Darren Lester
@mrdlester.bsky.social
Head of Classics and teacher of MFL. Doctoral candidate. Writer of textbooks, resources and academic articles. TTR host and MFL Journal Club organiser.
Pinned
Reposted by Darren Lester
One hour to go to get ready :) Read the blogpost lthechat.com/2026/01/26/l... and follow the hashtag #LTHEchat - it's that easy.
LTHEchat 351: Leadership and Academic Flourishing
Join us on Bluesky for #LTHEchat on Wednesday 28th January at 8pm GMT with guest Prof Damien Page to discuss Leadership and Academic Flourishing. University leaders juggle a lot. Financial sustaina…
lthechat.com
January 28, 2026 at 7:01 PM
One hour to go to get ready :) Read the blogpost lthechat.com/2026/01/26/l... and follow the hashtag #LTHEchat - it's that easy.
Reposted by Darren Lester
Join us tonight at 8 pm BST where we'll be exploring Teaching, Learning, Assessment and GenAI:Moving from Reaction to Intentional Practice with @hazelfarrell.bsky.social and @kenmccarthy.ie
Read the blog for more: lthechat.com/2026/01/16/l...
Read the blog for more: lthechat.com/2026/01/16/l...
LTHEchat 350: Teaching, Learning, Assessment and GenAI: Moving from Reaction to Intentional Practice
Generative AI has become part of higher education with remarkable speed. In a short period of time, it has entered classrooms, assessment design, academic writing, feedback processes, and professio…
lthechat.com
January 21, 2026 at 2:26 PM
Join us tonight at 8 pm BST where we'll be exploring Teaching, Learning, Assessment and GenAI:Moving from Reaction to Intentional Practice with @hazelfarrell.bsky.social and @kenmccarthy.ie
Read the blog for more: lthechat.com/2026/01/16/l...
Read the blog for more: lthechat.com/2026/01/16/l...
We've got another acronym on @ttradioofficial.bsky.social this week - PBIS. Positive Behavioural Intervention Strategies. Join me live now to take part in the conversation.
www.podbean.com/lsw/TTradio?...
www.podbean.com/lsw/TTradio?...
The Saturday Breakfast Show with Darren Lester 17-01-2026 | Podbean Livestream
Welcome.
www.podbean.com
January 17, 2026 at 9:13 AM
We've got another acronym on @ttradioofficial.bsky.social this week - PBIS. Positive Behavioural Intervention Strategies. Join me live now to take part in the conversation.
www.podbean.com/lsw/TTradio?...
www.podbean.com/lsw/TTradio?...
I've just finished my last Weihnachtsstollen. I really need to find a good recipe so I can have it all year roun (though I don't think my middle-age spread would appreciate it...)
January 15, 2026 at 7:38 PM
I've just finished my last Weihnachtsstollen. I really need to find a good recipe so I can have it all year roun (though I don't think my middle-age spread would appreciate it...)
I’d never thought about this before, but I’ve definitely had a lot of Wednesday meetings in my time. I suppose it gives time for issues to accumulate in the first half of the week and then time to try to rectify them in the second.
We're halfway through the week - the most popular day for meetings for teachers! 📅
Is this true for your school? Or does another day steal the spotlight? Let us know! 👇
Is this true for your school? Or does another day steal the spotlight? Let us know! 👇
January 14, 2026 at 11:03 AM
I’d never thought about this before, but I’ve definitely had a lot of Wednesday meetings in my time. I suppose it gives time for issues to accumulate in the first half of the week and then time to try to rectify them in the second.
Reposted by Darren Lester
Listen Back! Self Directed Learning and the Implications for CPD: The Saturday Breakfast Show with Darren Lester
teacherstalkradio.podbean.co...
teacherstalkradio.podbean.co...
Self Directed Learning and the Implications for CPD: The Saturday Breakfast Show with Darren Lester | Teachers Talk Radio
Darren explored different models of self-directed learning and considers why we should think about our own self direction as more and more CPD moves online.
teacherstalkradio.podbean.com
January 13, 2026 at 4:24 PM
Listen Back! Self Directed Learning and the Implications for CPD: The Saturday Breakfast Show with Darren Lester
teacherstalkradio.podbean.co...
teacherstalkradio.podbean.co...
