6 Must-Read Books for English Language Teachers This Summer

As summer approaches, we’ve heard the same question from English Language Teachers, instructional coaches, and school leaders alike:“What should I read to grow professionally over the break?”

Whether you're looking to sharpen your classroom strategies, collaborate better with colleagues, advocate more effectively, or deepen your understanding of language learning, this list offers something for everyone. We've curated six high-impact books—each in a different category—to help you return in the fall more prepared, more grounded, and more inspired.

1. For English Language Teachers

The ESL/ELL Teacher’s Survival Guide

Larry Ferlazzo & Katie Hull Sypnieski

Extended Review:This teacher-centered guide is a goldmine of real-world strategies, practical tools, and culturally responsive practices. Ferlazzo and Sypnieski write from their own deep classroom experience, providing lesson plans, reproducible resources, and step-by-step strategies for classroom management and language development. From building vocabulary and background knowledge to engaging families and promoting student independence, this book offers something useful on nearly every page. It's approachable for new teachers and still meaningful for veterans.

2. EL Co-Teaching

Co-Teaching for English Learners: A Guide to Collaborative Planning, Instruction, Assessment, and Reflection

Maria G. Dove & Andrea M. Honigsfeld

Extended Review:Co-teaching is often recommended but rarely well-executed. This book changes that. Dove and Honigsfeld demystify the collaborative process between ESL and general education teachers with six co-teaching models, planning protocols, and real-life vignettes. Whether you’re building trust with a new partner or scaling co-teaching across your district, this book provides the theory and the templates to make it work. It’s especially helpful in inclusive classrooms where ELs are learning alongside native English-speaking peers.

3. EL Advocacy

Advocating for English Learners: A Guide for Educators

Diane Staehr Fenner

Extended Review:This book is essential reading for anyone who believes in systemic equity for multilingual learners. Fenner clearly outlines the skills, mindset, and strategies teachers need to influence change—at the classroom, school, and district levels. She includes tools for engaging families, working with policymakers, and training colleagues. What’s most powerful is the way she affirms the role of ESL teachers not just as instructors, but as leaders. This is the blueprint for standing up and speaking out for ELs.

4. Working with Content Area Teachers

99 Ideas and Activities for Teaching English Learners with the SIOP Model

MaryEllen Vogt & Jana Echevarría

Extended Review:This companion to the SIOP Model is full of concrete, easy-to-implement strategies that support ELs in accessing academic content. Each of the 99 ideas aligns with a different aspect of the model, such as interaction, building background, or strategies for scaffolding. It's especially helpful for content area teachers—science, social studies, math—who need quick wins for supporting ELs. English Language Teachers can also use this to guide PD sessions or collaborative planning. Highly practical and well-organized.

5. Classic EL Theory

Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition

Stephen D. Krashen

Extended Review:Krashen’s theories, especially his Input Hypothesis and Affective Filter Hypothesis, laid the theoretical groundwork for decades of EL instruction. This book isn’t light summer reading—but it’s essential for those who want to understand how second language acquisition really works. His arguments for "comprehensible input" and naturalistic learning environments remain central to EL curriculum design today. While dense at times, it rewards readers with a deeper understanding of why our teaching methods matter.

6. Reading Conferences with English Learners by AIR Language

Conferring with English Learners: A Responsive Approach to Reading Conferences

Extended Review:This groundbreaking guide redefines the reading conference as a powerful, personalized language development tool. Rooted in formative assessment and responsive teaching, the book outlines how teachers can use short, structured conversations to build comprehension, vocabulary, and oral fluency. It includes a six-step structure (CELL Protocol) to guide meaningful discussions with multilingual students: rapport building, prior knowledge, comprehension check, content-specific vocabulary, goal-setting, and encouragement. English Language Teachers gain insight into how to scaffold questions, respond to language errors without discouraging risk-taking, and use conferences as a springboard for deeper engagement. This approach aligns beautifully with the science of reading and places student voice at the center of the literacy experience.

Your Summer Reading, Your Impact

Whether you're an ESL teacher planning for the year ahead, a co-teacher looking to deepen collaboration, or a school leader committed to equity, these six books offer more than strategies—they offer clarity, purpose, and renewed energy.

In a field as dynamic and demanding as language education, continuous learning isn’t optional—it’s essential. These reads will help you build better systems, advocate more effectively, and connect more deeply with your students and colleagues. Even if you just choose one, you’ll return to school in the fall with sharper tools and a stronger voice.

So grab a book, settle into a quiet moment, and invest in the kind of growth that transforms classrooms—one multilingual learner at a time.