materials UNAD

GUIDELINES FOR DESIGNING EFFECTIVE

ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING MATERIALS

Rather than focusing on coursebooks, we have turned our focus to teacher-produced materials and consider that the disadvantages of coursebooks can become advantages for teacher produced materials.

ADVANTAGES

CONTEXTUALISATION

INDIVIDUAL NEEDS ​​​

some materials are necessarily generic and not aimed at any specific group of learners or any particular cultural or educational context.

The possible lack of ‘fit’ between teaching context and coursebook

Teachers prefer

designing or adapting their own teaching materials,

taking into account their particular learning environment

This lack of materials can enable teachers to make best use of the resources available commercially

teacher-produced materials can be the best option in terms of both school and student budget.

English language classrooms are diverse places.

the importance of identifying and teaching to the individual needs.

incorporate elements of the learners’ first language and culture, or at least provide opportunities for acknowledgement and use alongside English.

provide the opportunity to select texts and activities at exactly the right level for particular learners, to ensure appropriate challenge and levels of success.

teachers can choose from the range of possibilities, including topics, situations, notions, functions, skills etc.

PERSONALISATION

‘home-made’ materials add a personal touch to teaching that students appreciate. (Block, 1991)

Tapping into the interests and taking account of the learning styles of students increase motivation and engagement in learning.

freedom and scope for spontaneity when teachers develop their own materials. (Podromou, 2002)

TIMELINESS

Teachers can respond to local and international events with up-to-date, relevant and high interest topics and tasks.

The teachable moment can be more readily seized.

everything can be summed up in the idea that they avoid the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach of most commercial materials.

DISADVANTAGES

ORGANISATION.

QUALITY.

Coursebooks are usually organised around an identifiable principle and follow a discernible pattern throughout.

it provides both teachers and students with some security and a “coherent body of work to remember and revise from” (Harmer, 2001, p. 7).

In contrast,

teacher-designed materials may lack overall coherence and a clear progression.

physical organisation and storage of materials.

teacher-produced materials may be difficult to locate for ongoing use, or may end up damaged or with parts missing.

Materials may contain errors, be poorly constructed, lack clarity in layout and print and lack durability.

important elements may leave out or inadequately covered.

teachers may make inconsistent or poor choices of texts.

lack of clear instructions about how to make effective use of the materials

Thy don't have enough time

Factors to Consider When Designing Materials

LEARNERS.

THE CURRICULUM AND THE CONTEXT

RESOURCES AND FACILITIES

PERSONAL CONFIDENCE AND COMPETENCE

COPYRIGHT COMPLIANCE

TIME

Any consideration of syllabus or materials design must begin with a needs analysis.

This should reveal learning needs with regard to English language skills in listening, speaking, reading, writing, vocabulary knowledge and grammar.

Many teachers are bound by a mandated curriculum defining the content, skills and values to be taught.

ensure that the goals and objectives of the overarching curriculum are kept close at hand when designing materials

Clearly teachers must be realistic with the limitations of available resources and facilities.

Access to resources will impact on decisions in materials design.

it determines a teacher’s willingness to embark on materials development

the teacher’s level of teaching experience and his or her perceived creativity or artistic skills is fundamental

most teachers modify, adapt a coursebook, rather than starting from scratch

Teachers need to be aware of the restrictions that copyright laws place on the copying of authentic materials

An idea cannot be copyright, but the expression of the idea can be and teachers need to be mindful of this.

teachers can lighten the load and share materials with other teachers, working in a team to design and produce materials

Guidelines for Designing Effective English Teaching Materials

The guidelines

may act as a useful framework for teachers as they navigate the range of factors and variables to develop materials for their own teaching situations.

They are guidelines – not rules to be rigidly applied or adhered to.

Guideline 1: English language teaching materials should be contextualised

the materials should be

contextualised to the curriculum they are intended to address

- Contextualised to the experiences, realities and first languages of the learners.

- Contextualised to topics and themes that provide meaningful, purposeful uses for the target language.

Guideline 2: Materials should stimulate interaction and be generative in terms of language

use the language for some real communicative purpose.

language teaching materials should provide

situations where learners need to interact with each other regularly

three conditions to stimulate real communication:

to “have something we want to communicate”,

“someone to communicate with”,

“some interest in the outcome of the communication”

Guideline 3: English language teaching materials should encourage learners to develop learning skills and strategies

it is essential to teach learners how to learn, and that they help them to take advantage of language learning opportunities outside the classroom.

provide learners with the confidence to persist in their attempts to find solutions when they have initial difficulties in communicating.

Guideline 4: English language teaching materials should allow for a focus on form as well as function

To help meet this goal

materials need to encourage learners to take an analytical approach to the language

Well-designed materials can help with this by alerting learners by providing opportunities for regulated practice in addition to independent and creative expression.

Guideline 5: English language teaching materials should offer opportunities for integrated language use

Language teaching materials can tend to focus on one particular

Guideline 6: English language teaching materials should be authentic

learners need to be regularly exposed in the classroom to real, unscripted language

Learners need to hear, see and read the way native speakers communicate with each other naturally.

Guideline 8: English language teaching materials should be attractive

Some aspects of these criteria that are particularly pertinent

Physical appearance:

User-friendliness:

Durabilty:

Ability to be reproduced:

Guideline 9: English language teaching materials should have appropriate instructions

It seems to be stating the obvious to say that instructions should be clear, but, often, excellent materials fail in their “pedagogical realisation”

Guideline 10: English language teaching materials should be flexible