TEFL Hailun

Using course materials in the classroom are important and are a critical aspect of lesson planning. This course has explained the pros and cons of certain course materials (especially course textbooks) and how they can be used in curriculum development. course materials can be anything from course textbooks to newspaper articles to clips of shows to even crossword puzzles. Figuring out which materials to use, and how to use them, is one of the most important parts in lesson planning and can enhance the curriculum even more. During this class I learned there are two types of materials: authentic and created. Authentic materials are real materials, such as news articles, and are usually something that a native speaker would hear or read. This type of material can easily be geared towards the students interests and likes, providing more motivation. Created materials, on the other hand, are designed by the teacher and are more easily geared toward the students specific language needs. Some examples of these are crosswords, word searches or picture stories. Both are important in course curriculum and can provide variety in lesson planning. While using authentic and created materials to supplement aspects of course books are beneficial in many aspects, text books are also an important aspect of developing curriculum. Course textbooks provide a progression of topics for the students to follow as well as allow the students to refer back for studying or reviewing. It is important for teachers to critically look at the course textbook and see if the difficulty is at the appropriate level, the topics are interesting to the students,as well as if the text is meeting the student’s specific needs. According to the article “Selecting and Developing Teaching/Learning Materials,” materials used are the main focus of instruction and have a huge influence on what goes on in the class. Different course materials can have different affects on the students learning as well as interests and motivation to the topic. Exposing students to different literary forms can better prepare them for the real world when using english. This means using authentic materials that the students would see on a day to day basis. It is important to note that course textbooks may not always meet the student’s needs academically, so supplementing and adapting materials from the textbook is another method to improving the curriculum. Each student has a different language level coming into the class and it is important for the teacher to understand these needs and focus the lessons by using created materials. “Selecting and Developing Teaching/ Learning Materials” states “materials need underlying instructional philosophy, approach, method and technique that suits students needs.” When teachers elaborate on materials they are tweaking it in order to best suit the students needs. While the course book provides grammar, vocabulary and skills work, created materials provide the extra support to learning the language. In my own experience as a student, I learned that when teachers supplement course material and provide authentic and created materials, it creates a better learning environment. When I took spanish in high school, my teacher provided many authentic materials that engaged my interests and kept me motivated. Bringing in popular music and movie clips in spanish, gave me that extra push to learn that the textbook could not. I found that fill in the blank and matching exercises were also great created materials that supported my language development. At the same time, the textbook helped me prepare for tests and review any topics that were not completely understood during class. It was a great resource for vocabulary and sentence structure that I looked back on numerous times. As a future teacher, I understand that using different course materials and texts can provide the best learning environment and curriculum for my students. Using my past experience as a student, I can focus on what worked for my peers and me. Using a range of materials, authentic and created, I can help meet each student’s needs and influence the motivation and engagement in the class. Reference: Kenji Kitao (1997), Selecting and Developing Teaching/ Learning Materials, Kyoto, japan, Doshisha University