Sarah Mercer and Herbert Puchta's 101 Psychological Tips Paperback (Cambridge Handbooks for Language Teachers)

…..I’m really pleased I was offered the opportunity to order this book.In the next couple of months, I am due to undergo major surgery and will need to undertake a long period of rehabilitation.I am collecting all sorts of different reading matter, games and art and craft type activities so that during the long hours of my rehabilitation, when I can’t do anything really very strenuous at all, I will have a variety and plenty of enjoyable and interesting things to keep me occupied - and distracted too!.The subject matter is very close to my heart, so am looking forward to dipping into itOnce I have started - and then completed it, I will update my review and include some photos.So far though, I am pleased with it, I would order again and happy to recommend.

The media could not be loaded. This is a helpful handbook for language teachers, especially those new to the profession. It breaks down psychology research into practical tips that teachers can use in the classroom. It focuses on making small changes with a big impact on student learning and teacher well-being. The book covers six key areas like creating a positive classroom environment and boosting student confidence. It even has a whole chapter on celebrating yourself as a teacher, which sounds like a great reminder! Overall, it's a practical and encouraging resource for language educators.

This book is an absolute gem for any language teacher! It's packed with 101 practical psychological tips that really help make teaching more effective and enjoyable. The tips are straightforward and easy to implement, covering everything from motivation to managing classroom dynamics. Each tip is concise and well-explained, making it easy to dip in and out of the book as needed. I've already started using some of the advice in my lessons, and I've noticed a real difference in student engagement. Perfect for both new and experienced teachers, this book is a fantastic resource to have on hand. Highly recommend!

The tips provided are rather brief, as each page presents an abbreviated version of the general advice and the principles underpinning it, with only a few concrete examples and a short mention of relevant research. I would've liked to read more, both to better understand and to more easily incorporate those tips in practice.For a short booklet with limited scope, however, I found this book quite useful. The chapters are sensibly divided, ranging from "Psychological tips for teacher wellbeing" to "Psychological tips for empowering learners", with topics that covered learner engagement, ideal teacher attributes, the dynamics of group learning, and more. The assertions were well supported and were presented in a positive and inspiring way, so it was an easy read that got me thinking.A lot of the tips resonated with me personally, while there were things I've never even considered. Definitely a lot of food for thought either way, presented in bite-sized chunks. The sections I found most interesting were the reminders that perfectionism is often counter-intuitive and inefficient and that it is enough to suffice (satisfy + suffice), and that learners can find it useful to think about if ... then strategies to reach their goals.

These are more quick tips, some are useful, others not so much but does help and gives you food for thought. Easy to fit in a handbag and read on the train!

This is a really informative book in a pocket-sized format that packs a punch! Each tip only takes up one page and thus even the explanations are nice and condensed, making it a fairly quick read for a busy teacher! The tips usually are followed by advice and an expansion on what the authors mean, followed by suggested means to act on the advice (e.g. ideas on being a good colleague, questions to ask yourself to ensure lesson plans are “good enough” without obsessing over perfection). I also really like how the advice includes references where appropriate to back up the authors and provide further credence to their words. Some of the advice is a bit obvious (“use language to facilitate learner cooperation”, for example) but the authors provide another perspective and it is, of course, one thing to know something and another to hear it from someone else. Overall, this is a useful resource for anyone involved in education.

I got it as a complement to my textbooks, but it's a more advanced and dense level than I thought, and hard to read.

I agree that some of the tips in this booklet can be very useful for some teachers, regardless of whether they are experienced or new. However, not all the tips are realistic especially if you are teaching in UK higher education where many of the things mentioned are simply unrealistic. At times I agreed with the tips, for example when making learning outcomes more transparent and clear. On the other hand, other tips are simply not feasible or require time that teachers nowadays don't even have.