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Teaching English As a Foreign Language
If you have recently trained to teach English as a foreign language or are currently on a training course, this book will give you practical help and support as you start your first teaching assignments. It will provide you with the basic teaching skills, background knowledge and awareness that will enable you to enter the classroom with confidence and develop your skills. "Teach Yourself Teaching English" contains: advice on effective and successful teaching techniques; invaluable tips on classroom management, lesson planning and using coursebooks; approaches to teaching different kinds of lessons; tasks and review sections in each unit to help you remember what you have learnt; and lots of information about job hunting and career development. This book is the ideal teaching companion and can be referred to at short notice for suggestions, examples and reassurance. The leader in self-learning with more than 300 titles, covering all subjects. Be where you want to be with "Teach Yourself."
280 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2001
48 people are currently reading
308 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 30, 2019
For Your CELTA
This book pretty much secured my Pass B grade during my CELTA course. I can't really place a higher recommendation than that!
This book pretty much secured my Pass B grade during my CELTA course. I can't really place a higher recommendation than that!
February 28, 2023
David Carr’s description of this book (‘It answers all those questions new language teachers have’) is the essence of the book that highlights all the advantages and probable drawbacks.
Yes, it does answer all those questions new language teachers have. The keyword here is NEW. The main focus of this book is to help those who are just beginners taking their CELTA. This is why the book contains 30 units that cover pretty much the CELTA syllabus. The units cover all the minimal theory and provide a few practical examples, tasks and that’s it. So if you need something to rely on while talking CELTA, it is the book for you. With its brilliant units on planning, focusing on language and teaching skills (though these are brief) it’ll give everything you need. But if you would like to have some extra information on methodology issues you’d better read something else.
Among other advantages of this book is that the material is easy to read (the way the unit on testing is constructed is hilarious!). What’s more, there are some topics that are hardly ever covered in other books, such as ‘Teaching one-to-one’ and ‘Finding work and professional development’.
Overall, a good starter with little theory but solid practical advice.
Yes, it does answer all those questions new language teachers have. The keyword here is NEW. The main focus of this book is to help those who are just beginners taking their CELTA. This is why the book contains 30 units that cover pretty much the CELTA syllabus. The units cover all the minimal theory and provide a few practical examples, tasks and that’s it. So if you need something to rely on while talking CELTA, it is the book for you. With its brilliant units on planning, focusing on language and teaching skills (though these are brief) it’ll give everything you need. But if you would like to have some extra information on methodology issues you’d better read something else.
Among other advantages of this book is that the material is easy to read (the way the unit on testing is constructed is hilarious!). What’s more, there are some topics that are hardly ever covered in other books, such as ‘Teaching one-to-one’ and ‘Finding work and professional development’.
Overall, a good starter with little theory but solid practical advice.
May 3, 2011
This is a fantastic, practical guide for beginners teaching english. It answers all your initial questions and gives advice about do's and dont's in the classroom. It also inspires you to be a good teacher and really care about it! Highly recommended.
December 3, 2017
A lot of useful and helpful information on the subject, gave me a good first perspective preparing me on what to expect getting into teaching of this kind.
December 5, 2020
Great resource for CELTA trainees and new teachers.
January 5, 2021
I started reading David Riddell’s book “Teach English as a foreign language”, because they recommended it in Skyeng. Teachers noted, that the book is written in simple terms and easy to grasp. It turned out to be true! It briefly touched upon the pedagogical terms, because it is aimed at new people in the profession.
The book is generally acceptable to me. I consider myself not exactly new in the teaching occupation, but still my experience is very limited. That is why I found the articles about choosing the correct material and dealing with DVD recordings worthy. Nevertheless, it is clear that the book was written as far as in 2001. Obviously, it is outdated in many aspects. Of course, the psychology of students as well as teachers remains the same, but the approach to teaching has changed: there are plenty of facilities handy to assist the teacher and the students. There is no chapter about remote learning: which is vital, especially during a pandemic season.
