Steve Smith — MFL veteran, author, blogger, and founder of FrenchTeacher.net — joins Will Marks for a full-throttle deep dive into how we teach languages, why we might be getting some of it wrong, and how to do it better.
From his early fascination with Stephen Krashen and language acquisition theory to co-authoring Breaking the Sound Barrier with Gianfranco Conti, Steve walks us through decades of research and reflection on what works — and what doesn’t — in the classroom.
Topics include:
Input vs. grammar: What actually drives language acquisition?
Sentence builders, repetition, and building linguistic self-efficacy
Why GCSE reform still misses the mark
Vocab tests and the illusion of mastery
AI as a teacher’s assistant, not enemy of creativity
He also shares how AI is saving him hours writing resources — and what teachers can do to keep their lessons engaging without burning out.
📚 Steve’s blog: frenchteachernet.blogspot.co.uk
📖 Breaking the Sound Barrier
🎒 Resources: frenchteacher.net
🎵 Theme: “Jump and Jive” by All Good Folks via Uppbeat
🔗 Support us: patreon.com/TheLanguageLabPodcast
💡 Our Website: languagelabpodcast.co.uk
