- 20 minutes 42 seconds144 ¦ The first two weeks: Providing the why
When we think about autonomy as a driving force of intrinsic motivation, we often conflate it simply with 'providing choice'. According to Self-Determination Theory, however, autonomy is also about self-direction, ownership and value; this psychological need is also satisfied when we understand the rationale and purpose behind an activity... especially ones we may not find in inherently interesting.
This episode explores what providing rationale looks like in the classroom and how important it is to continually do this, right through the year, but even more so in the first few weeks.
Full programme notes are available on www.liamprinter.com/podcast.
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Follow The Motivated Classroom on Instagram @themotivatedclassroom and Facebook @themotivatedclassroom.
I'd love to know what you think, please get in touch! Join the conversation with the hashtag #MotivatedClassroom.
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Facebook.
Enjoying the free content? Support the podcast here:
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👉 www.patreon.com/themotivatedclassroom
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11 September 2026, 6:00 am - 41 minutes 52 seconds143 ¦ Motivation, assessment and storytelling with Will Marks of The Language Lab Podcast
A very special podcast collaboration with Will Marks of The Language Lab Podcast where we discuss motivation, storytelling and assessment in the acquisition-driven classroom.
Thank you to Will for inviting me on his excellent podcast. I highly recommend listening to his other content!
Full programme notes are available on www.liamprinter.com/podcast.
Keep in touch and share!
Follow The Motivated Classroom on Instagram @themotivatedclassroom and Facebook @themotivatedclassroom.
I'd love to know what you think, please get in touch! Join the conversation with the hashtag #MotivatedClassroom.
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Facebook.
Enjoying the free content? Support the podcast here:
👉 www.buymeacoffee.com/liamprinter
👉 www.patreon.com/themotivatedclassroom
Don’t forget to subscribe & share with a fellow languages teacher!
4 September 2026, 6:00 am - 33 minutes 26 seconds142 ¦ The first two weeks: Building a motivated classroom
The first few lessons give us an opportunity to build the foundations for a classroom where students feel connected, capable and have a sense of ownership over their language learning journey.
In this episode, we look at how we can apply the principles of Self-Determination Theory to those crucial first two weeks of the school year. What can we do to develop relatedness? How can we create a sense of belonging? How can we give students meaningful choices and help them feel competent from the very beginning?
This episode explores how we can intentionally create the conditions for motivation to take root and grow right from the start.
Full programme notes are available on www.liamprinter.com/podcast.
Keep in touch and share!
Follow The Motivated Classroom on Instagram @themotivatedclassroom and Facebook @themotivatedclassroom.
I'd love to know what you think, please get in touch! Join the conversation with the hashtag #MotivatedClassroom.
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Facebook.
Enjoying the free content? Support the podcast here:
👉 www.buymeacoffee.com/liamprinter
👉 www.patreon.com/themotivatedclassroom
Don’t forget to subscribe & share with a fellow languages teacher!
28 August 2026, 6:00 am - 37 minutes 38 seconds141 ¦ Motivation: 750 researchers, 50 countries and one core message for teachers
Motivation is repeatedly found in the research to be a key factor in long term success in education. In 2020, I started this podcast with the episode "Motivation: What is it and how does it work?". So, what do the world's leading researchers and voices on motivation and language learning now tell us, about how it works in our classroom over 6 years later?
In this episode, I share what I learned at the International Self-Determination Theory Conference in Geneva in July 2026, where 750 researchers and practitioners from 50 countries came together to explore the science of motivation. Across the different presentations, studies and discussions, one core message kept coming through.
Listen to this episode in full to learn about the latest motivation research and what it tells us about our students, our classrooms and the way we teach languages.- Full programme notes are available on www.liamprinter.com/podcast.
Keep in touch and share!
- Follow The Motivated Classroom on Instagram @themotivatedclassroom and Facebook @themotivatedclassroom.
- I'd love to know what you think, please get in touch! Join the conversation with the hashtag #MotivatedClassroom.
- Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Facebook.
Enjoying the free content? Support the podcast here:
👉 www.buymeacoffee.com/liamprinter
👉 www.patreon.com/themotivatedclassroom
Don’t forget to subscribe & share with a fellow languages teacher!
