Top 10 Books to Teach English

Table of Contents

Learning a language keeps you at home anywhere. Knowing a popular language helps you know the culture and traditions of a place. It broadens your horizon towards life and also lets new opportunities knock at your door. Learning the English language may only help as it’s the most popular language of business. Teaching the English language can be challenging since people vary in their learning capabilities. Each student or individual is different with varying levels of complexities. To teach the English language, books always come in handy. Books always come in handy while teaching the English language. Books also come in handy while doing content writing courses wherein, brushing up the skills can play a paramount role.

There are various certification exams like TEFL, TESOL, or TOEFL wherein the English language skills are tested. You can prepare for these courses by preparing with the help of books to teach the English language. A few of the useful ones are mentioned below and will give a fair idea about the selection of books. The other and the most preferred option is doing the certification from reputed institutes which helps not only in clearing the exams but also helps improve the English language overall on all modes, namely listening, writing, and speaking. You can go to any institute of repute like Henry Harvin and get the certifications done with perfect guidance and confidence.

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1. How To Teach English – Jeremy Harper

Jeremy Harper is a teacher himself and taught in Mexico and the UK. The book is referred by teachers to students who are beginners or want to brush up their skills. The new edition of this book comes with a DVD division that has the newer methodologies and recent additions. The DVD has HD videos that are clippings of a good classroom and a comprehensive glossary of various new terminology. The new book has an additional chapter on testing and task-based photocopiable files. The book is also referred to for the preparation of CELTA, TESOL, and TKT exams.

With various teaching methodologies available, the book guides the teacher to look at a clear perspective to teaching English. To stimulate and initiate a debate that is essential for overall learning, tasks are provided at the end of each chapter. This book is one of the best books to teach English. The salient features of the book delve into questions like ‘What if’ which gives a test of the chapter learned. Every chapter ends with a comprehensive summary so the book can be preferred for a quick glance too. The terms and terminologies are explained clearly with an emphasis on bold fonts. The latest edition of the book is available on Amazon for both used as well as new buying. The used edition is available at 17.79$ and new at 49.87$.

2. Learning Another Language Through Action – James J. Asher

The author is the founder of Total Physical Response, a method to learn the English language and his books are the best books to teach English to beginners as well as students who want to learn the language at an advanced level. The book uses audio-lingual alternatives to teach the English language, thus an excellent choice for the best books to teach English. The book emphasises learning the language by physically performing actions based on the instructions of the instructors. The example set is that listening and understanding before speaking makes it easy to learn any language.

The book comes with 150 hrs of TPR classroom activities which can be applied to any language. There are FAQs at the end of the book to clear doubts while using the book to teach the English language. There are about 100 questions with answers to answer queries. This 378-page book also gives an insight into Total Physical Response, its history, and a brief about funds. The book to teach the English language is available on Amazon in paperback for 2,198 rupees. The book is not available in edition format.

3. The Practice of English Language Teaching by Jeremy Harmer

The book is an essential guide and features in books to teach English language. This book can be used by teachers using a wide range of contexts. The book has the following topics:

English as a world language
Theories in English language and learning techniques
Learner characteristics that influence teacher decisions, including guidance on managing learning
grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation skills, and to teaching language skills like speaking, writing, listening, and reading
Practical teaching ideas to help teachers
Classroom assessment
Digital assessment and its techniques

This 450 page book to teach English language can be used as a reference book for a lifetime. The advances in language both for teachers to teach and students to learn are all covered in the new editions. Paramount issues such as the lingua franca core, teaching unplugged, and the rise of digital testing and marking are covered to make it the ideal book to teach English language. The book is available in paperback format on rent for $19.40 and buy for $38.80.

4. Teach Like A Pirate: Increase Student Engagement, Boost Your Creativity and Transform Your Life As An Educator-Dave Burgess

The book is based on Teach like a pirate seminar. Topics covered are increasing your passion to teach as a teacher, increasing camaraderie in the classroom, engaging the students in the classroom like a magnet, and transforming the class into a life-changing experience for the students in the class. A set of 170 questions will skyrocket your learning experience. The chapter is so easy to understand and fluid that it prevents burnout when reading over and over again.

This 192 page book to teach English language, helps to engage students in the class, boost their creativity, and transform a teacher into an enthusiastic teacher. This book to teach English has a map of completely transforming the teaching of the English language. The style of the book is energetic and theatrical. Extremely engaging, thorough in concepts, and building camaraderie in the classroom will sum up the review of this book. This book to teach English costs $3.95 in paperback edition and the kindle version costs $ 6.03.

