How can you turn climate change into an English lesson that gets people talking? Gav and Em explore the language of carbon footprints, renewable energy and sustainable living, then try a WWF footprint quiz that teachers can adapt for a group lesson, a one-to-one class or independent study.

The quiz leads to practical conversations about food, travel, energy use at home and fast fashion. Gav and Em compare their results, share ideas for reducing emissions and discuss why reducing your footprint comes before offsetting it. Guest Sara Do Carmo describes the changes she has made in her own life, from reusable bottles and meal planning to buying second-hand clothes.

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

Sara Do Carmo: https://www.instagram.com/sara.docarmo/

Chapters
00:00 Introducing the climate change topic
04:27 What is a carbon footprint?
07:19 Measure, reduce and offset
08:04 Using a footprint quiz in an English lesson
11:07 Gav and Em compare their results
12:00 Food choices and emissions
15:53 Travel and more efficient journeys
19:23 Energy use at home
21:25 Fast fashion and buying second-hand
24:47 Sara Do Carmo on sustainable living
32:22 When and how to offset emissions

What are you into, keen on or passionate about? Gav and Em explore natural ways to talk about interests in English, from “I love music” to “I have a passion for travel”.

Guest Joe shares his enthusiasm for cooking vegetarian food, exercise and making videos that connect people. Gav and Em talk about their own interests, including food, fitness, the environment and travel. Then they bring the conversation into the classroom: how can teachers use a learner’s interests to spark discussion and give them the language they need?

In Teacher, Teach Me, Em explains how to use would for repeated past actions, and how it differs from used to.

Find Joe on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisisjoe11/

Mentioned in the episode: https://liveboldandbloom.com/10/passion-in-life/things-to-be-passionate-about

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 Welcome and the meaning of passion
01:54 English phrases for talking about interests
05:01 A quiz about possible passions
10:09 Meet Joe
11:11 Joe on vegetarian cooking, exercise and making videos
16:20 Gav and Em on food and nutrition
20:55 Exercise and combining interests
23:29 Linking English practice to things you enjoy
25:11 Reasons for learning English
27:38 Em on travel and relationships
30:38 Using students’ interests in English lessons
33:19 Teacher, Teach Me: past habits with would and used to

Is there a “standard” English accent, and do learners need to sound like "native" speakers?

Gav and Em explore what an accent is and why speaking fluently does not mean losing the sounds of your first language. Bianca from Unpuzzled English joins them to discuss English as a lingua franca, the difference between being understood and changing your identity, and why learners need to hear more than Received Pronunciation (RP) and General American (GA).

They also look at how teachers can bring a wider range of voices into listening lessons and use pronunciation practice, including minimal pairs, when a sound causes confusion. To finish, Andy from Parlour Language Room shares practical ways to learn phrasal verbs: choose the ones you need, notice particles and group expressions by topic.

Find Bianca at https://www.instagram.com/unpuzzled_english/ and Andy at https://www.instagram.com/parlourlanguageroom/.

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

Chapters
00:00 Welcome and what makes an accent
02:46 Why there is no single English accent
06:25 Bianca on fluency and sounding “native”
10:18 English as a lingua franca
13:17 Learner goals and pronunciation teaching
15:08 Minimal pairs and sounds that affect understanding
15:58 RP, GA and the accents learners hear
19:23 Bianca’s case for varied listening materials
25:46 Introducing Andy from Parlour Language Room
27:14 Andy’s tips for learning phrasal verbs

What is EdTech, and which digital tools are useful in an English lesson? Gav and Em explore educational technology with Charlie from Charlie’s Lessons, a teacher who shares practical ways to use it in the classroom.

Charlie explains how tools such as Padlet and Canva can help learners collaborate, while quizzes can check understanding and inform the next lesson. He also discusses interactive lesson platforms, including Nearpod, and makes the case for choosing technology that serves the class.

Em puts one idea into practice with a Nearpod lesson about memes. Gav tries the activities as a learner, describing images, answering questions and creating a meme of his own. Their experiment offers a glimpse of what an interactive online lesson can feel like from both sides of the screen.

In Teacher, Teach Me, American pronunciation coach LaDoris guides listeners through the long and short “e” sounds, with mouth-position tips and listening practice.

Find Charlie’s teaching ideas at https://charlieslessons.com/, on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/charlieslessons/ and on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/c/CharliesLessons. Find LaDoris at https://www.instagram.com/improve_my_pronunciation/ and https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUptngBTAf1V5KJApw2DOmA.

