Rebecca Mitchell, National Linguistics Day and Other Radical Ideas

This week, Will sits down with Dr. Rebecca Mitchell — Cambridge lecturer, sociolinguist, and founder of National Linguistics Day — for a conversation that ranges from Saussure to slang, AI to accent bias, and endangered languages to elderly karaoke. (Yes, really.)

We explore how linguistics can transform classrooms, challenge stereotypes, and make education genuinely inclusive. Rebecca shares how a late-night idea became a grassroots movement, why she’s on a mission to get heritage languages into schools, and how you can get involved — without needing a PhD or a government grant.

Topics include:

• Why linguistics matters (and why it’s still overlooked)

• How AI is changing how we think

• Accent bias, language policy, and decolonising the curriculum

• Simple ways to celebrate National Linguistics Day in your school

🔗 Resources and contact info: linguisticshq.co.uk
🌐 More from us: languagelabpodcast.co.uk

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