Episode Summary

In this short, introductory episode of the Cultivate podcast, I (Michelle) share my initial plans for the podcast and explains why I decided to change direction. Originally, I had a different lineup of episodes planned, recorded, and even edited! But after engaging with my growing audience online, I recognized the need for a different approach.

The CULTIVATE Podcast aims to create a space for deeper discussions about language use and teaching, rather than just providing instructional content; the importance of honest and open dialogue in the field of language learning and teaching. Future episodes will include recorded conversations with others in the field, aiming to provide inspiration, expertise, and new perspectives.​

Related Links

• The CULTIVATE Podcast: Direct link on Spotify
• The CULTIVATE Instagram account
• The CULTIVATE Threads account

Full Transcript

(00:01): Hello and welcome to the Cultivate podcast. My name is Michelle, and I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for clicking into this page and for just joining me on this journey. I have to start with a bit of honesty. I had actually planned out a completely different lineup for the first few episodes. They're already recorded and edited and everything, but over the course of the last few weeks, I've kind of shifted directions. And what I'm going to do instead is first post some of the content I've been posting on Instagram. Simply because once I got on Instagram, I started having some conversations with different people, connecting with others in the field. And I really realized that I want to use this podcast, number one, to talk about language, but really not teach it. I think that there are so many wonderful resources out there already to discuss what it is to teach languages and what people might need.

(01:09): We know that there are so many, for instance, English Learning Language Learning podcasts, and I realized that I want to create a space where we can kind of get deeper, we can look into how we're actually using languages and or how we're actually teaching it, not just trying to come at you, the listener, who is probably a language learner or instructor with a lot of information and say, you should do this and you must do that. And I just realized I wanted to create this space where dialogue can happen. So I've switched up this format entirely. I am not here, I suppose, to promote myself or to paint myself as the world's ultimate expert. And for that, I think I'm really here to be a source of resources, but also a source of perhaps inspiration, perhaps expertise, perhaps knowledge, but at the same time also bring in something else that is new for the field.

(02:14): Something that we don't have enough of, which is true, honest, open dialogue. Okay, so thank you so much for starting and for clicking into this episode, but I'm just going to do some uploading of different videos and such that I've posted. This will probably continue to happen as I continue to post on Instagram, but just know, coming up there will be more recorded conversations with others who are also working and or living inside of the field, and hopefully that shifts us into a sort of clearer direction for what we are all about. Okay. So without further ado, enjoy the kind of, it's going to be a little random, probably of the lineup of videos that come up, and I will talk to you in the next episode. That's recorded. Bye!

Next Steps

• Stay tuned for more recorded conversations with others in the field.

• Follow Michelle on Instagram for more content and updates.

• Send me your questions, topic requests, and more!