Product reviews for The Language Teaching Toolkit

This is a very handy, user-friendly book designed to be dipped into by busy teachers looking for practical ideas and inspiration in everyday teaching. Each idea is based on the premise of active learning – that students learn best by engaging actively in acquiring knowledge and rehearsing skills rather than passively listening to the teacher. As a practising teacher with 25 years’ experience (how did that happen?!), a quick flick saw me jotting down new ideas as well as useful reminders to put into practice the very same day. The ECTs in our department were equally impressed and a great conversation ensued about what we would try out and give our feedback on. I love the small, approachable handbook size and the book is very well signposted with sections including, for example, ideas for the start of the lesson, end of the lesson, homework, reading, listening, vocabulary, grammar, video / online activities and assessment. The lengthiest sections are for writing and speaking where there are 40+ great ideas. Timings and the level are indicated so that you can see at a glance whether the idea would work for the learners you have in mind and as the examples are given in English, it is easy to see how you can adapt them.

As a time-poor teacher, I particularly love how very many of the ideas take no preparation at all and can be adapted live depending on the learners in front of me. I recommend this book to practising Languages / EAL teachers as well as those looking to bring their team together around concrete ideas which are easy to implement.