Learning Off the Syllabus

About Learning Off the Syllabus

Learning off the Syllabus is a podcast that steps into the real stories that shape language teaching and learning. Hosted and created by Toronto-based language educator and curriculum designer, Farnaz Karimian, each episode dives into conversations with teachers, students, leaders and thinkers to explore what teaching and learning actually feel like in an ever-evolving landscape. If you’ve ever felt the gap between policy and practice, care and control, or ideals and reality, you’re in the right place! Let's go off the syllabus, where the real learning unfolds!

Publisher

Farnaz Karimian

Category

education

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

1 Jan 2026

Latest episode

17 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

20 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   17 Sept 2026

   S2. E8 - Dr. Antonella Valeo: It's Got Heart! Mentorship in TESOL

   In this segment of Teacher Real Talk, Farnaz and Dr. Antonella Valeo (https://www.linkedin.com/in/farnaz-karimian-/#) discuss the importance of mentorship in TESOL, and why mentoring doesn’t have to be about being the absolute “perfect” teacher or having all the right answers. They reflect on why mentorship doesn’t have to be a one-way relationship, and how newer teachers can have just as much to contribute as experienced ones. They also talk about what it means to step into a real classroom and how there can be just as much learning in the conversations that happen after a lesson as in the lesson itself. At the heart of it all is a simple idea: that teaching adult learners is messy yet meaningful and that it's the warm sense of community that continues to draw so many people to TESOL. Dr. Antonella Valeo is an Associate Professor at York University (https://www.linkedin.com/in/farnaz-karimian-/#) where she teaches graduate courses in applied linguistics, TESOL, and ESL to undergraduate students. Her research explores language teaching and learning with a focus on classroom-based interaction, corrective feedback, and teacher education and development. Her research interests and scholarship build on many years of experience as a language teacher, teacher educator and supervisor in a range of classrooms in Canada and internationally. Antonella's ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Antonella-Valeo ⁠learningoffthesyllabus.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (www.learningoffthesyllabus.com) Instagram: @learningoffthesyllabus Email: ⁠learningoffthesyllabus@gmail.com⁠ Theme music: Periscope by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Artist: http://audionautix.com/

2. 

   3 Sept 2026

   S2. E7 - HaEun Kim: Academic English in Displacement

   In this segment of Teacher Real Talk, HaEun Kim (https://www.linkedin.com/in/khaeun/) (PhD candidate in Applied Linguistics) and Farnaz have an enriching conversation on the complex relationship between language education and displacement. They reflect on HaEun's work with refugee educators in Kenya and what relationship-based educational programming can teach us about shifting students’ approaches to learning and knowledge. Also, as people who have been teaching EAP for years, they get into the paradox of English in higher education: a language that can open doors but also reproduce histories of injustice. They unpack what it might mean to practice a more critical approach to EAP, one that recognizes these challenges while respecting students’ own language goals and linguistic resources. Finally, they talk about who gets to produce knowledge about displacement and why refugee voices and leadership remain underrepresented in research. HaEun Kim originally set out to become a high school English teacher in Toronto, but life took her unexpectedly into education and international development, specifically refugee education. She is currently researching the significance of English-language higher education in the lives of refugees across Kenya, Somalia, and Canada, and she's especially interested in how language proficiency enables or limits access to resources, networks, and opportunities such as education. Before her PhD, HaEun worked as a program administrator for Borderless Higher Education for Refugees (BHER), supporting a transnational university partnership that delivered blended certificate, diploma, and degree programs to untrained refugee teachers in Kenya. She continues to work alongside BHER alumni on research, co-presenting and co-authoring articles. She still loves teaching, but has developed a deep appreciation for research, thinking, and tackling problems alongside others. Outside of work, she enjoys cooking while catching up on NBA podcasts. Resources mentioned in the episode: Radio Dadaab | EJF Documentary: https://lnkd.in/gMPcHjxw The BHER Project: www.bher.org Research and publications by BHER alumni: https://lnkd.in/gijnvDFV Kim, H., Dlamini, N., Ibrahim, D., Kimonyo, S., & Reynolds, J. (2021). Refugee Students’ Experience of Accessing English Language Learning in Dadaab, Kenya. https://lnkd.in/gn-8Qiwm Giles, W., & Dippo, D. (2019). Transitions from Knowledge Networked to Knowledge Engaged: Ethical Tensions and Dilemmas from the Global to the Local. https://lnkd.in/gj4javDZ Kim, H. (2023). “Equitable multilingualism” for equitable access to learning: Addressing the digital and linguistic divide in connected higher education for refugees. https://lnkd.in/gDhcESjg Silver, R., Kim, H., Mohamed Ismail, S., Bhatla, R., & Okello Oyat, M. (2026). “Free of Mind, Though I Am a Refugee”: Borderless Graduate Education and the Politics of Knowledge Production. https://lnkd.in/gvBz-3rE ⁠learningoffthesyllabus.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (www.learningoffthesyllabus.com) Instagram: @learningoffthesyllabus Email: ⁠learningoffthesyllabus@gmail.com⁠ Theme music: Periscope by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Artist: http://audionautix.com/

3. 

   20 Aug 2026

   S2. Ep. 6: Dr. Maria-Lourdes Lira-Gonzales: The Art of Correction

   In this segment of Teacher Real Talk, Dr. ⁠Maria-Lourdes Lira-Gonzales ⁠ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/farnaz-karimian-/#)and Farnaz have a conversation about how teachers' experiences as language learners can shape the way they teach. Drawing on Maria’s own journey across languages and cultures, they talk about accents, confidence, identity, and the ways other people’s responses can influence how comfortable learners might feel using a language. From there, they turn to corrective feedback and consider how teachers can support learning without turning mistakes into a source of anxiety or self-doubt. They also get into AI, mindfulness, and the role of the teacher in creating classrooms where students feel both challenged and supported. Dr. Maria-Lourdes Lira-Gonzales is a professor and the chair of the TESL program at Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue. She is a member of ⁠Concordia University⁠ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/farnaz-karimian-/#)’s Centre for the Study of Learning and Performance, a collaborator with the McGill Mindfulness Research Lab, and the vice president of the Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics. Her research interests focus on instructed L2 acquisition, with an emphasis on corrective feedback. Her recent work includes a project examining how mindfulness meditation practice mediates language anxiety and behavioral engagement with written corrective feedback among ESL students. She is also investigating the role of ChatGPT in facilitating the provision of written corrective feedback in French as a second and foreign language settings. Maria's Publications: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Maria-Lourdes-Lira-Gonzales (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Maria-Lourdes-Lira-Gonzales ) https://marialiragonzales.wixsite.com/main (https://marialiragonzales.wixsite.com/main) ⁠learningoffthesyllabus.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (www.learningoffthesyllabus.com) Instagram: @learningoffthesyllabus Email: ⁠learningoffthesyllabus@gmail.com⁠ Theme music: Periscope by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Artist: http://audionautix.com/

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Spotify

4.6 / 5

10 ratings

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Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.