Juliette Claro: Bringing the Joy Back to MFL

Juliette Claro: Bringing the Joy Back to MFL

The Language Lab Podcast is back for Season 8. After a slightly longer pause than planned, Will is joined by the wonderful Juliette Claro to open the new season with a conversation about creativity, culture, exams, music, teacher autonomy and the joy of language learning. Juliette is a lecturer in education at St Mary’s University, lead link tutor for secondary PGCE MFL and IQTS, a fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching, a co-founder of the Creativity and MFL SIG, an experienced teacher, mentor and Ofsted inspector. In this episode, Will and Juliette explore why creativity can feel squeezed out of modern language classrooms, how accountability and exam pressures shape what teachers feel able to do, and why language learning needs space for messiness, mistakes, problem-solving and genuine communication. They discuss the limitations of GCSE, the possibilities of the DELF and the Common European Framework, the dangers of over-standardised lessons, and the importance of trusting teachers to adapt learning to the pupils in front of them. There is also plenty on music, AI, Suno, sentence builders, project-based learning, noisy classrooms, mini whiteboards, and why languages should feel alive. Season 8 will be released fortnightly. Keep learning, keep questioning, and above all, keep the conversation going.

Marking Mayhem Meltdown

No full episode this week, because it is exam week and Will is currently somewhere underneath a landslide of marking, feedback sheets, revision lists and possibly a missing microphone. In this short check-in, Will talks about the reality of exam marking, the strange things pupils write when they are trying to process language phonetically, and why looking after yourself during assessment season is not optional. There is also a thank you to recent guests, previous pupils, prospective guests and everyone who has reached out to the show. Plus, a reminder about the upgraded Patreon, where paid subscribers will be able to submit questions for upcoming guests, and an open call for anyone interested in gaining voluntary experience with the podcast through audio editing, social media, guest support or content planning. Normal service will resume once the microphone has been located. For links, transcripts and more, visit www.languagelabpodcast.co.uk [http://www.languagelabpodcast.co.uk] Support the show: patreon.com/TheLanguageLabPodcast [patreon.com/TheLanguageLabPodcast] buymeacoffee.com/languagelabpodcast [buymeacoffee.com/languagelabpodcast]

Marie Massé: Less Clutter, More Purpose

What if better language teaching is not about adding more, but stripping things back? In this episode of The Language Lab Podcast, Will Marks is joined by Marie Massé, French and Spanish teacher, consultant, instructional coach and professional overthinker in the best possible sense. Together, they explore what “minimalism” in MFL teaching really means: not bare lessons, not dull lessons, but more intentional teaching. Marie talks about cumulative curriculum design, why pupils can end up feeling like permanent beginners, the limits of textbook-led planning, teacher agency, GCSE grading, workload, data, and why we need to stop confusing busy classrooms with genuine progress. There is also a powerful discussion about aspiration, class, being underestimated, and why teachers should not be the people who decide which pupils are “fit” to study languages. A thoughtful, practical and honest conversation about teaching with less clutter and more purpose. For links, transcripts and resources, visit www.languagelabpodcast.co.uk [http://www.languagelabpodcast.co.uk]. Support the show: patreon.com/TheLanguageLabPodcast https://www.buymeacoffee.com/languagelabpodcast

Jane Handley: Immersive Languages and the Power of Purpose

What happens when language learning stops being a worksheet and starts becoming real life? In this episode of The Language Lab Podcast, I’m joined by Jane Handley, founder of JLH Languages, to talk about immersive language teaching, restaurant-based learning, and why students often speak more French in one restaurant visit than they do in weeks of classroom lessons. We explore how food, role play, sensory experiences and genuine purpose can transform reluctant learners into confident communicators. From berets and breakfast sessions to GCSE speaking anxiety, Brexit, confidence-building and the wider purpose of language education, this is a conversation about why MFL matters far beyond the exam hall. We also get into teacher identity, why language teachers are often selling far more than vocabulary, and why relationships remain the most powerful tool in any classroom. Sometimes all it takes is one successful order of chips in French to change everything. Find Jane here: JLH Languages Website: jlhlanguages.org For transcripts, CPD tools and more: www.languagelabpodcast.co.uk [http://www.languagelabpodcast.co.uk] Support the show: patreon.com/TheLanguageLabPodcast https://www.buymeacoffee.com/languagelabpodcast

Dylan Viñales: Fluency, Trust, and the Problem with Testing

What does it actually take for students to become fluent in a language? In this episode, Will Marks is joined by Dylan Viñales, Head of Spanish in an international school in Malaysia and co-creator of the Sentence Builder books. They explore what sits behind real fluency. Not just producing correct sentences, but building automatised language that students can retrieve and use with confidence. The conversation covers: * how sentence builders support automatisation rather than memorisation * why recycling and cognitive load are essential for long-term learning * what it takes to move from structured support to genuine communication And at the centre of it all is one key idea. Trust. Trust in the classroom. Trust in the process. And trust in the language itself. Because when that trust breaks down, particularly through the way we assess languages, confidence follows. From GCSE listening to wider questions about testing, this is a clear-eyed look at the gap between how languages are taught and how they’re measured. 🔗 For links, transcripts and more: www.languagelabpodcast.co.uk [http://www.languagelabpodcast.co.uk] ☕ Support the show: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/languagelabpodcast