Best How To Teach Esl Newcomers Podcasts (2025)

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Teaching with Empathy and Respect: Part 1 41:27

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1d ago41:27

41:27

🎙️ Welcome to ESL Talk! 🎙️ A podcast for English Teachers, by English Teachers. In this powerful two-part episode, we sit down with Swiss-Brazilian educator and bestselling author Maya Eigenmann to explore how empathy, calm, and respect can transform the way we teach. Maya shares insights from her work in educação positiva (positive/respectful educ…

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Equity in Education for Multilingual Learners - Challenges and Opportunities 41:50

8d ago41:50

41:50

🎙️ Welcome to ESL Talk! 🎙️ A podcast for English Teachers, by English Teachers. Join us on this episode of ESL Talk as we delve into the critical topic of equity in Education for multilingual learners. Our esteemed guest, Dr. Julie Lara, will share her insights on the current state of education for multilingual learners in the United States. Dr. La…

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The Importance of Visual Design and Detail in Language Teaching 38:05

15d ago38:05

38:05

🎙️ Welcome to ESL Talk! 🎙️ A podcast for English Teachers, by English Teachers. In this episode of ESL Talk, we tackle the Importance of Visual Design and Detail in Language Teaching with our special guest, Sophie Miller. In our interview, Sophie shares her unique perspective on how visual design can enhance language learning. Discover how her back…

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The Transformative Power of Teaching Abroad 38:56

22d ago38:56

38:56

🎙️ Welcome to ESL Talk! 🎙️ A podcast for English Teachers, by English Teachers. In this episode of ESL Talk, we dive into "The Transformative Power of Teaching Abroad" with our special guest, Harrison Fowler, Program Director at RVF International. Harrison shares his insights and experiences on how teaching abroad can be a life-changing journey, no…

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The Language Learning Plateau 36:12

29d ago36:12

36:12

🎙️ Welcome to ESL Talk! 🎙️ A podcast for English Teachers, by English Teachers. In this episode, we're excited to have Tom from Precision TEFL join us to explore the phenomenon of the Language Learning Plateau (also referred to as the Plateau Effect). Tom will share his insights on why learners hit this plateau and how teachers can help students ov…

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Teaching Overconfident Students 41:58

1M ago41:58

41:58

🎙️ Welcome to ESL Talk! 🎙️ A podcast for English Teachers, by English Teachers. In this episode of ESL Talk, we tackle the challenge of teaching overconfident students. Our special guest, Melanie from Diction HQ, shares her expert strategies and insights on how to effectively engage and guide students who may overestimate their language abilities. …

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Episode 161 - Announcement + Big News About the Roadmap 7:48

1M ago7:48

7:48

Today’s episode is short, sweet, and exciting! I’m sharing a behind-the-scenes update and big news about the ESL Teacher Roadmap. Whether you're new to the ESL Teaching Podcast or you’ve been listening since day one, this quick episode is for you. I’ll walk you through a few upcoming changes, a big shift I’ve been planning, and how it will impact t…

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The value of language learning in the presence of AI 45:48

1M ago45:48

45:48

🎙️ Welcome to ESL Talk! 🎙️ A podcast for English Teachers, by English Teachers. In this episode of ESL Talk, we delve into the evolving landscape of language learning in the age of artificial intelligence. Our special guest, Denise Lo, an esteemed EAP/TESL Faculty member at Douglas College and Post-Secondary Institution Chair on the board of BC TEA…

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Episode 160 - Your First Year as an EL Teacher- What Matters Most 21:14

2M ago21:14

21:14

Starting your first year as an EL teacher can feel both exciting and overwhelming. Especially if you're stepping into a new building, new subject, or working with newcomers for the first time. In this episode, I’m answering a listener question from a music teacher-turned-EL teacher who’s just beginning this journey. I’m walking you through five thi…

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Helping ESL Learners Find Their Voice 36:47

