How to English TEFL Podcast

Latest Episodes:

What Makes a Good Worksheet for English Lessons? With Q&E English – S04E04 Mar 10, 2023

Show notes

What makes a good worksheet for an English lesson, and why do some classroom materials engage learners while others fall flat?

Gav and Em explore how teachers can choose, adapt and structure worksheets that support learning without allowing a piece of paper—or a PDF—to control the entire lesson. They discuss how a well-designed worksheet can give a lesson focus, provide a clear record of learning and guide students through a logical sequence of activities.

What should a worksheet begin with? How can teachers move from a warmer to language input, listening or reading tasks and freer practice? And when should you change the order, skip an activity or abandon the worksheet altogether?

Drawing on their classroom experience, Gav and Em demonstrate these ideas by turning the episode itself into a worksheet-based listening and speaking lesson. They model gist listening, detailed comprehension, predicting from pictures, checking answers with a partner and building towards collaborative free practice.

Guests Tobin and Kay, the teacher-founders of Quick and Easy English, explain why they began creating practical ESL materials for adults. They discuss searchable resources, levelled activities, teacher feedback and the importance of testing worksheets in real classes. They also share their aim of making lesson planning quicker for teachers while keeping activities engaging for learners.

The episode finishes with Learn-a-Word, where Gav and Em explore “format” as both a noun and a verb.

Find Quick and Easy English:
https://quick-and-easy-english.com/
https://www.instagram.com/quickandeasyenglish/

Download Gav and Em’s worksheet for this episode:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vyfhyjbim8up7ew/Worksheet.pdf?dl=0

If you find the show useful, you can send us a thanks at https://ko-fi.com/howtoenglishpod

Visit https://howtoenglishpod.com for practical teaching ideas and resources ready to use.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to worksheets in English lessons
01:02 Do worksheets help or hinder learning?
03:26 Introducing Quick and Easy English
05:08 Turning the podcast into a worksheet activity
06:42 What is a worksheet?
09:17 What makes a good or bad worksheet?
10:54 How to structure worksheet activities
13:21 Tobin and Kay’s teaching backgrounds
16:06 Using gist and detailed listening tasks
19:10 Preparing students for comprehension questions
21:22 Why Quick and Easy English was created
23:44 Checking answers and supporting learners
27:08 Intercultural communication and course planning
29:41 Testing teaching materials in real classes
32:05 Creating a final collaborative speaking task
33:45 Where to find Quick and Easy English
34:37 Learn-a-Word: format
36:15 End of the episode

Can an Accountability Partner Transform English Learning? – S04E03 Feb 24, 2023

Show notes

Could English teachers support learners more effectively by becoming accountability partners rather than relying on traditional lessons?

Gav and Em are joined by Reinventress, an engineer turned English trainer from India, to explore a more natural approach to teaching and learning English. She shares her own difficulties moving from textbook knowledge to confident communication and explains how this inspired her Achievable English System.

Her five-step method encourages learners to take a “grammar holiday”, absorb sentence patterns through stories and conversations, learn phrases rather than isolated words, develop speaking through listening and begin thinking directly in English instead of translating.

Drawing on their own classroom experience, Gav and Em consider what this approach means for working English teachers. Is conversation enough to make a session a genuine lesson? How can teachers correct mistakes without interrupting fluency? Do learners really want grammar exercises, or do they simply believe that traditional study is what learning should look like?

They also discuss how teachers can uncover learners’ interests, choose productive conversation topics and balance natural communication with focused language development. An accountability partner does more than have an informal chat: they establish goals, select suitable methods, provide meaningful feedback and help learners maintain their progress.

The episode concludes with Learn-a-Word, examining accountability, account for and the important difference between being accountable to somebody and accountable for somebody.

If you find the show useful, you can send us a thanks at https://ko-fi.com/howtoenglishpod

Visit https://howtoenglishpod.com for practical English-teaching ideas and resources ready to use.

