PODCAST · education
TEFL Commute
by TEFL Commute
TEFL commute is a podcast for language teachers. It is not about language teaching though inevitably it might crop up. All three of us are avid podcast listeners and like playing around making our own. TEFL commute is meant to be a light-hearted listen aimed at brightening your daily commute to class. Each episode is built a round a topic that you could use in your teaching and the podcast will have page on this site that will link you to articles, questions and resources you can use with your students. You can even get involved by recording your snippet of mp3 for inclusion on a future episode or leaving us a suggestion on this site.We had fun making and developing the idea so we hope you enjoy the listen.Lindsay, Shaun and James
Episodes
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TEFL Commute S17 ep6
It's the last one of this run, we reflect on our AI influenced season experiment and play a game of AI inspired 'would you rather'. See you for season 18
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TEFL Commute S17 ep 5
.....in which we change the AI asking us questions and as a result find out what would be in a staffroom vending machine, as well as talk far too long about board markers. We also discuss which model verbs, and rename the present perfect…..towards the end we go bananas
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TEFL Commute S17 ep 4
.......in which the chatbot combines two of our favourite things - board gaming and teaching English. Among other things, we answer what game mechanics might work best in the classroom, and whether teachers are dungeon masters!
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TEFL Commute S17 ep 3
....in which the chatbot makes us consider irregular verbs, what our teacher face looks like, and what phrases we over use. We also find out why water and toilets play part of our teaching routines and if we correct our friends grammar.
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TEFL Commute S17 ep 2
....in which the chatbot throws up questions about ELT as a reality show and a fictional novel. It also asks how we'd explain ELT to an alien using only mine and gets us to explore our stick figure board work.
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TEFL Commute S17 ep 1
It's been a while but we're back. Welcome to season 17 of the TEFL commute in which a chatbot decides the content. In this episode amongst other things it asks us about a new language we'd like to learn, if we could speak in passive for a whole day, the rise of edutainment, what our whiteboard...
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TEFL Commute S16E04 - Snow
In the deep mid-winter it’s time for the TEFL commute to talk about snow. Lindsay, Sandy Shaun bring you a snow-filled this episode, considering what has happened to Snow days, discussing words for snow as well as brining you staple commute fair such as quizzes and jokes.
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TEFL Commute S16E03 - Gifts
Given its holiday time we thought it was apt to give you all a gift - a new episode on the topic of gifts and gift giving. In this episode Ceri, Lindsay and Sandy discuss the ethics and their experiences of gift giving for educators, before discuss and rating various types of gift. Happy Holidays...
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TEFL Commute S16E02 - Sports
Despite 15 seasons talking of all things ELT, the podcast has never tackled the ELT staple of sport so this episode rectifies that. Ceri, Lindsay and Shaun tackle (see what I did there😉) the topic deciding how sporty they are, and what they love and hate about teaching sports. They also talk…
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TEFL commute S1601 - Commute revisited
It's time for season 16 and the 108th episode of the TEFL commute. We kick off the new season by revisiting our very first episode - commute. Lindsay, Shaun and Ceri talk about what has changed since then, and what the commute to work looks like now. We examine some of the things we said in…
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TEFL commute season 15 ep7
Greetings commuters, here’s an another episode in our eclectic look at things related to English teaching. In this episode Lindsay wants to discuss military language, which leads Shaun to go all woke and discuss something he found on violent language before the resident tefl commute nerd, Ceri,...
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TEFL Commute season 15 ep6
Our latest episode is a bit like the old days - just Shaun and Lindsay both with something to get off their chests. Shaun gets all sweary by considering if certain words are still taboo or not, and Lindsay's turns part film reviewer with his overview of the film the whale. Listen to find out what...
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TEFL Commute Season 15 ep5
We'll call this one the lost episode, it was recorded in December last year but for various reasons it got forgotten about and never got uploaded. In it Sandy, Ceri and Lindsay talk continue our eclectic topic for this season bringing you chat about AI, wonky English and erm Taylor Swift.