Follow the meme activity: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vSL1vZHg5FNm3sspA7yGJVjgwbCMpEWZanaSIMHKiDXVRhxsgiON_uAhNTaMHy2lu7Tm3MK6OS2xhig/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000

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

Chapters
00:00 What is EdTech?
02:50 Technology for online and face-to-face classes
04:36 Language-learning apps
06:12 Introducing Charlie from Charlie’s Lessons
07:38 Charlie’s EdTech tools for collaboration, quizzes and lessons
12:34 When is technology worth using?
14:01 Building confidence with online collaboration
16:53 Exploring Nearpod
18:01 Using memes in an English lesson
27:28 Creating a meme
30:04 Teacher, Teach Me: LaDoris
31:15 Long and short “e” pronunciation practice

Why does a headline say someone “warned”, “denied” or “ordered” something instead of simply saying they “said” it?

In this special episode, Gav and Em use headlines about the 2022 invasion of Ukraine to explore reported speech and the meaning carried by reporting verbs. They dedicate the conversation to people affected by the war, including their friends, students and followers in Ukraine.

Starting with an everyday conversation at a bus stop, they compare direct quotes with reported speech and ask whether people always follow the rules taught in textbooks. They then examine how verbs such as denied, stated, warned, rejected, accused, announced and ordered can reveal attitude, authority or urgency in news reporting.

Em puts Gav through a reported speech quiz covering tense changes, questions, commands and modal verbs. Together, they consider when a tense shifts back, when it can stay the same, and why reporting a fact can sound different from reporting an event in the past. It’s a useful discussion for teachers explaining the grammar and learners trying to understand it in real news and conversation.

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

References mentioned: Ready for First: https://www.macmillanenglish.com/us/catalogue/courses/exam-preparation/ready-for-first-3rd-edition/course-information | UN News: https://news.un.org | The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/international | The Independent: https://www.independent.co.uk | FactCheck.org: https://www.factcheck.org | 7ESL: https://7esl.com/reported-speech/

Chapters
00:00 Direct quotes and reported speech at the bus stop
02:34 How to report a question
04:44 Why this episode looks at Ukraine news
06:06 What reporting verbs add to a statement
07:46 Reporting verbs in news headlines
12:40 Reporting verb patterns: to-infinitive and -ing
14:23 Reported speech tense-change quiz
19:08 Reporting modal verbs
20:12 When tenses do not have to change
23:05 Conditionals and unchanged forms

How do you help learners speak more clearly without making them afraid to speak?

Gav and Em explore practical ways to teach English pronunciation, joined by Rasoul, known as Mr Pronunciation, and Toktam from Morning English. Rasoul explains why learners need regular opportunities to use spoken English, even when they already know plenty of grammar and vocabulary. Gav and Em then discuss how teachers can build a new learner’s confidence before focusing on sounds that need work.

Try Gav’s British and American pronunciation quiz, then explore word stress, words whose stress changes between noun and verb forms, and the effect of a final silent e on words such as tap and tape. Em brings in words that sound alike but have different spellings or meanings. Toktam closes the episode with a short lesson on her, hair, here and hear.

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

Meet the guests:
Rasoul — Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mr_pronunciation/ | YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/c/AppliUniCation
Toktam — Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morning_english_/

Pronunciation resources mentioned:
British and American pronunciation: https://www.angmohdan.com/22-words-with-british-and-american-pronunciations-that-may-confuse-you/
Pronunciation exercises: https://allesl.com/free-english-pronunciation-exercises/
Word stress: https://www.fluentu.com/blog/english/english-word-stress/
Final silent e: https://www.cram.com/flashcards/adding-silent-e-to-short-vowel-words-524324

Chapters
00:00 Why pronunciation matters
03:04 Rasoul on speaking practice and learning English regularly
12:16 Building confidence in a learner’s first lesson
14:10 British and American pronunciation quiz
20:39 Word stress and changing noun–verb stress
24:28 How a final silent e changes vowel sounds
26:06 Words with the same sound or spelling
33:00 Meet Toktam
34:22 Toktam explains her, hair, here and hear

How do you keep growing as an English teacher once you’ve earned your qualifications? And can years of experience ever make you overqualified for the classroom?

Gav and Em welcome Brazil-based teacher and trainer Carolina Cunha, who shares how her career took a different path from the one she expected. After years in language schools, further study and qualifications including the TKT and CELTA, she felt stuck in a repetitive role. Becoming a freelance teacher gave her new opportunities to design personalised lessons and rethink what success meant to her.