2M ago36:47

36:47

🎙️ Welcome to ESL Talk! 🎙️ A podcast for English Teachers, by English Teachers. In this episode of ESL Talk, we sit down with Angela Chung, Co-Founder of Speak Fluent Inc., to explore the art of impactful communication for ESL learners and teachers. Angela, a seasoned communication coach and speech therapist, shares insights on how skilled professi…

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Episode 159 - What to Do When a Newcomer Walks Through Your Door: The First 30 Days 19:41

2M ago19:41

19:41

You’re in the middle of your school day when the front office calls: “You’re getting a new student tomorrow. They don’t speak any English.” Cue the racing heart and rising questions. In this episode, I’m sharing exactly what to do during those critical first 30 days after a newcomer walks into your classroom. Whether you're an ESL teacher or a clas…

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Reflecting, Looking Back, And looking ahead! 25:31

2M ago25:31

25:31

🎙️ Welcome to ESL Talk! 🎙️ A podcast for English Teachers, by English Teachers. In Episode 101, we are Reflecting, Looking Back, and Looking Ahead. We celebrate over 4+ years, 100+ episodes, and 250k downloads of ESL Talk! So even though we have been away, we aren't gone (actually far from it!). Join us as we reflect on our journeys, memorable epis…

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Episode 158 - What They Wish You Knew: Muslim Students in the Classroom 44:29

2M ago44:29

44:29

I’m joined today by Farhana N. Shah - an experienced educator, instructional specialist, and advocate for Muslim students. Farhana brings over two decades of expertise in teaching, professional development, and equity work. Together, we explore what real inclusion looks like for Muslim students in today’s classrooms. Farhana shares powerful stories…

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Episode 157 - Here is Why You're Drained (or Energized) by Teaching 28:34

2M ago28:34

28:34

Have you ever walked out of your classroom at the end of the day feeling completely drained by teaching, even when everything went “according to plan”? Or maybe you’ve had days where tossing the plan aside and following your gut left you feeling more energized by teaching than ever before. What’s really going on? In this episode, we dive deep into …

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Episode 156 - The Hidden Key to Engagement: Learning Rhythms You've Probably Never Considered 20:53

2M ago20:53

20:53

In today's episode, we're talking and taking a closer look at what I call five learner energy profiles. These aren't learning styles per se in the traditional sense. They are patterns that I've seen over and over again. Patterns that help explain why some students engage instantly, why some stay quiet for months, and how we can meet all of them whe…

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Episode 155 - How to use AI to Personalize Learning, Boost Engagement and Assess Multilingual Learners (Part 2) 26:09

3M ago26:09

26:09

In part one, we covered the why behind using AI in the classroom, how to craft effective prompts, and two smart ways to use it to differentiate instruction and generate speaking and writing prompts based on proficiency levels. And today, we're picking right up where we left off with tips three through five, where I will walk you through how to use …

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Episode 154 - Smarter Planning for ELs: AI Prompting & Differentiation Made Easy (Part 1) 24:20

3M ago24:20

24:20

In this episode, we’re exploring a topic that’s generating a lot of buzz in the world of education - AI. Whether you’re excited, skeptical, or simply overwhelmed by all things AI, I want to break down exactly how tools like ChatGPT can be a game-changer for EL teachers and classroom educators working with multilingual students. Planning, differenti…

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Episode 153 - 5 Must-Know Tips for New EL Teachers 20:49

3M ago20:49

20:49

One of my favorite things about connecting with teachers is hearing your questions. Whether it's navigating a tricky teaching moment or figuring out where to start with English learners. And while each situation is unique, so many of your questions echo the same themes, especially from those of you who are new EL teachers. If you are stepping into …

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Episode 152 - 5 Simple Wins for the Days You’re Just Done 18:37

3M ago18:37

18:37

Let’s get real about those exhausting days when lesson planning feels impossible and burnout lurks around every corner…especially as the end of the school year approaches. In this episode, I open up about my own struggles with low energy and share my solution: an “emergency lesson folder” packed with simple, engaging activities that spark student e…

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Episode 151 - The Big 5: Key Pillars of EL Inclusion in Mainstream Classrooms 18:31

