Principles for designing materials

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION IMPORTANCE OF MATERIALS DESIGN IN TEACHING ……..………………….			3
CHAPTER I	PRINCIPLES FOR DESIGNING MATERIALS
Role of materials used in ELT............................ 5
1.2	Types of teaching learning materials ..................... 8
1.3	Characteristics of effectively designed materials.....		11
CHAPTER II	DESIGNING PROCESS EFFECTIVE TEACHING MATERIALS
2.1	Process of selecting and adapting classrom materials ..............................................................		17
2.2	Learning materials development process................		23
2.3	Guidelines for designing effective materials............		28
CONCLUSION …… ….. ……….. ………. ……… . ……………………			34
RESYUME …… … …. … . ……….. ………… ………….. ……… …..			35
THE LIST OF USED LITERATURE ……. ………………. . ………. ….			36

CHAPTER I. PRINCIPLES FOR DESIGNING MATERIALS

1. 
   Role of materials used in ELT
   

Teaching materials are a key component in most language programs. Whether the teacher uses a textbook, institutionally prepared materials, or his or her own materials, instructional materials generally serve as the basis for much of the language input learners receive and the language practice that occurs in the classroom.¹In the case of inexperienced teachers, materials may also serve as a form of teacher training — they provide ideas can how to plan and teach lessons as well as formats that teachers can use. Much of the language teaching that occurs throughout the world today could not take place without the extensive use of commercial materials. These may take the form of (a) printed materials such as books, workbooks, worksheets, or readers; (h) nonprint materials such as cassette or audio materials, videos, or computer-based materials- (c) materials that comprise both print and nonprint sources such as self-access materials and materials on the Internet. In addition, materials not designed for instructional use such as magazines, newspapers, and TV materials may also play a role in the curriculum.

Cunningsworth (1995, 7) summarizes the role of materials (particularly course books) in language teaching as:²
• a resource for presentation materials (spoken and written)
• a source of activities for learner practice and communicative interaction
• a reference source for learners on grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and so on
• a source of stimulation and ideas for classroom activities
• a syllabus (where they reflect learning objectives that have already been determined)
• a support for less experienced teachers who have yet to gain in confidence
Dudley-Evans and St. John (1998, 170-171) suggest that for teachers of ESP courses, materials serve the following functions:
• as a source of language
• as a learning support
• for motivation and stimulation
• for reference
ESP materials may therefore seek to provide exposure to the specialized genres and registers of ESP, to support learning through stimulating cognitive processes and providing a structure and progression for learners to follow, to motivate learners through providing achievable challenges and interesting content, and to provide a resource for self-study outside of the classroom.
Some teachers use instructional materials as their primary teaching resource. The materials provide the basis for the content of lessons, the balance of skills taught, and the kinds of language practice students take part in. In other situations, materials serve primarily to supplement the teacher's instruction. For learners, materials may provide the major source of contact they have with the language apart from the teacher. Hence the role and uses of materials in a language program are a significant aspect of language curriculum development. In this chapter, we will examine the role, design, and use of materials in language teaching, with particular focus on print m trials and textbooks.
Teaching materials play a central role in teaching and learning, and as Garton and Graves (2014, p.11) assert: “Materials are fundamental to language learning and teaching (…) but materials cannot be viewed independently of their users.” (Emphasis added). His assertion presents two important characteristics of teaching materials that imply their relevance in teacher education; they are a fundamental part of language learning and teaching and they are dependent on their users (both teachers and learners).Exactly because of the dependent nature of teaching materials, when a (student) teacher is assigned to design them, a number of contextual decisions have to be made and these have a great potential to raise designers’ relection about what and how to teach (who/where the learners are; what they are learning the language for; how much time is available; available resources, among others). Generally speaking, material design should consider and try to harmonize situated possibilities with learners’ needs and wants. Besides, choosing and adapting materials represent quite a challenge for most (new) language teachers. At the same time, as pointed out by Harwood 2010, (p.4), quoting Allwright (1981), “ (…) no pre-prepared teaching materials can meet the needs of any given class precisely; some level of adaptation will be necessary”. It is, consequently, important that teachers become aware of that, understand why and develop informed means to perform this task, inherent to the profession.
Materials have always been considered as the only way to supply enriched input in the language classroom, and in this respect have undergone many changes following methodological and other theoretical trends. Whether successful or not, they have been able to provide a natural link between the teachers, the students and the language to be learned. The selection, evaluation and development of materials, on the other hand, have aroused considerable controversy among professionals. The arguments against using either contrived materials which focus on the features of the language being taught (i.e., short and easy texts helping learners to focus their attention on the target feature) or authentic materials (i.e., ordinary texts not produced for teaching purposes) has made the pendulum swing back and forth. Teachers amidst all this have often been the casualties of this pendulum by suffering the problems imposed by the momentum. There is no doubt that materials are a central feature for the achievement of successful language learning and they offer structure and consistency in the foreign language classroom. However, teacher-training programmes have not always managed to prepare and equip teachers with the necessary tools to cope with changes in language learning materials. We want materials to:³
a. arouse our learners’ interest b. be challenging enough
c. make the students feel that they are having a properly planned class
d. support and guide both the students and the teacher, and provide structure
and progression (even if this is not explicit)
e. provide a variety of experience in terms of texts
f. be a resource that introduces and/or reinforces areas of lexis or grammar.
g. teach new skills and strategies that our learners really need
h. provide knowledge about other cultures
i. be a ‘springboard’ that stimulates students to engage with the language and use it j. stimulate interest in non-linguistic issues
k. guide learners to be more autonomous
l. be flexible for other teachers to use or for teachers to personalise
m. provide teachers with sound teaching principles
We would argue that these answers encapsulate five key purposes of materials:
1. Materials meet a psychological need (a, b, c, d). Firstly, through texts, topics, tasks and visuals, materials can provide motivation for the learner which it is difficult for the teacher alone to sustain. Secondly, in the case of a set of course materials, they give learners and teachers at least a sense of ordered progression and, indeed, meet their expectation that learning involves materials. While there is a good deal of evidence that progress in a language is not steady and systematic, the belief that one is making steady and systematic progress can itself can be important.
2. Materials provide exposure to the language (e). Teachers themselves are, of course, important sources of exposure to the target language (TL), but they cannot provide the range of exposure – different spoken and written genres and styles, different accents and so on – which can be achieved through carefully selected listening and reading texts and through visual media.
3. Materials are vehicles of information (f, g, h). Materials can provide information about grammar and vocabulary and about the TL culture/s and other cultures which may be more accurate and comprehensive than the teacher’s alone. They can also provide learner training in different skills and strategies.
4. Materials provide a stimulus for other activities (i, j, k, l). Materials – texts or tasks, for example – can elicit an oral or written response from learners. This might be in the form of an immediate reaction to a text or a more extended discussion, debate or project. Materials can also be of broader educational value in introducing learners to topics beyond their own experience and by fostering more independent learning. Materials can also stimulate teachers to think of their own ideas of how best to exploit them.
5. Materials can act as teacher education (m). Materials, particularly those with an accompanying teacher’s book, can provide good models of practice for teachers, especially if the teacher’s book gives a clear rationale for the approach. As we have shown above, materials can have a range of purposes, and the way they are used will vary from context to context depending on factors such as the aim of the course, the experience and confidence of the teacher, the requirements of the institution and the expectations of the learner. Richards, cited in McGrath: ix) stresses the importance of materials in language teaching.