What Is a Donkey Bridge? Multitasking and Classroom Boundaries – S05E03

Is it acceptable to multitask while teaching online, and how should teachers respond when classroom conversations cross a boundary?In this episode of How to English TEFL Podcast, Gav and Em swap real stories from their week in the classroom. Gav experiments with walking on a treadmill while teaching and asks whether teachers or learners can genuinely multitask without becoming distracted. They consider when everyday activities can create useful, spontaneous language practice—and when answering emails or doing housework simply takes attention away from the lesson.Em asks what Gav would do after spotting “Thank you for your massage” in a student’s automatic email reply. They discuss correcting a potentially embarrassing mistake privately, turning it into a future lesson and deciding whether absent students should still receive homework.They also explore mnemonics and memory triggers after a German learner introduces Em to the expression “donkey bridge”. Can word associations help learners remember Saturday and Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, or difficult English vowels?The conversation then moves to classroom boundaries. How much swearing is acceptable in an English lesson? What should a teacher do when senior managers dominate a mixed-level company class? Drawing on their own teaching experience, Gav and Em consider polite interruption, structured turn-taking and ways to give quieter learners an equal chance to speak.Stay for Quiz of the Week, a higher-or-lower listening game about the things an English learner might need. It provides ideas for practising prices, comparatives, colours, materials and detailed listening—with everything from a £330 pencil to a Gucci backpack.If you find the show useful, you can send us a thanks at https://ko-fi.com/howtoenglishpodVisit https://howtoenglishpod.com for practical teaching ideas and resources ready to use.Chapters and timestamps(00:00) Intro(00:46) Why do students suddenly turn pink on Zoom?(02:00) Is multitasking while teaching or learning a good idea?(07:19) How should teachers correct an embarrassing email mistake?(10:16) What is a donkey bridge and how can mnemonics help learners?(14:51) Support Gav and Em(15:27) Should students be allowed to swear in English lessons?(18:52) How can teachers stop senior staff dominating a company class?(21:34) What Em learned from her students(24:01) Quiz of the Week: a higher-or-lower listening activity(36:47) Outro