What is more, it took me a long time to read such a short book, because its style is impersonal. You can’t say that it is a book on methodology, but the examples that David Riddell provides are vague and sometimes ambiguous. There are no screenshots from the textbooks with exercises. There is not a single quote from a class discussion. It looks like the author taught benign robots.
You can ask me: Why does this book deserve four stars, but not three?
My answer is that I was inspired by the honor that the author finds in a teaching profession. He doesn’t conceal that it is not well-paid or has not much career opportunities, but he states that it is inspiring and rewarding in its nature. What is more, he supplied the audience with useful life-hacks that I intend to use.
In a nutshell, I have a positive feedback after reading this book, despite its multiple drawbacks.
The book is generally acceptable to me. I consider myself not exactly new in the teaching occupation, but still my experience is very limited. That is why I found the articles about choosing the correct material and dealing with DVD recordings worthy. Nevertheless, it is clear that the book was written as far as in 2001. Obviously, it is outdated in many aspects. Of course, the psychology of students as well as teachers remains the same, but the approach to teaching has changed: there are plenty of facilities handy to assist the teacher and the students. There is no chapter about remote learning: which is vital, especially during a pandemic season.
What is more, it took me a long time to read such a short book, because its style is impersonal. You can’t say that it is a book on methodology, but the examples that David Riddell provides are vague and sometimes ambiguous. There are no screenshots from the textbooks with exercises. There is not a single quote from a class discussion. It looks like the author taught benign robots.
You can ask me: Why does this book deserve four stars, but not three?
My answer is that I was inspired by the honor that the author finds in a teaching profession. He doesn’t conceal that it is not well-paid or has not much career opportunities, but he states that it is inspiring and rewarding in its nature. What is more, he supplied the audience with useful life-hacks that I intend to use.
In a nutshell, I have a positive feedback after reading this book, despite its multiple drawbacks.
October 1, 2018
It refreshes all memories of the intensive course and helps you realize certain practical situations that you will encounter as a teacher .
April 14, 2016
I bought this book when I started a new English teaching job, and felt rusty after almost a year long hiatus. Although the author states in this book that it isn't intended for people who already have teaching experience, I was never a very confident teacher and I thought there might still be something I could learn from it. However, after finishing it, I've found that this really and truly is only suitable for complete and utter beginners with no prior experience. When I was starting out, and particularly while I was doing my TESOL course, I probably would have loved this book and gotten a lot out of it, so I highly recommend it to anybody new to the field, or considering it. If you're looking to brush up on a few things, however, there are better books for that out there, like 'The Practice of English Language Teaching', which most qualified EFL teachers should have already (because it's required reading on many courses). But this definitely wasn't a complete waste of time and money for me. As I have it on my Kindle, it's a book which I can always browse through for ideas and inspiration any time I might need some basic reminders about the job (which happens a lot).
April 19, 2016
I've been teaching English to adult immigrants for several years, so for me, this book gave me some reinforcement of techniques and ideas that I already use. I was in agreement with and could relate to a lot of things the author said. I can't say that I learned that much from the book, but I can see that it would be a good training book for someone who was just starting out as an ESL teacher. One problem is that the author is from England, so some of the grammar and pronunciation examples that he used were not quite right for American usage.
May 15, 2013
Aunque lo que voy a hacer es un curso para dar clases de español, me he tenido que leer este libro y la verdad es que me ha gustado bastante. El autor, profesor de inglés, tiene una forma de escribir muy amena, repasa todos los puntos importantes para dar una clase con muchos ejemplos. Muy didáctico.
November 5, 2012
Covers the same basic ground as the CELTA - good refresher :) Well written, clear instructions. A practical resource book for newly qualified teachers (or teachers who haven't been in the classroom for a while...)
December 5, 2014
I think I expected more from this book. Perhaps I set my sights too high. It had the basics in language acquisition, but rather than a book to assist teachers and prospective teachers, it felt more suited to children who want to pretend to be teachers.
October 6, 2012
Great guide to think (or re-think) teaching strategies.
May 10, 2013
Precise and helpful.
September 24, 2021
The best support for my CELTA course!
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews