The Full English Podcast
Join the Pearson English Team as we invite a host of special guests to join us to discuss the important issues for English teachers in the UK.
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the panel and guests on the show. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Pearson.
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Join the 2024 Lit in Colour Pioneers Programme!
Together with Penguin Books UK and The Runnymede Trust, we want to highlight the importance of a diverse English Literature curriculum.
Latest episodes
Ep 13: Being resilient and having a positive mindset with Ashley Hickson-Lovence
Pam talks with Ashley Hickson-Lovence about his upbringing in Hackney and how he become a football referee and an English teacher. He’s now a published author with a PHD and lectures in creative writing. This episode is inspiring for teachers and their students, as Ashley discusses a positive mindset and how overcoming shyness and being resilient helped him achieve his life goals.
Ep 12: Helping students to connect with Shakespeare
Join Pam as she chats with Ange Gordon who is a Product Developer at Pearson Edexcel and recently worked on our new Accessible Shakespeare texts.
The conversation looks at these new texts and discusses some ideas to support teachers with increasing student engagement during their study of a Shakespearean play.
The accessible texts mentioned in this episode are available here.
Ep 11: Educational Research in the English classroom with Meera Chudasama
In this episode Pam speaks with Meera Chudasama who is an English teacher with a passion for educational research. Find out how learners can become researchers in the English classroom and how this can be used in your own classroom practice.
Ep 10: The impact of diversifying your school's Literature texts with Diane Lee
During this episode Pam talks with Diane who is an English teacher in Suffolk. Diane’s school is part of our Lit in Colour Pioneers programme, and she explains the positive impact that being a Lit in Colour Pioneer has had on the school community. We hear about how they diversified their literature curriculum and how starting a Lit in Colour book club can really open up conversations about different voices and experiences.
Ep 09: Closing the Writing Gap with Alex Quigley
In this episode, Pam is joined by Alex Quigley who talks about his latest book ‘Closing the Writing Gap’. You’ll hear about the science of writing and how to further develop your students’ writing skills. Alex also shares some great ideas to use in the classroom as well as helping you to reflect on your own pedagogy, and how to support and empower your students to create effective writing.
Ep 08: Reading for Pleasure with Emma Braithwaite
Join Pam for episode 8 with guest Emma Braithwaite. Emma is Head of Skills and Engagement at The Reading Agency and leads on a range of programmes including Chatterbooks, Reading Sparks and the annual Summer Reading Challenge. Pam and Emma discuss the ‘Winter Mini Challenge’ and other innovative programmes including ‘Reading Well’ which supports readers to understand and manage their health and wellbeing.
The Reading Agency is a national charity that tackles life's big challenges through the proven power of reading. In 2020-2021, The Reading Agency reached over 1.9 million people across the UK, including more than 800,000 children and over 1 million adults and young people.
Ep 07: GCSE 2.0 and the 'Forgotten Third'
Hear about the launch of Pearson Edexcel’s new English Language GCSE qualification. Pam’s guests are Liz Slade (Senior Qualification Manager at Pearson) and Julie Hughes (English consultant/teacher).
The discussion includes issues relating to the ‘Forgotten Third’, how to support GCSE English students with resitting their GCSE English Language and ideas for supporting your students to approach the writing and reading questions.
Ep 06: Lit in Colour with Penguin and Pearson
In this episode, the discussion focuses on diversity in literature and the exciting new Lit in Colour Pioneers programme. Pam’s three guests: Katy Lewis (Head of English, MFL and Drama at Pearson Edexcel), Zaahida Nabagereka (Lit in Colour Programme Manager, Penguin Random House UK) and Suha Yassin (Diversity and Inclusion lead, Pearson UK) explain the exciting new Lit in Colour Pioneers programme from Pearson and Penguin Random House UK.
Details of how Schools can join this programme can be found on our Lit in Colour webpage or for more details of the full programme head to Penguin's website.
Ep 05: Mindfulness and wellbeing with Ashley Lodge
In this episode Pam is joined by Ashley Lodge to discuss mindfulness and the positive impact it can have on our wellbeing.
During the conversation, Ashley explains the neuroscience behind mindfulness and how to incorporate mindfulness practice into your daily life.
Later on, Ashley talks Pam through a five minute practice – so join in and see how just a few minutes of mindfulness practice can impact on your wellbeing.
Ashley is passionate about mindfulness. He’s the mindfulness Lead at Pearson and has delivered courses to hundreds of people to help them in their personal and professional lives.
Listen to more of the Full English podcast
With episodes covering topics such as diversity in literature, pedagogy, engaging readers and writers, mental health and wellbeing, why not listen to more of the Full English podcast?