Material Development

Material Development

1. Terms and concepts

   • Materials: anything used to facilite learning
   • Development: principles, procedures of design, implementation, evaluation of teaching materials
   • Evaluation: attempts to measure value of materials
   • Language teaching: anything done to facilitate learning of language
   • Learning: considered a conscious process, consists of committing to memory of info.

2. Vital questions

   • How it should be provided?
   • What can be done with it to promote language learning?

3. Systematic evaluation of materials

   • Material writers follow their intuitions rather than objectives
     • intuitions - what is valuable to learners

4. 2nd langauge acquisition research and material development

   • writers rely on their intuitions when setting out to write textbooks
     • intuitions useful when informed by recent and relevant class experience
   • Materials should
     • Achieve impact
       • achieved when learners' curiosity, interest and attention are attracted
     • Help learners feel ease
       • lose opportunities for learning when anxious, uncomfortable or tense
     • Help learners to develop confidence
       • build confidence through activities which push learners slightly beyond existing proficiency
     • Require and facilite learner self-investment
       • facilite self-discovery
     • expose the learners to language in authentic use
     • provide learners with opportunities to use target language to achieve communicative purposes
     • take into account that the positive effects of instruction are usually delayed
       • Learners cannot be expected to learn a new feature and be able to use ir effectively in the same lesson
     • take into account that learners differ in learning styles
       • Activities should be variable
     • take into account that learners differ in attitudes
       • ideal learners dont exist
     • permit silent period at the beginning
       • should not force premature speaking and not silence either
     • maximize learning potential, stimulate both right and left brain activities
     • not rely much on controlled practice
   • what is being taught should be perceived by learners as relevant and useful
   • Learners must be ready to acquire points being taught
   • Learners' attention should be drawn to linguistic

5. Bringing together of different areas of knowledge and expertise one of the objectives of the book