A list of texts and resource materials for language teachers is available for book reviews in TLT and JALT Journal. If none of the titles we have listed appeal to you or are not suitable for your teaching context, please feel free to contact us to suggest alternate titles. We invite publishers to submit complete sets of materials to Julie Kimura at the Publishers’ Review Copies Liaison postal address listed on the Staff page on the inside cover of The Language Teacher.
* = new listing; ! = final notice — Final notice items will be removed on August 31. Please make queries by email to the appropriate JALT Publications contact.
Books for Students (reviews published in TLT)
Contact: Julie Kimura — jaltpubs.tlt.pub.review@jalt.org
! Bake sale—Kamata, S. Gemma Open Door for Literacy, 2022. [Laura Murata is a professor and a single mother. Kazu, the father of her daughter’s friend, is also raising his son on his own. Laura and Kazu meet at a holiday bake sale and plan to go out for dinner on Christmas Eve. The Open Door Series comprises graded readers written for those who struggle to read. A lesson plan is available on the publisher’s website.]
Activator next—Shiozawa, T., & Martinelli, A. Kinseido, 2023. [This title is a functional-situational based coursebook and was written for Japanese college-aged learners of English who may be identified as false beginners. Activator next provides students with opportunities to use English and to feel the joy of global communication. Audio tracks are available for download.]
Home run! Team history MLB—Halvorsen, J. Perceptia Press, 2023. [Home run! Team history MLB provides a fascinating insight into Major League Baseball. Each of the 15 units features a photograph and histories of two MLB teams, as well as reading comprehension exercises, conversation starters, and a writing assignment. Additional research project ideas provide students with a range of options.]
Inspiring Olympians: Stories of great Olympians and what they did afterwards—Halvorsen, J., & Kobayashi, S. (M. Mathias, Illus.). Perceptia Press, 2023. [This 18-unit coursebook features Summer Olympic athletes who have inspired people around the world in times of conflict and peace. Each unit features vocabulary exercises and a reading passage with comprehension checks, followed by topics to consider for discussion. The instructor can use conversation activities with any unit either in the classroom or online. Students are also given opportunities to think about goals and how to achieve them.]
! Integrity—Takeuchi, I. (Series supervisor). Kinseido, 2023. [The series consists of three books that are suitable for beginners in the TOEIC 300–400 range, intermediate learners in the 400–500, and advanced learners in the 500–600 range. Because online videos have become an integral part of university students’ lives, the series makes use of video to increase student interest in global topics and events. The use of authentic videos integrates and enhances the four skills. Videos are available to watch online, and audio tracks are available for download.]
Japanese popular culture in English: Discussions and critical thinking—Sheridan, R., Tanaka, K. M., & Kobayashi, J. M. Nan’un-do, 2024. [This coursebook was developed with the needs and interests of intermediate learners of English in mind. The coursebook was designed to improve reading, critical thinking, discussion, and writing skills. Each of the 12 units includes pre-reading, while-reading, post-reading, and extension activities to promote understanding and help students to formulate their opinions. The teacher’s manual includes a 180-question comprehensive test bank.]
* Life topics: Changing views—Berman, J. Nan’un-do, 2023. [Thoroughly researched and thoughtfully organized, this coursebook combines language lessons with advice on how to live happy and meaningful lives. Topics include anticipation, social media, and forgiveness. The teacher’s manual includes supplemental information, quotable quotes, and teaching suggestions. Audio download available.]
What’s that you say? Bright ideas for reading, writing, and discussing in the English classroom—David, J. Nan’un-do, 2023. [This coursebook provides students with topics and activities designed to foster English language learning and practical usage. Fifteen units include vocabulary building, reading passages, comprehension reviews, and follow-up activities that include trivia questions and well-known quotations. Audio tracks are available for download.]
! World adventures / On board for more world adventures—Berlin., S., & Kobayashi, M. Kinseido, 2021. [These two coursebooks each contain 15 chapters featuring video segments shot in 15 countries. The text provides students with interesting scenes relating to various people and cultures around the world. Audio recordings for all unit readings are available for download.]
Books for Teachers
* African possibilities: A matriarchitarian perspective for social justice—Amadiume, I. Bloomsbury, 2024. [Representing the culmination of over 40 years of groundbreaking work on notions of matriarchy at the intersection of the Igbo-African universe and the Western capitalist reality, Amadiume sets forth a blueprint for a new matriarchitarianism, critiquing all forms of social injustice and introduces a matriarchal-relational humanism.]
* Babygirl, you’ve got this! Experiences of Black girls and women in the English education system—Pennant, A.-L. Bloomsbury, 2024. [This book explores the educational experiences and journeys of Black British girls and women in England, and considers the influence of the intersections of race, gender, ethnicity, cultural background, and social class on their journeys. It features unique qualitative data, covering Black girls’ and women’s experiences from primary school to university, and provides insights which are globally applicable.]
* Blackness at the intersection—Andrews, K., Crenshaw, K., & Wilson, A. Bloomsbury, 2024 [In the 1980s, Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw first coined the term intersectionality. Curated by Crenshaw and featuring several of the leading scholars of critical race theory, this collection is the first to apply the concept of intersectionality and Blackness to contexts outside the United States. Focusing on Blackness in Britain, the contributors examine how scholars and activists are employing intersectionality to foreground Black British experiences.
