CPD for MFL Departments: Reigniting Motivation in Classrooms with Private Joke ®

CPD for MFL Departments: Reigniting Motivation in Classrooms with Private Joke ®

When Students Stop Laughing, They Stop Learning: Why MFL Needs More Play

Every MFL teacher has seen it: the sparkle fades around Year 9. What once was curiosity about another language becomes groans about vocab lists, grammar drills, and needing to get X in an exam. Students retreat into silence. Teachers hunt for ways to keep them motivated, but the pressure of schemes of work leaves little room for creativity.

It was watching the UK's gradual disengagement from foreign languages that pushed me to design Private Joke ®. At its heart, the game asks students to invent words, justify meanings, and explore untranslatable words - all in the target language. The laughter comes quickly, but what stays is something deeper: confidence, fluency, and cultural curiosity. 

It's almost as if each Private Joke ® game has its own distinct personality. 

The Research Behind the Play

While studying for my MPhil in Education at the University of Cambridge, I explored what many of us instinctively know: low-stakes creativity gives students agency. My research (published here) was centered around "Linguistic Identity" and how ESL poetry can facilitate a stronger relationship towards English among international students from China. 

It wasn't until I moved to Paris a few years later that I started to build on the humour side of things. Unfortunately, my French had fallen out of my head. I felt embarrassed and ashamed. I held a 1st Class BA in French and couldn't engage in conversations anymore. For me, my French came back through self-deprecating humour. I invented words I'd forgotten. I drew parallels between British and French history to help develop my "Franglaise" identity, and I just started to have fun with it.

Ultimately, motivation thrives when classrooms lower the affective filter - when students feel safe to take risks, make mistakes, and even be silly.

Private Joke ® builds directly on this principle. Instead of memorising disconnected vocabulary, students use language authentically. They create, challenge, and collaborate. They don’t just learn words - they invent, create, and own them.

From Game to CPD

That’s why I now deliver CPD workshops for MFL departments. These sessions aren’t abstract theory; they’re practical, interactive, and immediately classroom-ready. Teachers experience the game first as players, then as educators - exploring how to adapt it across year groups, from Year 7 beginners to advanced IB / A Level students.

The focus is always on three things:

  • Motivation: getting reluctant learners speaking.

  • Adaptability: activities that fit into five minutes or full projects.

  • Sustainability: resources and strategies that don’t add to teacher workload.

By the end, teachers leave with a fresh toolkit of activities that are genuinely fun, evidence-based, and low-prep. Each CPD session of course includes your very own French Educator Edition of Private Joke ®, which comes packed with 10 different activities.

CPD Formats (Remote Only)

Option 1: 1-hour CPD

Perfect for a fast, high-impact introduction.

  • Live demonstration of the game (teachers play as students).
  • Classroom adaptations for KS3–KS5.
  • Gamification strategies to sustain engagement.
  • Q&A + downloadable resource pack.

Option 2: 2.5-hour CPD

A deep-dive, hands-on workshop.

  • Game principles and full teacher-led gameplay.
  • Year-group specific adaptations (from Y7 to IB).
  • Curriculum mapping & assessment links.
  • Workshop: teachers design their own activities.
  • Differentiation strategies for mixed-ability/multilingual groups.
  • Implementation planning and troubleshooting.

Both formats include a Private Joke ® Educator Edition (Franglais) worth £24.99

Why It Matters

Languages are in crisis in UK schools. Fewer students are choosing French, Spanish, and German for GCSE, let alone beyond GCSE. Yet every teacher knows the joy when a class clicks into curiosity - when students discover that another language is not just grammar, but personality, culture, humour.

That’s what Private Joke ® exists to unlock. And that’s what my CPD sessions aim to deliver: a reminder that languages are alive, funny, and worth pursuing.

What's Next?

If you'd like a CPD workshop for your school, please book an initial discovery call with myself (Olive) here. Dates are flexible, and sessions can be delivered remotely via Zoom. Each session comes with:

  • A CPD slide deck for future reference.
  • Access to the Private Joke® Educator Edition (includes printable worksheets & educator resources).
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