Gav and Em then compare their own comfort zones. Em talks about adapting to online teaching and researching unfamiliar industries for Business English students. Gav explains how he responds to topics students raise and uses questions to make worksheets more conversational. They also discuss workshops, lesson observations and the challenge of designing a course around learners’ needs.

To finish, Kamlesh Thakkar gives a short explanation of the present simple, with examples of habits, facts and permanent situations.

Read Carolina’s article, “I Am Not Overqualified For This, Lessons Learned in Time”: https://drive.google.com/file/d/10qWM1UvOLwAR-A-2bpeorqr1LbbbWryy/view
Find Carolina’s work: https://linktr.ee/ccunha.solucoeslinguisticas
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ccunha.solucoeslinguisticas/

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

Chapters
00:00 Welcome and the question of teacher development
01:41 Introducing Carolina Cunha
02:43 Carolina’s career and feeling overqualified
06:45 Growth mindset and becoming a freelance teacher
10:19 Gav and Em discuss different career paths
14:58 Stepping outside a teaching comfort zone
16:26 Adapting to online teaching
17:44 Tailoring lessons for unfamiliar industries
19:20 Responding to students’ interests
22:30 What skills do teachers bring to class?
25:37 Workshops, colleagues and lesson observations
26:54 Training through a five-minute mini-lesson
29:23 Making more personal worksheets
31:30 Designing a course around learners’ needs
34:44 Kamlesh Thakkar explains the present simple

What should you say when a student tells you someone has died? And how can you make room for grief in an English lesson without asking a learner to share more than they want to?

Gav and Em reflect on moments when students have spoken about bereavement, including Em’s experience with a child whose classroom task brought back the loss of his father. They discuss the difference between a one-to-one lesson and a group class, when a quiet expression of sympathy may be enough, and why correcting a learner’s English during a painful conversation can feel insensitive.

Author and educator Brittany Collins joins the episode to explain grief-responsive teaching. Drawing on her book Learning from Loss: A Trauma-Informed Approach to Supporting Grieving Students, she explores how loss can affect concentration and behaviour. She offers practical ways to provide routine, choice and caring relationships, alongside reading and writing activities that let students decide whether to take part.

The episode ends with Cassandra Ormachea’s Teacher, Teach Me lesson on the idiom “burning the candle at both ends”.

Brittany: https://www.griefresponsiveteaching.com
Learning from Loss: https://www.heinemann.com/products/e13420.aspx
Instagram: @griefresponsiveteaching
Cassandra: https://www.instagram.com/cassandraormachea.elt/

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
0:00 Introduction and content warning
2:23 When a student mentions a loss
6:08 Giving learners space to choose whether to talk
9:55 Responding without correcting their English
11:35 A classroom activity that brought up grief
12:50 What if you hear about a student’s loss from someone else?
20:30 Why direct questions can feel exposing
21:44 Introducing Brittany Collins and her book
23:43 What is grief-responsive teaching?
26:05 How grief can affect learning and behaviour
29:15 Routines, choice and a supportive classroom
30:09 Caring relationships and students’ boundaries
31:03 Reading and writing activities
33:22 Gav and Em reflect on support for students and teachers
36:34 Cassandra explains “burning the candle at both ends”

What types of TEFL teaching jobs are available, and how can you find the right role for you?

Gav and Em explore the varied world of teaching English as a foreign language. They begin by explaining the differences between TEFL, TESL and TESOL before discussing training, qualifications and ways to find trustworthy teaching opportunities.

Drawing on their own classroom experience, they compare working in government schools, private language schools and large international organisations. What are the benefits of joining a small school? Can a bigger company offer more support and independence? And what should you check before accepting a teaching job abroad?

You’ll also discover career paths beyond classroom teaching, including working with refugees, becoming a director of studies, creating teaching materials, proofreading, publishing and freelancing.

Special guest Kat from Teach Travel Tribe shares her journey through five countries and three continents. She explains how she progressed from teaching in a Thai primary school to working for a language school in Indonesia, managing an English department in Taiwan, opening a tutoring business in the Middle East and becoming a governess for a VIP family in Russia.

Finally, Reyhaneh and Rezvaneh join Teacher, Teach Me to explain the difference between will and going to.

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.

