PODCAST · education
The Language Lab Podcast
by Will Marks
A podcast exploring the art of language teaching within the UK education system. Host Will Marks dives into the challenges of the modern MFL classroom, behaviour management, and student engagement. Each week features interviews with teachers, parents, and experts, offering practical insights and fresh ideas to inspire the next generation of linguists.
Episodes
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Sohelie Zafar: Beyond the Parisian Café
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Are languages fighting a losing battle against the rise of STEM? In this episode, host Will Marks is joined by MFL consultant Sohelie Zafar to discuss how we can raise the profile of languages...
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Will Lloyd Beyond the Quick Fix: Creating Language Momentum.
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Are your primary language lessons a fragile house of cards? If the lead teacher leaves, does the provision collapse? In this episode, Will Marks sits down with Will Lloyd, director of the...
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Juliet Park: Translating Potential into Careers
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! In this episode, Will Marks is joined by Juliet Park, Director of Modern Foreign Languages at The Share Trust. Tired of seeing language education confined to dry grammar drills and distant...
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Dr. Elsa Petit Rethinking the Language Crisis
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Are we overstating the language learning crisis? Join Will Marks and Dr. Elsa Petit, Senior Lecturer in French Language Studies at Queen Mary University of London, for a deep dive into the…
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Juliette Claro: Bringing the Joy Back to MFL
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! 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...
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Marking Mayhem Meltdown
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! 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...
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Marie Massé: Less Clutter, More Purpose
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! 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...
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Jane Handley: Immersive Languages and the Power of Purpose
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! 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...
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Dylan Viñales: Fluency, Trust, and the Problem with Testing
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! 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...
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Patty McGee: From Correction to Construction
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Grammar is one of those things we assume we understand… until we try to teach it properly. In this episode of The Language Lab Podcast, I’m joined by literacy educator and author Patty McGee…
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ALL Language World Special: Collaboration at the Heart of Languages Education
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! This week’s episode is something a little different. Recorded live at ALL Language World 2026, we’re bringing you voices, reflections and moments from across the weekend — from teachers,...
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This Is Not the Episode You Were Promised
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! No full episode this week… and yes, that is entirely on me. In this short update, I explain why the usual episode isn’t dropping — and what’s coming instead. After recording a lot (read: far…
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Isla MacEachern Authentic Materials and the Fight for German
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! German has been declining in UK schools for years — but in many classrooms the fightback is already underway. In this episode, Will speaks to Isla MacEachern, a German teacher with nearly two...
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Amy Lennon Teaching Languages Like a Global Citizen
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Season 6 begins with a big question: what does it actually mean to teach languages like a global citizen? In this episode of The Language Lab Podcast, Will Marks is joined by Amy Lennon to...
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S5 E7 Dr Kedi Simpson: Part 2 Inside the Listener’s Mind
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! In Part 2 of my conversation with Kedi Simpson, we move from theory to classroom reality. We dig into segmentation — what it actually means, why students struggle to “hear” words in the stream...
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Season 5 Finale Double Bill: Dr Kedi Simpson: Listening isnt Passive
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Listening is often treated as passive. Dr Kedi Simpson explains why it isn’t. In part one of this double-bill season finale, Will Marks is joined by Dr Kedi Simpson — head of languages and...
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Clare Seccombe: One Lesson a Week Done Properly
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! One Lesson a Week — and yet somehow, real progress still has to happen. In this episode of The Language Lab Podcast, Will Marks is joined by Clare Seccombe, founder of Lightbulb Languages and...
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Vincent Everett: The Language Snowball, Why Language Only Sticks When It’s Used
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! In this episode of The Language Lab Podcast, I’m joined by Vincent Everett to explore The Language Snowball — a simple but powerful way of thinking about how language learning actually sticks,...