4M ago18:31

18:31

When it comes to teaching English learners, there's no question that EL specialists are trained to meet their unique language and learning needs. But what about regular classroom teachers, the ones juggling 25 different needs in one room and suddenly faced with students who speak little or no English? It can feel overwhelming, confusing, and even a…

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Episode 150 - Rooted in Success: 5 Reasons to Teach Greek & Latin Roots in Any Classroom 33:07

4M ago33:07

33:07

Today's episode is all about building vocabulary in a powerful and lasting way. We're diving into something that often gets overlooked, Greek and Latin root words. I am so excited because we have a special guest joining us who's incredibly passionate about this topic. My dear friend, Laura Kebart from Language Arts Teachers is on the podcast today …

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Episode 149 - Why Social-Emotional Learning Matters Just as Much as Academics 18:08

4M ago18:08

18:08

The world needs emotional intelligence. We need emotional intelligence. Our students need emotional intelligence. Intellectual knowledge is great, but by itself, it wreaks havoc, as without emotional depth and experiences, we're not able to engage in meaningful conversations, discussions, learning, and problem solving. In today's episode, I'm going…

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Episode 148 - How to Teach ELs When You Don't Speak Their Language 19:55

4M ago19:55

19:55

You just found out you have English learners in your classroom, but you don't speak their language. Now what? Should you Google translate your entire lesson? Mime your way through the day? Don't worry. You don't have to speak their language to be an effective and impactful teacher. In today's episode, we're going to talk about the mindset shift tha…

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Episode 147 - Hooked on Books! How Novels Can Supercharge EL Vocabulary and Thinking 19:05

5M ago19:05

19:05

Reading is always a hot topic for good reason, and it's something every teacher thinks about no matter the grade level. But when it comes to teaching reading to English learners, there are extra layers to consider, especially around language proficiency and age. I'm excited to share something I've been trying out with my middle schoolers, something…

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Episode 146 - Digging Deeper: How the 5 Whys Can Transform Your Teaching and Life 18:50

5M ago18:50

18:50

Have you ever felt like you're constantly putting out fires in your classroom? Redirecting behavior, reteaching concepts, or dealing with burnout without really solving the root problem? Sometimes it feels like we are running around in circles and nothing changes our lives, in our classrooms, in our professional development even though we seem to d…

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Episode 145 - It’s Not Just About Language! The 2 Soft Skills Every EL Teacher Should Have 13:32

5M ago13:32

13:32

In education, we often focus on the hard skills, the academic knowledge of our subject, the instructional strategies, the assessment methods, and the pedagogy that shape effective teaching. These are the measurable, tangible aspects of our profession, and they are absolutely essential. But today, I want to shift the focus to something just as impor…

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Episode 144 - 3 Myths About Teaching Newcomers - And What Actually Works 13:22

5M ago13:22

13:22

Let’s talk about three common myths about teaching newcomers. Teaching English learners is really not as complicated as many think, yet I hear from so many overwhelmed teachers who have lost sight of the forest for the trees. Schools are notorious for grasping onto the newest programs and ideas for teaching English learners, which sometimes work ou…

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Episode 143 - How to Beat the Mid-Year Slump in the EL Classroom for Both Students and Teachers 21:03

5M ago21:03

21:03

Welcome to the mid-year slump. Whether you live in a colder climate like I do or anywhere else, the middle of the school year can get hard for so many reasons. February and March in particular can be especially tough months in the school year. Students and teachers are tired, motivation is dipping, and standardized testing is looming. If you are fe…

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Episode 142 - The Secret to Effective EL Lessons? Start at the End! 17:31

6M ago17:31

17:31

I am very excited about today's episode because I know it will bring so much value to you. I've talked about lesson planning before, but today, I wanted to share a process that has been very helpful and, honestly, is truly a great way to plan for our EL students. So in today's episode, I will be sharing all about backward design and lesson planning…

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Episode 141 - A Look Behind the Scenes of The ESL Teaching Podcast 22:10