Reposted by Darren Lester
This week we will feature @hopkinsdavid.bsky.social exploring
Redundancy, Resilience, and Finding What’s Next
#LTHEchat
Redundancy, Resilience, and Finding What’s Next
#LTHEchat
LTHEchat 349: Redundancy, Resilience, and Finding What’s Next
There’s no nice way to talk about redundancy. It doesn’t arrive as a single moment, even when there is a single date attached to it. It arrives in phases: uncertainty, waiting, the conversation itself, the aftermath. For some, it’s sudden. For others, it’s drawn out and quietly exhausting. Either way, it has a way of cutting through confidence, identity, and momentum, particularly in a sector many of us entered because we believed in it.
lthechat.com
January 12, 2026 at 1:17 PM
This week we will feature @hopkinsdavid.bsky.social exploring
Redundancy, Resilience, and Finding What’s Next
#LTHEchat
Redundancy, Resilience, and Finding What’s Next
#LTHEchat
Reposted by Darren Lester
Q1. What do you think the new "lowest rating" rule means for how we prioritise our work? #LTHEchat
Reply with A1 #LTHEChat and your response
lthechat.com/2026/01/05/l...
Reply with A1 #LTHEChat and your response
lthechat.com/2026/01/05/l...
January 7, 2026 at 8:01 PM
Q1. What do you think the new "lowest rating" rule means for how we prioritise our work? #LTHEchat
Reply with A1 #LTHEChat and your response
lthechat.com/2026/01/05/l...
Reply with A1 #LTHEChat and your response
lthechat.com/2026/01/05/l...
This Saturday on @ttradioofficial.bsky.social I am looking at self directed CPD models and how we can best profit from them.
January 6, 2026 at 7:52 PM
This Saturday on @ttradioofficial.bsky.social I am looking at self directed CPD models and how we can best profit from them.
I am live talking about psychological capital. Join me now to take part in the conversation.
www.podbean.com/lsw/TTradio?...
www.podbean.com/lsw/TTradio?...
The Saturday Breakfast Show with Darren Lester 29-11-2025 | Podbean Livestream
Welcome.
www.podbean.com
November 29, 2025 at 9:12 AM
I am live talking about psychological capital. Join me now to take part in the conversation.
www.podbean.com/lsw/TTradio?...
www.podbean.com/lsw/TTradio?...
Looking forward to today’s @ttradioofficial.bsky.social MFL Journal Club from 4pm today. Our article this month is all about associative vocabulary techniques.
November 26, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Looking forward to today’s @ttradioofficial.bsky.social MFL Journal Club from 4pm today. Our article this month is all about associative vocabulary techniques.
I am live on @ttradioofficial.bsky.social right now talking about the place of webinars in an increaingly screen-fatigued profession. Join the conversation now.
www.podbean.com/lsw/TTradio?...
www.podbean.com/lsw/TTradio?...
The Saturday Breakfast Show with Darren Lester 22-11-2025 | Podbean Livestream
Welcome.
www.podbean.com
November 22, 2025 at 9:11 AM
I am live on @ttradioofficial.bsky.social right now talking about the place of webinars in an increaingly screen-fatigued profession. Join the conversation now.
www.podbean.com/lsw/TTradio?...
www.podbean.com/lsw/TTradio?...
Listen back to my @ttradioofficial.bsky.social show all about Teach and Thrive Learning Circles here: www.podbean.com/eas/pb-uuqun...
Teach and Thrive Learning Circles: The Saturday Breakfast Show with Darren Lester
Darren talks about TTLCs and how they can be used to embed teacher-centric wellbeing into your CPD provision.
www.podbean.com
November 15, 2025 at 10:41 AM
Listen back to my @ttradioofficial.bsky.social show all about Teach and Thrive Learning Circles here: www.podbean.com/eas/pb-uuqun...
If you're an MFL teacher and you haven't yet watched my show sponsored by @ioe.bsky.social all about the best CPD for language teachers, please do. It's so important for us to make sure we are at the top of our game and this discussion has some great tips!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-Yr...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-Yr...
