Ten books for CELTA trainees
and new teachers
English Teaching Professional, 24 October 2018
While some CELTA trainers might recommend that you come onto the CELTA
course without any preparation, others believe that having certain books handy
can help insecure trainees brush up on their knowledge of the English language
systems (grammar, lexis, pronunciation and discourse) and have a better grasp on
teaching pedagogy.
In Jason Anderson’s recent blogpost on the changing demographics of CELTA
participants, he wrote about how the future of training might continue to see
more experienced teachers (many of them non-native and therefore with a better
understanding of English grammar) sign up for the CELTA so as to have the added
teaching qualification. While many trainers still deliver this course with the
assumption that their participants would be inexperienced and unfamiliar with the
English language systems, if this trend of experienced NNESTs (Non-Native English
Speaking Teachers) on CELTA course were to persist and grow, it would be
ineffective and even short-sighted for teachers to continue ignoring the knowledge
that the majority of their course participants might already know the language
teaching basics that they are investing precious training time into.One solution could be to ensure that less confident and less knowledgeable
trainees are given the chance to prepare for the course via an accessible booklist
that contains a selection of books that can help the CELTA participant before and
during the course should they need any support with the concepts covered. In this
way, stronger and more experienced CELTA participants (who might make up the
majority of the course) would then get some time on the course for input that is
more suited to their teaching contexts and stages of development.
A few months ago, | crowdsourced a group of CELTA and DELTA trainers on the
CELTA & DELTA Trainers Facebook group, and asked what books they might
recommend to people embarking on a CELTA course.
Here are their ten recommendations:
1. The CELTA Teaching Compendium by Rachael Roberts
Garnering the most number of recommendations, this eBook by Rachael
Roberts provides practical tips on different areas of the CELTA, from error
correction to lesson planning to teaching techniques. Filled with examples of
what to do and what not to do, this handy eBook does not need to be read
from cover to cover so can be used to dip in and out of whenever the need
arises.
For more information about this book, read my review here.
Concept questions and timelines by Graham Workman
A handy book containing photocopiable timelines, ready-made concept
questions, and materials covering 53 areas of grammar, this book is
especially useful for those less confident about their knowledge of English
grammar and their ability to explain it to students. Described by many as a
lifesaver, this book bypasses the convoluted grammar explanations and
focuses on the simple timelines and concept questions to help both the
teacher and their students understand how English is organised.
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Teaching Tenses by Rosemary Aitkin
Not unlike the previous book, Teaching Tenses aims to help new teachers
build their language awareness through a look at the tense system in English.
Exploring both meaning and form of the verb patterns, this book also
provides suggested contexts to present the tenses in as well as raising
awareness of common student errors. Another useful book for CELTA
participants who might need a hand in getting to grips with teaching English+
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grammar.
Teaching Grammar by Jim Scrivener
Going beyond simply understanding tenses and timelines, this book is a
comprehensive look at the different areas of English grammar in a practical
way. Readers are taught not just how to explain the grammar structures, but
how to present them and how to get students practising them in different
teaching contexts. Whilst no. 2 & 3 are aimed at new teachers lacking in
some English grammar knowledge, Scrivener’s Teaching Grammar can be
beneficial to both the experienced and non-experienced teacher.
Teach Yourself Teaching English as a Foreign Language by David Riddell
David Riddell was my CELTA tutor way back when | did my CELTA at
International House London over 15 years ago, and | remember feeling
delighted when he autographed this book for me. So, | was particularly
pleased when David’s book was mentioned by one of my respondents.
This is a practical book that provides the new teacher with teaching skills and
techniques, different approaches to different teaching contexts, tips on
lesson planning and using coursebooks, and even information on career
development. A quick browse through this book can help prospective CELTA
participants get a feel of what the course would entail while those with some
teaching experience might find that this provides a useful refresher on the
basics of teaching English.
Classroom Management Techniques by Jim Scrivener
How can | get students to listen to me? What do | do when there’s a
disruption? How can | get students to work in groups? How can | arrange the
classroom in such a way that works for my lesson? This book deals with all
these questions and more, offering a step-by-step guide to both new
teachers and experienced ones.
ELT Playbook by Sandy Millin
CELTA tutor and prolific blogger, Sandy Millin, has self-published this book as
a guide to newly-qualified teachers to help them think about their own
teaching practices and explore their attitudes and beliefs towards what they
do in the classroom. The book is divided into six sections, each containing
five tasks to encourage teachers to reflect and develop in areas ranging from
boardwork, how class activities are set up, how language is examined,
teaching language skills, and the different uses of English around the world.
There is even a section on teacher health and wellbeing, a rarely-dealt-withtopic that could do with more coverage in teacher training books.
»
CELTA Train
no.8 and No.9 of this list aren’t books as such but websites for new teachers
and CELTA trainees. While CELTA Train also covers basic areas like grammar,
language presentation, lesson planning, teaching language skills, and so on,
the expansive nature of blogging means that there is space to cover other
useful subjects like the use of dictations, time management, and how we can
help students record vocabulary — topics that don’t normally get coverage in
a book of limited space.
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What is ELT?
What is ELT? is a website created by CELTA tutors, Rubens Heredia and
Andreia Zakime, from Sao Paulo, Brazil, that deals with a wide range of topics
related to English language teaching. An attractive and easy-to-navigate site,
posts can be found categorised under teaching (methodologies, techniques,
etc.), language (the four systems: grammar, lexis, pronunciation and
discourse), resources and materials and professional development. Recent
posts related to Dogme, ice-breakers, pairwork and teaching word stress all
go towards helping both new and slightly-experienced teachers come to grips
with everything to do with teaching and learning English
10. Trinity CERT TESOL Companion by Jason Anderson
There are other entry-level teaching qualifications that serve as good
alternatives to the CELTA, and the Trinity Cert TESOL ranks highly amongst
them. As both qualifications cover similar ground (to some extent),
participants of the Trinity Cert TESOL could also possibly benefit from this list
of books, and similarly, CELTA trainees could also learn a lot from the Trinity
CERT TESOL Companion.
Jason Anderson’s book is an extensive reference for both pre-course
preparation and in-course support, and in addition to the usual units on
teaching practice and teaching language and skills, this book pays attention
also to understanding learners, using materials, and the importance for
teachers to experience learning themselves. Not unlike Sandy’s book (see no.
7), quite a lot of emphasis is placed on reflection and readers are encouraged
to ‘pause for thought’ throughout the book and learn to evaluate their own
teaching practice.
And while not strictly an English language teaching book, Edward de Bono’s How
to Have a Beautiful Mind came highly recommended by one user who described itas a book about thinking and creativity and talked about how the tasks and
activities in it really helped her in her teaching and learning.
Many course providers and language schools might already have some of the
above books in their library, so if you are about to start on a CELTA course, or are
already on a course, you could look into the possibility of borrowing these books.
This way, you might be able to build a better picture of the books you would need
for your own personal library by the time you finish your course and embark on
continuing your professional development.
And of course, your post-CELTA professional development would not be complete
without an annual subscription of English Teaching Professional! *wink*