How Can Teachers Balance Conversation, Grammar and Personality in the Classroom? - S07E01

How confident do you feel teaching a conversation lesson without a detailed plan?In the first episode of season seven, Gav and Em compare two approaches to conversation classes: building discussion from planned grammar activities and allowing useful grammar to emerge naturally from conversation.They explore what teachers can do when a discussion dries up, how short post-lesson reflections can reveal teaching strengths and weaknesses, and how A1–A2 learners can develop more natural conversations through simple everyday phrases and reformulation.Gav and Em also ask how much personality teachers should bring into the classroom. Should teachers always be themselves, or should they adapt their humour, energy and personal stories to different learners, cultures and professional contexts?IN THIS EPISODEPlanning and teaching conversation lessonsBalancing genuine conversation with language instructionMoving naturally between grammar and speakingRecovering when a discussion runs out of momentumUsing teaching journals and “hot feedback”Encouraging authentic conversations with A1–A2 learnersTeaching short, natural everyday expressionsReformulating learners’ language more simplyIntroducing your personality graduallyMaintaining professional teacher–student boundariesTIMESTAMPS00:00 Welcome and the new season format01:40 Planning and confidence in conversation lessons04:20 Conversation-led and grammar-led teaching10:30 Turning grammar exercises into discussion13:30 Hot feedback and teaching journals15:45 What to do when conversation dries up24:10 Authentic conversation with A1–A2 learners30:00 Bringing your personality into the classroom39:40 Closing reflectionsSUPPORT AND FOLLOW HOW TO ENGLISH☕ Support us on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/howtoenglishpod🌐 Visit the How to English website:https://howtoenglishpod.wordpress.com/How to English TEFL Podcast is a podcast about teaching and learning English as a foreign language with Gav and Em.