Two Teachers Talking™ - podcast cover

Two Teachers Talking™

Tony Silva and Charles Wiztwoteacherstalking.org
Teachers know that when classes are done, the beer has been poured, teachers gather around the table, and the talk turns to...teaching. Great (and not so great ideas) are tossed around, argued, praised, and ridiculed. What's been missing is a microphone on the table. Until now. If you're a teacher, and especially if you're teaching in Japan, have a listen. Tony and Charles talk about what they've learned, what works, what doesn't, and what other teachers like you have to say.

Episodes

123. Meet Generation C

In another very special episode, we talk with students and alumni from Osaka University about how the COVID-19 crisis is affecting their education, their future, and their lives. Their discussion is full of insight, surprise, and hope. If you’re teaching in Japan, you need to hear what they have to say. They distinguish themselves as very special representatives of their generation. This is a good one. Don’t miss it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Big, special thanks to (alphabetical order): Miyu Kataoka Moku Seiyou ...

Apr 20, 20201 hr

122. Email organization

Email for remote learning. As we all gear up for teaching in this new environment, we can predict that email, particularly email from students, is going to be a bigger part of the workday. In a special episode, we talk about what we have learned about handling student email and offer some tips on avoiding mistakes and speeding up workflows. More at https://twoteacherstalking.org

Apr 09, 202051 min

121. Needs Analysis Part 2 and the COVID-19 Virus

A very special episode of Two Teachers Talking, so special it’s dropping early. First we recap last month’s interview with Alison Kitzman. Then, we move on to discuss the COVID-19 virus and how it will change our teaching, our students, and our world. A hard discussion in hard times. Let’s all try to get through this together. Be safe. Mentioned: Charles’ Covid-19 information site for ex-pats in Japan https://japancovid19.carrd.co Otter - audio recording of meeting, discussion, with auto-transcr...

Mar 29, 20201 hr 30 min

120. Needs Analysis - Pt. 1: Prof. Alison Kitzman

Charles is MIA this month, but Tony interviews Prof. Alison Kitzman to explore how needs analysis can help our teaching, and more, help with course and curriculum design. In a future episode Tony and Charles will compare notes.

Mar 01, 20201 hr 1 min

119. An Interview with Chris Ruddenklau

An interview with Chris Ruddenklau. Chris, colleague and old Japan hand, shares his teaching experiences in Thailand, Laos, and Japan. He is the coordinator of the JALT Teachers Helping Teachers (THT) Laos Program and plays an active role in the annual Laos TESOL conference. Just two teachers talking. Of course, afterwards, Charles shares his observation and analysis. Good stuff. JALT THT SIG Japanese Association for Language Teachers, Teachers Helping Teachers Special Interest Group http://thtj...

Jan 31, 20201 hr 6 min

118. Great Expectations, Revisited

Raise high the bars, teachers. That’s the current mantra. But how high is too high? How do you know? What are the consequences? What do you do if you've screwed up? Mentioned: Episode 60, Two Teachers Talking, March 2015. And Happy New Year! (And thanks to Mick, Keith, et al, for the outro riffs.)

Jan 01, 20201 hr

117. Highs and Lows

As 2019 slithers down into its ignominious place in history, we consider ourselves lucky, in that, at least from a teaching perspective, it’s been an unremarkable year. We sift through the memories, panning for nuggets of wisdom to help us in the new year. Don’t expect much. Nevertheless, please accept our wishes for a wonderful holiday season and a new year better than the last. Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Solstice, 今年も色々お世話になりました.

Dec 01, 201953 min

116. Speech Contests

Near-universally reviled and loathed, do speech contests make any sense? Tony and Charles disagree on almost everything except that, in their current manifestation, speech contests are awful. But listen in to hear all the shades of speech contest gray. Visit our website for links to things mentioned. https://twoteacherstalking.org

Nov 01, 201958 min

115. Language and Personality: It’s me!

ボクです!¡Soy yo! C'est moi! To ja! Это я! 나야! Tôi đây! 是我!ມັນແມ່ນຂ້ອຍ! So, really…how does the language we use affect…everything? Tony and Charles dive off the deep end. Luckily, they have some help from Maria Minohara, student at Osaka University, who shares her insights on bilingualism, personality, persona, and society. (And apologies to Maria and listeners for the poor recording quality of the interview.) Mentioned: Ivana Paz, "How the Language I Speak Changes My Personality" https://humanparts...

Oct 01, 20191 hr 1 min

114. Task Management

We all have more things to do than time to do them. We talk about trying to manage all the things we need to, want to, or are expected to do. Spoiler: no magic app will solve all your task management problems. Also, apologies for the poor audio quality; not up to our usual standards, but TIME MANAGEMENT issues didn’t allow a re-recording.

Sep 01, 20191 hr 8 min

113. Beyond Your Control

From time to time one needs to step back and take account of what you do and don’t have control over. When you realize the things that are bugging you most are things beyond your control, what do you do? Mentioned: Text Expander https://textexpander.com The Flintstones https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flintstones Previous Episodes https://twoteacherstalking.org: - 12, 13 Interviewing and Hiring - 51, 52 School Culture - 53 Failure by Design

Aug 01, 20191 hr 9 min

112. Motivation

Motivation. No, not yours. The students’. How do you motivate students–or should you have to? Peering into the opacity of the student mind. Mentioned: You Are Not So SmartPodcast (YANSS), Episodes 52, 53, 55 https://youarenotsosmart.com Two Teachers Talking: Episode 67 Japanese Exceptionalism Episode 53: Failure by Design Episode 51 and 52: School Culture Internet Content by Language http://tony-silva.com/eslefl/whyenglish.html Us and Them, Silva http://tony-silva.com/usandthem/usandthem.html Ge...

Jul 01, 20191 hr 5 min

110. So, now you’re a teacher

So, you landed a teaching job. Sit down, kid, let us tell ya couple things. We dig deep for ideas, tips, shortcuts, and insights that might have helped us in our early teaching years. (Give us a break…that was a long time ago.) Here’s your chance to learn from our many, many mistakes.

May 01, 20191 hr 7 min
For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android
Open in Metacast