Flashback: Late 2014, a couple of colleagues and I are on Skype (yes Skype!) talking about our love of podcasts, and what we’re currently listening to. At that time, the podcast du jour was Serial, an investigative journalism podcast that addressed a possible miscarriage of justice in the US, which started in October of that year and has now been downloaded over 68 million times! A podcast which according to Sherrill, (2020) (1) helped move podcasting from a niche activity to a mainstream media platform. During our conversation, we discuss the lack of ELT podcasts, and one thing led to another and in March 2015 the first episode of TEFL commute dropped.
Flashforward: January 2023, it’s estimated that there are over 5 million podcasts with over 70 million episodes between them (2). Of that, 105 of those episodes are TEFL commute, and in the seven years since we started there is now a burgeoning ELT podcast range for teachers to get stuck into covering many angles.
Aside from their enjoyment value, podcasts are an excellent way of squeezing a little bit of continuing professional development into our busy lives. Something we can listen to, while doing something else. Listening on demand, unlike video on demand does not tie us to a screen.
ELT podcasts contain interviews which allows us to hear from renowned ELT professionals. They also give us new and differing perspectives on educational topics and provide us with things we can try out in the classroom. Space limits me from mentioning all the ELT podcasts out there, but if you’re looking for some to get started then hopefully these five will help you on your way. Continue reading
We know that there are lots of opportunities from technology in ELT – but we also see examples of technology doing what we know isn’t good from a teaching point of view. How can we make sure technology is working for teachers, and that teachers are really benefitting from new developments?
Last December I took part in an 
Not only have classrooms around the world moved online, but professional development has too. So, when you’re not in the classroom, you’re now in a different online platform for your professional development as well. The amount of time we spend in virtual rooms and at our screen is higher than ever. We’re always online! But have all of those online professional development events been useful? Chances are you’ve spent as much time trying to find quality professional development as you’ve spent in the training itself! Have you attended webinars where the tech doesn’t work? Where the topic isn’t quite what you thought? Have you rushed from one virtual room, clicked the next link and sat there, bored or uninspired? Or perhaps the webinar was great, but you missed a lot of great points because you were so busy trying to take notes.
This year may have been difficult for everyone across the globe, but it has been especially challenging for teachers. They have had to transform their lessons into online sessions and adapt to rules and advice to keep their students safe and make sure they can continue learning. In this two-part blog series, we contacted