The Kate Languages Podcast

Just a quick episode to let you know that season 5 is on its way! Make sure you've subscribed to get episode 1 straight onto your device on Monday 18th September 2023!

I'm kicking off with a Q&A episode as always, then we have a fab interview with Joe Dale (who is also my podcast producer now!), a couple of episodes with just me, plus a live podcast recording about teaching with a family.

Hope you enjoy - please rate and review if you haven't already done so and let me know your thoughts on any of the episodes.

Music is from Pixabay by Coma-Media.

Welcome to my summer 2023 replay series! This summer, I'm re-releasing some of my favourite ever podcast episodes that I think are well worth a re-listen.

In this episode, which was the last episode of series 4, I discussed the changes that are coming with the new GCSE and my thoughts and opinions of it. At the time of recording, only the French Specifications and SAMs had been released, so I was only able to comment on the French, but it's well worth a listen even if you only teach Spanish and/or German.

As always, let me know your thoughts on Instagram or Facebook (I'm @katelanguages on both) or email me using the contact form on my website katelanguages.co.uk

Music is from Pixabay by Coma-Media

Welcome to my summer 2023 replay series! This summer, I'm re-releasing some of my favourite ever podcast episodes that I think are well worth a re-listen.

In this episode, which was first released way back in October 2021 as episode 4 of the first season of the podcast, I talked about the fascinating book 'The Danish Way of Parenting' by Jessica Joelle Alexander and Iben Dissing Sandhal. In the episode, I discussed ways of implementing their ideas in the language classroom. It's all about creating a warm atmosphere, being authentic and empathetic, allowing children to play and make mistakes, and focusing on the process/effort rather than achievement. Probably not worth listening to if you're hoping for tips on how to scare children and the best way to yell at them!

For more information on this way of parenting and engaging with young people in general, have a look at their amazing website http://thedanishway.com and follow them on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thedanishway/

Music is from Pixabay by Coma Media

Welcome to my summer 2023 replay series! This summer, I'm re-releasing some of my favourite ever podcast episodes that I think are well worth a re-listen.

This episode, which was originally released back in February 2022, was the 10th episode in my (longer than subsequent seasons) first season!

In the episode, I talked about how I came to be a teaching resources writer - from setting up my website (with the help of my very talented stepmum!) to selling over 2500 of my most popular resource (at the last count in 2022, it's now well over 3000, although TES have stopped giving a sales count of resources so I'm not sure of the exact numbers). I also go into quite a lot of detail about my process when it comes to creating each resource, even down to the reasoning behind my font choices!

This episode came about as I had received a lot of messages and emails about writing resources and setting up a website, so hopefully I answered some of the most burning questions! As always, while it will be most useful for MFL teachers in England, I also believe that teachers in all subjects and Key Stages, and hopefully even from around the world, will find some helpful takeaways here... after all, writing resources is the essence of lesson planning, regardless of where you are and what you're teaching!

After this episode was released, I ran a CPD workshop on Creating Resources, which is available as an exclusive resource as part of my 'Buy Everything' offer https://katelanguages.co.uk/buy-everything/

I wrote a blog post on this a few years ago as well, which also contains links to the photo websites I use in my resources - https://katelanguages.co.uk/a-guide-to-creating-and-selling-teaching-resources/

As always, let me know your thoughts on this episode, and if you love my free content and would like to buy me a coffee to say thanks, you can do so at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/katelanguages

Music is from Pixabay by Coma-Media

Welcome to my summer 2023 replay series! This summer, I'm re-releasing some of my favourite ever podcast episodes that I think are well worth a re-listen.

In this episode, I had a fascinating chat with Elizabeth Swan (@Elizabeth_swan_uk on Instagram or https://elizabethswan.co.uk) about teaching MFL to people with ADHD and autism.

Elizabeth Swan is a teacher, coach and consultant, who draws upon lived experience and professional expertise from over 20 years as a qualified teacher, SENDCo, and headteacher in secondary and special schools as well as postgraduate study of psychology. Lizzy’s work is rooted in research-informed approaches to raising awareness and understanding of neurodiversity, with a particular focus on girls and women with ADHD.

We covered a range of topics, from the advantages of keeping students with SEND in MFL lessons, to her top tips for making the classroom ADHD/autism-friendly. We also chatted about using rewards and sanctions with ADHD/autistic learners, and the importance of keeping parents/carers fully in the loop.