Reinventress

Website:
https://englishwithreinventress.com

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/englishwithreinventress/

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@englishwithreinventress

Other references

Accountability partner:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accountability_partner

Sabira Merchant:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabira_Merchant

Chapters

00:00 – Reinventing English teaching and learning
01:52 – What is an accountability partner?
02:51 – Reinventress and the Achievable English System
06:54 – From textbook knowledge to natural communication
09:20 – Should teachers become accountability partners?
13:15 – Balancing conversation, grammar and vocabulary
16:20 – Correcting mistakes without interrupting fluency
19:26 – Finding conversation topics learners genuinely enjoy
22:00 – A five-step approach to learning English naturally
26:01 – Thinking in English instead of translating
27:36 – Creating structured but organic English lessons
30:18 – Learn-a-Word: accountability
32:30 – Accountable to somebody or accountable for somebody?
34:43 – Defining teachers’ responsibilities to their learners

How Can English Teachers Reduce Lesson-Planning Time with AI? TWEE - S04E02 Feb 10, 2023

Show notes

How can English teachers use AI to create personalised lesson materials without spending hours planning?

Gav and Em explore AI lesson planning with Alina from Twee, an English teacher, former university lecturer and member of the Twee team. They discuss whether artificial intelligence could ever replace teachers—and how it can instead support them by handling time-consuming materials preparation.

Check out their resources here https://twee.com/

Discover how AI tools can generate reading texts, dialogues, stories and activities based on your students’ interests. Gav and Em demonstrate how one topic can quickly become a complete English lesson containing a tailored text, gap-fill exercise, vocabulary practice and discussion questions.

They also explore practical ways teachers can use AI to:

• create multiple-choice, open and true-or-false questions
• generate dialogues for speaking and role-play
• produce questions and answers for YouTube videos
• suggest essay topics and arguments for exam preparation
• develop activities around highly specific learner interests
• adapt materials when suitable coursebook content is difficult to find

Drawing on their classroom experience, Gav and Em explain how they used Twee to prepare lessons about electric cars, hosting a party and even crankshafts. The technology produces the materials, but the teacher still chooses the topic, adapts the activities and creates the human connection that makes the lesson work.

Will AI replace English teachers? Hopefully not soon 😉 But could it reduce planning time, provide fresh ideas and help busy TEFL, ESL and EFL teachers personalise their lessons? This episode offers an early, practical look at what AI-assisted lesson planning can do.

📚 FREE AI LESSON-PLANNING GUIDE

Read the complete guide to using AI and Twee for personalised English lessons, including the classroom examples from this episode:

https://howtoenglishpod.wordpress.com/can-ai-give-english-teachers-their-time-back-s02e02/

Explore more practical articles about AI, technology and online English teaching:

https://howtoenglishpod.wordpress.com/home/technology-ai-online-teaching/

🔗 TOOLS AND REFERENCES

Try the AI teaching tools discussed in the episode:
https://www.twee.com

Watch the lesson-planning demonstration:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjfQOLOqm-M

Listen with the original transcription:
https://share.descript.com/view/kEpddqKhMR7

☕ SUPPORT THE PODCAST

If you find the show useful, you can send us a thanks:
https://ko-fi.com/howtoenglishpod

Visit our website for practical teaching ideas, classroom activities and resources ready to use:
https://howtoenglishpod.com

⏱️ CHAPTERS AND TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – Can AI make lesson planning faster?
01:22 – Alina introduces Twee for English teachers
04:30 – Why personalised materials take so much time
05:15 – Creating a reading lesson in three steps
07:04 – Turning a text into vocabulary activities
08:22 – Building a 60- or 90-minute English lesson
09:27 – Creating questions and other exercises
10:38 – Generating dialogues for speaking practice
13:10 – Using AI stories to practise English grammar
14:39 – Making questions from YouTube videos
15:22 – Essay topics, debates and exam preparation
16:08 – How Gav used AI to teach electric cars
17:05 – Em creates a lesson about hosting a party
18:01 – Using unusual student interests during lessons
19:08 – Will AI replace English teachers?

