Alex Fell has been teaching English as a second language for over a decade, working with everyone from business professionals to university students across multiple continents. In this episode, he shares some of the insights he’s gained from 11 years in the classroom—like how managing expectations can be more important than mastering grammar, why learning a language has more in common with going to the gym than sitting in a lecture, and how cartoons like Peppa Pig can actually be a great diagnostic tool for your English level.
We also talk about the cultural nuances of teaching, how to handle feedback without feeling patronised, and the right (and wrong) ways to use AI tools like ChatGPT in language learning. Whether you're an English learner, a teacher, or just curious about how language acquisition works in practice, there’s a lot in here for you.