Teach English in Zhangfeng Zhen - Heze Shi

Course materials are important in any classroom. They are especially important for teaching English as a foreign language because there are a wider range of possibilities for utilizing materials for teaching English to non-native speakers. The same applies for classes for business English. Studying the different types of materials that are used in the classroom is essential for creating an effective lesson plan. The following are the most common materials used in the classroom: Book sources In some cases, the school or center where a teacher is teaching will have books for class use. In other cases the teacher will not be given any books by the school. The teacher should therefore always be prepared to bring their own books or create their own class materials. In either case, teachers will need to adapt the worksheets and activities within the available books to suit the teacher’s teaching style and the culture of the class. It is also important to note that there are two main categories of books that can be used in the classroom (Unit 4, page 11). The first is focused primarily on English grammar with lessons that don’t necessarily relate to Business English (Unit 4, page 11). Teachers can extend lessons used from these books by creating activities that are specific to business-related situations.The second category of books is where specific business situations are the primary focus (Unit 4, page 11). Both types of book sources are equally effective for use in lessons. It is advised however, that teachers vary in the use of both types and make note of which books work better for certain lessons and activities. With recurring use, teachers learn how to best use book sources in general. Internet sources The internet contains a wide range of sources for business English materials. However teachers should be careful to look into the right sources when searching for sources. Some internet sources require website visitors to purchase material or register through the site in order to gain access to sources. For this reason, teachers should look for ‘freeware’ websites that do not require any kind of registration (Unit 4, page 12). It is also useful to look for websites outside the fields of TEFL and business English because many corporations have material on their sites that can be used in the classroom (Unit 4, page 12). Some of these include company reports, statistics, and graphs (Unit 4, page 12). When using internet sources teachers should also be careful of those which enable students to easily obtain answers to worksheets or activities (Unit 4, page 12). A closer look at the two categories of materials We will now take a closer look at the two categories of class materials. These are known as authentic materials and non-authentic materials. Both types of materials can come in any kind of form, whether that is a book, or internet source. The difference is in the purpose of these materials. Authentic materials are materials that have been created for purposes outside of the classroom (Unit 4, page 2). Whereas non-authentic materials are materials that have been created by either an educational company or individual teachers for the purpose of being used as teaching aids in the classroom. The pros and cons of both are as follows: Authentic materials Authentic materials give students a realistic learning experience and students are often delighted to have real examples to work from (Unit 4, page 3). The other advantage is that authentic materials are less predictable than examples created for specific use in the classroom (Unit 4, page 3). These are the disadvantages of authentic materials: They take longer to be approved for use in the classroom because they have to be checked for relevance, ability to capture the students interest, and being the right vocabulary or grammatical level for students (Unit 4, page 3). They may not be user-friendly for students since they have been created for a specific purpose other than teaching (Unit 4, page 3). And lastly, they may contain culturally or socially sensitive material (Unit 4, page 3). Non-authentic materials The main advantage of non-authentic materials is that teachers don’t have to wait as long to approve them for classroom use since they are specifically created for the purpose of teaching. The disadvantage is that they are more predictable than authentic materials, which might make them less interesting to students. In conclusion, teachers of business English should be aware of the book and internet sources available and whether they are authentic or non-authentic in order to create the most suitable activities and exercises for class lessons.