How does pre-primary English connect beyond the classroom?
In this final episode, Sarah Hillyard and Faidra Faitaki look at the wider context of early language learning, exploring how teachers collaborate with colleagues, engage with parents, and align English with the broader curriculum.
They discuss the importance of supporting both English and children’s first language, addressing common misconceptions about early bilingualism, and helping parents understand the value of play-based learning. The episode highlights how strong connections across teachers, families, and schools are essential for creating meaningful and successful early language learning experiences.
Download the Pre-primary English: how to do it well position paper here -> https://oxelt.gl/4o0mMrn

What are the biggest challenges of teaching English to very young learners, and how can teachers manage them effectively?
In this episode, Sarah Hillyard and Faidra Faitaki focus on the realities of the pre-primary classroom, from behaviour and routines to engagement and lesson structure.
They explore how clear routines, modelling, and playful interaction help create a supportive learning environment, and how teachers can balance guided input with opportunities for children to take the lead. By emphasising repetition, flexibility, and observation, they explain how young learners begin to take ownership of language and use it with growing confidence.
Download the Pre-primary English: how to do it well position paper here -> https://oxelt.gl/4o0mMrn

Why is play central to learning in the early years and what does it really look like in a pre-primary English classroom?
In this episode, Sarah Hillyard and Faidra Faitaki explore how play is not simply a classroom activity, but the natural way children explore the world and develop language.
They discuss how language learning becomes meaningful when it is embedded in playful experiences such as storytelling, role play, music, and creative activities. Drawing on classroom examples, they explain how play supports not only language development, but also creativity, confidence, and social interaction, making it essential to effective early years learning.
Download the Pre-primary English: how to do it well position paper here -> https://oxelt.gl/4o0mMrn

What should we really aim for when teaching English to very young learners?
In this episode, Sarah Hillyard and Faidra Faitaki explore how language learning for very young learners differs fundamentally from teaching older learners, and why a traditional focus on vocabulary and grammar is not enough in pre-primary English language teaching.
Instead, they highlight the importance of supporting the whole child, where language develops alongside cognitive, social, and emotional growth. Through practical examples, they show how meaningful input, interaction, stories, and everyday experiences create the foundation for early language learning, offering a more realistic and effective framework for pre-primary English.
Download the Pre-primary English: how to do it well position paper here -> https://oxelt.gl/4o0mMrn

English proficiency testing is changing, and fast. In this special episode of Talking ELT, Sara Pierson OBE and Anthony Green unpack what the future holds for English proficiency testing, drawing on insights from a new white paper created in partnership with Times Higher Education.
The conversation explores integrated skills, the ‘authenticity gap’, hybrid assessment models and the growing impact of AI, alongside what universities really need from language tests. Grounded in decades of assessment experience, this episode offers a human-centred view of how English testing can better prepare learners for higher education.
Download the full white paper here: https://oxelt.gl/4eWHS7b

What is emergent language, and why is it becoming increasingly relevant to the ELT classroom?
In this special episode of Talking ELT, emergent language experts Danny Norrington-Davis and Richard Chinn join Andrew Dilger and Ed Dudley to explain the concept and how these moments of spontaneous, unplanned language that appear organically in the classroom often lead to some of the most powerful learning opportunities.
The conversation explores what emergent language is, how it differs from target language, and its connection to the Dogme movement in ELT. It also looks at why these moments matter for engagement and motivation, and shares examples from real lessons along with practical ways to make the most of them.
Whether this concept is new or familiar, this episode offers fresh insights and ideas to deepen understanding of how language learning really happens.

How can assessment be used to support learning, not just measure it?
This final episode of our series on the impact of assessment on teaching and learning explores alternative assessment methods like portfolios, peer feedback, and gamification — and how AI is reshaping the future of feedback and test design.
Jo Szoke and Nate Owen also tackle ethical concerns and the importance of keeping humans in the loop.

Can reforming exams lead to better teaching and learning?
In the third episode of this series, we explore the institutional and policy-level impact of assessment. From integrated skills testing to equity and standardization, Nate Owen and Jo Szoke discuss how assessment design can influence national education systems, and why teacher buy-in is essential for lasting change.