1. The Role and Design of Instructional Materials
Instructor: Dr. Mavis Shang
Presenter: Sophia
5 June 2008
I-Shou University, Taiwan

2. The Form of Teaching Materials
Printed materials
ex. books, workbooks, worksheets, readers
Nonprint materials
ex. cassette, audio materials, videos
Both print and nonprint sources
ex. self-access materials,
materials on the Internet
Magazines, newspapers, TV programs

3. The role of materials (Cunningsworth, 1995)
A resource for presentation materials
A source of activities for learner practice and communicative interaction
A reference source for learners on grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and so on
A source of stimulation and ideas for classroom activities
A syllabus
A support for less experienced teachers

4. The functions of materials
As a source of language
As a learning support
For motivation and stimulation
For reference
(Dudley-Evans & St. John, 1998)

5. Authentic versus created materials
Authentic materials:
Teaching resources that are not specially prepared for pedagogical purpose
Created materials:
Text books and other specially developed instructional resources

6. Advantages of authentic materials
have a positive effect on learner motivation
provide authentic cultural information about the target culture
provide exposure to real language
relate more closely to learners’ needs
support a more creative approach to teaching
(Phillips & Shettlesworth, 1978; Clarke, 1989; Peacock, 1997)

7. Critics of using authentic materials
Created materials can also be motivating for learners
Authentic materials often contain difficult language
Created materials may be superior to authentic materials because they are generally built around a graded syllabus
Using authentic materials is a burden for teachers

8. Past and current trends in English language textbooks
Then
Author and academic centered
Uncertain global market
European focus
Sell what is published
Culture and methodology of origin
English for its own sake
Now
Market led
Specific fragmented markets
Pacific Rim/ Latin American focus
International or local culture
Indigenous learning situations
English for specific purposes

9. Past and current trends in English language textbooks
Then
UK/ US publisher dominance
Native speaker expertise
Culturally insensitive
Low risk / competition
Little design
Artificial texts and tasks
Single-volume titles
Now
Rise in local publishing
Nonnative speaker competence
Culturally sensitive
High risk / competition
Design rich
Authenticity
Multicomponent/multimedia

10. Advantages of using commercial textbooks
Provide structure and a syllabus for a program
Help standardize instruction
Maintain quality
Provide a variety of learning resources
Be efficient
Provide effective language models and input
Train teachers
Visually appealing

11. Negative effects of commercial textbooks
May contain inauthentic language
May distort content
May not reflect students’ needs
Can deskill teachers
Be expensive

12. Evaluating textbooks Before evaluating a textbook, information is
needed on the following issues:
The role of the textbook in the program
ex. Will it be used with small classes or large ones?
The teachers in the program
ex. Are teachers free to adapt and supplement the book?
The learners in the program
ex. What do learners typically expect in a textbook?

13. Criteria for textbook evaluation
They should:
Correspond to learners’ needs.
Match the aims and objectives of the language learning program.
Reflect the present or future uses
Take account of students’ needs
Have a clear role as a support for learning
(Cunningsworth, 1995)

14. A checklist for textbook evaluation and selection ( Appendix 2)
Organized under the following categories (p. 274)
Aims and approaches
Design and organization
Language content
Skills
Topic
Methodology
Teachers’ books
Practical considerations (Cunningsworth, 1995)

15. Questions to ask when selecting ESP materials
Will the materials stimulate and motivate?
To what extend does the material match the stated learning objectives and your learning objectives?
To what extent will the materials support the learning process?
(Dudley-Evans & St. John, 1998)

16. Factors involved in textbook evaluation and selection
Program factors
Teacher factors
Learner factors
Content factors
Pedagogical factors

17. Adapting textbooks A good provider of materials will be able to:
Select appropriately from what is available
Be creative with what is available
Modify activities to suit learners’ needs
Supplement by providing extra activities
(Dudley-Evans & St. John, 1998)

18. Forms of adaptation Modifying content Adding or deleting content
Reorganizing content
Addressing omissions
Modifying tasks
Extending tasks

19. Preparing materials for a program
Advantages:
‧Relevance
‧Develop expertise
‧Reputation
‧Flexibility
Disadvantages
‧Cost
‧Quality
‧Training

20. The nature of materials development
The process of materials development:
Preparation: ex. critical analysis of texts
Representation: ex. examples, demonstrations
Selection: ex. choice from modes of teaching,
organizing, managing, and arranging
Adapting and tailoring to student characteristics:
ex. consideration of social class, gender, age
(Shulman, 1987)

21. Characteristics for good language teaching materials (Tomlinson, 1998)
Materials should:
achieve impact
help learners feel at ease
help learners to develop confidence
be relevant and useful to students
require and facilitate learner self-investment
expose the learners to language in authentic use
provide the learners with opportunities to achieve communicative purpose
take into account that positive effects of instruction are usually delayed

22. Characteristics for good language teaching materials
Materials should:
take into account that the learners have different learning styles
take into account that learners differ in affective attitudes
permit a silent period at the beginning of instruction
maximize learning potential
not rely too much on controlled practice
provide opportunities for outcome feedback
Learners must be ready to acquire the points being taught
The learners’ attention should be drawn to linguistic features of the input

23. Decisions in materials design
Processes of program design and materials design:
Developing aims
Developing objectives
Developing a syllabus
Organizing the course into units
Developing a structure for units
Sequencing units
Choosing input and sources
Selecting exercise types

24. Choosing input and sources
Grammar materials
Listening materials
Reading materials
Writing materials
Speaking materials
** copyright permission

25. Selecting exercise types (Appendix 1, p.272)
An example of exercises that involve a nonlinguistic response to the text:
Ordering a sequence of pictures
Comparing texts and pictures
Matching
Using illustrations
Completing a document
Mapping it out
Using the information in a text
Jigsaw reading (Grellet, 1981)

26. Selecting exercise types
An example of exercises that involve a linguistic response to the text:
Reorganizing the information: recording events
Reorganizing the information: using grids
Comparing several texts
Completing a document
Question types
Study skills: summarizing
Study skills: note taking (Grellet, 1981)

27. Managing a materials writing project ( Appendix 3, p. 277)
A team-based writing project involves:
Selecting the project team
Planning the number of stages involved
Identifying reviewers
Planning the writing schedule
Piloting the materials
Design and production

28. Monitoring the use of materials
Forms of Monitoring:
Observation
Feedback sessions
Written reports
Review
Students’ reviews

29. Thank you!