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A departmental library for teachers

I wonder if your languages department has a library of books for teachers. Such a library could contain a number of resources, including books on general methodology, games, grammar reference and fluency activities.

Here are some recommendations from my own knowledge. Used editions of some of these can be found for very little money on Amazon.

Discussions and More - Penny Ur (2014). This contains ideas for mainly task-based fluency activities for mainly high intermediate and advanced level. Penny has worked for many years in the TEFL field, but her experience and ideas deserve an audience in the modern language teaching community. This book is an updated and broadened version of her book Discussions that Work.

Fun Learning Activities for MFL - Jake Hunton (2015). This is a very usable set of games or game-like activities for helping pupils develop their vocabulary.

Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching - Jack Richards (2014).  This is a "big picture" book which very clearly describes a range of language teaching approaches which have been influential over the years. This book should help any language teacher put their practice into context.

The Language Teacher Toolkit - Steve Smith and Gianfranco Conti (2016). Well, I would mention this, wouldn't I? This book aims to bridge the gap between research and classroom practice, but with a genuine focus on the practice. Many handbooks, especially those written by academics, neglect the classroom practice side.

Grammar Practice Activities - Penny Ur (2009) . Another Penny Ur book, full of practical activities for the classroom.

A Course in Language Teaching - Penny Ur (2010).  This book has been around for a good while, but provides excellent ideas.

Games for Language Learning - Andrew Wright, David Betteridge and Mike Buckby (2006). A useful compendium.

Target Language Toolkit - Allison Chase (2015). This slim volume provides departments with useful approaches to implementing a target language policy.

Action Grammaire!: New Advanced French Grammar - Phil Turk and Geneviève Garcia Vandale (2006). There are many grammar reference books on the market. This one is well reviewed. If you prefer an online source then I could recommend Tex's French Grammar from the University of Texas at Austin.

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