The Study Skills Handbook by Stella Cottrell

reviewed by Eva Trumpešová-Rudolfová, Czech Republic

Eva Trumpešová-Rudolfová teaches ESP and EAP at Masaryk University Language Centre, Brno, Czech Republic, where she is also a passionate member of English Autonomously team and a counsellor. She is an ardent ambassador of life skills and in her lessons she promotes cooperation, effective communication, critical thinking, creativity, learning skills, self-reflection and emotional intelligence.

@ 2013 – Palgrave Macmillan

426 pages

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Study Skills Handbook is primarily aimed at students but is equally valuable for instructors who are looking for practical tools to make their teaching more learning centred. Fourth edition already, it brings a lot of new material. The book covers all the core skills students need to succeed with their studies, it features sections on time management, critical thinking, academic writing, revision and studying with technology; numerous pages are devoted to motivation, procrastination and distractions.

Stella Cottrell takes a much personalised approach and as a result every student can find his or her way to succeed in their studies. She makes learning human and personified. In language learning and teaching, we can use her book as inspiration to help our students become better and conscious learners. The visual style is very attractive and makes the book look like a real guide, which it is, guiding students through academic requirements, secrets of motivation or the power of reflection.

The Study Skills Handbook contains many practical activities for students to discover important facts about their personalities and their priorities, many checklists to monitor their progress and suggestions for areas they need to work on.

Language Learning has to be learnt too, and teachers are in the best position to help their students achieve this. Language lessons are the ideal environment for this to happen.

More resources can be found at the accompanying website www.palgravestudyskills.com

Please check the Teaching Advanced Students course at Pilgrims website.