What can you achieve in a short time?

Dear Reader,

I purposely call this the Sunday(ish) newsletter because I know life happens and so sometimes I'll have to skip it.

But I never really thought the name would apply to the newsletter going out, but accidentally going out on a Friday... which you may have noticed happened last week.

8 Times Sofia Vergara Was The Most Relatable Character On Modern Family — *Me when I realised I'd hit "send" on a Friday (and yes I see the grammar error but my love for Modern Family's Gloria knows no bounds)*

On the bright side, I hope it brought you a sense of anticipation for the weekend, kind of in the vein of "wait, is it Sunday already? Whatever, let's make it Sunday already!🎉"

Last week, I told you about how to plan for a new class. Indeed, for the whole month of September, I have planned my newsletters on the hopefully inspiring-for-this-time-of-the-year topic of looking ahead.

And I know that many of you are now either anxiously awaiting confirmation of where you might be teaching next for a few days/weeks/months (which, by the way, fingers crossed for you!), or racking your brain on how to plan at least the next 3.5 months of learning.

Whichever situation you're in, do you sometimes feel that you can't achieve much in a short time?

Whether it's because you only have a few hours a week and not a lot of time with a class in the grand scheme of things, or because you're sent to sub in a school you don't know for a few days/weeks, sometimes you may justifiably wonder:

But before you rush to making a lesson plan with only the words "homework hour" on it, let me reassure you: there's plenty you can achieve in a short time.

And today, I will tell you:

an example of "achievement in a relatively short time": our course Speak Better Teach Better (one last group added!)
5 things you can work towards in a short period of time
what you can do when you only have a few days or weeks

So, grab a nice coffee and let's get cracking!

Enhancing speaking + teaching in 5 weeks: the Speak Better Teach Better example

Two years ago, we launched a conversation course dedicated specifically to teachers. Because we're in the habit of actually listening to what our teachers need, we realised that we could meet two of your needs at once: developing teaching strategies and getting better at speaking fluently (and accurately).

So, we developed a speaking programme where each lesson had a topic related to teaching: from managing low-level learners, to games, to teaching pronunciation.

And at our LanguagEd Day a few years ago, we shared a demo of what our lesson on the topic of "pronunciation" would look like 👇

So, even if the programme is "only" 5 weeks long, it is effective because its double focus is clear. This influences how we run the lessons:

Maximise speaking opportunities for participants: reduce Teacher Talk Time and make it valuable
Contribute to the conversation with insights from our own teaching experience
Select lesson topics that are practical and relevant to our teachers in their school contexts (and not some abstract notion of how to teach to the perfect, well-behaved class of 15 students)
Provide group and personal feedback on vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation
Summarise the lesson at the end and send participants the summary

If you want to learn more, we've written this article about the research behind the methodology of the course.

Now I'm very pleased to say that a new round of Speak Better Teach Better is starting in the week commencing 6 October! We've had loads of demand and the course sold out quickly.

But here's the good news: our trainer Emma Meade-Flynn has stepped in and will be teaching one more group. She kindly agreed to make it a very convenient time for teachers (6PM) and I think you're really going to love learning with her.

Disclaimer: this is the last group we will create, so if you want to join us, now is the time to do it before it sells out again 👇

Join Speak Better Teach Better

5 things to work towards in a short time

Working in a school for only a short time, or thinking about what you can achieve this year before, say, Christmas¹, doesn't need to feel like a fool's errand.

Here are 5 ideas for how to frame it:

1. Home in on a specific skill or skill set

Say you're going to have a class for only a limited time: why not become the [speaking/reading/insert skill] expert? You could, for example, decide that your aim for your limited time is to improve the students' oral skills. You can share this with your students, so they know what's coming, and plan your activities around your aim. To give both yourself and your students a sense of tangible progress, I recommend giving them a task at the beginning of your time with them (in the case of oral skills, it could be a roleplay, a debate, a think-pair-share) and then repeat it at the end of your time with them. You could give them a few prompts to reflect on the difference: what do they feel they have improved since the last time they did the task? What could they still do better?

2. Go with the time of the year

Another idea to find a focus and a sense of achievement is to, well, look at the time of the year: is it October? You're in for a few Halloween-themed sessions! December: Christmas time! But aside from the more obvious ones, there are also plenty of holidays that you can harness to create wonderful lessons. Here is a complete list for you to consult. I also think it's a cool idea in general as a warm up for any lesson: today is [insert day, which at the time of my writing is apparently Cheese Pizza Day].