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TEFL Commute Season 15 ep4
In episode 4, Lindsay provokes memories of first resource books, and reintroduces us to a profound dictation about guns. Ceri, avoids world cup fever by talking about dominant grammar and teaching us some Welsh, and Shaun explores the different chosen words of the year. NB this episode was…
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TEFL Commute season 15 ep 3
It’s episode 3 and in it you’ll find Lindsay talking about vegetables, in particular vegetable metaphors. We’ll also discover Ceri spends a lot of time on Tik Tok allegedly researching quiet quitting, and Shaun has more than a small bone to pick about the prefix micro. Enjoy our latest eclectic...
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TEFL Commute season 15 ep2
In episode 2, Ceri, Lindsay, and Shaun once more bring an eclectic mix of topics to the table. Ceri wants to talk Literacy, while Lindsay tells us about a simulation he has been running, and Shaun shares his refound love of interactive fiction. Add into all that a quiz and some algorithm and…
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Episode 100: TEFL Commute 100th Episode
Season 14 episode 7: Numbers is the last episode for this season and marks the 100th episode of our podcast. To celebrate the 100, we've done an episode on numbers. In this roundtable each of the team brings some numbers related to teaching to discuss. Since it is a milestone episode we also look...
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Episode 99: Season 14 Episode 6: Party
In this episode the team show they have the finger on the pulse of politics by talking about parties. Lindsay decides he wants to dissect 10 Downing street’s party invite and this leads into a discussion about the party vocabulary, the language of the parties, and ELT and parties (both political...
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Episode 98: Season 14 episode 5: Drama
We’re back after our mid-season break and we’re getting all dramatic. In this episode Ceri, Lindsay and Shaun discuss drama and ELT. Are they ELT thesps? Do they use drama? What are the benefits? In addition Lindsay tells us about academic drama and Shaun finds out if they other two can recognise…
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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...
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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.
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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…
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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.
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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.
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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!
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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…
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Episode 87: Season 12 Episode 5: Podcasts
It’s the final episode of season 12 so it’s our traditional round table (well, round zoom) episode. This season’s theme is podcasts with Shaun and Lindsay joined by James, and a new additional to the TEFL commute team. This year’s rules are simple – bring one podcast related to language, one…
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Episode 86: Season 12 Episode 4: Adventure
In the penultimate episode of the season, Shaun and Lindsay discuss adventure. They look at how TEFL is often marketed as an adventure, and the part adventure plays in course materials as well as discussing how to go about utilising ‘adventure’ with students from timeless classroom activities...
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Season 12 Episode 2: Dictator
In the week of the US election it seemed fitting to do an episode called dictator but don’t worry, we are not giving him too much airtime. While we do look at Trump's impact on the English language, the episode also discusses authoritarian teachers, and explores the use of dictation as a teaching...
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Season 12 Episode 1: Normal
Shaun and Lindsay kick off the 12th season of the TEFL commute by discussing ‘normal’. The talk about the use of the word ‘normal’, and discover the phrase ‘ the new normal’ is older than it seems. Lindsay regales Shaun with a tale of Mr. Average, and since it’s a new season we even let Producer...
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Who’s zooming who? The future
In the final instalment of our mini-series Shaun and Lindsay take ten-minutes to discuss the future. With lockdown beginning to undo in many places and schools working out how to start up again we discuss some of the ideas that have been suggested
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Who’s zooming who? Breaks
In our penultimate instalment Lindsay and Shaun discuss taking breaks. We consider how to ensure that we take break in and between lessons and little trips for our well-being.
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Who’s zooming who? Slow
In this instalment Lindsay and Shaun talk slow. No that will never happen, they only have ten minutes afterall. By slow we mean what to do when the internet slows. Lindsay gives you tips on making sure you have enough bandwidth while shaun gives you some ideas to help you with students on a slow...
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Who’s zooming who? Breakout Rooms
It's WZW 12 and this time Lindsay and Shaun talk about breakout rooms. In the ten minutes they cover What they are? How they work? And of course things that they are good for from jigsaw reading through to escape room games.
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Who’s zooming who? Sounds
In one of our favourite instalments of WZW, Shaun and Lindsay discuss sound, how you can do listening lessons, and what you can do with sound effects in an online room. From animal noises through to sounds around the house the ten minute challenge suggests how they can be used in online lessons.
