The Power of Emergent Language — with Lewis Jaquest

About this episode

Lewis Jaquest discusses the transformative power of emergent language and learner agency in the language classroom.

Lewis Jaquest joins Laura to explore how emergent language and learner agency can transform the language classroom. In this episode, Lewis shares how he developed the Student Emergent Language Framework (SELF), reflects on his transition to bottom-up teaching, and unpacks what truly makes language learning meaningful. Watch with closed captions . TALKING POINTS What is Emergent Language? How Lewis discovered the power of emergent language through real-world teaching—and how it aligned with Dogme ELT and "Teaching Unplugged". Letting Go of Control: Why embracing messiness and letting go of rigid lesson plans can lead to more meaningful learning. The Student Emergent Language Framework (SELF): How SELF helps learners track, reflect on, and own their learning—plus how it can reverse-engineer an entire syllabus. Reflection as a Teaching Tool: Lewis shares how reflection (for both teachers and students) underpins his framework—and why it’s often overlooked. From Framework to Podcast: How Lewis’s learners used the SELF framework to create their own language podcast, showcasing language they truly needed. ABOUT Lewis Jaquest is a passionate English language and communication trainer…

People in this episode

Host: Laura

Guest: Lewis Jaquest

Topics covered

• emergent language
• learner agency
• language classroom
• Student Emergent Language Framework
• bottom-up teaching
• meaningful learning
• reflection in teaching

Keywords

• emergent language
• learner agency
• SELF framework
• language learning
• reflection
• bottom-up teaching
• Dogme ELT

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Wordsmithery, Dogme ELT, Teaching Unplugged

Places: Swansea, South Wales, Hamburg, Germany, Barcelona

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