TEFL Commute

Episode 97: Season 14 Episode 4: Hotch Potch

We reach the half way point of the current season just in time for the festive season. In this episode the TEFL commute gang foolishly leave Shaun alone in a zoom room so expect some terrible jokes at some point.   In a different type of episode each of the regular commuters has their own little section as the commute team get ready for their Xmas Breaks.   

Episode 96: Season 14 Episode 3: Volunteering

In this episode the TEFL commute gang talk about volunteering and ELT. They start by talking about asking for volunteers in class before discussing their volunteering within the world of TEFL and how volunteering might be different to having a hobby. 

Episode 95: Season 14 Episode 2: Authors

In this episode, Lindsay Ceri and Sandy talk about authors and English language teaching. Did you know there are many famous authors who taught English? Why do materials writers not always consider themselves authors? We also have an interview with an English teacher who went into materials writing and then wrote a novel. And Sandy leads a classic TEFL commute quiz about books and writers and teachers.

Episode 94: Season 14 Episode 1: Cheerful

We're back, it's our 14th season and we get underway by discussing reasons to be cheerful. After nearly two years of the pandemic, lockdown, online teaching and very little commuting we begin this season by looking at some of the positives we've taken from this time. 

Episode 93: Season 13 Episode 6: Words

We bring our 13th season to a close with our round table episode. This season we talk words, words we like, words we don't like, words that have caught our attention and words that don't translate. The team are joined by @lexicojules to add a touch of gravitas to their discussions and get some insight into which of our chosen words might hang around. See you in the Autumn.

Episode 92: Season 13 Episode 5: Young

From old to young – in this episode the topic of teaching most certainly comes up as Lindsay Sandy, Shaun discuss teaching young learners. They discuss many aspects of the topic from looking at what ages are considered YL to if there is a point that is too young to learn a second language. The episode also features several YL trainers whose contributions give practical advice to those teaching this area

Episode 91: Season 13 Episode 4: Old

Are the TEFL Commute crew feeling their age? In this episode Ceri, Lindsay and Shaun discuss language associated with 'old', and consider language teaching with older students. Lindsay chats with Mark McKinnon about what it's like to teach senior learners, and Shaun leads the team through an Olde English quiz.

Episode 90: Season 13 Episode 3: Plateau

In episode 3, Shaun and Lindsay return to find themselves stuck on a plateau so use this as an opportunity to discuss what the so-called Intermediate plateau is in language learning, how it happens and what things can be done to try and avoid / get off it.

Episode 89: Season 13 Episode 2: Women

In this episode, we celebrate International Women’s Day with a takeover by Sandy Millin and Ceri Jones. They look at the history of the day, talk about their experiences as women in ELT, reflect on representation in ELT, and maintain the TEFL Commute tradition by having not one, but two quizzes!

Episode 88: Season 13 Episode 1: Animals

Our 13th season begins by looking at animals. Lindsay ponders when we teach animal vocabulary, while Shaun gets carried away with onomatopoeic sounds. After joining us at the end of the last season, we welcome Sandy back with her new feature. Add in some quizzes, idioms and collective nouns and we have a bumper first episode of the season,