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 under Editors on the inside cover of The Language Teacher.
Books for Students (reviews published in TLT)
Contact: Julie Kimura—jaltpubs.tlt.pub.review@jalt.org
! Breakthroughs: Japanese women entrepreneurs—Tanner, P. 2024. [This coursebook comprises 20 chapters based on 20 Japanese women entrepreneurs. Each chapter begins with a dictation exercise, followed by a vocabulary exercise, which helps students prepare for a 600-word reading passage. Chapters end with comprehension and discussion questions.
* English communication for nursing—Zeff, B. B. Seed Learning, 2024. [This eight-unit coursebook has been designed to equip nurses who wish to communicate effectively with English-speaking patients. Learners are provided with an essential foundation for communicating in the healthcare setting. The book features vocabulary and expressions, realistic dialogues, cultural tips, and practice activities. This coursebook can be used as stand-alone material, or with a series of online videos that can help to enhance listening skills.]
* Everyday science and technology: News you can use—Knudsen, J. (Annot. Y. Satake). Nan’un-do, 2024. [Science and technology make front-page news every day. The readings in this coursebook are presented in technical, yet accessible language. Twenty need-to-know topics offer readers a look at great discoveries, key breakthroughs, and game-changing innovations. The subtitle, News You Can Use, reflects the hope that the book will provide a go-to manual for navigating through this exciting yet perplexing moment in history. A teacher’s manual, an audio CD, and a review test are available.]
! Magic speaking—Kim, C., Lee, J., & Wilburn, J. e-future, 2024. [This three-book series is written to help young learners master an elementary level of conversational English. Each unit contains 10 easy-to-follow lessons, which offer ample opportunities for practice and review. Resources, such as MP3 files, flashcards, and answer keys, are available through the publisher’s website.]
! TOEFL® skills 2—Graham-Marr, A., Naismith, B., & Castro, A. Abax ELT, 2022. [All three titles in this series are geared towards learners at the CEFR A2/B1 level, but this book is suitable for students aiming for an iBT score between 40 and 55. There are six topic-based units, each of which has a focus on language and a focus on the test itself. Activities that focus on language help students develop the skills they need for success on the test. Activities that focus on the test are done under time pressure in order to help students get accustomed to the time constraints of the test. Audio is available through the publisher’s website.]
Our world: How technology will change our lives tomorrow—Murray, A., & Passos, A. Nan’un-do, 2024. [The 15 units of this coursebook are designed so that students can hone all four skills in an engaged and meaningful way. A CLIL approach introduces technologies that foster progress towards SDG goals. This second book in the series places a greater emphasis on critical thinking by introducing case studies that can be used for small group discussions and debates. Audio files are available for students to download, and a manual is available for teachers.]
* What should every EFL teacher know?–Nation, P. (2nd ed.). Compass Publishing, 2024. [This practical book covers the most important information that an EFL teacher should know. It focuses on issues including teaching the four skills, pronunciation, spelling, grammar, and vocabulary, and how to design classes and courses. Nation also proposes ideas on dealing with problems such as large classes, classes of mixed proficiency, and classroom management issues.]
Books for Teachers (reviews published in JALT Journal)
Contact: Melodie Cook—jjreviews@jalt-publications.org
* Children’s additional language learning in instructional settings: Implications for teaching and future research—Butler, Y. G. Multilingual Matters, 2025. [This new title provides an overview of young learners’ language in pre-primary and primary education. It collates current research on language development and pedagogy among children learning an additional language in instructional settings. The book promotes a learner-centered approach to research and encourages critical reflection on how best to conduct research.]
* Constructing, reconstructing, and reclaiming learner identities: Academically successful 1.5 generation Filipino students in Japan—Motohashi, E. P. Multilingual Matters, 2025. [This book focuses on the experiences of 1.5 generation Filipinos in Japan, charting their life histories and education in the Philippines and Japan. Against a background of transnational migrations between both countries and varying proficiencies of Japanese as a second language and educational support for immigrant/non-Japanese speaking children in Japanese schools, the author uses a narrative/life history approach to consider how the participants use their educational histories and learner identities as intangible resources upon which they drew to overcome structural and cultural differences in the environments they encountered in Japanese schools.]
* Language teacher emotion and regulation: An exploration in Japan—Morris, S. Multilingual Matters, 2025. [This book helps us understand how language teachers regulate and use their emotions to best serve themselves and their students. It advances research in the field by providing an in-depth theoretical discussion of emotion regulation in the Japanese context. The book primarily focuses on strategies language teachers employ to regulate their own emotions, motives that help to regulate such emotions, and various contextual factors that shape their decisions.]
* Teaching and learning English in Japanese classrooms: Teachers’ perspectives—Elliott, D. (Ed.). Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2023. [This edited volume shows how ELT professionals in Japan have explored questions and issues which have affected both them and their students in the language learning process. Although contributors are working in Japan, classroom practitioners from the wider international language teaching community can benefit from the practical approaches and accessible descriptions of research. A secondary audience of administrators and teacher trainers will find value in chapters which outline the ways in which to foster an environment conducive to practitioner research.]