How Can Teachers Start the New Year Well? Goals, Workload and Self-Care – S04E01 Jan 31, 2023

Show notes

How can English teachers start a new year feeling organised, motivated and ready for their students?

Gav and Em begin Season 4 by reflecting on how they ended the previous teaching year and what they want to change. They discuss optional homework, restarting classes after a holiday and asking learners what they want to achieve in the months ahead.

Should every student receive homework? How can teachers improve an overloaded timetable? Is it possible to create fresh lesson materials when planning time is limited? Drawing on their classroom and online teaching experience, Gav and Em explore realistic ways to manage these challenges without attempting to transform everything at once.

They also consider teacher self-care, including posture, lighting, sleep, exercise and taking proper breaks. Em identifies an online teaching habit she wants to improve: recording useful vocabulary, phrases and links in the chat rather than allowing valuable emergent language to disappear.

Gav introduces SMART goals as a practical way to make progress. Instead of waiting for two or three free hours to create an entire worksheet, could a teacher build it gradually in short, manageable stages?

The episode concludes with the first Learn-A-Word feature. Gav and Em examine adaptable, adapt, adaptation and adapter—and consider why adaptability is such a valuable quality for teachers.

If you find the show useful, you can send us a thanks at https://ko-fi.com/howtoenglishpod

Visit https://howtoenglishpod.com for practical English-teaching ideas, classroom resources and conversations from Gav and Em.

Reference:

Self-care: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-care

Chapters

The PDF does not contain audio timings, so these are suggested chapter positions to check against the recording:

00:00 Welcome to Season 4
02:20 Reflecting on the previous teaching year
04:35 Should teachers set holiday homework?
09:50 Restarting lessons after a break
12:25 Asking students about their English goals
15:05 Reviewing your teaching timetable
19:40 Equipment and the online teaching workspace
22:10 Self-care, posture, breaks and sleep
26:20 Improving boardwork and online chat notes
29:15 Creating and updating lesson materials
32:15 Using SMART goals for manageable planning
36:40 Learn-A-Word: adaptable, adapt and adaptation
40:10 Closing thoughts

How Do You Teach A, An and The? Articles with Shikha Das and Her Students – S03E24 Dec 31, 2022

Show notes

Why do we say an aeroplane but a university? And when do we need the—or no article at all? Gav and Em explore how to teach and learn English articles through sound, context and conversation, with guest teacher Shikha Das and her students.

Shikha explains the difference between definite and indefinite articles, including why the first sound of a word matters more than its first letter. Gav and Em try a sentence-correction game, tackle examples such as a manager versus the manager, and discuss why a long list of rules can overwhelm learners. Then Gav joins Shikha’s online class, where her students bring articles to life in everyday conversation.

If you find the show useful, you can send us a thanks at https://ko-fi.com/howtoenglishpod. Visit https://howtoenglishpod.com for practical teaching ideas and resources ready to use.

Find Shikha Das:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/english_with_shikha/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@shikhabiswas5157
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shikha.biswas2022

Resources mentioned:
Gav’s articles activity: https://www.dropbox.com/s/pjsdctq4bi8qdni/Gav%27s%20Articles%20Activity.pdf?dl=0
How English Works: https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/How_English_works.html?id=ZUBPvdUx39IC&redir_esc=y
Famous buildings in India: https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/famous-buildings-india/index.html

Chapters
00:00 Welcome and an aeroplane
02:31 Meet Shikha Das
03:16 Shikha explains a, an and the
07:24 Sounds versus spelling
08:03 Gav and Em’s a-or-an activity
13:11 How can teachers help students learn articles?
15:22 A manager or the manager?
18:36 Play Gav’s article-correction game
20:35 Articles with places and positions
22:50 First and second mentions: a Porsche, the Porsche
25:52 When do we use no article?
27:49 Gav joins Shikha’s online class
29:10 Articles in the students’ conversations
37:14 Thanks to Shikha and her students

How Do You Start an English Book Club? With Andrew Farmer and Dara K. Fulton – S03E23 Dec 09, 2022

Show notes

Could a book club help your students practise more than reading? Gav and Em explore how to start an English book club, choose books your group can enjoy and turn a shared story into conversation, writing and pronunciation practice.

