Adams Crossroads, Delaware TESOL Online & Teaching English Jobs

This unit is about course books and other lesson materials. It first discusses the pros and cons of authentic versus created materials and gives examples of each. Authentic materials include items such as newspapers, songs, movies and menus. Their disadvantages include that they are not graded for class level and so must be carefully selected so they are not too difficult for the students. However, the advantage of authentic materials is that they are real and more interesting to students. Students also gain more confidence in their English when they understand language in real situations. As for created materials, these include items such as role-play cards and word search puzzles, examples of which are included in this unit. Although in many cases not as interesting to students as authentic materials, created materials have the advantage of being easier to use because they are graded to the level of the students. The unit went on to discuss a course book's advantages and disadvantages, as well as the best way to choose and use one. Because a course book provides a syllabus which is graded to level with materials that are tried and true, and because students expect a book, it gives a sense of security to both teachers and students. To avoid some of a course book's disadvantages, however, the teacher should not use the course book all the time, but rather adapt and supplement the book as necessary to tailor the lessons for a particular group of students.