The Motivated Classroom

I’ve always believed in a more natural, student-centered approach to teaching Hawaiian language—one that moves beyond the colonial, grammar-driven frameworks like ‘pepeke,’ which simply translate Western systems into Hawaiian terms. The Motivated Classroom was the first CI/SLA podcast I found, and it immediately radicalized how I think about language teaching. This show confirmed that comprehensible input isn’t just a method—it’s a liberating philosophy. It empowers teachers to prioritize meaningful communication and authentic connections, helping students acquire language naturally and confidently at the same time going beyond language learning and exploring other topics. It’s been transformative for how I teach Hawaiian and has inspired me to challenge outdated approaches in favor of a more freeing, responsive, and human way to teach.

I listen to this podcast on my hour-long commute to work and never get bored. Excellent ideas, informative and entertaining. Thank you, Dr. Printer!

I love this podcast. It was exactly what I needed in order to distill recent language acquisition research and back up the feelings I’ve had about teaching all along. Listening to the episodes is giving me the language to justify my teaching methods to myself and my colleagues and administrators. Thank you!

I love this podcast. I listen to it, it changes my thinking about teaching, gives me great strategies for teaching and I have recommended it to everybody! If you teach a world language, listen now!