‘Learning English Blogs’ – teachers’ and students’ blogs
BBC Learning English – Paul Scott

The Learning English Blogs transform the concept of blogging from an individual pursuit into a collaborative learning process.

The blogs retain a rich vein of individual expression since the ‘student blogger’ writes about topics of interest to them. A ‘teacher blogger’ prepares posts in response to the student’s writings giving feedback on good language use, specific student mistakes and typical language errors, all within the dynamic of a content-based, personalised and meaningful dialogue.

A global audience contributes to the learning by completing the teacher tasks, providing words of encouragement to the student and giving their opinions on not only language use but also the topics under discussion – a rich source of additional material for the teacher.

This process results in a simple one-to-one blogging relationship creating a one-to-many learning environment, that continues long after each blog post.

‘The Flatmates’ – weekly online interactive EFL soap opera
BBC Learning English – Nuala O’Sullivan

The Flatmates is a free, interactive, weekly online soap opera for Intermediate EFL students.

First, read and listen to Tim, Helen, Khalid and Alice and their tales of love, cheating, football and, of course, arguments about the rent!

Second,  cast your vote to decide what'll happen in the next episode

Third, study the language point (grammar, vocabulary, spelling or pronunciation) highlighted from each week's episode.

Next, take the quiz to see if you've understood the language point. If you get any of the answers wrong, you'll get feedback steering you towards the right answer

Finally, write your response to each week's topic. It might be 'What's your ideal date?' or 'Who was your worst boss?' Then, see your own comments published online and read what other learners around the world have to say too.

And don't forget, there are lots of free materials to download and take away!

‘Phonetics Focus’ – interactive pronunciation resources
Cambridge English Online Ltd – Adrian Illingworth

Phonetics Focus provides a comprehensive mix of fun, interactive activities that present, practise and consolidate the sounds that make up the English language.

Over 12 months of our own on-website research, pronunciation has constantly ranked near the top of requested resources. This resource aims to meet these needs.

From Phonemic Hangman and Shoot-a-Symbol to Record & Practise and Phon’ Flashcards, the programme’s bite-sized activities build into a complete and enjoyable way to develop our users’ knowledge.

Phonetics Focus not only gives teachers a model for pronunciation, it illustrates practical activities that can be used in the classroom to help students with their English. The activities have been chosen deliberately because they can work online or offline, even by teachers who have access to few or no resources.

With an impressive 15 different online activity types and 46 downloadable resources it is the most creative and comprehensive, free online phonetics resource currently available.

‘Dealing with Difficulties’ – teacher resource book
DELTA Publishing – Luke Prodromou and Lindsay Clandfield

Dealing with Difficulties is packed with ideas for dealing with the everyday difficulties and challenges of teaching.

Very often teachers are presented with obstacles such as, a mixed bag of diverse levels and learning styles, getting and then keeping their students’ attention and discipline within their classes. A lot of the techniques suggested by experts seem impractical in the classroom and often teachers are too worried about discipline problems to try communicative methodology.

There are more than 150 techniques and activities in this book, each requiring minimum preparation and aimed to produce maximum speaking and interaction within the classroom.

This unique book equips teachers with helpful resources to assist them in their teaching of the English language and in return aid students’ learning.

‘The English Language Awareness Course’ – online course  for teachers
Cactus Worldwide – Jenny Johnson

Cactus TEFL’s English Language Awareness Course (‘ELA’) is aimed at anyone who may be considering doing a TEFL training course but is concerned that they don’t know enough grammar – a common predicament! It is pitched perfectly at pre-TEFL level and includes 30 essential language areas, covering grammar, pronunciation and functions, in an interesting, interactive way. Illustrations, video clips and sound clips enliven the course, making it enjoyable as well as useful.

The course runs entirely online on the Moodle platform. Each unit consists of an informative page about the language area, and two linked task pages which serve to both help trainees to learn about the language and give them examples of exercises they could do with students.

The course also includes a discussion forum where trainees can ask questions, which are then answered by other students and the tutors. ELA trainees can take up to 45 days to finish the course.

‘Good practice: Communication Skills in English for the Medical Practitioner’ – course
Cambridge University Press – Ros Wright, Marie McCullagh and Clare Abbott

Good Practice is the ideal course for doctors and medical students who need to communicate with patients in English. It focuses on the language and communication skills doctors need to make consultations more effective. For example, how non-verbal signals such as body language can impact on communication and how voice can be used to build rapport and show empathy towards patients.

Tailored to the real communication needs of doctors, this unique course teaches learners how to sensitively handle a range of situations, such as taking a history and breaking bad news, as well as how to deal with different patient types, from children to the elderly.

With reference to medical communication experts and through exposure to authentic clinical scenarios, the course demonstrates the impact of good communication on the doctor-patient relationship, enabling learners to become confident, effective practitioners in English.

‘World Englishes: Implications for International Communication and English Language Teaching’ – book and audio CD
Cambridge University Press – Professor Andy Kirkpatrick and Jane Walsh

Describing selected varieties of World Englishes within the framework of ELT, this book is ideal for those studying World Englishes and a fascinating insight for anyone in the field of ELT interested in English as a global language.