Andrew Farmer of what_to_read_next shares how he runs a monthly book club for children learning English in Spain. His practical advice covers finding enough copies, choosing suitable books and getting children excited to take part. Gav and Em then suggest activities for before, during and after reading, and Em recommends three books that might spark discussion. A quiz tests whether some unusual fiction subgenres are real.

Dara K. Fulton of AppliedESL joins the show to discuss her life-skills books for adult English learners. She explains how everyday street and shop signs can become useful reading material and conversation starters.

If you find the show useful, you can send us a thanks at https://ko-fi.com/howtoenglishpod.

💡Visit our Episode guide for a detailed four-week book club plan https://howtoenglishpod.wordpress.com/how-to-start-an-english-book-club-for-language-learners-s03e23/

Guests and resources:
Andrew Farmer: https://www.instagram.com/what_to_read_next/
Dara K. Fulton: https://www.instagram.com/appliedesl/
Dara’s books: https://www.amazon.com/Dara-K.-Fulton/e/B0879B8Y1H
Children’s authors Andrew mentions: http://www.davidlong.info/books.html | https://tompalmer.co.uk/ | https://www.vashtihardy.com/landing-ethan
National Literacy Trust: https://literacytrust.org.uk/
EFL book club ideas: https://ihteachenglish.com/blog-post/how-run-efl-book-club
Em’s book recommendations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woman_on_the_Edge_of_Time | https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51648276-drive-your-plow-over-the-bones-of-the-dead | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haruki_Murakami

Chapters
00:22 What happens in a book club?
02:42 Why start a book club for English learners?
05:39 Andrew Farmer’s children’s book club
08:39 Finding books and choosing what to read
11:36 What Gav and Em learnt from Andrew
16:31 Choosing books and planning reading activities
19:50 Discussion questions and follow-up tasks
23:25 Em’s book recommendations
25:23 Quiz: real or invented fiction subgenres?
32:32 Meet Dara K. Fulton of AppliedESL
33:57 Dara on life skills and reading everyday signs
39:49 Using signs in English lessons

How Can You Support Neurodivergent Learners in the English Classroom? With Anna – S03E22 Nov 25, 2022

Show notes

How can English teachers support neurodivergent learners without lowering expectations? In S03E22, Gav and Em are joined by Anna from Polca Languages, who trains teachers to work with dyslexic multilingual learners and supports students with ADHD.

We look at practical changes teachers can make to the classroom, instructions and activities, including seating, movement, sensory needs, discreet attention signals, clear communication and processing time. Anna explains why breaking learning into smaller chunks can help, and we explore low-stakes quizzes that allow students to retrieve language without putting one person on the spot.

The discussion also moves into dyslexia and reading: phonemes and graphemes, CVC words, decodable books, structured literacy, multisensory grammar and structured word inquiry. Throughout the episode, Anna’s message is clear: keep expectations high, but build learning step by step.

