A 2.5-hour webinar with Dr Gianfranco Conti

Moving towards EPI across a department involves much more than introducing a new set of classroom activities. It requires decisions about what to change, when to change it, how much consistency to expect and, above all, how to bring colleagues with you without creating an unsustainable workload.

This webinar takes a strategic, 360-degree look at some of the key issues involved in implementing EPI at departmental level.

We will explore how to set the stall for change, establishing a clear rationale and a manageable set of priorities rather than attempting to transform everything at once. We will consider how implementation might be phased, which elements of EPI are worth prioritising initially and where departments may need flexibility according to their own context.

Particular attention will be given to the human side of implementation: how to work with colleagues who may be sceptical, reluctant or simply overwhelmed by yet another initiative; how to build shared practice without imposing unnecessary uniformity; and how departmental CPD and collaborative planning can support gradual change.

A second major focus will be workload. Moving towards EPI should not require teachers to spend hundreds of hours creating new resources from scratch. We will therefore consider practical ways of managing the transition, including how existing materials can be retained or adapted and how the Language Gym books and associated resources can be used to reduce the planning and resource-creation burden.

Finally, participants will be invited to consider what a realistic implementation journey might look like in their own setting: what needs to happen first, what can wait, and how EPI can gradually become part of normal departmental practice rather than another initiative which starts enthusiastically and disappears a year later.

The aim is not to provide a one-size-fits-all blueprint. Rather, it is to give curriculum and subject leaders a clearer strategic framework for making informed decisions about EPI implementation — at a pace their teachers, curriculum and workload can sustain.

Presenter Profile

Founder, owner and CEO of the leading language learning website The Language Gym, Gianfranco Conti is an applied linguistics MA and PhD graduate with many years of classroom experience. He has taught Modern Languages for nearly 30 years both at primary, secondary and university levels.

He has researched the impact of metacognitive strategies training and error correction on L2 essay writing under the supervision of Oxford University Professor Ernesto Macaro both during his PhD and a large-scale project in English comprehensive schools documented in Professor Macaro's 2001 book. In his current role as Visiting Fellow at the University of Reading, he has lexicogrammar acquisition, listening instruction, metacognition, error correction and learner autonomy as his main research interests.

Formerly head of languages at various schools in England and abroad where he has developed and implemented his instructional approach (Extensive Processing Instruction), he is currently a renowned and highly sought-after conference speaker and CPD provider very active in the UK, South-East Asia, Middle East and Australia. He delivers keynotes in major international events all year around, conducts more than a hundred workshops for language teachers a year and visits many schools in the same period of time either to provide professional development or to help them improve their curriculum design and delivery.

His mission is to make current Cognitive Science and Applied Linguistics research available to the busy classroom practitioner and to translate it in implementable and impactful instructional strategies which make languages accessible for all.

He is well-known internationally for his teaching resources that have won him the TES Best contributor award and have been downloaded over 4,500,000 times by over 100,000 teachers around the world.

He runs a very influential blog on MFL pedagogy, The Language Gym (gianfrancoconti.com), which has won him several international awards. The professional development group he founded on Facebook, Global Innovative Language Teachers (aka GILT) is one of the largest and fastest-growing communities of its genre.

Gianfranco is also a prolific book writer. In the last five years he has co-authored with Steve Smith the best-selling handbooks for MFL professionals, The Language Teacher Toolkit, Breaking the sound barrier: teaching learners how to listen and 'Memory: what every language teacher should know. His most popular book, "Breaking the sound barrier", lays out the principles of the language teaching method he has created, E.P.I. (aka: Extensive Processing Instruction), a usage-based approach which has been adopted by thousands of language educators worldwide.

He has also published the best-selling Sentence builders series of workbooks aimed at classroom and independent learning for beginner to intermediate learners of Spanish, French, German and Italian, based on 'EPI', written with his former colleague Dylan Viñales, which is being currently adapted to Irish, Welsh, Dutch and other languages. He is also currently working on a series of revision books aimed at GCSE Modern Language learners, two of which have already been published, whilst German and Italian are still in the works.

His Twitter handle is @gianfrancocont9

Feedback from teachers on Gianfranco's courses

I've just come away from the best languages training I've ever had - @gianfrancocont9 's EPI is revolutionising languages! Teachers (and content creators) need to take note - this will change the way you teach languages! Cannot wait for session 2!
- Joseph Barnes-Moran, Parkfield Primary School
Thank you @gianfrancocont9 for a wonderful training on becoming an EPI teacher. It brought back memories from grad school about Peinemenn and Processability Theory. The EPI approach just makes so much sense. I can't wait until next week!!
- Mike Alexander, Stewart's Melville College
I've been to some of @gianfrancocont9 's courses before and loved them, but there is always more to learn!
- Daniel Bain, Gainesville High School
Absolute master class of a session from @gianfrancocont9 on becoming an EPI teacher. Diolch o galon! Lots to think about and consider with meaningful and research informed ideas and approaches to address effective language learning.
- Barri Mock, Risca Community Comprehensive School
What a fantastic session on EPI with @gianfrancocont9 . So much to think about! Looking forward to the next one. Muchísimas gracias.
- Anna Hegarty, Lawn Manor Academy

Cost: £95 per delegate

Booking Form

You can see further information on our privacy statement here.