World Languages Collaborative Podcast

Language departments across higher education are facing a familiar challenge: declining enrollments, shrinking degree pathways, and increasing competition for space in students' schedules. But what if the solution isn't asking students to commit to a major or minor? What if it's offering something smaller, more flexible, and directly connected to their career goals?

In this episode, host Dr. Grant Gearhart sits down with Dr. André Zampaulo, Professor of Linguistics and Chair of the Department of Linguistics, Literatures, and Cultures at Saint Louis University, to explore how academic micro-credentials are transforming language recruitment and retention. Drawing on SLU's remarkable success, Dr. Zampaulo shares practical strategies for designing micro-credentials, recruiting students intentionally, and building programs that attract entirely new audiences without undermining traditional majors and minors.

Whether you're a department chair, language educator, or higher education administrator, this conversation offers a data-driven roadmap for reimagining the future of language programs in an era of changing student needs.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why micro-credentials are emerging as a powerful response to declining language enrollments
• How to design flexible, career-focused credentials that appeal to today's students
• Recruitment strategies that move beyond mass emails to personalized outreach
• Ways to build student community and improve retention, even in short academic pathways

About Dr. André Zampaulo:

Dr. André Zampaulo is Professor of Linguistics and Chair of the Department of Linguistics, Literatures, and Cultures at Saint Louis University. A specialist in Romance linguistics, phonetics, phonology, and language variation, he has authored and edited numerous influential publications, including Palatal Sound Change in the Romance Languages (Oxford University Press) and The Routledge Handbook of Portuguese Phonology. As department chair, he has led innovative, data-driven initiatives that have significantly expanded student participation through majors, minors, and academic micro-credentials.

Read Dr. Zampaulo's article on using micro-credentials to strengthen language recruitment and retention here.

Enrollment in language courses keeps dropping nationally. Bentley University found a way to buck that trend, and it didn't require a bigger budget or a mandate from above. Dr. Christian Rubio, Chair of Modern Languages and Director of the Honors Program at Bentley, joins host Grant Gearhart to explain how something as simple as a course name change opened the door to partnerships across campus, new degree pathways, and students who never would have walked into a language classroom otherwise. Dr. Rubio also served on the MLA committee that wrote the guidelines for evaluating publicly engaged humanities work, so this conversation goes beyond one school's playbook into what counts as meaningful curricular innovation in language departments right now.

Check out Bentley's Languages in Business here.

Check out one of the ways Bentley has marketed language study here. 

Not every teaching career is linear, and often the twists and turns lead us to a deeper understanding of, and appreciation for, this profession. Today's guest shares her journey over the last decade+ and how's she's navigated the ups and downs of having an unconventional career.

Dr. Sarah Cegelski holds a Ph.D. in Hispanic Literature from UNC–Chapel Hill and has spent the past 18 years teaching Spanish at every level, from elementary school through college. Due to her husband’s career, Sarah and her family moved six times in twelve years, a journey that led her to a wide range of teaching roles and even a brief step away from the classroom to care for her three children. While her career path has taken more twists and turns than she ever expected, she has cherished every opportunity to teach Spanish language, literature, and culture to students of all ages.

Some resources that Sarah suggests:

https://profemagnan.com/

https://www.academicindependence.com/

Joshua Cabral's World Languages Classroom (and if you haven't, check out our episode with Joshua here)

Florencia Henshaw and Maris Hawkins's Common Ground

And check out our two-part podcast with Florencia: Part 1 & Part 2

When I studied Latin in graduate school (so I could read medieval Latin texts), we never spoke it. We read it aloud, but we never had a conversation. Didn't seem practical. No one speaks Latin, right?

But what if the tenants of language acquisition applied to Latin just like they do to other languages? 

My guest today is John Bracey, a dynamic Latin teacher with a captivating story about how he came to the profession of language teaching. He's also a practitioner of comprehensible input (CI) as a foundational classroom strategy. 

In today's episode, John shares his story about how he found Latin (this is a really unique and cool story!) and how and why he adapted CI to the classroom of a "dead language." He also shares his own personal struggles with education in general and how those challenges have shaped his vision and practice as an educator. 

To learn more about John and his work, check out his website https://magisterbracey.com/

What does it really take to become a National Board Certified Teacher as a world language educator?

In this episode, I’m joined by Lisa Bartels, a veteran language teacher whose passion for languages began in a high school classroom and grew into a career spanning more than two decades. From teaching in international schools in Africa and the Philippines to supporting multilingual learners and families in the U.S., Lisa brings a deeply informed, global perspective to language instruction.

As a National Board Certified Teacher, past president of the North Carolina AATF, and recipient of multiple state and national honors—including the 2023 Foreign Language Association of North Carolina Teacher of the Year—Lisa offers a clear, honest look at the National Board Certification process specifically for world language teachers. We talk about what the process entails, why it matters for professional growth, and what teachers should know before deciding to pursue certification.

Whether you’re considering National Board Certification or simply looking to grow as a language educator, this episode offers clarity, encouragement, and actionable takeaways.

Lisa is also co-author, alongside Erin Austin, of Achieving National Board Certification in World Languages: Proven Strategies and Tips for Accomplished Teaching (2026, Routledge, Taylor & Francis). Her insights in this conversation reflect the same practical, teacher-centered approach found in the book.

Be sure to enter the code 25AFLY4 when you check out for 20% off the book!

