New Webinar Series! From Interactive Images to AI Conversations: Enhancing Language Learning with ThingLink
A free three-part webinar series with Joe Dale and Louise Jones
Language learning is entering an exciting new chapter.
As educators explore how AI can support teaching and learning, the greatest opportunities emerge when new technology is combined with strong pedagogy, authentic contexts and meaningful real-world experiences. Language learning is the perfect place to explore this intersection.
That is why we are thrilled to be teaming up with internationally recognised language-learning and EdTech expert Joe Dale for a special series of three free webinars.
Joe Dale and Louise have both been deeply invested in educational technology throughout their careers. They were part of the original line-up of the weekly EdTech Roundup podcasts, which launched around 20 years ago, bringing educators together to explore emerging technologies, practical classroom ideas and the future of learning.
Two decades later, Joe and Louise still share the same passion: helping educators create the most engaging, inclusive and impactful learning experiences possible.
Across this three-part series, they will bring together their expertise in language teaching, immersive learning, educational technology and artificial intelligence. Each webinar will build on the last, beginning with practical ideas teachers can use immediately before progressing towards virtual experiences, branching scenarios and conversational AI.
One registration gives you access to all three webinars.
Where and When!
📅 Dates: Wednesday 9th, 16th and 23rd September
⏰ Time: 12am PDT | 3pm EDT | 8pm BST | 9pm CEST | 10pm EEST
⌚ Duration 60 minutes
📍 Where: YouTube Live and On-Demand Thereafter
Webinar One:
Language Learning Made Interactive: Quick Wins with ThingLink and AI
The first webinar will focus on simple, practical ways to make language-learning resources more active, visual and engaging.
Joe and Louise will explore how teachers can transform existing materials into interactive learning experiences using images, audio, text and guided activities.
You will discover how to:
- Create interactive maps, rooms, schools and travel scenes
- Add native-speaker audio directly to visual resources
- Develop listening, vocabulary and comprehension activities
- Use reusable templates to reduce preparation time
- Turn existing classroom resources into active language challenges
- Use AI prompts to generate images and curriculum-aligned language content
The live demonstration will show how an interactive French town map can help learners practise directions, vocabulary and listening skills while completing a structured language challenge.
The focus will be on achievable ideas that teachers can begin using immediately.
Webinar Two:
Beyond the Classroom: Create Immersive Language and Cultural Experiences
The second webinar will take language learners beyond the classroom through interactive virtual visits and immersive cultural experiences.
Joe and Louise will demonstrate how 360-degree environments can help students explore towns, transport hubs, cafés, hotels, shops, landmarks and other culturally relevant locations.
You will discover how to:
- Create custom virtual trips for language learners
- Build immersive 360-degree environments
- Embed authentic video, audio, images and text
- Combine language development with cultural understanding
- Design guided listening and exploration activities
- Encourage students to create their own virtual journeys
- Use AI-generated visuals to build consistent virtual tours
The session will include a practical virtual travel challenge in which students explore locations, listen to announcements, read authentic information and make decisions as they plan a trip.
This webinar will show how place-based learning can give language a meaningful context and create memorable learning experiences without leaving the classroom.
Webinar Three:
From Practice to Conversation: Build Confidence with Scenarios and AI
The final webinar will explore how branching scenarios and conversational AI can help learners prepare for speaking, role-play and spontaneous communication.
Joe and Louise will demonstrate how realistic situations can give students a safe environment in which to experiment, make decisions, learn from mistakes and build confidence before taking part in live conversations.
You will discover how to:
- Create branching language-learning scenarios
- Design realistic GCSE-style speaking and role-play activities
- Use conversational AI to support purposeful language practice
- Develop prompts for different languages, abilities and contexts
- Provide opportunities for reflection and feedback
- Build learner confidence through repeated practice
- Connect immersive environments with AI-supported conversations
The webinar will feature an interactive hotel scenario in which learners must check in, make a reservation or resolve a problem by communicating with an AI-powered receptionist.
Rather than simply memorising a script, students will need to understand the situation, respond appropriately and adapt as the conversation develops.
Why Attend the Series?
This series is designed to help language teachers explore new technology without becoming overwhelmed.
Each session will offer practical demonstrations, classroom-ready examples and prompts that can be adapted for different languages, age groups and learning objectives.
By attending, you will learn how to:
- Increase learner engagement through interactive and immersive experiences
- Make vocabulary, listening and comprehension activities more visual and memorable
- Bring authentic locations and cultural contexts into the classroom
- Create meaningful opportunities for speaking and role-play
- Use AI to save preparation time while maintaining strong pedagogical purpose
- Build student confidence through guided practice and realistic scenarios
- Bring together AI tools and real-world learning in a thoughtful and purposeful way
Whether you are completely new to ThingLink or already creating interactive content, the series will take you from accessible first steps to more advanced immersive and AI-supported experiences.
Meet Your Hosts
Joe Dale will bring the language-teaching and curriculum perspective, sharing practical classroom ideas, GCSE applications, AI prompts and strategies for effective language learning.
Louise Jones will lead the live ThingLink demonstrations, showing how each experience can be created and delivered smoothly.
Together, Joe and Louise will combine their long-standing EdTech experience with a shared commitment to creating learning experiences that are relevant, engaging and genuinely impactful.
Their relaxed, conversational approach will make each session feel like a practical EdTech podcast brought to life, with demonstrations, discussion, ideas and inspiration that you can take directly back to your classroom.
Register for the Complete Series
Register once to access all three free webinars:
- Weds 9th September Quick Wins for Interactive Language Learning
- Weds 16th September Virtual Trips and Cultural Immersion
- Weds 23rd September Branching Scenarios and Conversational AI
Unable to attend every session live? Register anyway and you will receive access to the webinar recordings, allowing you to watch each session at a time that suits you.
Join Joe and Louise to explore how interactive media, immersive experiences and AI-powered conversations can enhance language learning.
Sign up today and join us for the complete three-part series.
About Joe Dale
Joe Dale is an independent languages consultant from the UK and a globally recognised expert on technology and language learning. Recently described in a Guardian article as an ‘MFL guru’ and ‘the man behind the #mfltwitterati’, Joe has worked with a range of prominent organisations including the British Council, the BBC, Skype, Microsoft, and The Guardian. He is currently the AI Project Lead for the National Consortium for Languages Education (NCLE) and runs the thriving ‘Language Teaching with AI’ Facebook group, which already boasts over 6,500 members.
With a deep history in the EdTech space, Joe’s experience spans from hosting the TES MFL forum for six years and serving as a former SSAT Languages Lead Practitioner, to acting as a member of the Ministerial Steering Group on languages for the UK coalition government. He has designed ICT activities for the Institut Français and supported multiple international Erasmus Plus and British Council projects in countries such as Indonesia and Algeria.
A regular and highly sought-after conference speaker, Joe delivers training worldwide across Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, and Australasia. In early 2026, he delivered specialised workshops on integrating AI into language classrooms for the British Council in Egypt and the 21st Century Learning Conference in Hong Kong. He is currently planning an extensive three-week educational tour of Southeast Asia for next year, covering international schools in seven locations including Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, and Jakarta.
Joe is thrilled to be partnering with ThingLink,reconnecting with his long-time EdTech Roundup colleague Louise Jones to deliver an exciting new webinar series showing language teachers how to enhance their classrooms with interactive and immersive AI experiences.
