EVERYTHING EFL

In the third episode of my teaching lexically series, I throw a bunch of ideas at you, showing how you can tweak your listening and reading tasks to be more lexical and introduce more meaningful language, directly connected to your students needs and wants. I challenge you to try some of these out – the good thing is that they’re not hard to implement. Bit by bit, my gorgeous teachers, bit by bit....

In the second episode of my teaching lexically series, I tackle grammar. How can we get away from the dreaded rules + exercises + sentence-level production and get students using real-world phrases? Fear not! I give you the briefest of backgrounds to’ grammaticalizing’ lexis, and then I dive into a few simple activities and ways you can incorporate this directly into your teaching. It takes time a...

It’s a long one but it’s TOTALLY worth the listen. My guest is the mighty Hugh Dellar, co-author of Teaching Lexically. The lexical approach is something we should all be working towards to some degree. Here are Hugh’s thoughts on this approach (it’s better than traditional PPP), his opinion on teaching grammar in a traditional way (don’t do it), and some advice for teachers who would like to star...

Recorded in January of this year, I talked to Jose-Luis and Daniel of ELT in Chile Podcast. If you are interested in living and working in Chile, this episode will let you know which Chilean wine to buy, the subtle nuances of Chilean social exchanges and dispelling or confirming the common myths surrounding Chilean culture. Oh, we talk about teaching in Chile too: the working conditions, linguisti...

Do you and your students groan when you reach the ‘environment’ unit in your course book? Well, this cracker of an episode is for you. I spoke to the thoroughly lovely Harry Waters of Renewable English about his career, his passion for the environment and how teachers can approach this topic in a different way to the boring old course book approach of ‘Here’s Our Unit on the Environment’. Forgive...

Summer’s here: cue the insanity. I can’t promise I’ll solve all your summer issues, but I what I can do is share a little advice and some activities to get you through, especially if you’re a first time teacher in a summer school. If you are more experienced, you might recognise some of the things that went awry during my first summer school way back in the early 2000s. I’d also love to know what...

Whatever your class demographic, I’m sure you can use your adaptive teacher skills and take something from this episode. My guest this week is the wonderful Wanda Atkins from Wanda’s #saywhat Podcast. She loves to get her students to teach something or to lead. She has some really nice ideas and advice to give students more autonomy and to flex their creative muscles, including what to do with a M...

This a short but real sweet one. Let's get away from presenting your students with a song of your choice.  Let's do it a different way and get them to let go and lip-synch as a grand finale!  This is what I did with my class:  steal, adapt and tweak according to your students' needs.    Episode Shownotes: Theme music by @sean.cass (Instagram). Join my Breathe Easy, Teacher newsletter c...

Board gamer, much? This week I’m joined by English teacher and board games fanatic Zdenek Lukas of teacherzdenek.com We talk about why board games are such a positive addition to a class and then Zdenek recommends 5 games for you to try. Find Zdenek and all his social media links at www.teacherzdenek.com Show notes: https://en.boardgamearena.com/ https://codenames.game/ https://www.snakeoilgame.co...

My guest this week is ELT Trainer, author, vlogger, presenter and all-round wonderful John Hughes. We chat about what kinds of authentic materials to use on lower levels. If you’re fed up with using just menus and maps, you will find a wealth of great resources and ideas here. Topics include photos, videos, social media and simplifying more complex text, with a small digression into how to deliver...

Every wonder why your students forget everything the day after your amazing, impactful lesson?  As a teacher, I’m constantly trying new things and changing things up. This idea of doing more bite-sized learning is still in its trial phase but I think it suits the way that information is communicated and received. What do you think? Theme music by @sean.cass (Instagram). Join my Breathe Easy, Teach...

If you’ve never used Jamboard with your online learners, fear not! This episode is just a snapshot of what I’ve been doing with it. If you’re a seasoned veteran of Jamboard, let me know what I’ve missed. I know you have hundreds of great ideas. Comment on the following posts: @https://www.instagram.com/p/CO98a_2AYSE/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link @https://www.linkedin.com/posts/erin-o-byrne-90b58a55...

I love this episode! I chatted with the wonderful Melinda Thomas from newteachersconnect in a long-form version of last week’s quickie about advice for new teachers. She approaches this from a more global, state school perspective and I say a lot of stuff from last week as well as also chiming in on Melinda’s ideas. We don’t know what each other is going to say – how far do we meet in the middle s...

