“You can enrich your language with idioms, collocations and grammar. It’s full of such fruitful language and for me, this is a treasure...Our world needed this book so badly!”

Iryna Veklyuk, proficient language learner

“The author’s unique style with bits of irony is just extraordinary. And his ideas truly made me think deeper about the points he has highlighted. I've learnt a lot from it, it's a great booster of vivid and memorable language, idioms, and collocations.”

Kateryna Korohodova, English Language Buff

“I demand more! I couldn’t put it down.”

Anastasiia Honchar, blogger, influencer, neurologist

“I love your beautiful writing style. Your use of such scrumptious adjectives and expressions definitely is invaluable support for learners with a nice opportunity to embellish our English. When I was reading, I felt like I was having a conversation with you.”

Mariia Raievska, proficient language learner

“I really enjoyed it, you have a way with words that makes you want the chapters not to stop and have that expression with a smile on your face when you know more fun is coming even though the things you write about are quite complex.”

Kate Powell, English teacher

“There's a lot of warmth, wit and wisdom to be found here.”

Grant S, semi-famous journalist

Amazon 5-star review:

There are so many English learning books nowadays, so you "don't need more suggestions, but it is nice to get more".

Do you learn English every day but do not notice any progress? Are you tired of dry learning books with examples you will never experience in real life? Or do you not have any spare time to learn?

Then this book is definitely for you!

Independently, if you are a beginner or an experienced learner, you will find something for yourself. This book is generalist, a soup of a bit of everything, just like this comment. Plenty of learning hints and tricks mixed with hilarious romantic anecdotes and heartbreaking everyday life. You will find yourself laughing before you get bored with weaved-into-text exercises. Even if your aim is merely to while away the evening, you will enjoy the shenanigan stories the writer gathered over 20 years. On your way, you can pick up Easter eggs in the form of new vocabulary, some of which I am using in this review. On top of that, if you are going to be a teacher, you can have a glimpse into your terrific future.

I was Daniel's student, and he is the best English teacher I've ever met. Therefore, my feedback may sound overexcited. For me, this book was wonderfully touching. It was like returning to the good old days in Kyiv, which we all miss. I am exceptionally grateful to the author for conveying the war topic, even if it was not the original idea of the book.

I am anxiously waiting for more.

Glory to Ukraine! Слава Україні!

Asparagus_nerd

Amazon 5-star review:

Some of the most engaging stories are those in which the main character undergoes significant changes as the plot unfolds. A Classroom in Kyiv by Daniel Puzzo is an excellent example. Daniel, a teacher who began his adventures in mystical, gloomy Belfast, ends up in Kyiv teaching English to Ukrainians—a journey that transformed him profoundly.

The book tells the story of a young man in a world that feels blurred and unclear, as he searches for his purpose. Despite his strong academic background, Daniel is unsure of his calling. Eventually, he sets off to travel, and after several years, he arrives in Ukraine. With extensive teaching experience under his belt, he takes on a new role as an English teacher, sharing his life’s learnings in one remarkable book. Reading this story is an emotional experience—you’ll find yourself smiling, getting serious, and even feeling contemplative about life’s unpredictable paths.

But what truly sets this book apart is how skilfully the author weaves educational insights into the narrative. Puzzo provides examples of confusing grammatical constructions, highlights dialect differences, and offers quirky language tips—all in an engaging way that doesn’t detract from the story.

Overall, I highly recommend this book to English learners seeking an inspiring, unique way to improve their skills. It certainly won’t disappoint.

Iryna Veklyuk

Goodreads 5-star review:

We go through a lot of our lives unconscious, not paying any attention to what we just thought or did. As Daniel's former student who ended up reaching fluency—thanks in large part to his contribution—I found the book very sobering. It's surprising to notice how much language perception becomes an unsupervised background process once you're fluent and how easy it is to stop paying attention like you did when new words and phrases would pop up all the time. In other words, I caught myself losing curiosity and analytical approach to a language now that I speak it well.

I appreciate how the book is incredibly self-aware and encourages the same self-awareness in readers. You may be reading an innocent narrative but then will be asked to recall things, only to realize you've only been paying attention to the story but not the language. The book's rhythmic "read on, then look back" pacing might take some getting used to, but that's exactly what makes it a great learning tool and a reality check for those who are fluent.

While straying in all directions, "A Classroom in Kyiv" stands on a solid framework of thematic goals, has a good bit of self-deprecating dry wit (so very Daniel), and a sharp, inquisitive tone that had me audibly giggling at times. Besides, Daniel's erudition is so captivating you'll be left with another book's worth of reading/studying material, which is a pretty great deal!

Oleksandra