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Megan Crean: From Belper to Bogotá - Teaching Languages Abroad
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Teaching abroad gets talked about a lot — but what does it actually change about the way you teach languages? In this episode, I’m joined by Megan Crean, who began her career teaching in…
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Dr. Liam Printer: Motivation, Storytelling, and What Actually Works in the Language Classroom
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! In this episode of The Language Lab Podcast, Will Marks is joined by Dr Liam Printer (International School of Lausanne, Switzerland) — French and Spanish teacher, instructional coach,...
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Andy Goldhawk Effective Professional Development for Language Teachers
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! In this season premiere, Will Marks is joined by Dr Andy Goldhawk — lecturer at the University of the West of England, teacher educator, and author of The Language Teacher Toolkit — for a...
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Season Finale Reflections on Language Education with Silvia Bastow
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! What happens when we stop chasing frameworks and start asking more careful questions? In this season-finale episode of The Language Lab Podcast, Will Marks is joined by Silvia Bastow for a...
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Multilingual Classrooms, Real-Life Teaching: With Hannah White
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! In this episode, Will is joined by Hannah White — languages teacher, EAL lead, international schools coordinator, School of Sanctuary coordinator, trainer and co-founder of the Bristol ALL...
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A WalkThru the Rainforest with Tom Sherrington
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! In this episode, Will sits down with Tom Sherrington, better known as Teacherhead, to explore what great teaching really looks like. From evidence informed practice to curriculum overload…
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The One Where the Laptop Quit
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! This week in The Language Lab, technology staged a quiet rebellion. A key piece of hardware and a key piece of software decided they would no longer speak to each other, which means the full...
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Ellie Chettle Cully: Beyond Bonjour, The Real KS2 Languages Curriculum
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! What does a high-quality Primary French curriculum actually look like in 2025? In this episode of The Language Lab Podcast, host Will Marks sits down with Ellie Chettle Cully, primary…
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Our Newcastle, Our World: Declan Baharini & Sarah Edgar on Building a City of Languages
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! What happens when a city decides that languages belong to everyone? In this episode, Declan Baharini (CEO of International Newcastle) and Sarah Edgar (Schools of Sanctuary and EAL Lead) join...
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Maud Waret Pt. 2 Teaching in Colour: Space, Equity and the Future of Learning
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! In the second half of her conversation with Will Marks, Maud Waret turns from curriculum to culture — asking what schools could look like if they were built around people, not policy. Together...
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Season Premier Maud Waret Pt 1 Decolonising the Curriculum: Who Gets to Tell the Story
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! What does it really mean to decolonise the curriculum — and why is it important? In this first part of Will’s conversation with Maud Waret, French and Spanish teacher, curriculum developer and...
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Carmen Santos: Teaching the World in One Classroom
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! In the Season 3 finale, Will Marks is joined by Carmen Santos, former Head of Languages at Queen Katharine Academy, to explore what inclusion really looks like in one of the UK’s most...
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Martin Lapworth: TaskMagic to Textivate – The Quiet Revolution in MFL
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! In this episode, Will Marks sits down with Martin Lapworth, the quiet innovator behind TaskMagic, Textivate, TeachVid, and Sentence Builders — the tools that quietly transformed how modern...
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Jonathan Mumford: Whiteboards, Workload, and Why Teaching Still Matters
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! In this extended episode, Jonathan Mumford joins Will Marks to explore the realities of language teaching in 2025. Together they discuss how audio feedback and mini whiteboards can transform...
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Julia Vogado: Bringing the World Into the Classroom
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Founder of the All Abroad Bus project, Julia joins me to talk about immersive pop-up language and culture experiences that use VR, food, smells, sounds, and role-play to make languages real.…
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Ben Levi: Teaching Languages for Real Life
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Teacher and Language Sofa host Ben Levi joins me to cut through MFL myths and argue for languages as life skills, not tick-box exams. We talk about why vocab lists don’t work, how scaffolding...
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Ryan Smith: What Students Really Think About Languages
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Season 3 kicks off with a double drop. In this episode, I chat with Ryan Smith — one of my former students who’s gone from GCSE Spanish to living in Zaragoza, back as a TA, and now working in...