6M ago22:10

22:10

I don't know about you, but I love a good behind the scenes moment. In the world where we always see the final product, whether it's a great lesson plan, an engaging activity, or heck, someone simply looking amazing and put together, it is good to remind ourselves that the road to that result is not always very linear. Have you ever wondered what i…

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Episode 140 - The Less is More Philosophy When Teaching EL Newcomers 14:07

6M ago14:07

14:07

One of the themes that keeps coming up in my teaching and that of many other teachers who work with English learners is this: How much work should we give EL newcomers and any EL student? What can we expect from them? Today, I wanted to revisit the topic of classwork and homework our ELs have to do and about how we can make it more manageable and e…

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Episode 139 - How to Prepare for State and Proficiency Tests Part 2: Reading and Writing Practice 19:21

6M ago19:21

19:21

Midwinter and early spring is the season for state and language proficiency testing, and I am dedicating a couple of episodes to help you prepare your students for them so that they can show off all of the great things they've learned so far. Last week, I talked about peculiarities of listening and speaking tests and what activities you can incorpo…

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Episode 138: Preparing Your English Learners for State and Language Proficiency Tests. Part 1 - Listening and Speaking Practice 14:45

7M ago14:45

14:45

The testing season is upon us. I wanted to talk about a topic that every teacher working with English learners faces each year, preparing your English learners for state testing and language proficiency tests like ACCESS, TELPAS, and others. These tests play a crucial role in measuring student progress and shaping future instruction. However, prepa…

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Episode 137 - Breaking Down Assumptions About English Language Learners 16:39

7M ago16:39

16:39

Have you ever made an assumption about a person before truly getting to know them? As teachers, whether we like it or not, we tend to operate on a lot of assumptions which come from our education, practice, and experience. What I found though is that most of the time, many and any assumptions stem from lack of information. And sometimes it's diffic…

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Episode 136 - Your First Day with Newcomer EL Students 15:17

7M ago15:17

15:17

Teaching EL newcomers is by far one of the most popular subjects among all teachers at the beginning of the school year, middle of the school year, end of the school year, all the time. So much so that I have created quite a few episodes on what to teach them and how to help them in the regular education classroom. In today's episode, I am revisiti…

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Making Classes Fun and Engaging for Young Learners 26:18

7M ago26:18

26:18

🎙️ Welcome to ESL Talk! 🎙️ A podcast for English Teachers, by English Teachers. Join us on the latest episode of ESL Talk as we look at the topic of making our classes fun and engaging for young learners, with our special guest Yan Weng, co-founder of the teaching platform FunClass. Yan not only shares why engaging classes are important for young l…

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Episode 135 - From Holiday Mode to Learning Mode: How to Reset, Refocus and Recharge 17:00

7M ago17:00

17:00

The holiday season can be hectic both at home and at school. Besides you being tired and over it, the students are tired and over it. And it shows. No matter the age group you teach, it can be an added stressor trying to figure out how to teach and manage everything around you. But just like we can restart a computer when it is glitching and someho…

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Episode 134 - The Year of Growth: The Biggest Takeaway of 2024 13:55

8M ago13:55

13:55

As I'm looking back on 2024, there were challenges and opportunities as well as a lot of growth. And as we know, it doesn't happen in a calm and peaceful environment when everyone is content. It happens through storms and sometimes chaos and most of the time through pain, whether big or small. The good thing is, I wouldn't change any of it. Well, m…

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Episode 133 - 5 SEL Components to Incorporate in Every ELL Lesson 22:08

8M ago22:08

22:08

What is social-emotional learning? And why it is crucial to address it daily with your students, including, if not especially, English learners. SEL or social-emotional learning is the buzzword nowadays, but it is very near and dear to my heart. As an educator, I, and I'm sure many of you, see firsthand how important it is for students to learn not…

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Episode 132 - From Struggle to Success: Helping ELs Thrive in Language Arts Classroom 18:04

8M ago18:04

18:04

Helping English learners access the curriculum of the Language Arts class, which is geared towards native speakers, is one of the challenges many teachers face. There are many linguistic demands that are not easy even for students for whom English is the mother tongue. And for English learners, those demands add extra layers, which require the teac…