📚 READ THE S03E22 TEACHING ARTICLES

How Can Teachers Create a Neurodivergent-Friendly English Classroom?
https://howtoenglishpod.wordpress.com/how-can-teachers-create-a-neurodivergent-friendly-english-classroom-s03e22/

How Can Teachers Use Classroom Signals to Refocus Learners?
https://howtoenglishpod.wordpress.com/how-can-teachers-use-classroom-signals-to-refocus-learners-s03e22/

How Can Teachers Use Low-Stakes Testing Without Putting Learners Under Pressure?
https://howtoenglishpod.wordpress.com/how-can-teachers-use-low-stakes-testing-without-putting-learners-under-pressure-s03e22/

How Can Teachers Use Chunking to Support Neurodivergent English Learners?
https://howtoenglishpod.wordpress.com/how-can-teachers-use-chunking-to-support-neurodivergent-english-learners-s03e22/

How Can Teachers Help Dyslexic Learners Read English More Confidently?
https://howtoenglishpod.wordpress.com/how-can-teachers-help-dyslexic-learners-read-english-more-confidently-s03e22/

How Can Teachers Use Multisensory Grammar With Neurodivergent English Learners?
https://howtoenglishpod.wordpress.com/how-can-teachers-use-multisensory-grammar-with-neurodivergent-english-learners-s03e22/

🎙️ GUEST & RESOURCES

Anna / Polca Languages:
https://linktr.ee/polca_languages

Michelle Swan’s classroom tips:
https://hellomichelleswan.com/tips-for-teachers-supporting-neurodivergent-students/

Decodable books:
https://www.readinga-z.com/phonics/decodable-books/

Jolly Phonics:
https://www.jollylearning.co.uk/jolly-phonics/

More practical TEFL ideas and teaching resources:
https://howtoenglishpod.com

⏱️ CHAPTERS

00:00 Welcome
01:27 Neurodiversity in the English classroom; meet Anna
03:41 What does neurodiversity mean?
05:17 Adapting the classroom for sensory needs
08:13 Signals and cues for regaining attention
10:35 Clear communication and processing time
11:29 Chunking lessons and low-stakes testing
13:09 Using quizzes for low-pressure revision
14:50 Anna’s advice on teaching dyslexic learners
17:11 Connecting written letters and spoken sounds
21:47 CVC words and a classroom matching activity
23:57 Using decodable books with early readers
26:07 Phonics resources and structured literacy
27:16 Multisensory grammar and word inquiry
29:03 Building learners’ skills step by step

How to English TEFL Podcast with Gav & Em

How to Improve English Pronunciation: Vowels, Diphthongs and Hard or Soft G | Bianca & Jasmin – S03E21 Nov 11, 2022

Show notes

Why does gift have a hard G while giant has a soft G? How can you hear the difference between a long and a short vowel? Gav and Em explore English sounds through pronunciation activities you can try as a learner or use in class.

Em tests Gav with her hard and soft G sentences, then they practise long and short vowels, voiced and unvoiced consonants, and diphthongs. Accent coach Bianca explains monophthongs, diphthongs, mouth movement and the IPA. Jasmin from CCC Language Learning shares a tip for avoiding pronunciation habits carried over from your first language.

Find more teaching ideas at https://howtoenglishpod.com. If you enjoy the show, you can support Gav and Em at https://ko-fi.com/howtoenglishpod.

Guests

Bianca — Instagram · Website
Jasmin — TikTok · Instagram · Website

Try Em’s hard and soft G practice

The engine was a gift given by a guest who was a misogynist.
My glove and magic mug were grabbed by a guilty astrologer.
There’s gum in my wig, so I guess I should go and get the detergent.
A new page of legislation for the guild has zigzags in the margin.

Resources: English File IPA chart · Adrian Underhill on vowels and consonants · Speech Active vowel guide · Easy English with James on diphthongs

Chapters

00:00 Introduction: How to Sound
02:10 Using an IPA pronunciation chart
05:02 When is G hard or soft?
11:14 Em’s hard and soft G sentence challenge
13:58 Voiced and unvoiced sounds
16:16 Long and short vowel activity
19:19 Voiced and unvoiced consonant activity
22:42 Bianca’s vowel pronunciation tips
29:39 Diphthong practice
32:48 Jasmin’s pronunciation tip
36:51 Final advice for learners and teachers

How to Choose English Learning Tools That Work for You, with HelloTalk’s Timmons – S03E20 Oct 28, 2022

Show notes

Which tools will actually help you learn or teach English? Gav and Em look beyond the latest app to ask how dictionaries, flashcards, course books and study plans can support real progress—without becoming overwhelming.

