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In this unit I learned about:
Authentic materials:
Advantages
- It can boost the confidence of students if they are able to understand it.
- It’s authentic or real so it’s more interesting for the students.
- It can be geared to the interests of a particular set of students such as teen agers or business people.
- It prepares the students for the real world, most especially if they are migrating to an English-speaking country.
Disadvantages
- The material is not graded to the level of the students because it’s made for native speakers and not ESL learners.
- It can sometimes be too difficult or complicated for the students to comprehend.
- It might contain a lot of informal English which can be disadvantageous to the students who haven’t mastered formal/academic English yet.
Created materials:
Advantages
- The material can be graded to the level of students.
- The teacher can easily choose which vocabulary or language items to include in the material (ex: crossword puzzles, matching activities, role-plays)
- It can be used to replace or supplement material from the book.
- Student-focused
Disadvantages
- Some students may find it a bit boring because it’s not real.
- It limits the exposure of students to real English or everyday English.
- Can be too time-consuming to create the material.
- Some original materials have not been tried and tested.
I would favor the use of authentic materials for intermediate students because they already have a good grasp of the English language. Using authentic materials can bring the right kind of motivation and challenge to the class. I’m sure that they will appreciate the fact that they are not only learning the language but are being exposed to the cultural content of the material as well.
Teachers should remember the following when following a course book:
- Use the course book as a guide only and don’t consider it your bible.
- Don’t think of the course book as a solution to everything.
- Omit sections/topics from the book that are unsuitable to the level of the students being taught.
- Supplement the book with other materials, authentic or created, to provide an opportunity for extended language practice.
- Replace unsuitable materials with similar and more appropriate ones.
- Don’t use the text book for the whole lesson.
- Plan lessons well and make them interesting.
- Use the materials contained in the book in a way that he/she sees fit or perceives to be most beneficial for the students.
- Don’t base all of the lessons on the book. The teacher should be aware of what the students need and should try to address such in the lessons.
