Episode 5: developing early literacy in very young learners

In this final episode of The Primary Pod podcast, we speak to Allen Davenport, Teacher Development Manager for Cambridge University Press based in South-East Asia. Allen has a passion for all things literacy. We chat about the importance of developing literacy skills at a very young age, discussing the research that shows that early gains in literacy are an indicator of later academic success.

We speak to Rachel Jeffries, Training and Learning Manager at Cambridge University Press’s centre in Iberia. Rachel comes with a huge amount of experience teaching young learners and working with primary teachers. Her recent work with pre-primary practitioners has given her valuable insights into this rewarding yet challenging field!

We speak ELT Teacher Trainer and Professional Learning and Development Manager at Cambridge University Press, Matt Ellman. The focus of our conversation is oracy and why it’s such an important skill in the primary classroom.

We speak to Roxana Herescu, Research Manager in the Language Research Team in Cambridge University Press. Roxana has recently worked on the Cambridge Life Competencies Framework and joins us here to talk about the specific strand: Emotional Development.

To kick off our new podcast series, The Primary Pod, Delia Kidd speaks to Paul Drury about developing the all-important creative thinking skills in young learners. They chat about what the qualities of a creative person are, and how we can nurture creativity in our young learners. 

The Primary Pod is a five-part podcast series for English language teachers, all about language teaching with young learners! Each episode covers a different topic related to young learner education, and we take an in-depth look at how research into child development, psychology and second language acquisition can be used to inform classroom practice. In each episode we'll be chatting to English language teaching experts who'll be sharing their practical tips and techniques. Tune in to hear examples and suggestions for classroom management and activities you can try with your learners