We’ve already talked about some of the best books for grammar & vocabulary and TEFL textbooks. Today we give some attention to Theory & Professional Development.

If you´re the teacher that has mastered the PPP and has a perfect balance of technology and textbooks in the classroom, you may be looking for a further challenge. These books below will help give you inspiration on how to grow in the classroom as a teacher as well as a professional.

The Developing Teacher: Practical Activities for Professional Development

This book is written by a well established ESL teacher trainer here in Spain, and helps the teacher to really think about what their long term goals may be in personal and professional development. The book is also great if you’re working as a Director of Studies and want to get the most out of your team and help them to feel motivated. Besides managerial and development tips, the book also offers shortcuts in the classroom, to help you or your team of teachers create interactive lessons in the minimum amount of time. Well worth a read!

Teaching Lexically: Principles and Practice

From the same publisher as The Developing Teacher (Delta Teacher Development Series), this book showcases a new approach to the teaching of vocabulary in the classroom. Rather than making it distinct from grammar, this book encourages the two to be taught in combination, whereby context is absolute key and the delivery of inputs is rich in engagement and relevance to the learner. This is a great read for the teacher, especially those who are looking for new ideas on how to deliver the lexical message in the classroom.

Teaching Unplugged

This breakthrough release is now a decade old but is simply timeless when it comes to shaping the ESL classroom. The book examines how we feel as a teacher, rather than just our teaching practice, demonstrating the use of Dogme ELT whereby the emphasis is on a philosophy of conversation heavy and materials light classroom objectives. Once the above theory is explained, how to put it into practice is explored, before careful consideration is given to how to introduce this method in to your classroom with ease. This is a great book for those who want a holistic overview of the teacher-learner experience.

The New A-Z of ELT Paperback

This really does what it says on the tin; explore the length and breadth of ESL, providing a must-have glossary for everything you need to know about teaching English to the non-native student. While having some great examples of techniques to put into practice, this book is also great if you´re on an academic ESL journey, being a great source of reference for those studying for the DELTA. Another must have book for novice teachers as well as those with years of experience.