The Kate Languages Blog

Goals are not to do lists!

Often, when we think about setting goals, we just write out a list of things we want to accomplish by a set time, but I believe that goal setting is a lot more than just a "to do" list.

It can be really hard to work out what your goals are and even harder to actually sti...

To textbook or not at KS3?

I was asked this question for a Q&A episode of the Kate Languages Podcast. Here is a brief summary of my thoughts - for more detail, listen to the episode in full here.

1. Use textbooks as your framework. Treat your textbook as the bones of your scheme of work, not a rig
...

There are a few times in the academic year (especially at the end of term) when it can feel particularly hard to motivate your learners - and yourself!

Here are my top 5 tips for motivating reluctant learners, which in turn might help bring back some of your own motivation...

1. Prioritise creat...

This blog post is a little different as I'm showcasing YOUR top tips for using Kate Languages resources!

I recently sent out a feedback questionnaire, and lots of you wonderful people responded with some extremely helpful information that I've been using to inform the direction of Kate Languages th...

Having a strong end to a lesson is such an essential part of your planning, but something that can easily be missed or ignored in the general stress and craziness of teaching!

So, here are my top 5 tips for making sure you have a great, and not chaotic, end to every lesson...

1. Allocate at least ...

Here are my 5 tips for acing speaking and writing in MFL lessons:

1. Never jump straight into speaking and writing. These are active skills that need careful scaffolding, so always build up to them by introducing vocabulary and doing listening/reading activities first. Students need exposure to the...

Reading and listening are an essential part of teaching languages. Here are my ideas for how to teach them in a way that ensures your students fully understand the texts in depth.

As always, I recommend including listening and/or reading tasks as part of my "exploiting one text" method of lesson pl...

Introducing and practising vocabulary is a vital part of an effective languages lesson - it's always worth spending a decent amount of time on this part of the learning process. And don't forget to plan for retrieval practice, too!

The second part of my digital course "Structuring an Outstanding MF...

Starting lessons strongly is one of the keys to ensuring a great lesson every time - essential for student progress, but also for your own mental health as a teacher!

Anyone who has had a chaotic start to a lesson (ie me!) will know that it can throw you off for the whole lesson and you never quite...

Everyone fails sometimes, but it's how we learn from these failures that turns them from disasters into positive experiences.

This blog post is a pretty personal one for me, so be gentle with your feedback haha! 

In Season 8 Episode 5 of the Kate Languages Podcast, I talked about 3 of my biggest f...

Did you know that instead of trading your time for money, you can actually make "passive" income in a number of different ways, utilising the skills you already have as a teacher?!

If you've never heard the term before, "passive" income is basically the opposite of trading time for money. Instead o...

Dictations are a great way of checking students' understanding of phonics in MFL lessons, but can be a bit dry if taught the same way each time.

In October 2024, I hosted a workshop all about how to teach dictations in a fun way, with lots of great ideas for how to "train" your students for the dic...