5. TEFL flashcard games for young learners – Chris Morgan

This book to teach English is ideal for beginners and people who want to learn on their own. The author makes this book fun learning with exciting games. Due to this factor students are enthusiastic to learn the language quickly. This book to learn the English language provides a wide range of help in terms of pronunciation, vocabulary, visual recognition, and grammar thus helping students become confident while learning the language.

With over 40 chapters and over 100 time-tested activities. This book to learn English comes in handy for both experienced as well as new teachers while teaching English especially to young learners. The book is available on Amazon with the kindle edition costing $ 4.85 and the paperback edition costing $7.99.

6. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching – Jack. C. Richards and Theodore Rodgers

The third edition of this hugely successful book is out. Like the previous edition, the third edition has a major and alternative approach to learning and teaching English language. The book makes concepts crystal clear and points out the differences and similarities in a simple flucid way. The book to teach English language also touches upon the various approaches to learning and teaching English leading to better outcomes in terms of learning goals. The authors have kept in mind that it is important to teach language in all modes hence, audio-lingual, grammar as well as translation, and communication in English language is taught.

The book is divided into 3 parts and comprises 19 chapters, opening a whole new

learning aspect. The modules thus help in gaining the confidence of both the teacher and the student. This book to teach English is used by teachers and ELT applied linguistics. The book is 419 pages that examine various approaches, learning goals, task-based language learning, and post-method era to name a few. The paperback edition is available on Amazon for $31.88.

7. The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation: An Easy to Use Guide with Clear Rules, Real-world examples, and Reproducible Quizzes – Jane Straus

This book to teach English is concise, crisp, activity-based, and a guide to learning the English language. The newer edition clearly reflects the new rules in the language. It comes along with pre quizzes, pre and post-tests, and pronunciations. The book helps kids right from seventh grade till adulthood. The book encompasses basics in grammar and advances in grammar. Sentence writing with punctuation, capitalization, and its types, writing numbers, and homonyms.

There are quizzes that help in understanding the concepts better. An ideal book to teach English for both teachers as well as beginners or certification candidates who want to brush up the skills. These 153 pages are available on Amazon. The used edition is available for $9.49 and the new book is available for $84.90.

8. Practical English Usage- Michael Swan

It is a grammar book to teach English. When English is learned as a foreign language, it is difficult to converse if we don’t know the correct pronunciation. This book helps people who face difficulty as well as helps advance the language. It is not a conventional book of grammar as it shows the common mistakes and solutions to those mistakes. The book to teach English is targeted at intermediate as well as advanced learners along with teachers. The book covers vocabulary and grammar and explanation to your every question.

This book has sold over 2 million copies. The fourth edition consists of 600+ entries. Also, there are 87 87 diagnostics tests. There are A-Z grammar problems and A to Z vocabulary has 87 diagnostics tests. There are A-Z grammar problems and A to Z vocabulary

9. Grammar for English language Teachers-Martin Parrott

As the name suggests, it is a grammar book, it covers topics like nouns, verbs, adjectives, pronouns, conjunctions, and sentences. It helps to teach as well as understand both teachers as well as learners. This book to teach English is useful as a reference book as well as English assistance. The features of the book are:

Easy to understand grammar tools
Typical grammatical errors and difficulties are explained
Similar terms and homophones made simple
Easy to understand, concise, crisp, and comprehensive

This book to teach English is handy to clear doubts, uses simple language, and has short

cuts to what you are trying to find. The book gives ideas on planning lessons and its

Understanding makes it easy to implement. There are easy-to-use exercises that help

the teacher understand the student’s complexities with grammar and can clear their

doubts. It helps in the analysis of the error caused by the students and allows the teacher

to solve the problems better. The book costs $44.11.

10. English for academic purposes: a guide and resource book for teachers-R R Jordan

The book is a comprehensive guide to teachers who can help the students understand grammar better. The author adopts a user-friendly model to simplify things and help both the teachers and students to get concepts clear. Teachers also get interesting ideas to lead the classroom. There are interesting and encouraging discussions at the end of each chapter. This helps stimulate introspection and thus leads to discussions. This helps the understanding and this is a good book to teach English.

The book is made up of 3 parts and consists of 19 chapters. The book to teach English is

424 pages. The topics covered are reference and research skills, vocabulary, learning

styles, instructional materials, evaluation of students, listening skills, speaking skills, and

examination skills to name a few. The paperback edition is available on Amazon at

$37.91.

