In this episode Dr Marie-Josee Bisson talks to Ellie Chettle-Cully about celebrating multilingual speakers in the primary classroom. Ellie is a teacher and language lead at one of our local primary schools in Leicester, a city that prides itself on its multilingualism. What is it like to hear multiple languages in the classroom? Ellie talks about nurturing a sense of pride in her students and tells us that we should encourage students to use all their language knowledge in the classroom. In her school, all languages are valued and celebrated. Join us to hear more about how enriching multilingualism can be in the classroom!

To find out more behind-the-scenes information about this topic or about our podcast, please visit our webpage, languagescientists.dmu.ac.uk. This is where you can go to ask questions, leave comments, or even participate in our current research! We'd love to hear from YOU.

Follow Dr Zavaleta and Dr Bisson on twitter: @dr_klzavaleta and @mjbisson

Or get in touch via email: language.scientists@dmu.ac.uk

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In this episode Dr Marie-Josée Bisson interviews Sajan Odedra from the Jalaram Bal Vikas Gujarati language school based in Leicester. They talk about the motivations for parents and children to learn more about their heritage language. Sajan explains how many secondary schools support pupils gaining extra qualifications in the heritage language. The discussion highlights that developing your heritage language is a skill for life with benefits beyond academia: it is a journey that allows the transmission of culture and traditions and children gain mental flexibility and empathy along the way. Join us to find out more!

To find out more behind-the-scenes information about this topic or about our podcast, please visit our webpage, languagescientists.dmu.ac.uk. This is where you can go to ask questions, leave comments, or even participate in our current research! We'd love to hear from YOU.

Follow Dr Zavaleta and Dr Bisson on twitter: @dr_klzavaleta and @mjbisson

Or get in touch via email: language.scientists@dmu.ac.uk

Follow our Instagram page: @the_language_scientists

In this episode Dr Marie-Josée Bisson interviews Dr Marion Krauthaker about "La petite école de Leicester" a community language school project for French speakers. Celebratory of heritage language, this is a school designed for children coming from a French bilingual background. The episode discusses exposure to the French language and the value of children being engaged in a French speaking community. Join us to hear all about this exciting project and the fun ways that learning of heritage languages can be enhanced and celebrated!

To find out more behind-the-scenes information about this topic or about our podcast, please visit our webpage, languagescientists.dmu.ac.uk. This is where you can go to ask questions, leave comments, or even participate in our current research! We'd love to hear from YOU.

Follow Dr Zavaleta and Dr Bisson on twitter: @dr_klzavaleta and @mjbisson

Or get in touch via email: language.scientists@dmu.ac.uk

Follow our Instagram page @the_language_scientists

What does it mean to be a "heritage speaker"? The answer is a bit complicated. In this episode Dr Kaitlyn Zavaleta speaks with Professor Silvina Montrul on the topic of heritage language speakers and what language acquisition patterns may look like. How are heritage speakers like native speakers? How are they like second language learners? How may this affect language attainment? Join us as we delve into Professor Silvina Montrul's research and knowledge on these topics!

To find out more behind-the-scenes information about this topic or about our podcast, please visit our webpage, languagescientists.dmu.ac.uk. This is where you can go to ask questions, leave comments, or even participate in our current research! We'd love to hear from YOU.

To read about Professor's Montrul's research, visit: https://spanport.illinois.edu/directory/profile/montrul

Follow Dr Zavaleta and Dr Bisson on twitter: @dr_klzavaleta and @mjbisson

Or get in touch via email: language.scientists@dmu.ac.uk

Follow our Instagram page @the_language_scientists

In this episode Dr Marie-Josée Bisson and Dr Kaitlyn Zavaleta discuss raising children bilingually. Exposure to another language does not just occur in the classroom but may also occur in the home environment. This episode emphasises that individual experiences in speaking heritage languages in the home are unique, and that home exposure to heritage languages should be celebrated; even a little exposure goes a long way!