21 August 2026, 6:00 am - 17 minutes 59 seconds140 ¦ Making the input stick through narrative and story
Almost all SLA researchers agree on one core point: Comprehensible input is necessary for language acquisition... but, there is now widespread agreement that in a school environment, that input must also be compelling, interesting and engaging. Comprehensible alone is not enough to hold our students' short attention spans in the current busy classroom - the input needs a narrative arc to engage our students and ensure they are paying enough attention to the input so that it can become acquired.
In this episode we explore the use of narrative and story in the language classroom as a way to maintain engagement and boost acquisition. So, what are your thoughts on this?
- Full programme notes are available on www.liamprinter.com/podcast.
Keep in touch and share!
- Follow The Motivated Classroom on Instagram @themotivatedclassroom and Facebook @themotivatedclassroom.
- I'd love to know what you think, please get in touch! Join the conversation with the hashtag #MotivatedClassroom.
- Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Facebook.
Enjoying the free content? Support the podcast here:
👉 www.buymeacoffee.com/liamprinter
👉 www.patreon.com/themotivatedclassroom
Don’t forget to subscribe & share with a fellow languages teacher!
4 July 2026, 6:00 am - 27 minutes 16 seconds139 ¦ Practical strategies for teaching with gender-inclusive language with Kodi Rain
In this episode I am joined by the wonderful author and educator, Kodi Rain. We had a great conversation about belonging, representation and identity affirming teaching practices; with a particular focus on gender-inclusive language in the classroom.
A perfect listen in this #Pride Month.
Full programme notes are available on www.liamprinter.com/podcast.
Keep in touch and share!
- Follow The Motivated Classroom on Instagram @themotivatedclassroom and Facebook @themotivatedclassroom.
- I'd love to know what you think, please get in touch! Join the conversation with the hashtag #MotivatedClassroom.
- Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Facebook.
Enjoying the free content? Support the podcast here:
👉 www.buymeacoffee.com/liamprinter
👉 www.patreon.com/themotivatedclassroom
Don’t forget to subscribe & share with a fellow languages teacher!
28 June 2026, 6:00 am - 29 minutes 44 seconds138 ¦ Is input alone enough?
For over five years, this podcast has advocated for an approach to language teaching centred around compelling, comprehensible input to unlock natural language acquisition and simultaneously increase student and teacher motivation? But is input alone really enough? I first talked about this back in Episode 103 in 2023. In this episode I unpack and discuss my how view has shifted over the years based on research and conversations with educators, CI teachers and researchers. As always, I provide my take on things from what I've read and who I have spoken to. Your view will, no doubt, differ to mine. That reflective process and thinking deeply about the core principles of our practice is what moves everyone forward, and what ultimately leads to a more motivated classroom for our students, and ourselves as their teachers.
- Full programme notes are available on www.liamprinter.com/podcast.
Keep in touch and share!
- Follow The Motivated Classroom on Instagram @themotivatedclassroom and Facebook @themotivatedclassroom.
- I'd love to know what you think, please get in touch! Join the conversation with the hashtag #MotivatedClassroom.
- Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Facebook.
Enjoying the free content? Support the podcast here:
👉 www.buymeacoffee.com/liamprinter
👉 www.patreon.com/themotivatedclassroom
Don’t forget to subscribe & share with a fellow languages teacher!
19 June 2026, 6:00 am - 1 hour 2 minutes137 ¦ Starting an instructional coaching programme in your school with Nick Pointer and Jeremy Lloyd
Instructional Coaching: A highly effective and impactful method of professional development for teachers where they work 1-on-1 with a coach to focus on tiny tweaks to their practice based on evidence-informed insights.
This episode follows up on episode 120 and focuses entirely on 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 from three separate but connected perspectives: Nick Pointer who was training our team of coaches and helping us to implement it school wide, Jeremy as the professional development lead responsible for instructional coaching within the school and then some snippets from me as an instructional coach on the ground in my first year in the role.This episode was the culmination of 2 years' of work at the International School of Lausanne, exploring the theoretical and practical details of setting up an instructional coaching programme - definitely worth a listen for anyone interested in this approach to teacher professional development!
Please let me know what you think!
Keep in touch and share widely!
- Full programme notes are available on www.liamprinter.com/podcast.
- Follow The Motivated Classroom on Instagram @themotivatedclassroom, Twitter @motclasspodcast and Facebook @themotivatedclassroom.
- I'd love to know what you think, please get in touch! Join the conversation with the hashtag #MotivatedClassroom.
