“Wow. Nobody has explained this to me like that before.”
“That makes it so clear. I haven’t heard it explained like this before.”
“Your classes are more than just lessons.”
“You are the most creative teacher I’ve ever seen.”
Over 25 years of teaching English, I have heard variations of these comments many times. At first, I simply appreciated them. Then I became curious. What was happening in those lessons that produced these reactions? So I started observing, and I have continued to do so ever since.
Teaching information is only part of the job
English teaching naturally involves grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, exercises and practice. All of these have their place. But information alone does not guarantee learning.
A learner can understand an explanation and still be unable to use it. They can know a word without retrieving it when they need it. They can recognise a grammatical structure without producing it naturally. They can understand a pronunciation rule without hearing the feature in real speech.
There is a distance between knowing something and being able to use it. Much of my work has become concerned with that distance.
When something clicks
One of the most interesting moments in a lesson is the moment when something changes. The learner suddenly notices a pattern. Something that previously seemed complicated becomes straightforward. A sound that was difficult to distinguish becomes recognisable. An expression that seemed artificial suddenly makes sense in context.
The learner does not merely receive another piece of information. Something in their understanding has shifted.
That moment can be surprisingly small, but its consequences can be significant. Once something has become clear, the learner begins to notice it elsewhere. They recognise it in conversation, hear it in a video, or use it in their own speech. Understanding begins to generate further understanding.
The learning experience matters
This is why I have become increasingly interested in the experience surrounding the information. A question can make someone look at a familiar problem differently. A good example can reveal a pattern that an explanation leaves hidden. Rhythm can make language easier to feel and remember. Humour can change attention. An unexpected connection can make something memorable.
Sometimes a difficult idea needs a careful explanation. Sometimes the explanation is not the most useful intervention. The important question is what will allow this particular learner to see, hear, understand or use the language more effectively.
That is where teaching becomes a craft.
English is more than a collection of rules
I have never been particularly interested in teaching English as a collection of isolated facts. Grammar matters. Vocabulary matters. Pronunciation matters. They become much more useful, however, when learners begin to see the relationships between them.
English has patterns. It has rhythm. It has recurring ways of organising meaning. It has predictable ways of connecting sounds. It behaves differently in real communication from the way it appears on a page.
The more those relationships become visible and usable, the less English feels like a collection of things to remember. It starts to become a system that the learner can work with.
What I have learned from observing learners
After more than two decades, I have become less interested in asking simply, “What should I teach next?” I am increasingly interested in asking what this particular learner needs to notice, what needs to become clearer, what needs to become automatic, and what is preventing existing knowledge from becoming usable.
Those questions lead to very different lessons. They also explain why no two learners follow exactly the same route to improvement.
A senior executive preparing for international meetings, an IVD product manager dealing with customers, and a professional who wants to communicate more confidently may all need English. Their learning problems can be completely different. The language is only part of the picture.
Creating the conditions for understanding
Looking back, I think this is one of the central ideas that has emerged from my teaching: understanding does not always need to be delivered directly. It can sometimes be designed into the learning experience.
When the conditions are right, the learner makes the connection themselves. The moment when an explanation is no longer necessary because the learner has finally seen it is one of the most satisfying things to witness as a teacher.
That is what I continue to look for. Not simply more English, but more understanding, more control, and eventually more freedom to use it.
Do you need help communicating clearly in English?
I help senior professionals who want to communicate with greater clarity and confidence in English.