Joe Dale returns for his third appearance on the podcast to share the latest developments in artificial intelligence and large language models (LLMs) for world language education. Joe and Grant reflect on what’s changed in the past year and explore exciting tools making waves in classrooms—from image generation to podcast creation, speaking practice, and student autonomy. Joe also discusses ethical concerns, student engagement, and how teachers can empower learners to use AI responsibly and effectively.

Whether you're new to AI or already experimenting with LLMs, this episode is packed with practical ideas, tool recommendations, and forward-thinking strategies to bring into your own teaching.

Topics covered:

• The evolution of LLMs over the last 12–16 months
• ChatGPT 4o's image generation with correct text
• Creating native-like audio dialogues with AI
• Using AI for lesson planning, feedback, and content creation
• Teaching students how to study independently using AI
• Responsible use and legal considerations (GDPR, FERPA, COPPA)
• Ethical concerns around AI and copyright
• Predictions for the future of AI in education

Connect with Joe here:

Email: joedale@talk21.com

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/languageteachingwithai

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@joedale

Twitter X: https://x.com/joedale

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joedale100

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/joedale.bsky.social

Click HERE for a list of all the amazing tools we discuss in this episode!

Episode Summary:
In this episode of the World Languages Collaborative Podcast, we dive into Calendar Talk—a powerful daily activity that fosters authentic communication and comprehensible input in the language classroom. Host Grant Gearhart has been experimenting with Calendar Talk in elementary Spanish classes at Georgia Southern University, but wanted to gain deeper insight from an expert in the field.

Enter Claudia Elliott—a multiple award-winning educator, podcaster, and the mind behind Growing With Proficiency and the host of Growing With Proficiency: The Podcast. Claudia has built a thriving online academy dedicated to helping language teachers develop students’ proficiency through comprehension, communication, and connections. Whether you’re new to Calendar Talk or a seasoned pro, this conversation will provide valuable insights, strategies, and inspiration for your own teaching practice.

Tune in as we discuss:
✅ What Calendar Talk is and why it works
✅ How to implement it effectively in different classroom settings
✅ Claudia’s approach to fostering student engagement and proficiency
✅ Practical tips for making the most of Calendar Talk

Join us for this engaging conversation and start transforming your language classes today!

🎧 Listen now and subscribe for more language teaching insights.

Ever wonder if that amazing speaker you saw present at that conference ever had a bad day? Or faced the same types of challenges that you face each day in the classroom? Or what if all those great ideas you've been collecting conflict with your colleagues' ideas about language teaching?

In this episode, the one and only Joshua Cabral and I discuss how teachers can manage their expectations when deploying Comprehensible Input-driven classes. Specifically, we talk about how to walk the tightrope of being kind to yourself and working with what you have in front of you vs. blindly sticking to "what the research says." Also, we talk about how to interact with colleagues who may be what Joshua terms "legacy teachers" following a "legacy model" of teaching; that is, what we all did until we began to change our pedagogy, and what future teachers will refer to us as once the next big thing in language teaching unfolds.

Joshua is a blogger, a podcaster, an educational consultant, and an advocate for access to education and information both here in the United States and abroad. His podcast, the World Language Classroom, releases episodes each Monday, and it is totally worth clicking that "subscribe" button.

You can connect with Joshua via his social media links:

Podcast

Instagram (@wlclassroom)
Twitter/X (@wlclassroom)

Facebook (/wlclassroom)

Blog (wlclassroom.com)