To find out more behind-the-scenes information about this topic or about our podcast, please visit our webpage, languagescientists.dmu.ac.uk. This is where you can go to ask questions, leave comments, or even participate in our current research! We'd love to hear from YOU.

Follow Dr Zavaleta and Dr Bisson on twitter: @dr_klzavaleta and @mjbisson

Or get in touch via email: language.scientists@dmu.ac.uk

Follow our Instagram page @the_language_scientists

In this Episode, Dr Bisson talks to Professor Emma Marsden about a really important change coming to the French, German and Spanish curriculum in England. There is going to be a more defined and constrained list of words that students have to learn and that are allowed to be on the GCSE exams. Is this going to make a difference to the number of students that choose to study languages at secondary schools? We think so! Join us to find out how many words are on the list and how this change came about.

To find out more behind-the-scenes information about this topic or about our podcast, please visit our webpage, languagescientists.dmu.ac.uk. This is where you can go to ask questions, leave comments, or even participate in our current research! We'd love to hear from YOU.

Follow Dr Zavaleta and Dr Bisson on twitter: @dr_klzavaleta and @mjbisson

Or get in touch via email: kaitlyn.zavaleta@dmu.ac.uk and marie-josee.bisson@dmu.ac.uk

Links to some of the initiatives mentioned in the podcast

Oasis research summaries: read one-page accessible research summaries

LP Pedagogy resources: access over 1000 language resources, schemes of works and word lists

Multiling Profiler: check that a text meets the language knowledge of your learners

In this episode, Dr Kaitlyn Zavaleta interviews Professor Neil Kenny, Professor of French at University of Oxford, Senior Research Fellow in All Souls College, and Lead Fellow for Languages for the British Academy. This episode addresses one of the central motivations for the podcast: how to increase the number of language learners in the UK. In his role as Lead Fellow for Languages at the British Academy, Professor Kenny has developed initiatives to encourage language learning and he describes a few of these initiatives, as well as why it is so important to learn a language.

To find out more behind-the-scenes information about this topic or about our podcast, please visit our webpage, languagescientists.dmu.ac.uk. This is where you can go to ask questions, leave comments, or even participate in our current research! We'd love to hear from YOU.

Follow Dr Zavaleta and Dr Bisson on twitter: @dr_klzavaleta and @mjbisson

Or get in touch via email: kaitlyn.zavaleta@dmu.ac.uk and marie-josee.bisson@dmu.ac.uk

To follow the British Academy and hear more about their work, they are on Twitter: @BritishAcademy_

To read more about Professor Kenny's work at the British Academy: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/publications/towards-national-languages-strategy-education-and-skills/

Links to some of the resources in the podcast

The Languages Gateway: the UK's portal for languages

Association for Language Learning: organisation for school resources

University Council of Modern Languages: organisation for higher education language learning

World of Languages and Languages of the World (WOLLOW): resources for encouraging children to learn languages

In this episode, Dr Kaitlyn Zavaleta interviews Dr Jiayi Wang, about those "unwritten" rules of language use, which are known as "pragmatics". What's really interesting about pragmatics is that they aren't really reflected in textbooks the way we originally learn a language. Dr Wang discusses research into English learners and their use of language in emails.

To find out more behind-the-scenes information about this topic or about our podcast, please visit our webpage, languagescientists.dmu.ac.uk. This is where you can go to ask questions, leave comments, or even participate in our current research! We'd love to hear from YOU.

Follow Dr Zavaleta and Dr Bisson on twitter: @dr_klzavaleta and @mjbisson

Or get in touch via email: kaitlyn.zavaleta@dmu.ac.uk and marie-josee.bisson@dmu.ac.uk

Link to Dr Wang's webpage

Dr Wang's research:

Wang, Jiayi and Halenko, Nicola (2022a). “Mind your language”: L2 English emails during study abroad. In Halenko, Nicola and Wang, Jiayi (eds.) Pragmatics in English Language Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 29-56.