5 great TEFL books to help you teach

Diving into the world of English teaching can be tricky. Yes, we’ve got some world-beating 120-hour pro courses to get you off the mark, but this is a lifelong learning curve. Pedagogical trends are always changing. Disciplinary methods are always updating. What’s more, prospective employers – whether in Vietnam, France, or Mexico – love a candidate who shows energy in staying abreast of the latest in the industry. Cue this list of TEFL books, which can help you to teach with unique insights, ideas and more…

An AZ of ELT (2006), Scott Thornbury

A great place for newbie teachers to begin, this digital and paperback publication veers away from the more academic TEFL books to deal with all the confusing terms used in the industry. You’ll get a simple and easy-to-navigate list of phrases related to tutoring English as a foreign language. They range from academic technical phrases you’ll encounter on the job, like lexicons and grammatical cases, all the way to subject areas and methodological ELT topics, like phonology and pronunciation. TL;DR: It’s a good place to start if you’re struggling with the jargon.

Eats, Shoots and Leaves (2011), Lynne Truss

Calling all who struggle with grammar – this one’s for you. With a tagline that proudly proclaims this manageable tome of 220 pages “The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation,” it’s the book you’ll need to sort your past participles from your present perfect tenses. The great thing about Truss’s approach is that it effortlessly mingles humor with arcane grammatical precision. Even the title of the book is a play on a joke about a panda. We’ll let you figure out the punchline for yourself.

Practical English Usage (1989), Michael Swan

Now in its third edition, this stand-out reference resource for English learners offers a different perspective on the teaching process. It has clear and concise articles that run through the proper usage of contentious English grammar, sentence formations, and syntax. But it also deals with vocabulary and typical mistakes in day-to-day speaking and listening. It’s certainly not a whack-in-the-suitcase-while-I-fly-to-Thailand sort of book – 664 pages sees to that. But it might be worth having handy when you need to check something technical or get some good ideas about how to teach a particular subject.

700 Classroom Activities (2005), David Seymour & Maria Popova

If you’re looking for TEFL books that are uber-practical, look no further than 700 Classroom Activities. Getting straight to the point with actionable lesson plans that will help you through those tricky moments in front of the kids, it contains oodles of games and icebreakers to keep your teaching in full flow. The activities range from early beginner level all the way to upper intermediate, so it’s good for teachers across a whole cross-section of the ELT world. The best part? All activities have been designed so you won’t have to photocopy a darn thing!

Ship or Sheep? (2007), Ann Baker

Pronunciation can cause serious issues for loads of learners. It’s a very geographical thing. For example, in eastern Europe, they often struggle with ‘i’ and ‘ee’. In Asia, it’s soft consonants that usually cause the trouble. To sort your homophones from your wrong-a-phones (good, eh?), this TEFL book comes to the rescue. It’s accompanied by an audio resource CD and has a series of exercises and helpers to aid pronunciation in English.

There’s a whole wide world of TEFL books out there that can really help you up that teaching game. If you’d like to add any to this list, be sure to drop them in the comments below. Alternatively, you might want to check out our 120-hour TEFL course to see how to get started in the EFL industry yourself.