Show notes
Can an English lesson be too much fun? Do fast-paced classroom games actually help students learn — or can they create stress instead? And how do you know when an engaging activity has crossed the line into overload?
In S07E02 of How To English: Teach and Learn with Gav & Em, we reflect on what “fun” really means in the English language classroom — and why what feels exciting to one learner might feel stressful to another.
Em shares a memorable teaching experience where a competitive, timed grammar activity became overwhelming for one student. We discuss time pressure, different learning speeds, classroom competition and whether fun activities actually help students retain language. Is a successful lesson one students enjoy, or one they learn from — and can it be both?
Then Gav introduces his very own TEFL phenomenon: Cold Coffee Syndrome. What does it mean when an English student talks so much during a coffee-shop lesson that their drink goes cold? Is that the ultimate sign of a successful speaking lesson, or should teachers give their students a chance to actually drink their coffee?
We also ask: Can English teachers ever really switch off? Gav and Em discuss noticing vocabulary and grammar everywhere, mentally correcting other people's English, finding lesson ideas in everyday life, and how years of teaching can change the way you listen to language.
Plus, has online English teaching changed our real-life communication skills? We talk about eye contact, interruptions, conversation timing, body language and the strange habits teachers can develop after spending hours teaching students in little boxes on a screen.
Finally, we get into the complicated emotions surrounding cancelled English lessons. Are teachers secretly happy to get an unexpected hour off? Do cancellations cause guilt, concern or financial anxiety? And what happens when a student keeps cancelling?
And to finish, Em tests some English grammar and vocabulary jokes on Gav. Can English learners understand jokes involving clauses and claws, grammatical tenses, and to who vs to whom — or are these jokes really only funny to English teachers?
00:00 Welcome to How To English
01:00 Does “discover” have a prefix?
02:00 Can English lessons be too much fun?
04:00 When a fun classroom activity becomes stressful
06:00 Why time limits can overwhelm students
08:00 Does having fun actually help students remember English?
09:00 Introducing “Cold Coffee Syndrome”
11:00 Is a student talking for 45 minutes a successful lesson?
12:00 How to let students drink their coffee — and keep them talking
14:00 How teaching English affects your everyday life
15:00 Do English teachers mentally correct everyone?
17:00 Finding English lesson ideas in the real world
18:00 Why authentic materials don't always interest students
20:00 Real life vs online teaching
22:00 Has online teaching changed our eye contact and conversation skills?
24:00 How do teachers really feel about cancelled lessons?
26:00 Getting paid for a cancelled lesson — should you feel guilty?
28:00 Can English learners understand English jokes?
29:00 Cat, comma, clause, claws, paws and pause
30:00 A joke about past, present and future tenses
31:00 “To who” or “to whom”?
32:00 Final thoughts and supporting the podcast
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If you're an English teacher, TEFL teacher, ESL/EFL teacher, English learner or language teaching enthusiast, join Gav & Em for an informal discussion about the realities of teaching and learning English — from classroom management and speaking activities to teacher life, online lessons and the things that don't always make it into the methodology books.
What do you think? Can a classroom activity be too fun? Do you enjoy competitive or timed activities, or do they make learning more stressful? And teachers — how do you really feel when a student cancels?
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