Everything must come to an end and so it is for our show. In this episode, Bill will touch on issues in L2 research, teacher education, professional development, and why language teaching is so slow to change. So tune in and help us say "Goo

S2 Episode 18 - Implicit Teaching

Feb 20th, 2020 1h 1m

Ever hear of implicit teaching? Did you know that there is research on such a thing as "explicit teaching versus implicit teaching"? Just what is implicit teaching and is this something we should all be doing?Tune in to hear our hosts as well

S2 Episode 17 - Taking You To Tasks (part 2)

Feb 13th, 2020 1h 2m

Ready for more on tasks? Last week we reviewed the nature of tasks and compared them to what Bill calls "exercises" and "activities." This week we will see more examples of tasks and also dive into how they can be used in the classroom, no matt

S2 Episode 16 - Taking You To Tasks

Feb 6th, 2020 1h

Bill is still not 100%, but he's alive so we're back this week with a new episode. The topic? Tasks. Just what are tasks? How are they different from activities? As part of this discussion, we will address an important issue: just what makes so

S2 Episode 15 Assessment And Is It Necessary (Part 2)

Jan 23rd, 2020 1h 2m

Ready for the next installment of our discussion on assessment? What can teachers do to fill in that space that is called a "grade" for their students? Why is testing not the way to go?Tune in to hear our hosts as well in addition to all of o

S2 Episode 14 - Assessment And Is It Necessary? (Part 1)

Jan 16th, 2020 1h

Just what is assessment and is it necessary? Is assessment different from testing? Does assessment undermine L2 acquisition? Does it enhance it?Tune in to hear our hosts as well in addition to all of our amazing callers while they discuss thi

S2 Episode 13 - Will "CI" Survive?

Dec 19th, 2019 1h 3m

Everyone knows that comprehensible, communicatively-embedded input is the data source for language acquisition. We also know that both language and a ability with language are learned through communication. Some methods have opted to make CI th

S2 Episode 12 - Communication Is Not The Goal

Dec 12th, 2019 1h 1m

Communication is not the goal? Did BVP just say this? Yes, he did! What he means is that most language teaching (mistakenly) thinks that communication is the outcome of language teaching. In this episode, Bill will lay out that a better way to

S2 Episode 11 - Time To Get Rid Of The Deductive:Inductive Debate

Dec 5th, 2019 1h 2m

We often get questions via email about deductive vs. inductive teaching. "Which is better?" we get asked, and "Isn't teaching with input a kind of inductive approach?" Well, the time has come for us to argue for getting rid of the deductive vs.

S2 Episode 10 - Why Is Mary Better Than Susie?

Nov 14th, 2019 59m 59s

Why is Mary better than Susie?Every teacher of language knows that some learners are better at acquisition than others. The question is why? And is "better" really the word we want to use? What are "individual differences" and do teachers hav

S2 Episode 9 - Why We Argue About The Role Of 'grammar' In L2 Teaching

Nov 7th, 2019 1h 1m

If you engage in any conversations with other teachers or follow any websites, you know that people love to argue about the role of grammar in language teaching. But why are there such arguments? Could it be that people are talking past each ot

S2 Episode 8 - Negotiate Meaning?

Oct 30th, 2019 1h 2m

We sometimes hear teachers say "I get my students to negotiate meaning all the time!" How is it possible to "get" students to negotiate meaning? The negotiation of meaning only happens when it is needed. But then maybe teachers mean something d

S2 Episode 7 - The Learner's System Is Implicit From Day 1 - Huh?

Oct 23rd, 2019 1h 4m

Many teachers and some scholars think that implicit linguistic systems are the goal. They are what learners wind up with. But what if we said to you that the implicit system is there from the first day of exposure to a second language? What doe

S2 Episode 6 - CI: Necessary But Not Sufficient?

Oct 16th, 2019 1h 1m

Ever since the contemporary field of L2 research was launched (1970s), the role of communicatively-embedded, comprehensible input has remained a central construct. All major theories posit it as fundamental to L2 acquisition. However, some voic

S2 Episode 5 - It's All About Implicit Learning

Oct 9th, 2019 1h 5m

In our last episode, we talked about explicit vs. implicit teaching. Now it's time to focus on what learners do. Did you know that research is convening more and more on the idea that acquisition involves largely implicit learning? But what is

S2 Episode 4 - Explicit vs. Implicit Teaching

Oct 2nd, 2019 1h 2m

In the research, there are lots of comparisons between explicit and implicit teaching. But is this a real thing? Or are we just fooling ourselves? This segment is a continuation of the role of grammar in language teaching. You won't want to mis

S2 Episode 3 - The Honest To God, No BS Truth About Grammar

Sep 25th, 2019 1h

Happy almost end of September, everyone! This week we're going to tackle a perennial topic. We notice that in on-line sites, webinars, and other venues there are conflicting posts and presentations about a focus on grammar in the classroom and

S2 Episode 2 - The Learner Is In Charge

Sep 18th, 2019 1h

So glad to be back! Join us this week as we focus on an old saying: "Teachers may teach, but only learners can learn." Just what does this mean in language acquisition? And why does Bill want to title this episode "The Learner is in Charge"? Th

S2 Episode 1 - Why is Input Necessary?

Sep 11th, 2019 1h

Join us this week in the first episode of our second season! Bill, Angelika, and Walter are all champing at the bit to connect with everyone again. So what's the topic? Everyone uses the buzzword "CI!", "CI!" but does everyone know just why com

S1 Episode 33 - The Principles Of Comprehension-based Communicative Language Teaching

May 22nd, 2019 1h 1m

Join us this week in the last episode of season 1! We sure have had a good time doing this show and we want to thank all of our listeners, sponsors, and supporters for making this a great first year. This week our topic takes us back full cir

S1 Episode 32 - Implicit Learning

May 15th, 2019 1h

Join us this week for everyone’s favorite topic: implicit learning. Although we know acquisition is largely if not exclusively an implicit process, why do many teachers and textbooks think that explicit information and practice helps? And what

S1 Episode 31 - Is Input Enough?

May 8th, 2019 1h

This week’s topic is: Is input enough? For a number of years now we have heard scholars say that "input is necessary but it's not sufficient." What do they mean? And what's the evidence for this statement? Tune in to hear our hosts BVP, Ange

S1 Episode 30 - Acquisition Of Language And Acquisition Of Writing

May 1st, 2019 1h

This week we're focusing on something that keeps coming up in conversations among many teachers: is a theory of language acquisition applicable to learning how to write? In what ways are the acquisition of language and learning how to write in

S1 Episode 29 - The Acquisition/Learning Distinction

Apr 24th, 2019 1h

Join us in this episode for this week’s topic. Is the distinction between learning and acquisition an outdated concept? How are scholars and others talking about such differences?Tune in to hear our hosts BVP, Angelika and Walter and our amaz

S1 Episode 28 - Negotiation Of Meaning (Part 2)

Apr 17th, 2019 1h

Talkin’ L2 with BVP - episode 28This week we will continue and conclude our discussion from last week about negotiation of meaning. Now that we have a definition (and we know that negotiation of meaning is not the same thing as communication