Materials: a challenging world Dr. Claudio Díaz James Dean Brown “The elements of language curriculum” (1995) Heinle & Heinle Ronald Carter & David Nunan. “The Cambridge Guide to Teaching English to Speakers of other Languages” (2001) Cambridge
What are materials? “Any systematic description of the techniques and exercises to be used in classroom teaching.” Anything that can be used to facilitate the learning of a language” Linguistic, visual, auditory or kinesthetic
Types of materials Instructional: inform learners about the language. Experiential: provide exposure to the language in use. Elicitative: stimulate language use. Exploratory: seek discoveries about language use.
Unresolved issues in materials development Materials should be driven by theory or by practice. Be driven by syllabus needs, learner needs or market needs. Cater for teacher needs and wants as well as those of learners. Aim for language development only or should also aim for personal and educational development. Aim to contribute to teacher development as well as language learning.
Adopting Materials: come in many forms. are based on many different approaches. are organized around a number of syllabuses Are presented on a number of media and take many physical forms…. Books, workbooks, journals, maps, realia, video tapes, teachers’ books, magazines, pictures, charts/graphs/diagrams, cassete tapes,computer software, video tapes. Adopting, Developing and Adapting
Sources of information about materials Publishers’ catalogs (desk copies/examination copies Books received Teachers’ shelves
Evaluating material Stevick (1971)… 3 qualities: (strength, lightness, transparency as opposed to weakness, heaviness, opacity) 3 dimensions: linguistic, social, topical 4 components: occasions for use, sample of language use, lexical exploration, exploration of structural relationships
Developing materials…
Steps for adapting materials
The Materials Development Association