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PODCAST

The Free Talk Staffroom

Patrick Sherriff

Advice for the self-employed English teacher in Japan. Drops every Friday. freetalktefl.substack.com

education language learning

All Episodes

7:38

95. Why I'm wary of using AI in English teaching in...

The Free Talk Staffroom ·

2025/11/07

If we welcome AI wholeheartedly to take over our core functions as teachers, things are not going to end well for us self-employed English teachers in Japan. Maybe it’s time to embrace a more human hands-on approach? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit freetalktefl.substack.com

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6:02

94. How I use AI to teach English

The Free Talk Staffroom ·

2025/10/31

I try to balance adopting new technology with keeping myself in the driving seat. Here, I discuss how I use AI for lessons with three of my students. Next week, I’ll talk about what I don’t want AI to do. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit freetalktefl.substack.com

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11:15

93. How long does it take to prepare for a day of...

The Free Talk Staffroom ·

2025/10/24

I time myself getting ready for a busy Friday and surprise myself how fast I can prepare for seven, 40-minute lessons. How long does it take you to prepare your classes?The main reason I can race through the prep time is I’ve already done it in the form of age and ability-specific textbooks, so on the day I just have to remind myself of the lessons.You can see what textbooks I use here: https://freetalktefl.substack.com/p/books This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other

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3:28

92. Remembering Matthew Dons

The Free Talk Staffroom ·

2025/10/17

For more details of the get-together, go to the Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/events/782098757904130 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit freetalktefl.substack.com

en

5:05

91. How to do level checks

The Free Talk Staffroom ·

2025/10/10

If you know what your syllabus is and what grammar and vocab your materials are, doing a level check is a doddle. If you don’t have a syllabus, might I suggest you get one? Where do you get one from? This post about textbooks and writing your own might help: https://freetalktefl.substack.com/p/how-to-write-your-own-textbooks-workingNeed help with grammar and what a syllabus actually is? I wrote a book to help: https://freetalktefl.substack.com/p/the-tower-english-way-how-to-start This is a public

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4:05

90. Why I've started teaching English on Sundays

The Free Talk Staffroom ·

2025/10/03

When you’re self-employed you can pretty much choose your own work schedule, within reason. And one reason to consider teaching on Sundays is that’s when your students might be free. Just remember to pace yourself though, you still need time off …The textbook I made for use with first year university students is here: https://freetalktefl.substack.com/i/119447247/textbooks-for-adults This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes,

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3:50

89. Is this how you want to spend your life?

The Free Talk Staffroom ·

2025/09/26

Before you answer that question, consider what you would be doing if it wasn’t for the need to earn a living? You may think you are sick of preparing lessons, dealing with kids, dealing with parents, dealing with businesspeople, but consider what else you might be doing. I’d rather be a little teapot than a corporate drone, but hey, you do you. I wrote a book about this too, called JEFWARS: How to reclaim your life’s meaning — one scribbled box at a time here:

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6:05

88. How we did our annual speech day this year

The Free Talk Staffroom ·

2025/09/19

This vid is just a few thoughts from an eikaiwa English teacher (me) on why and how to do a speech day. My thoughts from last year’s speech day are here: https://freetalktefl.substack.com/p/59-have-you-thought-about-runningAnd the Instagram from speech day 2024 is here: This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit freetalktefl.substack.com

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9:05

87. Start where you are, and you might surprise...

The Free Talk Staffroom ·

2025/09/12

For more about how we went from teaching from our living room to owning our school, see the series of posts that culminates with us buying our own place: https://freetalktefl.substack.com/p/how-we-came-to-own-our-english-school This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit freetalktefl.substack.com

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8:23

86. Questions over how best to use our first employee

The Free Talk Staffroom ·

2025/09/05

I’m new to this game of hiring and training staff, but here are some half-baked thoughts about it. What do you think?Here’s an earlier post about team teaching in the classroom (with my wife), you might find useful if you find yourself in a similar spot: https://freetalktefl.substack.com/p/thoughts-on-team-teaching-children This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit freetalktefl.substack.com