Need a few tips? These are my top tips on being a new teacher. If you’re not new to teaching, what did I miss? Theme music by @sean.cass (Instagram). Join my Breathe Easy, Teacher newsletter community here: http://subscribepage.io/0a49dr Contact me: ⁠erin@refreshyourteaching.com⁠ Like, share, DM me and follow me on Instagram @https://www.instagram.com/everythingeflteacher/ and on Facebook @www.fac...

Need some inspo this week? Are you teaching or really TEACHING? Do you see students in your class or do you see people? Do you tick off the contents of your syllabus or allow your students to learn? This my philosophical look at how teaching should be rather than what our schools expect us to do in terms of a syllabus and structure. Damn rules and regulations. Always cramping our style.... Honoura...

It’s hard enough in a physical classroom to get shy students to talk, but when you’re online and there are outgoing students in the class, it’s even harder. As I continue my journey teaching online and learning as I go, here’s what I’ve been doing to overcome this problem: not just to make my life easier, but to build different communication skills for my lovely B2 students. Theme music by @sean.c...

Not too sure if you’re doing enough critical thinking in class? Even if you teach in a non-EFL environment, there are plenty ideas to steal in this week’s episode. I’m excited about this one! In January 2021,  I was joined once again by the fabulous Radhika Iyer (see episode 34). We start by having a good natter about the concept of critical thinking in the classroom and then Radhika gives you loa...

What a rollercoaster it’s been. I asked for your advice and boy, did you give it! Did I follow it? You bet I did! I also had a bunch of unanticipated feelings and experiences. Join me as I talk about the journey of my first week teaching online after a year’s unemployment and how I tried to navigate this alongside a personal event that affected my mental health. Can you relate? Language warning: I...

Have you ever felt like spicing things up a bit but not sure how?   I'm talking about drama - the good kind.   The lovely Aoife Maguire gives you some simple, doable tips to try out in your class.  These activities can be adapted for online teaching too!   Aoife Maguire has been an English language teacher, Drama facilitator and writer for more than two and a half decades.  She is also current...

Still with me? Thirsty for more? Let's talk about the dreaded moment when you have to try and explain the real difference between present continuous and be going to. Also, a bonus idea for won’t or wouldn’t... I’ve also added in a little bonus idea for using won’t or wouldn’t – not really connected to the future but I just like throwing stuff out there. Again, a pen and paper may be handy.. Ma...

Where to begin? Will? Going to? Actually, that's exactly right. In this 2-parter about future forms (easing you in gently), I'm covering the basics - clearing up any confusion between form and meaning and throwing some activities your way. You may need a pen and paper for this one. Materials referenced: Intermediate Grammar Games, Jill Hadfield, Longman Games for Grammar Practice, Maria Lu...

This week I’m joined by the delightful Laia del Barrio.  She presents 5 gorgeous activities to use in your classroom to bring some reflection and well-being to your students in any kind of classroom.  Grab a cup of herbal tea, sit back and breath it in! This episode uses Laia’s slideshow on Zoom so it’s best to watch on one of the following: Youtube @ https://youtu.be/wLanL3G6RXA IGTV @everything_...

What can make you more creative and in turn, a happier person? I can’t promise I have all the answers but I hope something I say will resonate with you and give you some warm feels. You don’t have to be a teacher to listen to this one. Share the love, guys. Honorable Mentions: Follow Erin Myres @ erin.myres on Instagram and check out The Educator’s Mindset Podcast Follow Anjalee Beverly @mrs.cleve...

I asked some of my Instagram followers to, quite literally, ask me anything. So they did. I did a bit of research and here we go. Feel free to add your own ideas on social media! Svetlana from edsvets_english:what strategies are there to teach non-verbal conventions to students? Sabby from High Street English: should young learners be asked to focus on grammar mistakes? Sarah from elamodelteacher:...

It's good be back!  Happy new year.  Just easing you in with something short and sweet. Shane has left the building.  On with the show! Have you ever received a complaint?  Most teachers have.  Here are my thoughts on why this isn't the end of the world (even though it feels like it) and how we can use the opportunity to improve ourselves. Theme music by @sean.cass (Instagram). Join my Bre...