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12 (Nearly) Useless Things Language Teachers Do When Teaching Grammar

Steve Smith @spsmith45.bsky.social · 9h

Food for thought. gianfrancoconti.com/2025/10/10/1...

Introduction I grew up in an educational culture where grammar was sacred! As an Italian learner — and later teacher — grammar was drilled into us like holy scripture: conjugation tables chanted in…

gianfrancoconti.com

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Steve Smith @spsmith45.bsky.social · 9h

My latest post. frenchteachernet.blogspot.com/2025/10/gcse...

GCSE French exams 2026 - I've got you covered!

Over the last couple of years I've built up a good collection of resources on frenchteacher.net to support teachers and pupils. As well as t...

Steve Smith, EPI and Why Grammar Drill Isn’t the Answer - The Language Lab Podcast | iHeart

Reposted by Steve Smith

Steve Smith @spsmith45.bsky.social · 1d

My chat with Will Marks on his podcast The Language Lab. www.iheart.com/podcast/1333...

<p>Steve Smith — MFL veteran, author, blogger, and founder of <a href='https://www.frenchteacher.net' target='_blank' rel='ugc noopener noreferrer'>FrenchTeacher.net</a> — joins Will Marks for a full-...

www.iheart.com

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Reposted by Steve Smith

Steve Smith @spsmith45.bsky.social · 1d

From the archive. frenchteachernet.blogspot.com/2025/07/what...

What it means to ‘know grammar’ and why this is important

Introduction Here’s an issue which crops up when a teacher says something like this to me “But students have to know grammar to speak and wr...

Top 10 research-backed grammar teaching techniques. Effective grammar teaching combines more than one technique, of course, and relies on multimodality. In EPI we use nearly all of these techniques… |...

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Steve Smith @spsmith45.bsky.social · 1d

A nice summary of grammar teaching techniques. www.linkedin.com/posts/gianfr...

Top 10 research-backed grammar teaching techniques. Effective grammar teaching combines more than one technique, of course, and relies on multimodality. In EPI we use nearly all of these techniques, f...

www.linkedin.com

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Steve Smith @spsmith45.bsky.social · 1d

Not sure what you mean.

Steve Smith @spsmith45.bsky.social · 1d

The view from here. Hell’s Gates, near Noosa, Queensland.

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Steve Smith @spsmith45.bsky.social · 1d

That wasn’t meant as a poor joke.

Steve Smith @spsmith45.bsky.social · 1d

A book recommendation for you. The Dry by Jane Harper. Crime genre. We are in Oz now and wanted something set here.

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Steve Smith @spsmith45.bsky.social · 1d

I think many do, but I think the reality is that there are no short-cuts to acquisition.

Nigel Farage accuses teachers of ‘poisoning our kids’ on race issues

Steve Smith @spsmith45.bsky.social · 1d

Such a hate mongerer. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Exclusive: Reform UK leader’s remarks at event for private US college criticised as ‘grossly irresponsible’ by NEU leader

www.theguardian.com

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Steve Smith @spsmith45.bsky.social · 1d

Yes, although researchers might say we all have the basic ‘brain architecture’, there’s no doubt students vary to a degree in how they approach language learning.

Steve Smith @spsmith45.bsky.social · 1d

Yes, proficiency is a lot about the amount of input, repetition and communication. ‘Knowing’ grammar helps a bit.

Steve Smith @spsmith45.bsky.social · 1d

From the archive. frenchteachernet.blogspot.com/2025/07/what...

What it means to ‘know grammar’ and why this is important

Introduction Here’s an issue which crops up when a teacher says something like this to me “But students have to know grammar to speak and wr...

Steve Smith, EPI and Why Grammar Drill Isn’t the Answer - The Language Lab Podcast | iHeart

2 1 3

Steve Smith @spsmith45.bsky.social · 1d

My chat with Will Marks on his podcast The Language Lab. www.iheart.com/podcast/1333...

<p>Steve Smith — MFL veteran, author, blogger, and founder of <a href='https://www.frenchteacher.net' target='_blank' rel='ugc noopener noreferrer'>FrenchTeacher.net</a> — joins Will Marks for a full-...

www.iheart.com

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Steve Smith @spsmith45.bsky.social · 1d

Don’t forget. www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FN7BSTX...

Thinking about Language Teaching Volume 1

Buy Thinking about Language Teaching Volume 1 by Smith, Steve (ISBN: 9798296131423) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.

www.amazon.co.uk

Steve Smith @spsmith45.bsky.social · 2d

A Multilingual Ladder. Asset Languages (Languages Ladder) did something similar, but died owing to lack of money, school buy-in and government commitment. I always thought it was a good idea. Like music grades. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

A multilingual ladder?*

Following recent calls for alternative assessment routes, or for a stepped frame of accreditation for languages in England based on the Languages Ladder Assessment Scheme (LLAS), of which Asset Lan...

Is progression in primary languages possible? Reflections from a large-scale longitudinal research study

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Steve Smith @spsmith45.bsky.social · 2d

The state of play in primary languages in England. Unsurprising findings, with time, teacher expertise and good curriculum design being key factors. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

The Curriculum and Assessment Review’s Interim Report (CAR [2025]. Interim Report. Crown Copyright. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6821d69eced319d02c9060e3/Curriculum_and_Assessment...

Steve Smith @spsmith45.bsky.social · 2d

We have been working on the second edition of our listening handbook Breaking the Sound Barrier. We aim to publish in the new year.

How to make listening actually drive acquisition: Ten staples of Listening as Modelling

Steve Smith @spsmith45.bsky.social · 2d

Listening-as-modelling summed up clearly by Gianfranco. gianfrancoconti.com/2025/10/08/h...

Introduction Listening is not a passive skill. It is the most cognitively demanding of all receptive modes and, paradoxically, the least explicitly taught.In the Extensive Processing Instruction (E…

gianfrancoconti.com

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Steve Smith @spsmith45.bsky.social · 2d

However, re primary, the ‘one language’ approach can work well with the right expertise. Flexibility needed here?

Steve Smith @spsmith45.bsky.social · 2d

This paper also makes the case fir a languages ladder. Also moving beyond the three pillars (good!) and focusing on languages awareness at primary (also good imo). www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Modern languages in England’s national curriculum: a call for (r)evolution!

In this article, we offer a personal response to the interim report of the Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR: Department forEducation (Dfe). 2025. Curriculum and Assessment Review: Interim Repo...

Addressing challenges in UK MFL education: is fundamental reform necessary?

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Steve Smith @spsmith45.bsky.social · 2d

This paper by Barrie Hunt argues for returning to a Languages Ladder model of assessment incorporated within GCSE. Interesting. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

This paper undertakes a comprehensive analysis of the current issues in MFL education, advocating fundamental reform based on the Languages Ladder. It argues that student motivation can be boosted ...

Language Education in the Curriculum

Steve Smith @spsmith45.bsky.social · 2d

An important new collection of papers in the context of the Curriculum and Assessment Review in England. www.tandfonline.com/journals/rll...

Explore the article collection: Language Education in the Curriculum. Published in The Language Learning Journal.