Timmons from HelloTalk joins them to explain language exchange and the app’s learning and teaching features. Gav and Em then share practical ways to record useful vocabulary, make memorable flashcards and choose a course book that suits your level and interests. Em also helps Gav turn the vague advice to “make a study plan” into specific activities you can put in a calendar, review and adjust.

Try HelloTalk: https://brc.hellotalk.com/GavAndEm

Resources mentioned:
What is a language exchange? https://www.hellotalk.com/blog/what-is-a-language-exchange/
HelloTalk Live: https://www.hellotalk.com/blog/meet-hellotalk-live-tailored-language-learning-content-on-your-schedule/
How to make an effective study plan: https://www.vu.edu.au/about-vu/news-events/study-space/how-to-make-an-effective-study-plan
Study plan tips: https://manwrites.com/how-to-build-the-perfect-english-study-plan/
Nik Peachey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikpeachey/
Google Calendar: https://calendar.google.com
Outlook Calendar: https://outlook.live.com/calendar/
Trello: https://trello.com/
Pomodoro technique: https://todoist.com/productivity-methods/pomodoro-technique

If you find the show useful, you can send us a thanks at https://ko-fi.com/howtoenglishpod. Visit https://howtoenglishpod.com for practical teaching ideas and resources ready to use.

Chapters
00:00 What counts as an English learning tool?
02:36 Learning apps and regular revision
04:59 Timmons introduces HelloTalk
11:01 Gav and Em explore HelloTalk’s features
15:19 Dictionaries, notebooks and choosing useful words
16:45 Making vocabulary flashcards memorable
17:57 Words of the day and study buddies
19:28 Choosing a course book that suits you
21:58 What makes an effective study plan?
28:38 Calendars, flexibility and study breaks
31:40 Helping learners build a study plan

21st Century Teaching: What Should Change? Featuring Teacher Imane – S03E19 Oct 14, 2022

Show notes

Are you teaching English for the world your learners live in now? Gav and Em ask what a 21st-century classroom needs, from personalised lessons and inclusive materials to learning through doing. They discuss the four Cs—critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity—and the challenge of giving every learner a voice when group work gets lively.

Gav shares how he uses puzzles and escape rooms; Em reflects on adapting a lesson plan while still keeping learning goals in sight. They also consider the teacher’s role as a coach, the place of technology, and teacher wellbeing.

Then educator, author and content creator Teacher Imane joins the show to talk about her teaching journey and why she began writing children’s books.

If you find the show useful, you can send us a thanks at https://ko-fi.com/howtoenglishpod. Visit https://howtoenglishpod.com for practical teaching ideas and resources ready to use.

Teacher Imane: https://linktr.ee/Imane1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teacherimane/
Books: Under the Sea and Ramadan ABC

Mentioned in the episode: Chris Drew’s guide to 21st-century learning: https://helpfulprofessor.com/21st-century-learning/

Chapters
00:00 Welcome and the 21st-century teaching question
03:11 The four Cs and skills for the future
05:04 Personalised learning and student-led lessons
09:52 Equity, diversity and inclusive materials
12:24 Learning through doing: puzzles and escape rooms
14:30 Making group tasks work for quieter learners
17:03 The teacher’s changing role
20:11 Community, culture and connection
23:13 Technology in teaching and learning
27:04 Professional growth and trying new approaches
30:02 Sustainability and teacher wellbeing
34:02 Meet Teacher Imane
35:09 Storytime and writing children’s books
41:01 What children gain from acting out stories
43:05 Closing

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