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Education

The English Language T-Ching

Adrian Underhill and Jim Scrivener

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.

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We'd love your questions and comments: adrianandjimpodcast@gmail.com

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  • 18 episodes
  • fortnightly
  • Avg 10 min
  • English

Episodes 18

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  • S1 · E18
    August 25 · 7 min

    018 "Any Questions?"

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

  • S1 · E17
    August 11 · 10 min

    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.

  • S1 · E16
    July 28 · 10 min

    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!

  • S1 · E15
    July 14 · 8 min

    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.

  • S1 · E14
    June 30 · 7 min

    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

  • June 16 · 10 min

    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

  • S1 · E12
    June 2 · 10 min

    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?

  • S1 · E11
    May 21 · 9 min

    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

  • S1 · E10
    May 11 · 11 min

    010 Praise, Encouragement, Feedback and Power

    Adrian worries about whether he should have praised his four-and-a-half year old grandson's map-reading skills. He relates this to his own attitude to praise, encouragement and feedback in the classroom. Should we praise in class? Or does praising reduce the learner's ability to recognise and value their own achievements? If you have a question, suggestion or comment we'd love to hear from you. Write to: adrianandjimpodcast@gmail.com

  • S1 · E9
    March 26 · 8 min

    009 Slow Learning

    What do we miss when we speed through our coursebook pages? Does a “fast lesson” reduce the quality of experience for teachers and learners? Is there time in our busy classrooms for “slow learning”? Could going slow actually be pacier and less boring than going fast? The article Adrian refers to is at: Slow learning - by Alexandra Mihai - The Educationalist If you have a question, suggestion or comment we'd love to hear from you. Write to: adrianandjimpodcast@gmail.com

  • S1 · E8
    March 9 · 11 min

    008 Movement in ELT

    This episode we're following a suggestion from one of our listeners - Thanks, Elvira! We're looking at how much movement and physicality play a role in the ELT classroom. If you have a question, suggestion or comment we'd love to hear from you. Write to: adrianandjimpodcast@gmail.com

  • S1 · E7
    January 28 · 8 min

    007 Intuition ... Morphic Resonance and a Supposition

    What is intuition? How can a student access it? Does intuition come from our store of previous experiences or might it be something more esoteric? Could intuition be tapping into some universal field? Might it be similar to Rupert Sheldrake's idea of Morphic Resonance? Even if these ideas are nuts, what would happen if we went into class as if they were true?

  • Oct 28, 2025 · 11 min

    004 Planets ... Holding a space

    Can a day be longer than a year? What does Adrian mean by "holding a space" in lessons? How can learners and teacher be "busy together"?

  • Oct 8, 2025 · 13 min

    002 Car Journeys ... Wholes, Bits and Practice

    Should we be teaching the language "bits" so that learners can put them together to express themselves or encourage them to express themselves and assist with the "bits" along the way? Can Adrian's car journey metaphor possible make it to the end of the podcast?

  • #1
    Sep 30, 2025 · 9 min

    001 Shells ... Speaking from the heart

    Why has Adrian got a bag full of shells? How can a language learner express themselves in their new language? How does that fit in with all our coursebooks and exercises? ... We'd love to hear your questions and comments. Write to: adrianandjimpodcast@gmail.com

Showing 1–18 of 18 episodes