Recommended Reading
If you are looking for more inspiration for your classroom teaching, the books below are full of useful ideas that you can use in your TESOL / TEFL teaching.
Keep Talking
by Friederike Klippel
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
This is a practical guide to communication activities in the language classroom, suitable for use with students from elementary to advanced level. Part I contains instructions for over 100 different exercises, including interviews, guessing games, jigsaw tasks, problem solving, values clarification techniques, mime, role play and story telling. For each activity, notes are also provided on the linguistic and educational aims, the level, organisation, time and preparation required. Part II contains the accompanying worksheets, which can be copied, making many of the activities instantly available for use in class. A comprehensive table of activities and an index are included for ease of reference.
Planning Lessons and Courses
by Tessa Woodward
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
This book deals with the kinds of everyday questions working teachers face as they plan lessons and courses. Each chapter contains an analysis of the issue under discussion, as well as practical principles and sample activities.
This book will help inexperienced teachers gain confidence in establishing sound working practices and will give more experienced teachers ideas to refresh their routines.
Discussions that Work
Task-centred Fluency Practice
by Penny Ur
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
How can you make a discussion really work? What sort of activities produce genuine and enthusiastic exchanges of ideas? How can you prepare such exercises quickly and easily? These are some of the questions that Discussions that Work sets out to answer.
The first part provides some general guidelines on the organisation of successful task-centred activities. The second part consists of some fifty practical examples which have been tried and found effective in the classroom. They range from fairly simple to complex and sophisticated, and can thus be used with a wide range of learners, from elementary to the most advanced, in both secondary and adult education.
“...has a wealth of practical ideas which can be used in the classroom tomorrow.”
- Wendy Scott, Practical English Teaching
Discussions A-Z Intermediate
A Resource Book of Speaking Activities
by
Adrian Wallwork
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Discussions A-Z Intermediate is a photocopiable resource book of speaking activities designed to encourage lively, natural discussion among intermediate students.
Providing a refreshing perspective on many common themes the material consists of 26 topic-based units, each filled with a variety of stimulating activities. The units contain authentic reading and listening texts intended to be used as stimulus for discussion. The accompanying cassette provides a wide range of native speaker accents.
The teacher's pages provide clear instructions for each activity, as well as providing a wealth of background information on each topic, keys to the activities, complete tapescripts and suggestions for discussion-based writing activities. The material is designed to be flexible and free-standing: activities can either be used as the basis for a discussion course or dipped into in or out of sequence.
Discussions A-Z Advanced is also available in this series.
Lessons from Nothing: Activities for Language Teaching with Limited Time and Resources
by Bruce Marsland, University of Jyväskylä, Finland.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Lessons from Nothing is an invaluable resource for busy teachers everywhere who are looking for easy-to-use activities which do not require extensive facilities or preparation. It is a practical sourcebook of around 70 language teaching activities which encourage interaction and co-operation in the classroom.
Special features: * activities for immediate use * activities for all ages and levels * clear presentation * no photocopying required.
Games for Language Learning
by Andrew Wright, David Betteridge, Michael Buckby
Publisher: Cambridge University Press.
Games provide meaningful and enjoyable language practice at all levels and for all age groups. They can be used to practise any of the skills - speaking, listening, reading and writing - at any stage of the learning process, from controlled repetition through guided practice to free expression.
To enable teachers to select the activities most suitable for their needs, precise information is provided, both at the beginning of each game and in the summary chart, about the language content, the skills to be practised, the level, the degree of teacher-control, and the time and materials required. Clear advice is given on preparation and classroom procedure, with many illustrations and examples.
Learner-based Teaching
by Colin Campbell and Hanna Kryszewska
Series Editor: Alan Maley
Publisher: Oxford University Press
The book provides seventy language practice activities which use the wealth of knowledge, experience, and expertise that learners bring with them to the classroom.
The activities can be used to supplement a coursebook or to form the basis of an entire teaching programme.
The areas covered include grammar, vocabulary, and examination practice. Teachers working in conditions where there is limited access to published materials will find the book especially helpful.
Role Play
by Gillian Porter Ladousse
Series Editor: Alan Maley
Publisher: Oxford University Press
This useful reference book gives guidance on the use of role play to develop fluency and to train students to deal with the unpredictable nature of language. It helps to provide a focal point in lessons integrating the four skills, while giving experienced teachers fresh ideas, and less experienced teachers lots of practical support.
Sound Foundations
by Adrian Underhill
Publisher: Macmillan ELT
This detailed book on phonology is divided into two main sections; the first shows the reader how sounds are physically made and is followed by the second section which shows how to teach students these sounds.
The approach of this book makes learning phonology a physical, visual, auditory and creative experience.
Penguin English Photocopiable Pair Work 3
by Deidre Howard-Williams, Peter Watcyn-Jones
Publisher: Longman
Designed for Upper Intermediate and Advanced students, Pair Work 3 provides intensive one-to-one conversation practice using a wide range of activities, including: describing location; deducing answers from given clues; general knowledge quizzes, problem-solving, and much more.
You can also try 'Pair Work 1' and 'Pair Work 2' for lower-level students.