Books that inspire my teaching

My dear friend and iTDi colleague, Ratnavathy Ragunathan, asked me to share a list of “must-read” books about ELT or teaching in general: books that have inspired me as a teacher. Well, she inspired me to create the following list. Some of these books I’ve read through and through on multiple occasions, and some of them I’ve skimmed for various reasons at different times in my life. I say this because she asked me for a “must-read list”, but I also suggest “must-skim” and “must-have-in-your-awareness-or-on-your-bookshelf”.

Rethinking culture

• Intercultural Communication: A Reader – Larry A. Samovar, Richard E. Porter, and Edwin R. McDaniel
• Intercultural Competence: Interpersonal Communication Across Cultures – Myron W. Lustig and Jolene Koester
• Teaching Culture: Perspectives in Practice – Patrick Moran

Rethinking education

• Beyond Discipline – Alfie Kohn
• The Compassionate Classroom: Relationship Based Teaching and Learning – Sura Hart and Victoria Kindle Hodson
• Experience and Education (FULL BOOK HERE) – John Dewey
• No Contest: The Case Against Competition – Alfie Kohn
• Life-Enriching Education: Nonviolent Communication Helps Schools Improve Performance, Reduce Conflict, and Enhance Relationships – Marshall B. Rosenberg PhD
• Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A’s, Praise, and Other Bribes – Alfie Kohn

Rethinking education and life (are they really that different?)

• The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything – Ken Robinson
• Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us – Daniel H. Pink
• A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future – Daniel H. Pink

Rethinking emotions

• Emotions revealed – Paul Ekman
• Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life: Life-Changing Tools for Healthy Relationships – Marshall Rosenberg
• Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships – Daniel Goleman
• A Way of Being – Carl R. Rogers

Rethinking English

• English as a Global Language – David Crystal
• Teaching English as an International Language: Rethinking Goals and Approaches – Sandra Lee McKay
• Resisting Linguistic Imperialism in English Teaching – A. Suresh Canagarajah

Rethinking TESOL and language teaching (and maybe teaching in general)

• Teaching Language: From Grammar to Grammaring – Dr. Diane Larsen-Freeman
• Understanding Teaching Through Learning – Joshua Kurzweil and Mary Scholl
• Values, Philosophies and Beliefs in TESOL: Making a Statement – Graham Crookes
• Working with Teaching Methods: What’s at Stake? – Earl Stevick

The Teacher’s Life

• The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher’s Life – Parker Palmer

Teacher Training

• Advising and Supporting Teachers – Mick Randall, with Barbara Thornton

Planning and Designing

• Designing Language Courses: A Guide for Teachers – Kathleen Graves
• Planning Lessons and Courses: Designing Sequences of Work for the Language Classroom – Tessa Woodward