Module 4: Lesson 4 - Authentic materials Flashcards
Talk through authentic materials:
What is it?
Why do we use it?
Can we use it with all learners?
What are the downsides?
Authentic materials are any type of material, resource, text, or document that is written for anything other than the purpose of English language teaching. The language is natural, and it is written for native and fluent English speakers. There is no “linguistic” purpose to it at all.
Authentic materials exposes the learner to natural language. It helps them become familiar with natural English in the way it is actually written and spoken.
Authentic materials work best with learners who are at the Intermediate level of English ability or above. They are especially effective for Advanced level learners.
Downsides:
- authentic materials need to be adapted to fit learner needs.
- the content may be too difficult for the student (pre-teach vocab).
- Video or audio may be too fast for your learners (transcript).
- Media may need to be broken down to more manageable lengths.
- Authentic materials can be time-consuming to prepare.
How can you use news as an authentic material?
News talks about a range of topical issues daily. Usually more suitable for higher-level learners due to the complex language used.
The news is especially good for teaching vocabulary and certain grammatical structures.
Activities:
Prediction tasks based on the headline, a discussion or debate about the information in the article, a vocabulary activity focused on key language, a grammatical guided discovery task for specific structures, or a simple reading comprehension activity.
How can you use social media as an authentic material?
Social media posts can be great for learning language to do with expressing thoughts, opinions, ideas, and debate topics.
It’s important to vet any content beforehand to make sure it’s appropriate.
Activities:
Vocabulary-based comprehension, changing the tone of the post (formal to formal or vice versa), fact checking research projects, or even short writing tasks where the learner “replies” to the post with their opinions.
How can you use podcasts as an authentic material?
Podcasts are longer audio content that can be used in some situations. There are huge amounts of podcasts out there on just about any topic and are often free.
Activities:
Podcasts are great for extensive listening comprehension tasks. You could pre-listen to the podcast and have questions ready to ask your learner. As an extension, learners could discuss or write down their thoughts on the podcast.
How can you use TV, movies, or videos as an authentic material?
The lessons are online already, so links can be sent to the learner and you can screen share together. The learner will be able to access them after the class to use them further, too.
Activities:
Focus on certain vocabulary or grammar, they could highlight aspects of pronunciation like accents or register, you could watch them to understand the general gist of the content (great for listening), and use them as conversation points for later discussion.
How can you use songs as an authentic material?
The music and lyrics create an emotional connection to the language, which helps with language retention. Young learners tend to enjoy listening to songs in the class, and they can help improve listening and pronunciations skills.
Activities:
You could ask your learner what their favorite type of music or song is and have them write it down. You could play the song and then stop to focus on certain language or pronunciation that you heard.
How can you use menus, timetables, leaflets as an authentic material?
Great to use with lower-level students as they are short, simple, and use everyday language that they will encounter. Tasks should be relatively undemanding so that the learners can complete them successfully, and it’s essential that the teacher pre-teaches important vocabulary to aid comprehension.
Activities:
Identifying the words and phrases used, role-playing the instructions (for signs), stating or pointing to certain times for transport (timetables), identifying key information in a simple leaflet, or responding to simple questions asked by the teacher. They could also draw pictures, circle key language, and practice pronunciation with the teacher.
Questions to ask yourself when adapting materials.
- Is this material relevant and interesting to my students?
- Is the material the right length?
- Is the difficulty correct for the level of my students?
- What might they struggle with?
- How can I improve the content to make it fit comfortably into my online and one-to-one lesson?
- Can I adapt it to include language-focused activities?
