Struggling with TEFL homework ideas, online teaching admin, or tricky grammar like wish? In this episode of How to English with Gav & Em, we break down real teaching challenges, share practical tips, and have a bit of fun along the way.

🚀What you’ll learn in this episode:

How to create engaging homework tasks (that students actually do!)

Why holidays matter for teachers—and how they reset your teaching brain

The reality of freelance TEFL life vs contracted teaching

How to handle online lesson scheduling, invites & time zones

What to do when students just don’t get it

A clear explanation of tricky "wish" grammar (wish vs would vs past regret)

Plus… a zombie apocalypse teaching scenario and the ultimate lesson “cake” formula

Perfect for TEFL teachers, ESL teachers, and English learners looking for practical advice, classroom strategies, and relatable teaching stories.

👉 Support our podcast https://ko-fi.com/howtoenglishpod

Timestamps

00:00 – TEFL podcast intro

02:08 – What makes a great homework task?

04:45 – Fun, interesting & relevant homework ideas

09:28 – TEFL holidays & freelance lifestyle

13:32 – Returning to teaching after a break

16:12 – Zombie apocalypse teaching scenario

19:03 – Online teaching invites & Issues

26:00 – When students don’t understand "Wish"

33:10 – Lesson cake metaphor

38:20 – Outro

This week on Gav & Em’s How to English TEFL Pod, we take a nostalgic wander through the weird, wonderful, and occasionally chaotic world of TEFL life! ✈️📚 Gav puts Em on the spot with a not-quite-true-or-false quiz that somehow turns into stories about teaching in bathrooms, cupboards, art galleries, and even gas refineries (yes, really). We chat about adorable (and slightly uncooperative) student pets 🐱, mega-long commutes, and the classroom games that got way too competitive… with adults 😅. Then things get a bit more reflective as we dig into our CELTA experiences—what stuck, what annoyed us, and how it’s shaped the teachers we are today. We talk about classroom dynamics, teacher “fingerprints” on students, first impressions (and first-lesson nerves!), and why being human in front of your class might just be your biggest strength.

As always, it’s relaxed, honest, and packed with teaching insights you’ll definitely recognise—whether you’re in the classroom or learning in one.

☕ If you enjoy the show, you can support Gav & Em (and keep the coffee flowing!) at 👉 ko-fi.com/howtoenglishpod

Resources

Quiz music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=proOvlY-WKk

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 – Intro with TEFL nostalgia

03:17 – Gav’s “true or false” quiz begins 😄

03:47 – Weirdest places we’ve taught English

04:40 – Cutest (and strangest) student pets

06:02 – Longest commutes & travel stories

07:09 – Funny things students have called us

08:02 – Essential TEFL survival items ☕

08:32 – When classroom games get too competitive

11:02 – CELTA reflections: love it or hate it?

17:05 – Teaching style, classroom vibe & being approachable

18:22 – Can you spot another teacher’s influence?

23:18 – Bad habits students bring with them

25:24 – First lessons, pressure & first impressions

26:59 – Surviving the “autopilot” lesson blur

31:06 – Being human, making mistakes & wrapping up

Season 7, Episode 8 is packed with spontaneous teaching ideas, lesson lead-ins, online classroom routines, creative listening tasks, and the eternal TEFL struggle of being stuck indoors when the sun is shining. Gav and Em discuss how they start lessons, ways to avoid classroom monotony, using real-world materials in class, and the freedom TEFL teachers have to experiment and improvise. There’s also a brilliant live email-writing activity, an impromptu Jackie Chan listening lesson, favourite teaching websites, and a very important discussion about forks. Support the pod and fuel the tea and coffee fund at ko-fi.com/howtoenglishpod

Resources:

Jackie Chan interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0IWSyc5AQQ

Wikipedia: https://www.wikipedia.org/

BBC learning: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/

Google images: https://images.google.com/

https://test-english.com/

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro and what’s coming up in this episode

02:07 – How Gav and Em start the first five minutes of a lesson

05:39 – Greeting students and avoiding classroom monotony

10:17 – Being stuck inside teaching when the weather is beautiful

14:03 – The creative freedom of TEFL teaching

16:01 – Gav’s spontaneous live email-writing lesson

21:59 – Em’s improvised Jackie Chan listening activity

26:01 – Favourite websites to use during lessons

29:19 – Safe searching, grammar websites, and online teaching tools

32:11 – “Put a fork in me, I’m done” and outro banter

In this episode, Gav and Em dive into the realities of teaching English as a foreign language. Exploring their strengths and weaknesses as teachers, how to handle distracted students, and the feelings of starting again with brand-new learners. They also discuss praise in the classroom, and give a well-deserved shout-out to a loyal listener and follower. Whether you're teaching, learning, or just curious about TEFL life, there’s plenty here to reflect on and laugh about. ☕ Support the pod: https://ko-fi.com/howtoenglishpod

