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Teaching English to Kids: A Journey of Fun Learning
"Teaching English to Kids: A Journey of Fun Learning" is the podcast that bridges the gap between rigorous methodology and engaging practice.
Each episode delves into the core foundations of ELT – from SLA theory and classroom management techniques to curriculum planning and phonics fundamentals – and translates them into practical, game-based learning activities you can use immediately. Discover creative strategies for immersive storytelling, effective song use, and designing lessons that spark curiosity and build genuine confidence in your young learners.
Whether you're a seasoned teacher or new to the classroom, join a community of dedicated educators who are transforming language learning. Move beyond the theory and find actionable inspiration to make your classroom more effective and incredibly fun.
Subscribe now for your weekly dose of evidence-based strategies and playful teaching inspiration!
Episodes
41 episodes
From Words to Conversation – Turn-Taking, Dialogue and Assessing Oral Production
She can produce a perfect sentence. She just can't have a conversation with it.Last week we found the words and the willingness to speak. This week we build the machine that turns isolated sentences into real, back-and-forth talk. Topics...
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Speaking Skills: How to build oral fluency through meaningful interaction
For three weeks we have built the listening foundation. This week, we let them speak.Some children understand everything and say almost nothing. Others repeat everything and freeze when asked a real question. Both raise the same question...
Supporting Materials and Visual Resources for Listening Development
Last week, we explored four strategies for improving listening skills. This week, we focus on something often overlooked but absolutely essential: the role of supporting materials and visual resources in listening development.Visu...
Strategies for improving Listening Skills – From passive hearing to active comprehension.
Last week, we explored why listening is the foundation of all language acquisition. This week, we move from theory to practice.In this episode, we dive into four powerful, research‑backed strategies for improving listening skills in youn...
The Foundation of Fluency: Why Listening Comes First and How to Build It
Season 3 is here – and we're starting where language acquisition itself starts: with listening.Over the past two seasons, we've built our foundational toolkit and developed the Mindful Facilitator's mindset. Now, in Season 3, we a...
A Season of Growth, A Future of Impact - Let's wrap up season 2
It's the Season 2 finale! After 17 episodes of exploring the neuroscience of play, vocabulary recycling, TPR, project‑based learning, word walls, visual organisers, and the art of being a Mindful Facilitator, we've reached the end of our...
Visual Organisers – Building connected vocabulary for deep learning.
Word walls make vocabulary visible. Visual organisers make vocabulary connected. Together, they create a classroom where vocabulary is not just taught – it is lived.In this episode, we explore the neuroscience behind why gr...
How Word Walls Build a Language-Rich Environment
Your classroom walls are silent. But what if they could teach? In this episode, we explore how word walls and visual organisers create a language-rich environment where vocabulary is constantly recycled, visible, and unforgettable...
The Neuroscience of Play – Why games are not an extra, but an essential
Think back to your own childhood. What do you remember most vividly? The worksheets? The grammar drills? The vocabulary lists?Probably not. What you remember are the games – the moments when learning felt like play. That's not a...
Little Hands, Big Ideas – Project-Based Learning for Young English Minds
What's the most memorable learning experience have you ever had? Was it a worksheet? A grammar drill? A vocabulary list?Probably not. The most powerful learning happens when we are doing – creating, solving, building, and collab...
The Vocabulary Recycling Revolution – Why revisiting words is the engine of fluency.
You taught the vocabulary. They passed the quiz. Two weeks later, it's gone. Sound familiar?This is the linear teaching trap – and it's one of the most common design flaws in language programmes. The 2024 Hamdane & Hamdane stu...
The Silent Period – Why silence is not empty, and what to do while they listen.
A new student joins your class. She watches. She follows instructions. She points when asked. But she doesn't speak. Weeks pass. Still, almost no words.Is something wrong? No. She is in the Silent Period – a natural, necess...
The Stress‑Free Assessment – How to know what they know without a single test
Friday afternoon. A vocabulary test. Students freeze, guess, or cry. Days of grading later, you learn almost nothing new – except that tests are stressful.Traditional testing often measures anxiety, not acquisition. But assessment can be...
Curriculum that teaches itself – Smart design for more impact and less stress.
Does lesson planning drain your energy before you even step into the classroom? What if your curriculum could do more of the heavy lifting, freeing you to focus on what matters most – your students?In this milestone episode, we bring tog...
Universal Design for Learning + Individualised Education Plan: Not Opponents. Partners. 🧩
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) asks: “How can I design for the many?” An individualised education plan (PEI/IEP) asks: “How can I support the one?” Are these two frameworks opponents – or partners?In this episode, ...
IEP Explained: When one student needs their own roadmap
What happens when Universal Design for Learning (UDL) isn't enough? For most students, a well-designed, inclusive classroom provides the pathways they need. But some learners—those with dyslexia, ADHD, autism, or other learning differences—requ...
The Sustainable Classroom: Building Systems That Last Beyond the Lesson
You have the tools from Season 1. You have the Mindful Facilitator's mindset from Season 2. Now, how do you sustain this high-quality practice without burning out? In this episode, we tackle the essential question of teacher sustainability thro...
The Power of We: Understanding peer scaffolding and collaborative learning
What if the most powerful teaching resource in your classroom wasn't you—but the students themselves? In this episode of "The Mindful Facilitator," we explore the transformative power of peer learning. Discover how mirror neurons create ...
The Delicate Dance of Fading: When to step back so they can step up.
You've built the scaffolds. You've supported their every step. Now comes the hardest part: letting go. In this pivotal episode of "The Mindful Facilitator," we explore the art and science of fading—the deliberate, strategic withdrawal of...
The Gift of Error: Understanding Interlanguage and Responding with Purpose
What if a student's mistake wasn't a failure, but a window into their developing brain? In this enlightening episode of "The Mindful Facilitator," we reframe errors as essential data for responsive teaching. Explore Larry Selinker's foundationa...
The power of scaffolding: Knowing when to hold on and when to let go
What is the perfect amount of help to give a struggling student? How do we support them without doing the work for them? In this crucial episode of "The Mindful Facilitator," we dissect the art and science of Scaffolding—the core skill o...
The grammar of movement: Teaching language through action.
Total Physical Response (TPR) is so much more than "Simon Says." In this episode of "The Mindful Facilitator," we explore TPR as a profound, neuroscience-backed strategy for teaching complex grammar. Discover the concept of Embodied Cognitio...
The Observant Teacher: Formative Assessment as your superpower.
Welcome to Season 2 of "Teaching English to Kids: A Journey of Fun Learning"! This season, we're shifting our focus to you, The Mindful Facilitator. Building on the foundational toolkit from Season 1, we now hone our most powerful instru...
A year of insight - 2026 Teaching Resolutions
As we close a remarkable year of discovery, join Paola Pando for a special reflective finale. This is not a typical episode; it’s a celebration and a synthesis of our entire journey together.In this powerful season wrap-up, we rev...
Grammar Unboxed: Teaching structure through meaning to Young Learners.
Is teaching grammar to children about rules or patterns? In this transformative episode, we dismantle the traditional approach and rebuild it through the lenses of neuroscience and the Natural Approach. Join host Paola Pando as we explore why e...