World Englishes contends that the version of English to be taught in certain parts of the world should be determined by context and by learner needs, and it validates the role of non-native bilingual teachers.

The accompanying CD provides real-life recordings of selected varieties, with voices ranging from the Nigerian poet, ‘tope Omoniyi to Australian sheep shearers and a Soweto police officer.

‘Nothing today has more significant implications for ELT than the increasing recognition that English is a deterritorialised lingua franca....like all significant books, its arguments will appear striking and original to many readers, although in time we will wonder how we ever thought anything different.’

Peter Grundy, University of Leicester, UK

‘Fairyland’ – multimedia course for primary learners
Express Publishing – Jenny Dooley and Virginia Evans

Fairyland is a brand new course book series designed for primary learners. The series draws on the latest methodological trends and its clear structure is designed to facilitate both teaching and learning. It consists of a pupil’s book and a full range of components: teacher’s manual, teacher’s resource pack, alphabet booklet, activity book, flashcards, posters, fully dramatised audio material, fully animated DVD, a puppet theatre, a magic wand as well as software for interactive whiteboards.

Fairyland, based on an original theme, invites young learners to enter a world of fantasy and adventure where English becomes a memorable and rewarding experience! Pupils get acquainted with British culture and explore the world of fairies, trolls, leprechauns and other magical creatures.

Children have to deal with harsh reality and admonishments on a daily basis; Fairyland opens a gateway to fantasy where young learners are given space to unleash their wildest dreams and deepest wishes.

‘Macmillan English’ – International course book
Macmillan Education – Gavin McLean, Mary Bowen and Louis Fidge

Macmillan English is the first international primary course book modelled on how English is taught to native-speaker children and combines a unique blend of first language methodology with support for the non-native teacher. This approach anticipates the convergence in the needs of English language learners around the world and seeks to redefine the way ELT courses will be written in the future.

A comprehensive package of components includes a Fluency Book at each level, introducing new grammar and vocabulary through inspiring stories (grades 1-3) and children’s radio programmes (grade 4-6). Cross-curricular topics are introduced through a wide variety of authentic texts.

The course provides teachers with a fully integrated production-focused syllabus which recycles and reinforces structures and vocabulary and ensures that by the end of Grade 6 students are primed to learn other school subjects in English.

‘www.onestopenglish.com Audio and Podcasts’ – resources for teachers
Macmillan English Campus – Claire Pye, Lindsay Clandfield and Adrian Tennant

The Audio and Podcasts section of www.onestopenglish.com provides English language teachers with a wide variety of high-quality listening materials, ranging from unscripted interviews to drama and narrative, all fully supported by worksheets and teachers’ notes.

The resources include serialised adaptations of classic Macmillan Readers; an original drama series, The Road Less Travelled; and a series of innovative topic-based podcasts called Live from London, based on authentic interviews with native and non-native speakers in London. These interviews incorporate a range of accents, colloquialisms and natural features of spoken English; a refreshing contrast to many course book listening materials.  

Regular, ongoing publishing to this section provides a new and easily accessible solution to the perennial problem of finding authentic, engaging and up-to-date listening materials.

‘Bookworms Club Reading Circles’ – teacher’s and student’s books
Oxford University Press – Mark Furr, Jenny Bassett and Nicole Irving

Bookworms Club Reading Circles  is a unique series that provides all that is needed for running Reading Circles. Reading Circles are groups of students who meet in the classroom to discuss stories, having prepared their Reading Circle role.  

Bookworms Club combines carefully graded short stories from Oxford Bookworms and Role Sheets (e.g. Discussion Leader, Word Master, etc.) that help students prepare to take part in the Reading Circle, and ensure that they have natural, meaningful discussions in English. This improves the students' speaking and listening, and also their motivation and sense of autonomy. Bookworms Club is also a great stepping stone to extended reading.

User feedback: ‘While teaching, I discovered that Reading Circles had the power to transform my students from passive, shy students into students who eagerly pointed at their texts to support their arguments while sharing their opinions in English!  I don't know what you might call this, but to me, it was indeed magical.’

‘Teachers' awareness and use of language for setting up teacher-independent activities in the language class’ – Doctoral Thesis
Nottingham Trent University – Dr Linda Taylor

This is a celebration of the work that English language teachers do and of the classroom language they use for doing it.  The research reported here is based on twenty-two entire lessons, revealing individual differences in the ways teachers use language, both to structure their classes and to create rapport with their learners.  Using the chess metaphor beloved of linguists and philosophers of language, the author identifies a set of ‘pieces’ and ‘moves’ that may be of use to practising teachers, and suggests teacher training ideas to exploit them.  The study is written up as a lesson plan, divided into three ‘stages’, and each chapter is framed using structural language features identified from the research.  The writing is also a personal narrative, charting the author’s reflections on the research process as it unfolds, and on the history of her own fascination for language and language teaching.