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Who’s zooming who? Participation
In the 10th instalment of WZW Shaun and Lindsay talk about the participation tools that you find in online classrooms. From emojis to polls they go through the features suggesting ideas for using each - all in ten minutes of course!
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Who’s zooming who? Realia
Realia - the ELT term for Real world stuff we use in teaching. In this episode Lindsay and Shaun fill their ten minutes with the teaching ideas based around real world stuff. Enjoy.
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Who’s zooming who? Guests
This is time out Shaun and Lindsay talk about Ideas for using a guest in your online lessons. The ideas they talk about include a teacher swap, getting guest judges and even having mystery guests. Listen now to find out about those and other ways you can utilise getting a guest
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Who zooming who? Powerpoint.
Online teaching often means using a slide so for this installment Shaun and Lindsay give you tips for the perfect slidedeck. Ten minutes means ten tips so off we go....
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Who’s zooming who? Warmers
It's another instalment of WZW and this time Lindsay and Shaun talk warmers, in their ten minutes they try and give you a few activities you could try with your online classes. Enjoy!
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Who’s zooming who? Lockdown Syllabus
In this instalment Shaun and Lindsay use their ten-minutes to suggest language areas that would fit into a lockdown syllabus. From the vocabulary of fridges to the grammar of wishes listen and decide if you agree.
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Who’s zooming who? - Pictures
In this instalment of WZW, Shaun and Lindsay talk about some of their favourite picture activities for online rooms. As usual they set themselves a ten-minute time limit which, when trying to share anecdotes and ideas, once again might prove to be challenge.
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Who’s zooming who? - Zoom
Lindsay does like getting all meta so join this episode of who's zooming who we meet in zoom to talk about zoom. Shaun and Lindsay discuss zoom, zoom bombing and its effects and suggest some ways to ensure zoom security.
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Who’s zooming who - where’s the whiteboard?
In this instalment Lindsay and Shaun's ten-minute challenge is online whiteboards. They discuss the different things teachers are using as a whiteboard from washing lines to cupboards. What do you use?
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Who’s zooming who - the language your students need now
With very few teachers commuting but with Lindsay and Shaun still feeling the need to podcast, here's a spin off. Over a few mini episodes they will look at some of aspects of teaching live online, setting themselves the challenge to do it in just ten minutes.
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Season 11 Episode 4: Home
In this episode, Lindsay is joined by Ceri to discuss all things home, which is perfect as they are both under quarantine at the moment! They talk about home expressions in English, how difficult it is for materials writers to find the right images of homes, and some activity ideas for lockdown....
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Season 11 Episode 3: Sick
In this episode we talk sick but don’t worry we won’t bang on about a certain virus! In this somewhat bumper episode we talk to Kate in Italy about what it’s like when the government imposes quarantine rules, and how to cope when a school is closed. Lindsay and Shaun talk about the best song to...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
TEFL commute is a podcast for language teachers. It is not about language teaching though inevitably it might crop up. All three of us are avid podcast listeners and like playing around making our own. TEFL commute is meant to be a light-hearted listen aimed at brightening your daily commute to class. Each episode is built a round a topic that you could use in your teaching and the podcast will have page on this site that will link you to articles, questions and resources you can use with your students. You can even get involved by recording your snippet of mp3 for inclusion on a future episode or leaving us a suggestion on this site.We had fun making and developing the idea so we hope you enjoy the listen.Lindsay, Shaun and James
HOSTED BY
TEFL Commute
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does TEFL Commute have?
TEFL Commute currently has 107 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is TEFL Commute about?
TEFL commute is a podcast for language teachers. It is not about language teaching though inevitably it might crop up. All three of us are avid podcast listeners and like playing around making our own. TEFL commute is meant to be a light-hearted listen aimed at brightening your daily commute to...
How often does TEFL Commute release new episodes?
TEFL Commute publishes regularly with 107 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to TEFL Commute?
You can listen to TEFL Commute on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts TEFL Commute?
TEFL Commute is created and hosted by TEFL Commute.
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