Inspired by Steve Smith, I have asked ChatGPT to write a summary of the blogposts that I have published this year, in my voice. Here is what it came up with. It hasn't mentioned all this year's posts, but more of a "greatest hits" I suppose.
Looking back on a year of Changing Phase (2025)
As the year draws to a close, I’ve been reflecting on everything I’ve shared here on Changing Phase — and, more importantly, how those posts have helped me make sense of my own practice. This space has once again become somewhere to think out loud, to make sense of curriculum developments, technology, and the everyday joys and puzzles of language teaching.
One thread running through the year has been a focus on oracy, sound and pronunciation. In April I shared some reflections and resources in my post Reading aloud in Spanish: more dabbles with AI, exploring how deliberate reading aloud practice, supported by QR-linked audio, can help learners with pronunciation and fluency, and how AI tools can support (but not replace!) teacher thinking around text creation and sound modelling.
In May, a lovely classroom curiosity led to Lengua de Signos Española (LSE), a post born from a Year 6 pupil’s question. I shared some resources, videos and ideas for bringing Spanish Sign Language into the primary classroom as a multisensory way of reinforcing vocabulary and gesture, celebrating varied ways of communicating.
As the year progressed, my reflections turned more squarely towards curriculum and progression. In Reflecting on the DfE Writing Framework I examined how writing - often squeezed out in language lessons - can be a powerful thinking tool, supporting memory, noticing and deeper cognitive engagement in primary languages.
In November, two posts distilled much of the wider policy conversation into classroom terms. The Curriculum and Assessment Review: reflections from a primary languages practitioner offered a close look at what the Curriculum and Assessment Review might mean for primary languages, and what the idea of a defined minimum core content could look like in practice. Just a few days later, Minimum core content for Key Stage 2 Languages built on that by teasing out the elements I think are most essential: phonics, vocabulary, grammar, intercultural understanding and more.
Not all of 2025 was heavy curriculum thinking. In late November I shared a seasonal reflection alongside some creative classroom resources in Advent colouring books, a gentle way to bring language, culture and mindfulness into the festive weeks.
A few things that stand out looking back
Classroom reality first. Every post, whether it’s about sign language or writing frameworks, has been rooted in what actually happens with learners — what they notice, what they enjoy, and what helps them make sense of language.
Connecting literacies. I keep coming back to how speaking, listening, reading and writing interrelate in powerful ways, and how thinking about one enriches the others.
Curiosity as a driver. Whether it’s a pupil’s question about sign language or a policy change that sparks deeper reflection, curiosity continues to be at the heart of what makes language learning meaningful.
Thank you for reading and for thinking alongside me this year. I’m looking forward to building on these ideas in 2026 — continuing to explore multisensory practice, curriculum clarity and joyful engagement in primary languages.