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Episode 131 - How Neuroscience Can Transform Your ELL Teaching with Guest Meeghan Carter 28:38

9M ago28:38

28:38

In order to learn something, we need tools that address the way we learn as people as well as help us develop ways of thinking. In recent years, terms like neuroscience and neuroplasticity have become very popular in all fields, including education. What do these terms mean exactly? Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system, includ…

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Episode 130 - Beyond Buddies: How Peer Pairing Empowers ELs 14:28

9M ago14:28

14:28

Over the past several weeks, I have been sharing with you three simple accommodations every classroom teacher can make to reach ELs, even newcomers. We talked about why using visuals is essential when working with ELs, as well as what types of visuals to include. We dove into simplifying our language for directions, lesson delivery, and feedback, a…

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English for Newcomers within the Workplace 34:54

9M ago34:54

34:54

🎙️ Welcome to ESL Talk! 🎙️ A podcast for English Teachers, by English Teachers. Join us on the latest episode of ESL Talk as we dive into “English for Newcomers within the Workplace” with our special guest, Leah Mitchell, a seasoned workplace English coach from Prairie Sky English, a leading Workplace English Company based in Canada. Leah shares he…

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Episode 129 - Why Simplifying Your Language for ELs Leads to Effective Higher Order Thinking 16:03

9M ago16:03

16:03

I am bringing you a series of episodes … 3 simple accommodations every classroom teacher can make to reach ELs, even newcomers. They are very targeted and easily digestible so that the tips you hear today and in the previous and coming episodes, you can implement right in your next lesson. We have identified 3 very simple, yet extremely effective a…

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Empowering Young Learners and English Educators 42:01

9M ago42:01

42:01

🎙️ Welcome to ESL Talk! 🎙️ A podcast for English Teachers, by English Teachers. Tune in to this latest bumper episode of ESL Talk as we explore the vital topic of “Empowering Young Learners and English Educators” with our esteemed guest, Dr. Hayley Watson. Dr. Watson, a clinical psychologist with over 20 years of experience, shares her profound ins…

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Episode 128 - Seeing is Understanding: 5 Visual Strategies for Supporting ELs 12:50

9M ago12:50

12:50

How can I help an English learner in a regular education classroom? This question is right there at the top of all questions asked by teachers along with what to teach EL newcomers. We all know that teaching is complicated and consists of a lot of moving parts that are sometimes hard to juggle. And since my mission is to bring you EL teaching tips …

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Communication Skills and Business English for Employment 41:08

10M ago41:08

41:08

🎙️ Welcome to ESL Talk! 🎙️ A podcast for English Teachers, by English Teachers. Join us in this episode of ESL Talk as we dive into the world of communication skills and Business English with our special guest, Asia Bernabo. Asia, a SAP Consultant Intern at IBM and President of the Dalhousie Consulting Association shares her journey and insights on…

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Episode 127 - When to Use Professional Interpreters vs. Bilingual Staff for Communicating with EL Families 19:50

10M ago19:50

19:50

Let's talk about translation in the world of multilingual teaching. It is a bigger topic and covers both the translation of materials in the classroom and translation of school communication with EL families. Today, I wanted to focus on the other side of translation, namely best practices for communicating with EL families of our students who do no…

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Cultural Exchange in ESL 35:54

11M ago35:54

35:54

🎙️ Welcome to ESL Talk! 🎙️ A podcast for English Teachers, by English Teachers. In this episode, we explore the transformative power of cultural exchange in the ESL classroom. Our guest, Esther Tong, is an experienced ESL instructor, who shares their journey of teaching English across diverse cultural contexts and explains how integrating cultural …

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Episode 126 - The Top 5 Questions We Get about Teaching ELs - And Here Are the Answers! 25:43

11M ago25:43

25:43

I work closely with content area teachers, and I frequently receive questions from them about how they can help English learners in their classroom. The questions about teaching ELs, frankly, are the same every year. How to help a newcomer? How to assess EL students in the classroom? What activities work well with ELs, especially those at lower pro…