Episode 10 of the #mfltwitterati podcast, the long awaited Mandarin Chinese special is finally out! A bumper edition showcasing a variety of voices involved in the Mandarin Excellence Programme as well as schools celebrating Chinese culture including Chinese New Year and the Willow Pattern Story. We also hear from US Language Teacher of 2018, Ying Jin on her thoughts on non-native teachers teaching Mandarin.

Noah and I share some useful tools for the languages classroom too namely Certifyem and Charlala in this episode. We’d love to receive some audio feedback about these for inclusion in a forthcoming episode. We also announce an exciting new French A’ Level resource from our sponsor, Linguascope and give a shout out to The Language Show and ACTFL too.

Our TechTalk interview for this episode features the inspirational Suzi Bewell who describes the challenge of learning Chinese from scratch in China and then going on to teach it back in England along with her other languages.

You can follow Joe (@joedale) and Noah (@SenorG) on Twitter, and follow the hashtag #mfltwitteratipodcast for more info. You can also email us with questions or ideas, info@mfltwitteratipodcast.com and subscribe to our newsletter to keep updated about the latest episode.

If you’ve enjoyed this episode of the #mfltwitterati podcast, please rate and review us on Apple’s Podcasts app so more language teachers can find us. You can subscribe to the #mfltwitterati podcast on the Apple Podcasts app, Google podcasts, Spotify, Overcast or Stitcher or wherever you listen to your podcasts. For more information and links, go to our podcast site mfltwitteratipodcast.com where there are lots of references to this episode content and all the previous episodes too!

The #mfltwitterati podcast – Celebrating the voices of the modern language teaching community!

Thank you for listening!

Joe and Noah

Show notes

[1:12] Keynoting the inaugural BSME MFL Conference at BSAK in Abu Dhabi along with Alex Rawlings. Charlie Davies (@BSAKMFL) Head of Languages at BSAK gives an overview of the two day event. Heads up to @willowtuits too.

[3:46] Trip to Amsterdam for Erasmus Plus funded course organised by Ton Koenraad from TellConsult on mobile learning and podcast interview with Miquel using Anchor.

[6:02] Noah talks about his keynote in Colombia with Diego Ojeda.

[7:23] Rachel O’Riordan from the British Council shares some audio recorded on the Eurostar about a recent school exchanges seminar funded by the DfE.

[11:32] Linguascope’s new A’ Level resources for French ‘Attitudes’. Go to attitudes.linguascope.com to sign up for a free account to unlock Unit 1 .

[12:42] Radar: Checking out the Certifyem add on as recommended by Alice Keeler and made by the same people who make Flubaroo.

[18:15] Looking forward to The Language Show. Organiser Jonathan Scott gives a taster of what to look forward to. Here’s an article about my contributions at this year’s show.

[21:02] MFLtwitterati Takeaway: Noah bigs up the ACTFL Conference and catches up with 2018 National Language Teacher of the Year, Ying Jin who shares her top tips for teaching Mandarin Chinese as a non-native speaker.

[27:10] @CharlalaXP – Spanish teacher and developer of free web tool Charlala, Chris Hammer talks how his DrawRoom can promote speaking through personalised drawings. More language teachers share their thoughts on how they use Charlala.com in their classes.

[29:02] @sonrisadelcampo,

[30:51] @karacjacobs

[33:41] @MeldrumMFL

[37:57] Linguascope

[39:02] MFL Show and Tell: Mandarin Chinese Special. Teaching about Chinese culture and celebrating Chinese New Year.

[39:48] @MFLStAnthonys

[41:08] @mfl_sbs

[42:14] @CaraBleiman

[45:46] Katherine Carruthers from UCL gives an overview of the Mandarin Excellence Programme (MEP).

[49:22] Frank Fan and @MissTFU share their insights on delivering the MEP and ask their students for their thoughts too.

[58:23] @MFLDBS and @Debreu_S talk about the impact of the MEP in their schools and reflect on their trips to China including input from some students.

[1:03:34] @msmullhollandmfl and @katielockett talk about learning Chinese and visiting the country.

[1:10:28] Noah shares an unforgettable communication breakdown from his time in the Dominican Republic.

[1:11:27] Carol Mei-Barker on the BFI MFL Study Days which includes films around Mandarin Chinese culture.

[1:14:11] @chattystaffroom explains how she uses the willow pattern story to celebrate Chinese culture in her primary school.

[1:20:22] @mrsmandarin8 on her inspirational Chinese choir.

[1:24:18] TechTalk interview with @suzibewell on learning Mandarin Chinese and teaching it at primary school level in Yorkshire.

[1:27:22] Sharing the experience of the challenge of learning a new language as a language teacher.

[1:29:14] Mrs Ma and using the translation function in WeChat to facilitate communication as well as ordering dinner in a Chinese restaurant.

[1:32:24] Using a textbook, sharing online via social media groups, blogging and listening to podcasts to learn Chinese and forging empathy with students.

[1:44:40] A few final thoughts and looking forward to the next episode.