Timestamps

00:00 – Intro & episode overview

01:28 – Strengths and weaknesses as TEFL teachers

09:04 – Exploring teaching weaknesses (and honesty time)

20:21 – How to deal with distracted students

24:27 – Starting from scratch with new students

27:23 – Recognising student progress & using praise

32:10 – Listener shout-out & teaching reflections

33:11 – Outro & support the pod

Why do students really come to English classes, and what should teachers do about it? In this episode of the How to English TEFL Podcast, Gav and Em dig into the realities of the classroom: student motivation, managing turn‑taking, dealing with similar (or identical!) student names, and knowing when teachers should step back and let students do the talking. They also share: practical strategies for balancing TTT vs STT, how to handle awkward silences and dominant speakers, real examples of using AI in lesson planning, and a cautionary tale about why you should always check your materials before class… Grab a coffee (or tea), settle in, and join Gav and Em for an honest, practical conversation about what actually happens when you’re teaching English — and why it matters. ☕ Support the podcast: ko-fi.com/howtoenglishpod

Quiz music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpSEdFEwCS0

Timestamps

00:00 – Welcome to How to English TEFL

01:50 – Why do students come to English classes?

05:24 – Different motivations in the same group

07:56 – When students have the same (or similar) names

10:14 – What to do when you say the wrong name

12:49 – Turn-taking: order, randomness, and balance

15:44 – Encouraging quieter students to speak

16:22 – Awkward silences and “no questions”

22:01 – When students ask the teacher questions

23:15 – TTT vs STT: how much should teachers talk?

26:18 – Using AI in lesson planning

30:34 – Why you should always check your materials

Welcome back to the show. I guess you're wondering what really goes on while teachers are teaching? In this episode of How to English TEFL Podcast, Gav and Em talk about the physical and mental tension of teaching, what happens when you leave a class and come back to find students speaking their own language, and why learners often answer a different question to the one you asked. They also discuss how to grow their podcast. Whether translation apps help or hinder language learning. And finish with a surprising deep dive into the words don and doff. Honest teaching talk, classroom realities, and plenty of reflection for teachers and learners alike. ☕ Support the podcast: https://ko-fi.com/howtoenglishpodTimestamps00:00 Introduction00:39 What teachers do while teaching05:23 Movement, posture & staying healthy10:53 Leaving the class and L1 switching17:24 Not answering the question22:08 Getting deep and technical26:11 Growing the podcast29:10 Translation apps in lessons35:36 Don vs doff (word origins)

Welcome back to How to English with Gav & Em! In this episode, they branch out into the rhythms of teaching life. From how long a lesson should be, to what really happens between classes, why students sometimes stare blankly at their stories, and how our increasingly dramatic hand gestures somehow hold it all together. Grab a cuppa, settle in, and if you’d like to support the show, you can always show your thanks at ko-fi.com/howtoenglishpod

Timestamps

00:00 – Welcome to the 3rd, no 4th episode

00:52 – Who listens to this podcast?

01:43 – Ideal weekly teaching load

04:47 – What's a teaching hour?

05:02 – Small talk: essential or excessive?

09:01 – What teachers do between lessons

13:33 – Admin, notes & digital vs analog

16:24 – Giving grammar real context

22:54 – Why students don’t react to your stories

29:26 – The art of TEFL hand gestures & goodbye

In this episode of How To English Pod, Gav and Em dive into the ups and downs of teaching. From juggling long‑term classes and welcoming new students, to grammar slip‑ups, medical vocabulary surprises, and the eternal mystery of whether books are brilliant or boring. They also chat about remembering (and forgetting!) student details, merging groups, and why a single yawn might say more about a lesson than any feedback form ever could. If you’d like to support the show and help keep the coffee flowing, you can visit ko-fi.com/howtoenglishpod

Timestamps

00:00 – Warm welcome, rumbling stomachs

01:06 Anywhere/anyone/anything

5:10 Medical English & pronunciation discoveries

07:12 Remembering students’ personal info.

15:39 Long‑term students vs. new students

26:04 Books: useful tools or unnecessary burdens?

31:31 The yawn test for lesson success