Exploring the best CPD for Language Teachers
YouTube video by Teachers Talk Radio
www.youtube.com
November 8, 2025 at 7:53 PM
If you're an MFL teacher and you haven't yet watched my show sponsored by @ioe.bsky.social all about the best CPD for language teachers, please do. It's so important for us to make sure we are at the top of our game and this discussion has some great tips!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-Yr...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-Yr...
I am discussing #TeacherQuitTok on @ttradioofficial.bsky.social this morning. Is it a good look for teachers to be taking their issues with the profession to student-foussed social media? Come and join the conversation.
October 25, 2025 at 8:18 AM
I am discussing #TeacherQuitTok on @ttradioofficial.bsky.social this morning. Is it a good look for teachers to be taking their issues with the profession to student-foussed social media? Come and join the conversation.
Lots of things are down right now, but Zoom seems to be okay so @ttradioofficial.bsky.social MFL Journal Club will run as normal. Hope to see as many of you as possible at 19:00.
October 20, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Lots of things are down right now, but Zoom seems to be okay so @ttradioofficial.bsky.social MFL Journal Club will run as normal. Hope to see as many of you as possible at 19:00.
I love Wikipedia, and contrary to many teachers, I encourage it as a jumping off point for research. It can give a useful overview of a topic and (more importantly) it cites its sources. If you don't have access to plentiful journals, you can click through to peer reviewed articles. It's important.
wikipedia's data shows that AI is siphoning traffic away from the site, which is a danger to its sustainability. ironically Wikipedia is more important than ever to users who want reliable information instead of slop, and to AI companies that need it for training data www.404media.co/wikipedia-sa...
Wikipedia Says AI Is Causing a Dangerous Decline in Human Visitors
“With fewer visits to Wikipedia, fewer volunteers may grow and enrich the content, and fewer individual donors may support this work.”
www.404media.co
October 18, 2025 at 7:43 AM
I love Wikipedia, and contrary to many teachers, I encourage it as a jumping off point for research. It can give a useful overview of a topic and (more importantly) it cites its sources. If you don't have access to plentiful journals, you can click through to peer reviewed articles. It's important.
This Saturday morning I'll be talking about #MOOCs. They had an upswing in popularity during covid but the enthusiasm has died down. Are they still worth doing?
October 13, 2025 at 5:05 PM
This Saturday morning I'll be talking about #MOOCs. They had an upswing in popularity during covid but the enthusiasm has died down. Are they still worth doing?
Reposted by Darren Lester
*Teachers Talk Connect is back*
TTR Connect will return to Manchester on Saturday 14th of March 2026!
Are you a teacher/leader who has something to share? Do you teach English, Maths, Science, MFL, RS, Politics or History? Apply to speak now here: www.ttradio.org/connect2026 Tickets out soon!
TTR Connect will return to Manchester on Saturday 14th of March 2026!
Are you a teacher/leader who has something to share? Do you teach English, Maths, Science, MFL, RS, Politics or History? Apply to speak now here: www.ttradio.org/connect2026 Tickets out soon!
October 13, 2025 at 12:00 PM
*Teachers Talk Connect is back*
TTR Connect will return to Manchester on Saturday 14th of March 2026!
Are you a teacher/leader who has something to share? Do you teach English, Maths, Science, MFL, RS, Politics or History? Apply to speak now here: www.ttradio.org/connect2026 Tickets out soon!
TTR Connect will return to Manchester on Saturday 14th of March 2026!
Are you a teacher/leader who has something to share? Do you teach English, Maths, Science, MFL, RS, Politics or History? Apply to speak now here: www.ttradio.org/connect2026 Tickets out soon!
Reposted by Darren Lester
Trainee teacher or ECT?
Join Dame @alisonpeacock.bsky.social, Lisa-Maria Muller, Yamina Bibi, and Sufian Sadiq as they explore joining the teaching profession and thriving in your early career.
Get support from your professional body as you begin this journey.https://chartered.pulse.ly/ix2bcvo1hg
Join Dame @alisonpeacock.bsky.social, Lisa-Maria Muller, Yamina Bibi, and Sufian Sadiq as they explore joining the teaching profession and thriving in your early career.