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Jane Driver: Hope for the Future of Languages
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Season 3 begins with a double drop! In this episode I’m joined by Jane Driver — Headteacher, mentor, innovator of Spelling Bees and Eurovision phonics projects, and now President Elect of the...
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Esmeralda Salgado Rewriting the MFL Rulebook With Joy
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Esmeralda Salgado is one of the most influential voices in UK language teaching — and not just because she’s been writing game-changing blog posts since the days of OHPs and cassette tapes.…
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Darren Paffey Acronyms, Ai and Arguing for Languages
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! In this episode, I’m joined by Darren Paffey Mp - newly elected MP for Southampton Itchen and one of the very few members of Parliament with a serious background in language education. Before...
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Steve Smith, EPI and Why Grammar Drill Isn’t the Answer
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! 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...
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Claire Cuminatto Higher Education, Employability, AI and French With Flair
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! In this episode, Will catches up with Claire Cuminatto, Associate Professor at the University of East Anglia—and, memorably, one of his own former lecturers. They explore how university…
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Rebecca Mitchell, National Linguistics Day and Other Radical Ideas
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! This week, Will sits down with Dr. Rebecca Mitchell — Cambridge lecturer, sociolinguist, and founder of National Linguistics Day — for a conversation that ranges from Saussure to slang, AI to...
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Crista Hazell, Engagment, Student Voice and Safe Spaces
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! To kick off Season 2, Will is joined by consultant, author and languages powerhouse Crista Hazell to talk all things MFL — from building student confidence to what SLT need to understand about...
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Episode 6. Lara Callow and David Binns - Engagement, Uptake and Policy
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! In our final episode of Season 1, we’re looking at what actually makes students engage with language learning – beyond the data points, initiatives, and well-meaning gimmicks. First, we hear...
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Episode 5. Isla McIntosh and Alasdair Harris Ai, Engagement and LingoTeach.ai
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Guests: Isla McIntosh & Alasdair Harris In this episode of The Language Lab, we speak to two people at very different ends of their teaching journeys — and both with powerful perspectives on...
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Episode 4 – Pancakes, Playlists & AI with Jérôme Noguès
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! In this episode of the Language Lab Podcast, I’m joined by Jérôme Noguès – a teacher, AI advocate, and all-round creative force in the MFL world. We talk about what actually gets students...
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Episode 3. Kate Clifton KateLanguages Crossover Episode
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! In this episode of The Language Lab, I engage with Kate Clifton, founder of Kate Languages, as she shares her transition from traditional classroom teaching to becoming a resource creator and...
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Episode 2. Gianfranco Conti EPI and MARS EARS
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! In this episode of The Language Lab, I discuss Extensive Processing Instruction (EPI) with Dr. Gianfranco Conti, a prominent figure in language education. We examine how EPI, using the Mars…
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Episode 1. John Marks, Joe Dale Technology in the MFL Classroom
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Welcome to the very first episode of The Language Lab – the podcast for language teachers who love their job (most of the time) and wouldn’t mind a few fresh ideas to make things easier,...
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Season 1 Trailer
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Coming soon… Welcome to Language Lab — the podcast where language teachers get real. We’re diving into the classroom, the staffroom, and the big debates — from AI and target language struggles...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
A podcast exploring the art of language teaching within the UK education system. Host Will Marks dives into the challenges of the modern MFL classroom, behaviour management, and student engagement. Each week features interviews with teachers, parents, and experts, offering practical insights and fresh ideas to inspire the next generation of linguists.
HOSTED BY
Will Marks
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Language Lab Podcast have?
The Language Lab Podcast currently has 49 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Language Lab Podcast about?
A podcast exploring the art of language teaching within the UK education system. Host Will Marks dives into the challenges of the modern MFL classroom, behaviour management, and student engagement. Each week features interviews with teachers, parents, and experts, offering practical insights and...
How often does The Language Lab Podcast release new episodes?
The Language Lab Podcast has 49 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to The Language Lab Podcast?
You can listen to The Language Lab Podcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Language Lab Podcast?
The Language Lab Podcast is created and hosted by Will Marks.
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