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.
Recently Received Online
An up-to-date index of books available for review can be found at https://jalt-publications.org/tlt/departments/recently-received
* = new listing; ! = final notice — Final notice items will be removed on June 30. 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 function-situation 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.]
! Talking point—Harris, J., & Leeming, P. Abax, 2021. [This two-book series takes a task-based approach to making presentations. Units focus on academic talks given by a variety of English speakers. Students have access to the publisher’s learning management system, which includes video and audio listening activities, as well as voice recognition.]
! What is language?—Kane-Hinohara, E. Perceptia Press, 2023. [What is Language? follows a CLIL approach. Each of the 15 units is scaffolded for learners, with a progression from lower- to higher-order thinking skills. There is a mix of communicative focus-on-form tasks through explicit teaching of the academic word list and academic language skills. Productive tasks include pair work in scaffolded discussions and individual presentations. Audio tracks are available for download.]
* 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. 15 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
! Globalisation and its effects on team-teaching—Fujimoto-Adamson, N. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2020. [The author reveals the connections among global issues, policymaking, and local practices as they relate to team-teaching in English language classes in the Japanese junior high school context. Examining this particular context provides the reader with valuable insights as well as a model of research methodology into team-teaching in wider contexts—a greatly under-researched subdiscipline.]