Kat’s links:

Teach Travel Tribe:
https://free.teachtraveltribe.com/

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Teach-Travel-Tribe-105153621905127

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

Reyhaneh and Rezvaneh:

https://www.instagram.com/saramirnadem2020_english/

References and resources:

TEFL, TESL and TESOL:
https://www.goabroad.com/articles/tefl-courses/tefl-tesl-tesol-whats-the-difference

TEFL jobs:
https://www.tefl.com/

ESL Café international jobs:
https://www.eslcafe.com/jobs/international

Linguahouse worksheets:
https://www.linguahouse.com/en-GB/

Oxford University Press:
https://global.oup.com/?cc=gb

Types of English teaching jobs:
https://www.tefl.org/blog/types-of-english-teaching-jobs/

Online teaching companies:
https://www.tefl.org/teach-english-online/

International House:
https://www.ihlondon.com/

British Council:
https://www.britishcouncil.org/

English First:
https://www.ef.co.uk/

Berlitz:
https://www.berlitz.co.uk/

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome to How to English
00:52 What type of English teacher are you?
01:07 TEFL, TESL and TESOL explained
03:41 Teaching and living abroad
05:23 Choosing suitable TEFL training
06:24 Gav’s TEFL certificate and CELTA experience
07:54 How to find a TEFL teaching job
09:09 Researching countries and employers
10:15 Recruitment sites and avoiding unreliable schools
11:49 Is TEFL teaching only one kind of job?
12:44 TEFL careers: the pros and cons
13:33 Teaching in government schools
14:25 Working for private language schools
18:54 Big companies versus small schools
20:36 Teaching refugees and immigrants
21:22 Becoming a director of studies
22:24 Publishing, materials writing and proofreading
23:22 Combining teaching jobs and freelancing
24:13 Introducing Kat from Teach Travel Tribe
25:27 Kat’s international TEFL career
26:24 Teaching in Thailand and Indonesia
27:13 Management and teacher training in Taiwan
27:48 Starting a private tutoring business
28:23 Working as a governess in Russia
29:39 The breadth of TEFL career opportunities
32:32 Teacher, Teach Me
32:58 Will versus going to
35:53 Final thoughts on TEFL teaching

How can teachers and learners regain their motivation after taking a break from English?

Gav and Em return for Season 3 with an honest conversation about going back to school and work after the holidays. They compare the excitement of seeing students again with the lethargy that can make the first few days difficult. They also consider whether learners return refreshed, lose momentum or decide they no longer need lessons.

Is taking a complete break from English beneficial? Gav and Em discuss how time away can help learners process what they have studied and give teachers space to reflect on their lessons. However, they also explore how longer breaks may affect progress and why many learners continue encountering English through films and television.

The conversation moves on to New Year’s resolutions, manageable goals and their own plans for more focused group lessons. Drawing on their classroom experience, Gav and Em discuss lesson structure, pace, preparation and the changing relationship between online and face-to-face teaching.

The episode also introduces Teacher, Teach Me, a new feature inviting teachers and learners to contribute a short, engaging language lesson. Gav begins with a practical explanation of used to, didn’t use to, get used to and be used to, using Em’s move from classroom teaching to online lessons as the context.

Follow How to English on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

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 Welcome to Season 3
01:55 Returning to school and work
03:29 Motivation and post-holiday lethargy
06:13 How Gav and Em spent their break
06:56 Returning to a teaching schedule
08:28 Maintaining relationships with online learners
09:31 New Year’s resolutions and manageable goals
11:13 Planning more focused group lessons
12:36 Should learners and teachers take breaks?
13:11 How breaks support reflection and learning
14:12 Maintaining English during time away
15:13 Online or face-to-face teaching?
18:12 Introducing Teacher, Teach Me
20:42 How to use used to
21:37 Using didn’t use to
22:53 Understanding get used to
23:52 Understanding be used to
25:01 Reviewing the four grammar structures
27:02 Social media and closing remarks

Hashtags

TEFL,EnglishTeaching,LearnEnglish,TeachingEnglish,EnglishGrammar,UsedTo,GetUsedTo,BeUsedTo,TeacherDevelopment,LessonPlanning,OnlineTeaching,LanguageLearning,TeacherTeachMe,NewYearsResolutions,HowToEnglish

Questions answered

01:55 How can teachers and learners return to school or work after a break?
04:20 Do students feel motivated or lethargic after the holidays?
08:28 Why might online students fail to return after a break?
09:49 Are New Year’s resolutions useful for English learners?
11:13 How can teachers make group lessons more focused?
12:36 Is taking a complete break from English beneficial?
14:12 How long should a break from language learning last?
15:39 Will teachers and learners remain online or return to classrooms?
18:38 What is the Teacher, Teach Me feature?
20:42 When do we use used to?
22:05 How do we form didn’t use to?
23:10 What does get used to mean?
24:10 What is the difference between get used to and be used to?