- Enjoying the podcast? Leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Facebook.
- Become a Patron of The Motivated Classroom podcast on patreon.com
17 June 2026, 6:33 am - 30 minutes 12 seconds136 ¦ Teach the Teacher: Motivation, input & acquisition in advanced classes
How do we keep advanced language learners motivated and how do we meaningfully use a CI approach at higher levels? In this episode, we explore the expert-reversal effect and what it means for sustaining input, autonomy and progress as students become more experienced language users. I unpack how we can adjust our practice so that input remains compelling, challenging and supportive of continued acquisition even with the most advanced learners. I also present a detailed overview of my "Teach the Teacher Weeks", where my advanced students become the teachers for a few weeks ever year. A reflective and practical episode with ideas you can adapt straight away for your advanced classes.
- Full programme notes are available on www.liamprinter.com/podcast.
Keep in touch and share!
- Follow The Motivated Classroom on Instagram @themotivatedclassroom and Facebook @themotivatedclassroom.
- I'd love to know what you think, please get in touch! Join the conversation with the hashtag #MotivatedClassroom.
- Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Facebook.
Enjoying the free content? Support the podcast here:
👉 www.buymeacoffee.com/liamprinter
👉 www.patreon.com/themotivatedclassroom
Don’t forget to subscribe & share with a fellow languages teacher!
15 June 2026, 6:00 am - 40 minutes 46 seconds135 ¦ Principle 6: Secure attention and run routines
Principle Six of Six for a Motivated Year in the 'Back to School' series:
Principle 6: Secure attention and running routines
The final episode in our six part series of principles for a motivated language classroom. In this last principle we focus on running routines in class and how we secure attention. I take you through my favourite and most used classroom routines, why they work well in my context and how it actually looks in the classroom. A highly practical episode with plenty of ideas to take away, adapt and apply in a context-appropriate way in your own lessons.
I hope you have enjoyed these six episodes and that you will support the podcast, and share widely!
- Full programme notes are available on www.liamprinter.com/podcast.
Keep in touch and share!
- Follow The Motivated Classroom on Instagram @themotivatedclassroom and Facebook @themotivatedclassroom.
- I'd love to know what you think, please get in touch! Join the conversation with the hashtag #MotivatedClassroom.
- Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Facebook.
💫 Enjoying the free content? Support the podcast here:
👉 www.buymeacoffee.com/liamprinter
👉 www.patreon.com/themotivatedclassroom
Don’t forget to subscribe & share with a fellow language teacher!
14 June 2026, 6:32 am - 23 minutes 2 seconds134 ¦ Principle 5: The CI Class Yearbook
Principle Five of Six for a Motivated Year in the 'Back to School' series:
- Principle 5: The CI Class Yearbook
This episode builds on the previous principles about effective pairwork and input in 5-minute blocks by taking it further and each student having a notebook where every student in the class gets a page. Students write matching bullet points in pairs, filling in each person's page gradually throughout the year. Every time we have conversations, discussions and input tasks with PQA it gives us more info to put on their page! A great way to build community, raise feelings of autonomy and competence, and to provide you with a track record of everything you learned about each other all year.
You'll learn about:📄 Building a class yearbook with a personal page for each student
🧩 Add details in matching pairs
🤝 Learn about each other, build real connection
📈 Supports formative assessment
🧠 Boosts autonomy & motivation (hello Köhler + Zeigarnik–Ovsiankina!)
📆 Runs all year longWhether you’re just heading back to school or already half way through the year, this episode is another step towards a motivated language classroom! 💪🎓
Don't miss the last of the six principles which are on the way next Friday
6. Running effective routines🔔
Tune in every Friday right here or wherever you get your podcasts from:
- Full programme notes are available on www.liamprinter.com/podcast.
Keep in touch and share widely!
- Follow The Motivated Classroom on Instagram @themotivatedclassroom and Facebook @themotivatedclassroom.
- I'd love to know what you think, please get in touch! Join the conversation with the hashtag #MotivatedClassroom.
- Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Facebook.
💫 Enjoying the free content? Support the podcast here:
👉 www.buymeacoffee.com/liamprinter
👉 www.patreon.com/themotivatedclassroom
📲 Don’t forget to subscribe & share with a fellow language teacher!
13 June 2026, 6:00 am - More Episodes? Get the App