Short answer
Clarify the question, answer briefly if you are confident, and be open when you need to check. A teacher does not need an instant answer to everything. What matters is handling the question reliably and following up when you say you will.
In S06E17, Em remembers being asked why Who invented the light bulb? does not contain an auxiliary. She did not know the explanation at the time, so she told the learner she would find out and return to it.
Try this in your next lesson
Clarify: What exactly is the learner asking?
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Listen to the whole S06E17 discussion in our podcast episode guide here🔊.
That is a useful professional habit. Guessing can create a neat answer in the moment and a messy misconception afterwards. Saying you need to check models something learners also need to do with language: notice uncertainty, investigate and come back with better information.
Some unexpected questions are not linguistic. In the episode, Em also discusses being asked a personal question that felt unusual in a UK context but was more socially acceptable in the learner’s culture. That kind of moment needs curiosity as well as language knowledge.
You can explain that a question may sound normal in one context and more personal in another without treating either culture as wrong. This is useful pragmatic teaching because learners need to know how language may be received, not only whether the grammar is correct.
When a question threatens to take over the lesson, park it visibly. Write it on the board, add it to a shared document or promise a specific follow-up. Then return to the lesson and make sure you actually come back to it.
What should teachers avoid?
Avoid inventing a rule because it sounds plausible, dismissing a learner’s question because it is inconvenient, or promising to check and then forgetting. Curiosity builds trust when the follow-up is reliable.
Our suggested classroom adaptation of the episode discussion.
Gav and Em suggest: Clarify, answer, park or check
- ☐ Clarify: What exactly is the learner asking?
- ☐ Answer: If you know, keep it concise.
- ☐ Park: If it is useful but off-topic, save it visibly.
- ☐ Check: If unsure, say so.
- ☐ Return: Follow up when promised.
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