3. Frame it as a question

So, okay, time is not on your side, but what if you framed the little time you have with this class as a quest to find the answer to a question? Choose a topic, break it up in manageable chunks and get students to answer it. You will feel a sense of accomplishment when they generate their answers (and, crucially, show this in a tangible end product, like a presentation, a text or an infographic) by the end of your time with them. For inspiration, here is how Emma framed and chunked a lesson on Shakespeare in our Literature course starting from a key question:

4. Test, Teach, Test

If there's ever been a context where a TTT (Test Teach Test) approach is appropriate, a short stay with a class is it, I reckon. You're thrown in at the deep end, so you don't know what they know: use that to your advantage. First, set yourself a topic or goal. This can even be a lesson from your coursebook. Test your students to see how much they already know/can do, then teach your lesson, then re-test them. The TTT structure facilitates that progression that will give you a great sense of achievement. I discuss TTT in details, with examples, in the On demand course on lesson planning, which I know many of you have on your LanguagEd dashboard.

three pairs of ballet shoes lined up on a wooden floor — *A cute visual representation of a sense of progress*

5. Make time count with lifelong skills

This might sound like a contradiction in terms: how can I foster lifelong skills if I'm only there for a short time? And my answer is: you're going to have to foster something in those few days/week/months, right? So, why not make it a lifelong skill? And one thing I've previously banged on about but still really think is one of the most valuable presents you can give your students, is metacognition. As an example: videos are great resources to ~~entertain~~ engage a class you don't know well, so you might like to have a few ones prepared. But watching videos doesn't have to be an end in itself or be overly comprehension-focused: it can be a nurturing experience! How about you create a listening buddy programme? Pair students up, have them watch a video and fill in this form (you can download it and translate it in the L1, if you think it helps). Instead of being tested on their learning, they can start taking ownership of it.

The worst case scenario: you only have a few days/weeks

What happens when you're only covering for a colleague for a few days or weeks? I say you can leave your mark even in a very short time. It's hard but not impossible, and I'd suggest there is quite an important silver lining to being there for a limited time only: the stakes are low. You can use this to your advantage.

How, you ask? Here are some ideas:

The struggle brainstorm: you're only going to be there for a little while, so the stakes are low. Why not use harness and let the students tell you all the things they struggle with when it comes to English? They don't know you, but this is often a blessing in disguise because they won't be afraid to speak their mind (have you ever poured your heart out to a stranger in a way you just can't do with your loved ones? That's about it). So, do this as a group or class discussion, as an anonymous survey, as a collaborative wordcloud: what is your biggest struggle? And then: what is one thing you could do to tackle your struggle? I'd suggest this is a good reflective activity for you to grow as a teacher if you make a few notes and take a few minutes to review them at home (more on little good habits to implement this September in a future newsletter)
The game box: this one is high(ish) prep for a longterm investment that will pay you back 10 times what you put in. Have you ever thought about having a box of games? If this sounds a bit nursery teacher-y, think again: games are an excellent way to learn a language. They are tasks, they are engaging and plus, how many teens end up learning English by gaming online? That's your proof. So, get a shoebox and fill it with the most popular English language teaching games: taboo, scattergories, bingo, crosswords, and whatever else you fancy. Let learners pick at random and promise them you will play - as long as they try their best to use English!
The secret wish: little time, low stakes = more freedom. You might not have the time to do a proper analysis of the learners' needs... so why not be indulgent and work with their wants instead? Ask your learners: what is the one thing you've always wanted to do in an English class but never got a chance to do? Granted, some suggestions will be a bit rubbish maybe, but you could find some real winners in there - perhaps even materials provided by the students themselves, which cuts your prep time. A win-win, if you ask me. Just make sure you're ready for questions about the jargon of K-Pop idol songs that the millennial mind cannot humanly comprehend.

And that concludes today's newsletter: I hope it was somewhat interesting and if you get a call for a school for a few days/weeks/months, remember: you can do it!

Wishing you a lovely Sunday and painless first week of school.

Take care, dear teacher ✨

¹ Speaking of Christmas and speaking of sold out, here is an email I received this week from a local pub (if you're wondering why I receive emails from a local pub, join the club because I don't have the faintest idea):

Received on 4 September AD 2025. 'Nuff said.

✨Cool things I heard this week

Who knew I would enjoy teaching English so much? I had a completely different job in a private company for almost 20 years, then I started teaching a couple of years ago. It was terrifying at the start but then someone mentioned your courses and newsletter: I fell in love and putting all those things into practice made me such a better teacher. I'd love to do a live course with you and your colleagues!