Welcome to The Happy Language Teacher

Hello there! If you teach a language, or help people learn one, this podcast is for you. Whether you work with children, teenagers or adults. Whether you teach in a classroom, work as a language educator or volunteer your time. Whether you’re teaching English in Spain, French in the US, Chinese in Germany, or any other modern language anywhere in the world. Wherever you are, and whatever language you teach, there’s a good chance we have quite a lot in common.

I’m Peter Schoenaerts, a Belgian teacher trainer, language educator and actor. For the past thirty years, I’ve been helping people learn English, Dutch and French, while also studying Spanish, German and Norwegian myself. Over the years, I’ve collected plenty of experience, ideas, successes, and of course a fair number of lessons that didn’t quite go according to plan! Now I’d like to share all of that with you through The Happy Language Teacher.

Why this podcast?

Four years ago, I started a podcast for teachers of Dutch, in Dutch. I was amazed by the response. Teachers from the Netherlands and Belgium (and from many other parts of the world) got in touch to share their stories, questions, struggles and successes. And I realised something important: We’re all in this together. We may teach different languages, in different countries, to very different learners. But many of the questions we ask ourselves are remarkably similar ...

• How do I get my learners to speak more?

• How do I keep them motivated?

• How should I teach vocabulary?

• How can I make my lessons more engaging?

• How do I deal with limited time, mixed levels and new technologies?

And perhaps the question we ask ourselves most often: Am I actually doing a good job?

More than words and grammar

Teaching a language is about much more than vocabulary and grammar. We’re helping people communicate. We’re helping people find their voice. We’re helping people become more confident. And sometimes, we’re even helping people start a new life. That’s quite an amazing thing to be part of.

I want this podcast to be a place where you can find fresh inspiration, discover practical activities you can actually use, and perhaps see familiar teaching challenges from a different perspective. We’ll talk about speaking, reading, vocabulary, pronunciation, feedback, repetition, motivation, communication, grammar, technology and much more. And we’ll also question some of the things we take for granted. Because good teaching isn’t just about what we teach. It’s about how we make people want to learn.

So, wherever you teach and whatever language you teach, I hope you’ll join me. Listen to an episode. Try an idea in your classroom. Tell me what happened. And if you have a question, a story, a suggestion or a teaching tip of your own, get in touch. Because The Happy Language Teacher isn’t just about me talking to you. It’s about all of us learning from one another.

Welcome to the community. And welcome to The Happy Language Teacher.

See you soon!

Peter Schoenaerts

PS Check out the Happy Language Teacher website