What Are the Biggest Problems with Teaching English Online? Tech, Cameras, Cancellations & Teacher Boundaries – S01E38

What are the biggest challenges of teaching English online — and what do experienced TEFL teachers actually do when things go wrong?In this episode of How to English TEFL Podcast, Gav and Em share the funny, frustrating and sometimes awkward reality of online English teaching. Drawing on more than 40 years of combined English-teaching experience, they compare their own approaches to technology, student behaviour, cancellations, cameras, lesson boundaries and the physical demands of spending hours teaching from a laptop.Why can online lessons feel more tiring than face-to-face classes? How should you position your laptop? What happens when the audio stops working, a student is late, nobody lets you into the online meeting or a learner suddenly wants to rearrange a lesson?Em puts Gav through a series of quick-fire online teaching dilemmas. What would he do if a student refused to switch on their camera? How long would he wait for a late learner? Should teachers comment on what they can see in a student's home? What happens when a child, cat or other unexpected visitor appears on screen? And where should teachers draw the line between relaxed online learning and professional boundaries?Gav and Em also discuss the difficulties of juggling different teaching platforms, including Microsoft Teams, Skype, WhatsApp and online chat tools. They admit that even experienced teachers don't necessarily understand every feature — and consider how much technical knowledge an online English teacher really needs.Finally, Gav turns the tables on Em with a TEFL.net parts-of-speech quiz covering nouns, adjectives, determiners, pronouns, verbs, prepositions and conjunctions. Can you get 10/10 too?Whether you're an online TEFL teacher, Business English teacher, private tutor or English learner curious about what happens behind the webcam, this episode offers practical ideas, real teaching experiences and plenty of Gav and Em humour.☕ Support How to English TEFL Podcast:https://ko-fi.com/howtoenglishpod🌐 Visit our website for practical TEFL articles, teaching ideas, classroom activities and free resources you can use in your lessons:https://www.howtoenglishpod.com/References:This week's quiz: ⁠https://www.tefl.net/quizzes/terms-parts-of-speech.htm⁠⁠https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/microsoft-teams/group-chat-software⁠⁠https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/skype-for-business/download-app⁠⁠https://whereby.com/⁠Chunky book: ⁠http://www.owenhopkins.co.uk/architectural-stylesTIMESTAMPS00:00 – Welcome to How to English with Gav & Em01:00 – Messages and feedback from listeners03:10 – Why is teaching English online so tiring?05:40 – What equipment do you really need to teach online?08:45 – Em's shoebox laptop stand and avoiding neckache11:45 – When online teaching technology goes wrong15:00 – Cancellations, rescheduling and teacher boundaries16:35 – Quick-fire: What would Gav do while teaching online?18:20 – Funny virtual backgrounds in online lessons19:10 – What if a student won't turn their camera on?19:45 – How long should you wait for a late online student?21:55 – Children, cats and unexpected visitors on camera24:30 – How professional should students be during online lessons?26:10 – Why can Microsoft Teams be so confusing?29:00 – Waiting rooms, permissions and getting into online classes31:00 – How many teaching platforms does a teacher need to understand?32:20 – TEFL.net and the parts-of-speech challenge33:50 – Can Em get 10/10 in the grammar quiz?38:35 – Quiz answers and Em's final score40:00 – What did you do online this week?