Learning the English language goes a long way in having a long-lasting career. Knowing the English language opens the door to opportunities in various areas like travel, study abroad, teaching sector, and getting jobs to name a few. To learn the English language, one can use books to brush up your skills. Certifications are required and while preparing for these it is necessary to use books. There are various institutes that give TEFL certification like Henry Harvin.

Henry Harvin offers TEFL (Teaching English as Foreign Language) certification at levels right from beginners to intermediate level as well as advanced certification. The program costs 23,850 rupees for a self-paced course and the preferred online classroom sessions cost 26,500 rupees. The course is backed by excellent trainers as well as lifetime gold membership benefits, which opens the door of opportunity to learn English. There are always books to teach English to fall back on.

What aspects should you keep in mind while learning the English language?

You can keep the following pointers in mind while studying the English language. They are as follows:

Set up goals that are small and achievable and once they are met, try to set a new advanced goal that brushes up your previous learning and motivates you to advance further.
Learn with a purpose so you reach your learning objective easily and it motivates you all along
Keep your focus on learning since the language is very vast and learning it in steps helps avoid confusion as well makes learning a great experience
Practice reading regularly as it not only improves your vocabulary but helps grasp the language easily and gives confidence while you speak the language.
Pay emphasis on learning the vocabulary and using it in the right context. A good vocabulary comes handy both in speaking as well as writing skills.
You are never too old to learn. In fact learning never stops in your lifetime so don’t shy away from learning something new
Keep brushing up your language skills time and again
Be fluent in the language as it helps bring out your thoughts better and they can be put across better
Often travel and communicate with the language you are trying to learn, it helps you gain confidence, help you realise your mistakes, and moreover helps you burn the gap between theory and practical knowledge
Keep a notebook handy while reading and make a note of it along with its meaning
Use new words, make sentences, and then use them in your conversation. By doing this your confidence will be high and you will not flaunter while speaking
We always learn from our mistakes, so don’t see a mistake as your failure. In fact, introspect the mistake and again try using the words in the right context. Only practice will help you gain confidence
Practice the habit of reading newspapers regularly. Newspapers can be an extremely helpful source of learning as it improves your reading skills, keeps you updated in current affairs so it gives you an upper hand in any conversation, and improves your vocabulary.
You can subscribe to podcasts and listen to them to improve your skills. It will give you a hand on pronunciations and thus improve your language skills too. It will also help you know which country has which accent and you can gauge confidence.
Give grammar, listening, writing, and reading skills tests at regular intervals. It acts as a yardstick to know where you stand in knowing the knowledge.

FAQs

Q1. What aspects should I look for while buying a book to teach the English language?

Ans. The choice of the book depends on the audience. If you are a teacher, keep the age of the students in mind while buying books to teach English. If you are buying for self-study for TOEFL or TEFL certification, then a book that brushes up your basics first is ideal, and then later on when the concepts are brushed you can buy a book that has advanced levels of grammar.

Q2. I am a teacher and my students need to participate in the class. What should I do to increase participation in class?

Ans. To increase participation and interaction in class it is necessary to add listening skills and interactive quizzes. You can also increase participation by regularly conducting speaking skills by choosing a topic and asking the students to prepare the topic and give the speech the next day. This will help to give preparation and presentation time and boost confidence. While speaking too common grammatical errors can be corrected thereby helping the students to improve their confidence and encourage class participation.

Q3. Kindly share a few tips since I am starting to learn English. What should be the basics and how do I start?

Ans. To learn or brush up on English, choose a book to teach English. In case you are starting with self then keep the following things in mind:
– Converse in English with close family members as much as possible. It’s fine if you make mistakes while conversing. This will slowly improve your conversational skills.
– Do all the exercises given at the end of the module on time. This will instill confidence in you
– Go slow and speak using correct pronunciations and vocabulary
– Write regularly and get it checked so your grammar improves and fewer grammatical errors occur.
– You can play games like scrabble or flatter to improve word language and subsequently use it in writing as well as conversational skills

Q4. What are the modes of learning the English language?

Ans. The modes for as follows:
– Listening mode- improve listening skills by listening to conversations
– Writing mode- writing English is of paramount importance since business communication is always in English
– Speaking skills- orator skills are important since errors in speak can make or break a conversation
– Try all the modes that are put above.

Q5. How beneficial are these books for English language teachers?

Ans: The first and foremost objective of books is to provide a roadmap. It’s the same for the teacher as well as the learner. While the learner would see it through the lens of a teacher, the teacher applies their knowledge to bring more meaning to the entire learning process. Thus, English books are highly beneficial, giving a framework to follow, providing the updated syllabus, ready-to-use task sheets with proper guidance, and all the supplementary material required for effective learning.