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4:53

85. I've just published Free Talk Business 1-3...

The Free Talk Staffroom ·

2025/08/29

Oh, and from today and through the weekend, you can download Free Talk Business 1: Get your dream job for free as a Kindle ebook. Hurry though, the link reverts to paid only from Monday. Get it here for free from Amazon.co.jp:https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/Patrick-Sherriff-ebook/dp/B0FNQS99KT Get it here for free from Amazon.com:https://www.amazon.com/-/en/Patrick-Sherriff-ebook/dp/B0FNQS99KT Get it here free from Amazon.co.uk:https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/en/Patrick-Sherriff-ebook/dp/B0FNQS99KT If you

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4:48

84. The weirdest English lessons I've ever taught

The Free Talk Staffroom ·

2025/08/22

Not so weird, maybe, but certainly not covered in the textbooks. Here’s a related post about my three biggest mistakes — it’s not just students who mess up, you know — https://freetalktefl.substack.com/p/my-three-biggest-mistakes-as-a-self This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit freetalktefl.substack.com

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10:00

83. The real story of how I came to teach English in...

The Free Talk Staffroom ·

2025/08/15

Yeah, origin stories are all very well, I hear you say, but how can I get more students to sign up with me? I found out accidentally what marketing chaps already knew: exude “with or without you” energy. Details are here: https://freetalktefl.substack.com/p/the-secret-to-getting-more-students This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit freetalktefl.substack.com

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2:50

82. Two tips to get your English school off the ground

The Free Talk Staffroom ·

2025/08/08

Two opposite tips actually, but they kind of work together. More advice here:https://freetalktefl.substack.com/p/your-secret-weapon-as-a-self-employed This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit freetalktefl.substack.com

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8:55

81. Are you finding teaching English stressful?...

The Free Talk Staffroom ·

2025/08/01

And that simple idea is… lesson planning. But more than that, do it right and you’ll never have to plan a lesson again. If this video resonated with you, you might find these links interesting too:How to write your own textbook: https://freetalktefl.substack.com/p/how-to-write-your-own-textbooks-workingHow to set up your own English school: https://freetalktefl.substack.com/p/the-tower-english-way-how-to-start This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get

en

10:35

80. A day in the life of a self-employed English...

The Free Talk Staffroom ·

2025/07/25

From the POW camps of Borneo, to the backseats of a minivan tearing through the suburbs, there’s a bit of variety in the life of a self-employed English teacher in Japan. More basic tips on teaching English to Japanese kids here: https://freetalktefl.substack.com/p/a-few-little-things-you-might-need This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit freetalktefl.substack.com

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6:14

79. Teaching English in this age of nationalism — or...

The Free Talk Staffroom ·

2025/07/18

I don’t want to cancel America, but Trumpism tests more than just my patience. By the way, I made a lesson plan to teach about Murder on the Orient Express, as mentioned in the video, here: https://freetalktefl.substack.com/p/murder-on-the-orient-express This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit freetalktefl.substack.com

en

8:39

78. Stuck in low-wage English teaching? Time to start...

The Free Talk Staffroom ·

2025/07/11

Find yourself still getting entry-level pay but you’ve been in the teaching game for years? One solution might be starting your own school. Yeah, there are pitfalls, but there are also great opportunities. Speaking of opportunities… fancy popping out to a South African cafe bar and looking at some oil paintings? (That’s what I do when I’m not teaching). My show is on until the end of the month at Sun Beam terrace in Mabashi, on the eastern edge of Tokyo. It would be lovely to see you if you can make

en

6:26

77. A new dawn for my business? We just hired a...

The Free Talk Staffroom ·

2025/07/04

In which I talk about hiring our first employee, and how we found her. There’s not much else I can say as I’m in new territory here myself, but watch this space.Speaking of new dawns and such, I’ll be at Sunbeam Terrace in Mabashi on the eastern edge of Tokyo this Saturday night (July 5th) for my art show “Here comes the sun”. Come along if you want to meet me, look at art or just chill. Details here: http://artbypatricksherriff.substack.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss

en

7:13

76. The secret to running a successful English school...

The Free Talk Staffroom ·

2025/06/20

It’s not about your marketing plan and certainly not about discount fees.More thoughts on the business of teaching in Japan here: https://freetalktefl.substack.com/p/the-tower-english-way-how-to-start This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit freetalktefl.substack.com

en

94 results

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