Lisa's Website: www.explorecurriculum.com

LinkedIn: lisa-bartels

YouTube: @explorecurriculum

Facebook: /explorecurriculum/

Twitter: @explorecurric

In this episode of the World Languages Collaborative Podcast, Professor Grant Gearhart welcomes Dr. Sheri Spaine Long, a true leader and innovator in the field of language education. Over the course of her distinguished career, Dr. Spaine Long has worn just about every hat imaginable, including teacher, scholar, author, editor, administrator, and advocate. 

Now serving as Director Emerita of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP), she joins us to shine a light on a lesser-known but highly influential organization: the National Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations (NFMLTA).

Together, we discuss how this vital resource supports research, collaboration, and professional growth across the world language community.

Connect with the NFMLTA on social media:

LinkedIn

Instagram

What happens to your brain when you learn a new language? According to Dr. Viorica Marian, it does far more than help you order dinner abroad. Her recent book The Power of Language reveals that the human mind is wired for multiple codes of communication, and that each new language reshapes the way we think, remember, and make decisions.

In this conversation, we dive into the science behind multilingualism and why it matters for schools, parents, and students. Dr. Marian walks us through research showing how learning another language:

• Strengthens executive function and focus
• Boosts creativity and critical reasoning
• Delays dementia by up to six years
• Improves emotional decision-making
• Literally changes what we see, pay attention to, and recall

We connect these insights to second and foreign language education, asking what it means for the classroom, for policy, and for lifelong learning. If you’ve ever wondered whether supporting language education is worth it, this episode will give you the scientific evidence and the inspiration to say yes!

About Dr. Viorica Marian:
Dr. Marian is a leading researcher on bilingualism and cognitive science. Her work reveals how the languages we speak shape our brains, our choices, and our futures.

NEWS ABOUT THE WORLD LANGUAGES COLLABORATIVE!

Georgia Southern University is excited to host the Fall World Languages Collaborative live and in person, our first in-person gathering since 2019! 

Date: Saturday, October 25th from 8:30-12:00.

Location: Georgia Southern University, Armstrong Campus, Savannah, GA

The event is free and open to any language instructor: register here!

Expect engaging panel discussions and workshops geared towards the classroom teacher. Continuing education credits will be issued at the completion of the event. 

For more information, contact me, Dr. Grant Gearhart: [email protected]

We'd love to see you in Savannah! 

Joe Dale returns for his third appearance on the podcast to share the latest developments in artificial intelligence and large language models (LLMs) for world language education. Joe and Grant reflect on what’s changed in the past year and explore exciting tools making waves in classrooms—from image generation to podcast creation, speaking practice, and student autonomy. Joe also discusses ethical concerns, student engagement, and how teachers can empower learners to use AI responsibly and effectively.

Whether you're new to AI or already experimenting with LLMs, this episode is packed with practical ideas, tool recommendations, and forward-thinking strategies to bring into your own teaching.

Topics covered:

• The evolution of LLMs over the last 12–16 months
• ChatGPT 4o's image generation with correct text
• Creating native-like audio dialogues with AI
• Using AI for lesson planning, feedback, and content creation
• Teaching students how to study independently using AI
• Responsible use and legal considerations (GDPR, FERPA, COPPA)
• Ethical concerns around AI and copyright
• Predictions for the future of AI in education

Connect with Joe here:

Email: [email protected] 

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/languageteachingwithai 

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@joedale 

Twitter X: https://x.com/joedale 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joedale100 

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/joedale.bsky.social

Click HERE for a list of all the amazing tools we discuss in this episode! 

Episode Summary:
In this episode of the World Languages Collaborative Podcast, we dive into Calendar Talk—a powerful daily activity that fosters authentic communication and comprehensible input in the language classroom. Host Grant Gearhart has been experimenting with Calendar Talk in elementary Spanish classes at Georgia Southern University, but wanted to gain deeper insight from an expert in the field.

Enter Claudia Elliott—a multiple award-winning educator, podcaster, and the mind behind Growing With Proficiency and the host of Growing With Proficiency: The Podcast. Claudia has built a thriving online academy dedicated to helping language teachers develop students’ proficiency through comprehension, communication, and connections. Whether you’re new to Calendar Talk or a seasoned pro, this conversation will provide valuable insights, strategies, and inspiration for your own teaching practice.

Tune in as we discuss:
✅ What Calendar Talk is and why it works
✅ How to implement it effectively in different classroom settings
✅ Claudia’s approach to fostering student engagement and proficiency
✅ Practical tips for making the most of Calendar Talk

Join us for this engaging conversation and start transforming your language classes today!

🎧 Listen now and subscribe for more language teaching insights.

Ever wonder if that amazing speaker you saw present at that conference ever had a bad day? Or faced the same types of challenges that you face each day in the classroom? Or what if all those great ideas you've been collecting conflict with your colleagues' ideas about language teaching?

In this episode, the one and only Joshua Cabral and I discuss how teachers can manage their expectations when deploying Comprehensible Input-driven classes. Specifically, we talk about how to walk the tightrope of being kind to yourself and working with what you have in front of you vs. blindly sticking to "what the research says." Also, we talk about how to interact with colleagues who may be what Joshua terms "legacy teachers" following a "legacy model" of teaching; that is, what we all did until we began to change our pedagogy, and what future teachers will refer to us as once the next big thing in language teaching unfolds.  

Joshua is a blogger, a podcaster, an educational consultant, and an advocate for access to education and information both here in the United States and abroad. His podcast, the World Language Classroom, releases episodes each Monday, and it is totally worth clicking that "subscribe" button.  

You can connect with Joshua via his social media links:

Podcast

Instagram (@wlclassroom)
Twitter/X (@wlclassroom)

Facebook (/wlclassroom)

Blog (wlclassroom.com)