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Dr Gianfranco Conti biography
Founder, owner and CEO of the leading language learning website The Language Gym, Dr Gianfranco Conti is an applied linguistics MA and PhD graduate who has taught Modern Languages for nearly 30 years at primary, secondary and university levels.
Dr Conti has researched the impact of metacognitive strategies training and error correction on L2 essay writing under the supervision of Oxford University Professor Ernesto Macaro, both during his PhD and a large-scale project in English comprehensive schools documented in Professor Macaro's 2001 book. In his current role as Visiting Fellow at the University of Reading, he has lexicogrammar acquisition, listening instruction, metacognition, error correction and learner autonomy as his main research interests.
In his previous roles of head of languages at various schools in England and abroad, Dr Conti developed and implemented his instructional approach (Extensive Processing Instruction E.P.I). He is currently a renowned and popular conference speaker and CPD provider who is very active in the UK, South-East Asia, Middle East and Australia.
Dr Conti's mission make current Cognitive Science and Applied Linguistics research available to the busy classroom practitioner and to translate it in implementable and impactful instructional strategies which make languages accessible for all.
Dr Gianfranco Conti
Extensive Processing instruction (E.P.I.) approach
Dr Conti is well-known internationally for his teaching resources that have won him the TES Best contributor award and have been downloaded over
Gianfranco is also a prolific book writer. In the last five years he has co-authored with Steve Smith the best-selling handbooks for MFL professionals, ‘The Language Teacher Toolkit’, ‘Breaking the sound barrier: teaching learners how to listen’ and 'Memory: what every language teacher should know. His most popular book, "Breaking the sound barrier", lays out the principles of the EPI approach.
He has also published the best-selling 'Sentence Builders' series of workbooks aimed at classroom and independent learning for beginner to intermediate learners of Spanish, French, German and Italian, based on 'EPI', co-authored with his former colleague Dylan Viñales, which has been currently adapted to Irish, Welsh, Dutch and other languages. He is also currently working on a series of revision books aimed at GCSE Modern Language learners, two of which have already been published, whilst German and Italian are still in the works.
Finally, he runs an influential blog on MFL pedagogy, The Language Gym (gianfrancoconti.com), which has won him several international awards.
Teachers as Co-Learners program endorsement
The TCL program embeds the E.P.I. approach in its curriculum design, in alignment with the Victorian Curriculum, and is endorsed by Dr Gianfranco Conti.
Endorsement of the TCL ‘Exploring Storytelling’ literacy program from MACS literacy team
We recognise the TCL literacy based ‘Exploring Storytelling’ program as a best-practice model for extending students’ language repertoires (English and TCL language) while simultaneously strengthening their pivotal literacy skills in all languages. It is an evidence-based, knowledge-rich, and highly engaging suite of resources that we are proud to endorse for implementation in our MACS schools.
Strategic alignment and vision
The MACS Literacy team formally endorses the TCL literacy based ‘Exploring Storytelling’ program as a flagship example of inter-departmental collaboration that directly supports the MACS Strategy and the MACS 2030 vision for educational excellence.
This project represents a sophisticated synthesis of pedagogical frameworks. It uniquely stands at the intersection of our core instructional pillars, blending the MACS Vision for Instruction with the Vision for Reading and Vision for Writing Instruction. By centering language learning within high-quality narrative texts, ranging from digital picture books for Years 3-4 to digital comics for Years 5-6, the program ensures that literacy skills are not taught in isolation but are deeply embedded in meaningful, communicative contexts across the curriculum.
The power of ‘Exploring Storytelling’
The ‘Exploring Storytelling’ units provide a unique standpoint in language education by ensuring plurilingual literacy teaching and learning through:
• 95% comprehensible input: students build immediate confidence and reading fluency.
• Integrated skills: narrative dialogue and interactions with comics allow for seamless transitions from reading to spontaneous production.
• Explicit instructional design: The units are built around the gradual release of responsibility model, and signalled through clearly defined I do, We do, You do stages in the lessons, as well as regular Check for Understanding (CfU).
MACS Literacy Team
Leesa Duncan, Manager, Literacy
Natalie Dib and Rita Krnac, Learning Partners, Literacy
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