Get support from your professional body as you begin this journey.https://chartered.pulse.ly/ix2bcvo1hg
October 13, 2025 at 5:59 AM
Trainee teacher or ECT?
Join Dame @alisonpeacock.bsky.social, Lisa-Maria Muller, Yamina Bibi, and Sufian Sadiq as they explore joining the teaching profession and thriving in your early career.
Get support from your professional body as you begin this journey.https://chartered.pulse.ly/ix2bcvo1hg
Join Dame @alisonpeacock.bsky.social, Lisa-Maria Muller, Yamina Bibi, and Sufian Sadiq as they explore joining the teaching profession and thriving in your early career.
Get support from your professional body as you begin this journey.https://chartered.pulse.ly/ix2bcvo1hg
Reposted by Darren Lester
Join Darren Lester live now - "Teacher Prestige, where did it go?" www.podbean.com/lsw/TTradio?...
The Saturday Breakfast Show with Darren Lester 11-10-25 | Podbean Livestream
Welcome.
www.podbean.com
October 11, 2025 at 8:09 AM
Join Darren Lester live now - "Teacher Prestige, where did it go?" www.podbean.com/lsw/TTradio?...
No. We must not consent to our likenesses being used in this way. When did "deep fakes" become a good thing? Are we really so blinded by the AI bubble that we are ignoring all the legal, ethical and safeguarding issues that will accompany this?
NEW: Teachers will use “deepfake” technology to create an AI avatar of themselves to deliver catch-up lessons for pupils who have missed school. Staff at the Great Schools Trust will create the avatars – which look and sound just like them – using an AI video generator. (Schoolsweek)
October 10, 2025 at 9:53 AM
No. We must not consent to our likenesses being used in this way. When did "deep fakes" become a good thing? Are we really so blinded by the AI bubble that we are ignoring all the legal, ethical and safeguarding issues that will accompany this?
Reposted by Darren Lester
"Cultural input is something the students crave, try and weave more cultural aspects into our lessons and more students will sign up for GCSE languages" Maud Waret live now discussing best CPD for languages teachers www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-Yr...
Exploring the best CPD for Language Teachers
In this Teachers Talk Radio special, host Darren Lester is joined by Maud Waret, Silvia Bastow, and Joe Dale to explore the latest ideas in CPD for languages...
www.youtube.com
October 9, 2025 at 6:03 PM
"Cultural input is something the students crave, try and weave more cultural aspects into our lessons and more students will sign up for GCSE languages" Maud Waret live now discussing best CPD for languages teachers www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-Yr...
Reposted by Darren Lester
Listen Back! Self Censorship in Stories: The Saturday Breakfast Show with Darren Lester
teacherstalkradio.podbean.co...
teacherstalkradio.podbean.co...
Self Censorship in Stories: The Saturday Breakfast Show with Darren Lester | Teachers Talk Radio
Through the lens of children's literature, Darren explores the sticky debate of self censorship in teaching.
teacherstalkradio.podbean.com
October 8, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Listen Back! Self Censorship in Stories: The Saturday Breakfast Show with Darren Lester
teacherstalkradio.podbean.co...
teacherstalkradio.podbean.co...
9 hours until our special show focussed on CPD for language teachers, sponsored by the NCLE.
Set yourselves a reminder to tune in live at 6pm UK time: www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-Yr...
@fraubastowmfl.bsky.social
@joedale.bsky.social
@ttradioofficial.bsky.social
Set yourselves a reminder to tune in live at 6pm UK time: www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-Yr...
@fraubastowmfl.bsky.social
@joedale.bsky.social
@ttradioofficial.bsky.social
October 9, 2025 at 8:01 AM
9 hours until our special show focussed on CPD for language teachers, sponsored by the NCLE.
Set yourselves a reminder to tune in live at 6pm UK time: www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-Yr...
@fraubastowmfl.bsky.social
@joedale.bsky.social
@ttradioofficial.bsky.social
Set yourselves a reminder to tune in live at 6pm UK time: www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-Yr...
@fraubastowmfl.bsky.social
@joedale.bsky.social
@ttradioofficial.bsky.social