Here's a fun snippet I just wrote. Students translating audio input DO NOT come up with the same thing as they would if they were translating written input.

Working on the book with the best view in the world. Treating myself to the funnest chapter: I say bouteille d'eau they hear potato (but I won't call the whole thing off).

Where am I? @spsmith45.bsky.social in particular

I am working on a paper. Found this from a previous presentation I did. Never underestimate the ability of the pre-teen to force any kind of general knowledge into something they semi-understand!

While discussing with @theniceman.bsky.social about the new report on language-learning, it behoves me to repost this, where I argue that the obsession with 'usefulness' in the UK education system is a nail in the coffin of language learning. learninglisteninglanguages.blogspot.com/2025/07/no-t...

This will make all German teachers' hearts sing :)

All those interested in language-learning, at whatever level and wherever in the world: The Association For Language Learning Oxfordshire branch now has a LinkedIn page where we will keep you updated about all events - both hybrid and face to face. Open to everyone! www.linkedin.com/company/1079...

I'm learning BSL. Six weeks in and starting to say things

I told the kids - and some parents - that I would be leaving the school today. One child cheered (upsetting). But I also got this, and for once the positive feedback overrides the negative. Slightly redacted to avoid identification.

A recent post of particular interest to French teachers.https://frenchteachernet.blogspot.com/2025/06/insights-from-kedi-simpsons-phd-thesis.html?m=1

This is about language learning, but from a totally different angle. When we frame learning French / German / Spanish as important because it's useful for the future, we do everyone a disservice. And mostly it's not even true. learninglisteninglanguages.blogspot.com/2025/07/no-t...

I wrote about dictation again, based on my year 10 Germanists in the classroom today. I hope it is useful to some - and it's not just relevant to those teaching or learning German! learninglisteninglanguages.blogspot.com/2025/07/gett...

I've started to write a blog post! Just off to my BSL lesson; will finish it when I'm back, I promise! @theniceman.bsky.social @spsmith45.bsky.social

And this!

This!

Don't forget to repost good stuff as you pass through! You won't get the dopamine hit of a notification when someone likes or reposts your repost, like you did on Twitter, so you need to actively make a conscious decision to remember to do it. We are the algorithm on here. #Bluesky

Told the y7s they would be starting Spanish next year. Lots of very happy faces. Brilliant to have enthusiastic dual linguists but what is it and Spanish that gets them so excited?

The fabulous @spsmith45.bsky.social has done a masterful job summarising my thesis in a super-accessible way. If you couldn't face the 100,000 words, and can't wait for the book (finished soon!), Steve's resumé is all you need. 🍷

You know when you book a flight you get an indication of carbon footprint? I think it's time every AI interaction does the same. Do we really want to see a video of cats on diving boards or ask chat gtp to stop us doing the hard thinking if it's going to help kill the planet? (Alas probably yes.)

It's not quite 'caturday' and I can't think of a frog-related Sunday pun but double frog in the Simpson pond (dug early April) has made me happy.

My husband served @markhamillofficial.bsky.social breakfast in a small hotel in Yorkshire.

I took this picture of my garden yesterday. Makes me happy.

OMG I just came home from the gym. I was squatting on the 15kg bar (plus plates, obvs) and noticed that the writing on the end of the bar called it a 'Ladies' Bar'. WTAF. Got cross. So cross I forgot to take a photo. The 20kg bar is not the 'Man's Bar' (or even the Gentleman's Bar). #everydaysexism

And this one...

Oh goodness!

So this happened

#caturday. Do you see her?

@alastaircampbell2.bsky.social German teacher here. my suggestions for 'disagreeing agreeably': Mit Stimmung nicht zustimmen / Anderen Meinung aber nicht gemein / unstrittig streitend. For French I like 'désaccord cordial'.

Imagine there was a toad that lived in trees. Now imagine it had not one, not two, but three digits on its little feeties. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the Three-Toed Tree Toad. You're welcome. (Photography by Richard Singleton.)

📢 Registration open! Join Dr Ian Cushing for a public seminar titled 'The white ears of Ofsted: language, race and the schools inspectorate'. 🗓️ 12 May 🕔 5pm Register to join in-person ➡️ forms.office.com/e/SPqLkVuz7r Or join us online ➡️ bit.ly/3RCdORL

🧠Not all words are created equal. After hearing Paul Nation speak, I’ve been rethinking how we teach vocabulary and why frequency has to shape what we do. ✨Key takeaways, ideas & why fewer words (taught better) might be the way forward 👉 #mflsky

Are you a school language teacher? Have you signed up to the MFL teacher conference? @universityofleeds.bsky.social @lcsleeds.bsky.social on 20th June. Registration is free but places are limited #languages #mfl #mfltwitterati More info and programme on 👇 artsoutreach.leeds.ac.uk/our-activiti...

The top scorer for Sun, Mar 23, 2025, UTC is: @kedisimpson.bsky.social! They scored 360 points for #Wordle 1373 and solved it on row 1! That's better than 2,674 (~100%) other users. You’re unstoppable!

Wordle 1,373 1/6 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Ostalgie in der Klassenzimmer. Not much we want from the DDR regime but for me these are key classroom elements. Hammer and sickel less so... unless I can say das ist der Hammer I suppose. ##shoutoutforgerman (reposting cos I forgot the pic before)

Ostalgie in der Klassenzimmer. Not much we want from the DDR regime but for me these are key classroom elements. Hammer and sickel less so... unless I can say das ist der Hammer I suppose. ##shoutoutforgerman

Hey Germanophiles here's a picture of a bit of my classroom ##shoutoutforgerman

Do the people at Connections know it's German week? #shoutoutforgerman

And my German teacher... Mrs Karin Baker who died just last month in her mid 80s. Taught me German from year 10 to year 13. Amazing life story growing up in Berlin in the early 1940s, coming to England ca 1947 as the step-daughter of an English soldier, marrying a Jewish man. #shoutoutforgerman

As for an incredible trip to Deutschland... Hamburg October 1988, which included a day trip to West Berlin via the Transitautobahn, peering over the wall, U-Bahn to Friedrichstrasse so I could go UNDER east Berlin if not into it, and learning the verb knutschen 😍😈 #shoutoutforgerman

Trying to think of my favourite German words... I do like a good compound, and a good separable verb with an extra 'zu' thrown into it. I think I like Backpfeifengesicht, verschlimmbessern, Handschuhschneeballwerfer. #shoutoutforgerman

Great to hear what @theniceman.bsky.social does. Inspiring actually.

Some 'grand' thoughts - a reflection on a classroom experience learninglisteninglanguages.blogspot.com/2025/03/a-cl...

It's me! I spoke! It was fun!

@carmenzs.bsky.social inspired me! Herewith a small rant about the tyranny of topic-teaching. Aux armes, citoyens! learninglisteninglanguages.blogspot.com/2025/03/the-...

Shout-out to all the German teachers in the UK 🫡 From 17-21 March, join our week-long celebration of the German language by using #ShoutOutForGerman to showcase the amazing things you do in your classrooms to get students excited about learning German!

Beginner listeners translate, whether we want them to or not. That means that tasks that are all the in TL are doubly hard because they go in and out of English. learninglisteninglanguages.blogspot.com/2024/12/the-...

Hey chaps. Fancy a rant about the AQA dictation mark-scheme? Then you've come to the right place learninglisteninglanguages.blogspot.com/2025/02/dict...

Morning team Sunday! Have a read of this!

I'm going to be away from the laptop for a few days, so this week's blog post is up early. Half-term fun thinking about our own experience of listening to languages we don't fully know. learninglisteninglanguages.blogspot.com/2025/02/gett...