I loved teaching English (ESL). Some places where you work can be trying, but I loved teaching English. I loved learning new things, being challenged in my job, and meeting new people and in turn learning from them too. Every week I learned something, whether it be about my students, language, or a new way or seeing something; it was great.
Scrivener and Harmer
These two men are some of the go-to-people in ESL. Their books, Learning Teaching and The Practice of English Language Teaching, are two that I’ve seen most often on ELT and TESL training programs. And for good reason too. Both of them give you the basics and a nice starting point for your ESL career. They won’t give you everything you need to know, and no book can, but they help get you on your way so you can continue your own learning and evolving.
While both books provide an overview in how to teach, and plenty of situations and examples Jim Scrivener’s Learning Teaching contains tasks to complete so you can think of the theory with ‘a hands on idea’ and get you into reflective practice. Jeremy Harmer’s The Practice of English Language Teaching delves into more theory and methodology. Individually these are great books; together they are perfect for getting you started in your career.
They are often unavailable through Chapters and Indigo, so you may have to visit the publishers websites or http://www.pearsonlongman.com/professionaldevelopment/pelt.html
I’m all for professional development. No matter how long you’ve been teaching or how great of a teacher you are, you can always learn something new. A worst case scenario is that you help colleagues improve themselves as well; and I don’t think that a bad thing really. A quote from Professional Development for Language Teachers by Jack C. Richards and Thomas S.C. Farrell made by B. Gottesman summarizes it perfectly “A teacher who is willing to try to improve his or her teaching is not admitting weakness, but rather is simply trying to find better ways to teach his or her students”.
I came across this book quite a while ago and thought it was quite interesting. The book gives you strategies or ideas to think about in becoming a better teacher. Chapters include: conducting and participating in workshops, self-monitoring your lessons, taking part in teacher support groups, keeping a teaching journal, taking part in peer observation, teaching portfolios, analyzing critical incidents, doing case analysis, taking part in peer coaching, team teaching, and doing action research. Each chapter has numerous vignettes of teachers going through their own development followed by some reflective questions to ask yourself. And for myself, I have tried many of these ideas throughout my career, for a variety of reasons, and there are more I’d like to try.
In teaching government employees I rarely have group classes and it can be difficult finding material suited to one student. Oxford came out with a series a few years ago suited to private classes and both my last student and I really liked them. Business one:one makes easy to choose which topics we wanted and could elaborate on areas that needed improvement. There are even additional reading and listening tasks at the back. The three levels (pre-intermediate, intermediate + and advanced) enable your students to learn business English at a pace and level suitable to them. Another perk with this series is the listenings have different accents – no more only British or only American accents.
Penny Ur
There are a bunch of books out there that seem to act as a lifesaver in times of need and at other times, an educational tool in building a teacher’s resources. The group I’m referring to were written by Penny Ur and while her name may not be familiar to everyone, her books seem to be widely used. As a teacher, I discovered her books Grammar Practice Activities and Five Minute Activities in my first year of teaching and I still refer to it for an activity, to start up a lesson, introduce something/a grammar point, and practice something specific (language or grammar). Some of my ‘go-to’ activities have also come from these two books. As a coordinator, I’ve seen teachers use them time and time again, especially once they’ve discovered how useful they are.
Rez Packs
Also formally known as Resource Packs, publishers and textbook writers put these together to accompany a textbook series. They are full of activities that usually go with a certain textbook unit, but often they can be used on their own and they are always photocopiable. These activities have made their way into my lessons in one form or another throughout the years – a jumping off point for a lesson; creating a lesson around an idea; used for reinforcing a grammar point or practicing a language function; or a lesson itself for conversation, discussion, or debate. Sometimes you have to buy the textbook pack (student’s book, teacher’s book, CD) and get the rez pack free. Sometimes you can buy it on its own, and sometimes the publisher’s put them on their website either to download or sent to you in a e-newsletter.
Grammar
Every teacher has their favourite grammar book(s) and I’m no different. I know many teachers (in North America) love Betty Azar; however, I can’t stand them (no offense Betty). My favourites are Raymond Murphy’s Essential Grammar in Use and EnglishGrammar in Use (The Advanced Grammar in Use is good too although it isn’t written by Murphy) and John Eastwood’s Oxford Practice Grammar. I like these because the explanations are simple and straightforward. There isn’t any fluffy or confusing language or explanations like in some other grammar books. I also like the layout: explanations and examples on one page and practice exercises on the following facing page. Another thing I like about these books is that the “grammar” can be looked at and then you can ‘move on’. Some grammar books have long chapters on their grammar points and that could take all day or a whole lesson, and really, grammar is more than just written exercises. Newer editions are available and the Eastwood’s has been rereleased for different levels; however, still flip through them. Some editions of Murphy’s English Grammar have the present perfect simple meaning the exact same thing as the past simple in every situation (Defininately not!!!).
In teaching government employees I rarely have group classes and it can be difficult finding material suited to one student. Oxford came out with a series a few years ago suited to private classes and both my last student and I really liked them. Business one:one makes easy to choose which topics we wanted and could elaborate on areas that needed improvement. There are even additional reading and listening tasks at the back. The three levels (pre-intermediate, intermediate + and advanced) enable your students to learn business English at a pace and level suitable to them. Another perk with this series is the listenings have different accents – no more only British or only American accents.
Penny Ur
There are a bunch of books out there that seem to act as a lifesaver in times of need and at other times, an educational tool in building a teacher’s resources. The group I’m referring to were written by Penny Ur and while her name may not be familiar to everyone, her books seem to be widely used. As a teacher, I discovered her books Grammar Practice Activities and Five Minute Activities in my first year of teaching and I still refer to it for an activity, to start up a lesson, introduce something/a grammar point, and practice something specific (language or grammar). Some of my ‘go-to’ activities have also come from these two books. As a coordinator, I’ve seen teachers use them time and time again, especially once they’ve discovered how useful they are.
Rez Packs
Also formally known as Resource Packs, publishers and textbook writers put these together to accompany a textbook series. They are full of activities that usually go with a certain textbook unit, but often they can be used on their own and they are always photocopiable. These activities have made their way into my lessons in one form or another throughout the years – a jumping off point for a lesson; creating a lesson around an idea; used for reinforcing a grammar point or practicing a language function; or a lesson itself for conversation, discussion, or debate. Sometimes you have to buy the textbook pack (student’s book, teacher’s book, CD) and get the rez pack free. Sometimes you can buy it on its own, and sometimes the publisher’s put them on their website either to download or sent to you in a e-newsletter.
Grammar
Every teacher has their favourite grammar book(s) and I’m no different. I know many teachers (in North America) love Betty Azar; however, I can’t stand them (no offense Betty). My favourites are Raymond Murphy’s Essential Grammar in Use and EnglishGrammar in Use (The Advanced Grammar in Use is good too although it isn’t written by Murphy) and John Eastwood’s Oxford Practice Grammar. I like these because the explanations are simple and straightforward. There isn’t any fluffy or confusing language or explanations like in some other grammar books. I also like the layout: explanations and examples on one page and practice exercises on the following facing page. Another thing I like about these books is that the “grammar” can be looked at and then you can ‘move on’. Some grammar books have long chapters on their grammar points and that could take all day or a whole lesson, and really, grammar is more than just written exercises. Newer editions are available and the Eastwood’s has been rereleased for different levels; however, still flip through them. Some editions of Murphy’s English Grammar have the present perfect simple meaning the exact same thing as the past simple in every situation (Defininately not!!!).
