Liam Printer - Teacher and Educational Consultant - Dr. Liam Printer - 'The Motivated Classroom' Educational Consultant, Author, Researcher

The present

My name is Dr. Liam Printer and I host The Motivated Classroom podcast. I am a passionate language teacher, lecturer, educational consultant, workshop leader, coach and author with over 12 years teaching experience. I speak English, Gaelic Irish, French, Spanish, Portuguese and German. I currently work as an International Baccalaureate (IB) Spanish teacher and 'Leader of Pedagogical Innovation and Approaches to Learning' at The International School of Lausanne in Switzerland. I am also an experienced and fully qualified French and English as an additional language teacher. I lecture on the Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) delivered at The Ecolint Institute of Education in Geneva in conjunction with The University of Durham.

I completed my Doctorate in Education (Ed.D) through the University of Bath with my doctoral research focusing on the motivational impact of teaching languages through storytelling for both teachers and students, specifically relating to the Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS) approach. Click here to read more about my research and publications or go to my ResearchGate profile.

I deliver consultancy and training to schools, organisations and individuals across a wide range of areas in education including motivation, active learning strategies, comprehensible input approaches to language teaching and many others. Click here for full details.

The journey

I graduated with a first class honours degree in International Business and Languages from Dublin City University in 2007 after winning the first place prize in my graduating class. I was then awarded a scholarship for postgraduate studies in education and languages in the University of Limerick where I graduated top of my class of over 140 students with a first class honours Postgraduate Diploma in Education and Languages. As part of my initial teacher training qualification I was awarded an A1 (the highest possible grade) for teaching. In 2014, I was nominated for Teacher of the Year at Leysin American School in Switzerland.

In the past 12 years I have designed, developed and delivered language courses in France, Ireland, Spain, New Zealand, Switzerland and Canada. In 2009 I set up The Learning Curve Institute with my business partner and was both Managing Director and Head of Languages at the Institute from 2009 until 2013.

I have been invited as the 'Keynote Speaker' at:

The Dynamic Learning Conference, Ermelo, The Netherlands; 2022.
The Goethe-Institut 'German Teacher's Day', London, UK; 2021.
The Association of Spanish Teachers of Ireland national conference, Dublin, Ireland; 2019.

I have also been invited as a speaker and trainer to deliver presentations and lead sessions at the following conferences:

The Dynamic Learning Conference, Ermelo, The Netherlands.
TPRS Europe conference, Agen, France.
Linguascope online language webinars, Online.
ECIS Multilingual Learning in International Education, London, The UK.
The Alliance for International Education conference, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Edufest international festival of education, Le Rosey, Switzerland.
FEILTE Irish Teaching Council Conference, Dublin, Ireland.

Some of the schools I have worked with:

Syndey District Public Schools, Australia.
Copenhagen International School, Denmark.
The International School of Brussels, Belgium.
The Lapeenranta municipality language teachers, Finland.
The International School of Geneva, Switzerland.
American International School of Guangzhou, China.
The International School of Luxembourg, Luxembourg
The International School of Lausanne, Switzerland
Leysin American School, Leysin, Switzerland.

To read more about my background please visit my LinkedIn Profile here.

ECIS Conference 2019, London

With the ATS Ireland Committee 2019, Dublin

The other

I am also a fully certified Snowsports Instructor with the highest level international qualifications (ISIA, NZSIA Level 3). I have taught snowsports through French, Spanish and English as an instructor in Switzerland, Canada and New Zealand. In 2010 I also became the Irish National Snowboard Champion after winning 2 gold medals at the Irish National Ski and Snowboard Championships in the French Alps.

Additionally, I am a passionate basketball coach and have been the coach of the Girls Varsity Basketball team in The International School of Lausanne since 2015 when we started a brand new Girls Team. Read more about my basketball coaching experience here.

Click here for an article by Basketball Ireland in June 2018 about the amazing story behind this team and the incredible successes we have had in its first 3 years.

Snowboarding 2010

2017 Swiss Group of International Schools, 'A' Category Champions