to actually improve teacher well-being. Whether it’s genuine workload management (meaning working how and when it suits you best), or learning to be assertive, embracing mistakes and dialing down the perfectionism, Emily gave so many amazing tips for teachers and school leaders to start working on straight away.

Listen right to the end for some fantastic advice on how to overcome imposter syndrome as a teacher - especially those MFL teachers who are teaching a language they don’t feel confident with. And don’t forget that my team and I are here for you if you need to learn a new language and/or improve a language to be able to teach it confidently.

Connect with Emily on Instagram, where she is @emilyarmstrongeducation.

In the episode, I mentioned a previous podcast episode where I answered a question about teacher resilience. It’s Season 5 Episode 1 - Q&A Episode 4.

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts on the episode, so get in touch on Facebook and Instagram (I’m Kate Languages on both) or email me through my website https://katelanguages.co.uk/

Joe Dale is my podcast producer and the music is by Coma-Media from Pixabay.

Season 6 is here! As always, the first episode of the series is a Q&A episode. I think you’ll agree that there were some really good questions this time, including a couple of fun ones at the start!

Find out my thoughts about why students struggle with instructions, my preferred exam board, why MFL GCSEs and A Levels are getting less popular, whether languages should be compulsory and whether we should teach more than one language. Plus, I have a bit of a rant about what I would change about MFL GCSEs! Lastly, I reveal what I wanted to be when I was a kid… and I’m afraid to say, it wasn’t an MFL teacher!

I would love to hear your ideas on any of these questions, so get in touch on Facebook and Instagram (I’m Kate Languages on both) or email me through my website katelanguages.co.uk

Joe Dale is my podcast producer and the music is by Coma-Media from Pixabay.

In this special BONUS episode of the Kate Languages Podcast, I spoke to the incredible Crista Hazell about creativity in MFL. Drama, music and film are such wonderful (and possibly under-utilised?) tools that we can use in our teaching and Crista has so many wonderful ideas about how to fully exploit them!

Find Crista on Twitter (X) @cristahazell and read her excellent book entitled MFL: How to make modern foreign language teaching exciting, inclusive and relevant - https://www.independentthinking.co.uk/speakers/crista-hazell/

During the interview we referenced the following:

• Greg Horton, GroupTalk - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v12QHnkMcUg
• Kagan strategies - https://www.kaganonline.com/index.php
• Into Film - https://www.intofilm.org

As always, let me know your thoughts on the episode and tell me about how you have implemented creativity in your own language teaching! I'm @katelanguages on Facebook and Instagram or email me through my website katelanguages.co.uk

In this final episode of season 5, I talk about teaching phonics in MFL. Namely, what teaching phonics is NOT! I talk you through 3 misconceptions about teaching phonics in MFL and explain my ideas about what it actually is.

To dive deeper into all things teaching phonics in MFL, head to https://katelanguages.co.uk/product/teaching-phonics-in-mfl-online-cpd/ to access my online workshop on this exact topic!

Joe Dale is my podcast editor and producer.

Music is by Coma Media from Pixabay.

In this episode, I'm talking about money! More specifically, how you can make a bit of extra cash on the side as an MFL teacher. From private tuition, to selling resources and monetising your other skills and hobbies, this is a rundown of my top 5 ways of making yourself some extra income.

My podcast producer is Joe Dale and the music is by Coma Media from Pixabay.

In this episode, I walk you through how to exploit one text in lots of different ways in an MFL lesson. From listening, to reading and translation, grammar, speaking and writing, I talk about how to cover every skill with just one text, instead of trying to find a different text for each skill.

If you would like to dive deeper into this, I am running a 2-hour workshop on 3rd February 2024. For more info and to sign up, head here: https://katelanguages.co.uk/product/exploiting-one-text-online-cpd/

Joe Dale is my podcast producer and the music is by Coma Media from Pixabay.

In this episode, I interviewed the very fabulous Joe Dale about all things AI and ChatGPT for MFL teachers. We had a fascinating chat about what AI and ChatGPT actually are, plus how to use them effectively in your lesson planning and teaching.

Joe needs little introduction to the majority of MFL teachers, particularly in the UK, but to those who don't know him, he is an independent ICT/MFL consultant. He's the go-to expert for anything to do with tech in the MFL classroom, and has presented at conferences and webinars all over the world.

I am so fortunate to not only have had the opportunity to pick his brains about AI/ChatGPT, but he is also editing and producing this season of the podcast!Find Joe on YouTube, Twitter and LinkedInSign up to the Avant Assessment Webinar Series here: https://avantassessment.com/chat-gpt-for-language-teachers

Join the Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/languageteachingwithai

Music is by Coma-Media from Pixabay.

Season 5 is here! And I think you'll agree, sounding better than ever, thanks to my new podcast producer, Joe Dale! As always, I'm kicking off the season with a Q&A episode, with questions taken from a survey I did with my email list a couple of months ago.

Find out my thoughts on teacher resilience, reading as an MFL teacher to keep your languages fresh, finding authentic texts and differentiating for a mixed GCSE class. Plus, I'll tell you what my September resolutions are this year... and whether I actually stuck to last year's resolutions! More on my resolutions can be found here: https://katelanguages.co.uk/september-resolutions-2023/

To let me know your thoughts on the podcast, you can tag me on social media - I'm @katelanguages on Facebook and Instagram - or email me through my website katelanguages.co.uk

Don't forget to rate, review and subscribe to make sure that all episodes are delivered straight to your device as soon as they're released!

Music is by Coma-Media from Pixabay.