As always, I'd love to know your thoughts on this episode, so do get in touch on my socials (@katelanguages on Instagram and Facebook) or through my website katelanguages.co.uk

During the episode, Elizabeth mentioned Paul Dix, who is best know for his books including 'When the adults change, everything changes', research on the benefits of bilingualism for autistic people (https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.741182/full) and Tuff bags (of which there are many different varieties available online!).

Music is from Pixabay by Coma-Media

Welcome to my summer 2023 replay series! This summer, I'm re-releasing some of my favourite ever podcast episodes that I think are well worth a re-listen.

This was my 3rd ever episode and in it, I gave a few ideas on how to maintain and/or improve your language skills as an MFL teacher. It seemed like an ideal time to re-release this episode as it's the start of the summer holidays for lots of people, and most of these ideas can be implemented by a pool/on the beach!

Let me know your thoughts on what you do to keep up your own languages skills - I'm @katelanguages on Facebook and Instagram or email me through my website katelanguages.co.uk

Music is from Pixabay by Coma Media

Welcome to my summer 2023 replay series! This summer, I'm re-releasing some of my favourite ever podcast episodes that I think are well worth a re-listen.

The 7th episode of the summer replay series was the last episode in season 3, when I spoke to the very lovely Janina Klimas (@reallifelanguage on Instagram) about reading to learn languages.

It was such an interesting chat and we covered so many fascinating areas, such as language acquisition, learning to read, comprehensible input and how 'reading' can incorporate so many more modalities than simply looking at words on a piece of paper. Here are links to some of the things we discussed...

• Stephen Krashen's 2017 paper on polyglots

• Steve Kaufmann - polyglot featured in Krashen's work

• https://lingua.com and https://www.yabla.com

• Journal en français facile

• An explanation of 'movie talk'

• SQ3R

• My blog post on authentic resources for language learners

• The MFL Virtual Book Club on Facebook

You can find lots more of Janina's ideas and work on her website, YouTube channel and podcast.

Music is from Pixabay by Coma-Media

Welcome to my Summer 2023 replay series!

This was episode 5 of season 1 of the podcast, released back in November 2021.

In this episode, I talked about the things you need to bear in mind when designing an MFL curriculum (particularly at KS3). I discussed starting from the end and ensuring that every task, lesson and unit feeds into the 'big picture' i.e. what you want pupils to know and to be able to do by the end of the key stage. I also talked about embedding repetition, building on key concepts throughout the key stage, planning culture into your curriculum, challenge with low threat and plenty of scaffolding, making it relevant and enjoyable... and lots more!

To download a free PowerPoint with my key ideas, go to my blog post https://katelanguages.co.uk/designing-a-curriculum/

Music is from Pixabay by Coma-Media

Welcome to my Summer 2023 Replay Series!

This summer, I'm re-releasing some of my favourite ever podcast episodes that I think are well worth a re-listen.

In this episode, which was originally released as Episode 2 of Season 3 in September 2022, I chatted to the wonderful Julie (@teachingplanninglanguages on Instagram) about how to plan your lessons in the most efficient way possible. We talked about finding reliable teaching resources, classroom routines, PowerPoint slide templates and her amazing backwards planning method, with which she can plan 6 weeks of lessons with a class in just 20 minutes!

During the chat, we referenced Spanish and Umbrellas (the fabulous Erica, who teaches all of my Spanish online courses for MFL teachers and features in my bonus episode from June 2022) and MFL resources (the lovely Alba, who I did an Insta live with a couple of years ago). We also mentioned the Positive Teacher Company's PowerPoint slides, which are well worth checking out!

Music is from Pixabay by Coma-Media

Welcome to my Summer 2023 Replay series!

This was my first ever podcast episode! In the episode I talked about the pros and cons of using GCSE-style activities at KS3. I think this is particularly relevant as we turn our focus towards the next new GCSE (first teaching 2024) and how we can adapt our KS3 and KS4 lessons to ensure we're covering the requirements of the new GCSE.

For more information and ideas on all things new GCSE, come along to my CPD series, starting in September 2023 (don't worry if you've missed it - it's all recorded and available to watch in your own time afterwards). More info here: https://katelanguages.co.uk/product/the-new-gcse-online-cpd-series/

Music is from Pixabay by Coma-Media