Regular guest Matt Courtois and I discuss staging lessons with young learners. What is staging? How much should teachers deviate from their plans? How can we avoid running out of time in our lessons?Support the podcast by buying us a coffeeFor

How to Use Stories in Class with Any Age Group (with Dave Weller)

Apr 2nd, 2023 15m

in class. We discuss prediction activities, what engages students in stories, and how to do follow-up activities.For more podcasts, videos and blogs, visit our website Support the podcast – buy us a coffee!Develop yourself! Find more about our

Deliberate Learning (with Jeremy Harmer)

Mar 5th, 2023 15m

TEFL guru Jeremy Harmer joins me to discuss deliberate learning. How important is input? Can students “pick up” language in the classroom with “study”? What is the role of grammar? And what does Jeremy think about Stephen Krashen’s ideas about

Observing New Teachers (with Matt Courtois)

Feb 5th, 2023 15m

Teacher trainer and regular guest Matt Courtois joins me to discuss observing new teachers. What should we do when new teachers struggle with teaching? What about when students complain? Why do we even observe teachers in the first place?For mo

Best and Worst Common and Uncommon Teaching Practices

Jan 8th, 2023 1h

We talk to friends and experts and ask two questions about changes they’d like to see in classrooms: what common teaching practices would you like to see less? And, which less common teaching practices would you like to see more?Support the pod

How To Get To Know Your Students (with Anne Burns, Thomas Farrell and Karin Xie)

Dec 11th, 2022 15m

We discuss classroom activities teachers can use, what it means to get to know your students, and other ways of collecting useful data about our learners.For more podcasts, videos and blogs, visit our website Support the podcast – buy us a coff

What Motivates Teachers to Develop? (with Amol Padwad)

Nov 13th, 2022 15m

I speak with Amol Padwad from Ambedkar University Delhi about teacher motivation and teacher development. What incentives make sense for teachers at different stages of their careers? What demotivates teachers from wanting to develop? And how c

Encouraging Young Learners to be Creative (with Matt Courtois)

Oct 30th, 2022 15m

Regular guest, Matt Courtois joins me to talk about how teachers can encourage young learners to be creative. We discuss what creativity is, why it is challenging at low level and share some of our favorite creative activities.Support the podca

Demystifying IELTS Speaking (With Pete Jones)

Oct 16th, 2022 15m

We talk about how fair the different criteria are, what are some common misunderstandings about the criteria and how teachers can help students improve their IELTS speaking scores.Watch Pete’s YouTube ChannelFor more podcasts, videos and blogs,

Motivation in App-Based Learning for Adults (with Kirsten Campbell)

Oct 2nd, 2022 15m

Kirsten Campbell from Busuu joins me to discuss how to keep learners engaged in learning using an app.Support the podcast by buying us a coffeeFor more podcasts, videos and blogs, visit our website: www.TEFLtraininginstitute.comSign up for our

Independent Play in English with Very Young Learners (with Sandie Mourão)

Sep 18th, 2022

Sandie Mourão joins me to discuss how to get young learners to play in English.

Quality Teacher Talk with Young Learners (with Matt Courtois)

Sep 4th, 2022 15m

Regular guest Matt Courtois and I discuss what makes quality teacher talk. How should young learner teachers give instructions? How much should teachers grade their language? And when should teachers say nothing at all?Inside Online Language Te

How to Promote Your Writing (with Dave Weller)

Aug 21st, 2022 15m

Dave Weller joins me to talk about how to promote your writing. Dave tells us why you shouldn’t start a blog, where you can write instead, how to promote your writing across different platforms, how to find out what people search for online, ho

Researching Your Own Teaching (with Anne Burns)

Aug 7th, 2022 15m

For more podcasts, videos and blogs, visit our website Support the podcast – buy us a coffee!Develop yourself! Find more about our teacher training courses Watch as well as listen on our YouTube channel

Myths, Wisdon and Science - What Do We Know about Teaching? (with Russ Mayne)

Jul 24th, 2022 15m

Russ Mayne, author of Evidence-Based ELT, joins me to discuss where knowledge about teaching comes from. What common teaching ideas and practices are myths? What do we know about teaching from research? And how can teachers include more evidenc

Online Forum-based Teacher Training (with Simon Galloway)

Jul 10th, 2022

Simon Galloway (author of Teaching Teachers Online) joins me to discuss using forums in online teacher training. We talk about how to encourage interaction between trainees, how to encourage trainees to post critical and reflective comments,

Learning to Learn with Children (with Gail Ellis)

Jun 26th, 2022 15m

Gail Ellis, author of Teaching Children How to Learn, joins me to discuss learning to learn. Gail tells us the importance of encouraging metacognition, how to make learners more aware of the aims of activities, and how to encourage meaninful re

6th Anniversary Episode: Our Teachers' Teachers

Jun 12th, 2022 1h 15m

In our longest ever episode, we ask English language teaching legends Diedrick Van Gorp, Debbie Hepplewhite, Stephen Krashen, Vivian Cook, David Crystal, Jack Richards, Hugh Dellar, Penny Ur , Alan Maley and David Weller about their influences

Choice, Challenge & Routine with Young Learners (with Jake Whiddon)

May 29th, 2022

Jake Whiddon and I discuss the two most common questions we get from young learner teachers: “How can I get my students to behave?” and “How can I get my students to pay attention?”

Choice, Challenge & Routine with Young Leaners (with Jake Whiddon)

May 22nd, 2022

Jake Whiddon and I discuss the two most common questions we get from young learner teachers: “How can I get my students to behave?” and “How can I get my students to pay attention?”

Challenging the Limits of Technology (With Mark Pemberton)

May 15th, 2022 15m

Mark Pemberton, co-CEO of Study Cat, joins me to talk about app-based language learning. Where is technology based language learning going? What are the limits of technology? Can these ever be overcome?For more podcasts, videos and blogs, visit

Creating Creativity in Language Teaching (with Alan Maley)

May 1st, 2022 15m

We speak with Professor Alan Maley, author of Creativity and English Language Teaching, about how constraints can prompt creativity in teachers and what teachers can do to bring in their lives, interests and personalities to make the classrooms

Do Coursebooks Stop Teachers Developing? (With Dave Weller)

Apr 17th, 2022 15m

Check our Dave’s book, Lesson Planning for Language Teachers, at https://amzn.to/31HJtpkWhat happens if the important decisions about planning get left to coursebook writers rather than teachers? How much of the coursebook should schools tell t

Replacing Texts With Pictures (with Mark Hancock)

Apr 3rd, 2022 15m

Mark Hancock (author of Pronunciation Games, English Pronunciation in Use, Pron Pack and Pen Pictures) tells us about basing lessons around pictures and using these to generate stories, descriptions, language needs and much more.For more podcas

Positive Behavior Management with Young Learners (with Matt Courtois)

Mar 20th, 2022 15m

Matt Courtois and I talk about how to maintain discipline in your learner classes without using punishment. We discuss the problems with punishment, how to set rules, how to avoid boredom and more.Support the podcast by buying us a coffeeFor mo