The. Ministry of higher and secondary special education

2.3 Theoretical grounds
Bo Lundahl, teacher of English didactics at Malmц University, argues that English studies must take into account the current lifestyle that most teenagers have adopted. One should also take into account the new knowledge they have acquired and consequently introduce more suitable and interesting texts for students to read; texts that reflect a student's background, experience and knowledge; texts which may be found in youth magazines, life-style magazines and newspapers. Also, teaching English texts today should not focus mainly on formal structures and lexical items. Instead, it should focus on meaning and content and the students should be able to draw their own conclusions about what they have read and comment on it.
Skolverket, (2000) “Sprеk: Grundskola och gymnasiet: Kursplaner, betygskriterier och kommentarer.” P.60
2.3.1 Authentic texts and adapted textbook texts
Lundahl states that authentic texts should be introduced in the classroom. “Authentic material” refers to e.g. books and articles where language and structure are not simplified in any way. According to The Oxford Dictionary of English, the term “authentic” has at least one meaning: “of undisputed source or origin and not a copy; genuine”5. For teaching purposes this refers to English books, novels or articles that have been written by an English speaking author to a native audience or speaker; in these cases the language used has not been altered.
The term “authentic” has been used as a reaction against fabricated artificial language, which is mostly used in instructional dialogues6 and textbooks taught in class. This term refers to a usage of language in a non- pedagogical way, which occurs naturally in society and reflects the culture of the target language. For instance, slang and idioms, which are rarely used in textbooks, could appear in authentic material.It should be made clear that authentic texts may be included in textbooks, but often the texts included will be subject to a certain level of adaptation. In the textbooks, the texts are often supplied with vocabulary lists, explanatory comments as well as with fixed questions. The original text can be changed formally and linguistically to suit the textbook needs. It should be underlined, that what is advocated here is not a total rejection of the textbook in the teaching of English in Swedish schools, but rather that authentic texts should be introduced in the classroom as additional material7; authentic texts can provide the students with original language. Moreover, it could be argued that authentic material increases student motivation when reading in English. If the students are exposed to English in its true form, that is that the language is not simplified, they are able to deduct important cultural and lexical information.
4Lundahl, B. (1998) ”Lдsa pе frдmmande sprеk” p. 11
5Soanes & Stevenson (editors) (2005) “The Oxford Dictionary of English” , revised edition
6 Kramsch, C. (1993) ”Context and culture in language teaching” p. 177
The choice of the text is highly important. Authentic texts focus mainly on contents and meaning and not on linguistic forms or other structures. Authentic material can present the reader with cultural messages as well as prepare students for a so called “pleasure reading”. Generally, authentic materials do not entirely replace the textbooks but they can be used as a substitution for certain texts that might not be well-suited for classroom use. Many teachers nowadays have realised that authentic texts have a motivating effect on students. For example, a newspaper article or an interview can be perceived as more vivid or “real” than the texts you might find in textbooks. It's through these kinds of authentic texts that students and teachers are able to approach the target country's culture and the people living there; we are able to compare our own culture and lifestyle with that of a particular country. Authentic texts do not have to be full-length books. They could also include material such as factual texts, ads, warning signs, menus, pricelists etc. The list is long and there are many ways to include these texts in the teaching of English.