The English Language T-Ching

Adrian Underhill and Jim Scrivener
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Education

No lesson-plans. No aims. No exams. Just short lively chats about education, English language teaching, life, values … and any sideroads we discover along the way. Two teachers looking back and wondering what they may have learnt over the years? … or completely failed to learn … Adrian Underhill wrote Sound Foundations and created the Phonemic Chart. He's a past President of IATEFL. Jim Scrivener wrote Learning Teaching, Classroom Management Techniques, Teaching English Grammar and many other ELT books. ... We'd love your questions and comments: adrianandjimpodcast@gmail.com

  1. Aug 25

    018 "Any Questions?"

    Adrian wonders if asking "Any Questions?" at the end of a stage or of the lesson is any use.

  2. Aug 11

    017 Learning the Teacher

    "There is more to be learned from any good teacherthan the subject taught.” Jim found this quote in a sci-fi novel (The Litany of theLong Sun by Gene Wolfe) and wonders what Adrian thinks of it. We discuss good (and bad) teachers we have known and wonder whether the main thing most children learn in a lesson is …  the teacher.

  3. Jul 28

    016 Learner centred or LEARNING centred?

    Jim talks about some of the issues he raised in his IATEFL2026 talk, focussing on how “learner-centred” has been misunderstood and the potential for more “learning-centred” teaching. He also discusses how “upgrade” is a more powerful concept than “correct”. Jim gets over enthusiastic and Adrian hardly gets a word in!

  4. Jul 14

    015 Handwriting (not Keyboards) and Walking (not Sitting)

    Some recent research suggests that physical movement (e.g. writing by hand or walking around) actively helps us to learn and be more creative. We consider what the implications might be for our language classrooms. Should we be discouraging keyboard use? How can we “take a conversation for a walk”? Find out more about the walking research by googling: “Marily Oppezzo walking” Find out more about the handwriting research by googling: “Audrey van der Meer Handwriting” Adrian mentions Earl Stevick. Stevick (1923-2013) was a linguist and teacher who had a profound influence on ELT in the 1980’s with his suggestions as to how we could adopt more “humanistic” approaches in the classroom.

  5. Jun 30

    014 Decline of the staffroom photocopier

    Should we mourn the lost age of ELT photocopying (and the even more ancient Roneo Gestetners)? Has the era of handout-driven teaching come to an end? Is “heads up” to an IWB better than “heads down” to a handout? Plus ... there’s a bit of nostalgia for the creativity of DIY handouts

  6. Jun 16

    013 "Pay attention, boy!"

    What do teachers think will happen when they say "Pay attention" to a learner? What does the learner have to do in order to "pay attention"? And what is attention anyway? How does it connect to "engagement" and "presence? If you have a question, suggestion or comment we'd love to hear from you. Write to: adrianandjimpodcast@gmail.com

  7. Jun 2

    012 Why don't chimps ask questions? Why don't students ask more?

    Recent interesting research about whale and chimp language starts us wondering about question asking and communication in the language classroom. Can whales have a conversation? What stops chimps asking questions?Does repetition still have a role to play?

  8. May 21

    011 Karate ... and the Politics of the Language Classroom

    What makes karate classes so different from language teaching lessons? What does this suggest about the value of learner-centredness, choice, decision-making and self-discipline? Should we approach different types of classroom subject in different ways? Who has the power in a classroom? Who decides the goals and the route? If you have a question, suggestion or comment we'd love to hear from you. Write to: adrianandjimpodcast@gmail.com

See All (18)

About

No lesson-plans. No aims. No exams. Just short lively chats about education, English language teaching, life, values … and any sideroads we discover along the way. Two teachers looking back and wondering what they may have learnt over the years? … or completely failed to learn … Adrian Underhill wrote Sound Foundations and created the Phonemic Chart. He's a past President of IATEFL. Jim Scrivener wrote Learning Teaching, Classroom Management Techniques, Teaching English Grammar and many other ELT books. ... We'd love your questions and comments: adrianandjimpodcast@gmail.com

Information

  • Creator
    Adrian Underhill and Jim Scrivener
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    18
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Adrian Underhill and Jim Scrivener
  • Show Website
    The English Language T-Ching