Materials Development

By Steve Mann, Fiona Copland and Thomas S.C. Farrell

Teachers often find that materials get between learners and learning for a variety of reasons. Because learning materials play a significant part in lessons, it is important they fit their purpose. Mann and Copland have elicited and included comments and suggestions from teachers, teacher educators, and coursebook experts to illustrate their discussions and to bring the practitioner voice into play. They provide principles and approaches for adapting material to suit a variety of contexts and show how teachers can work successfully with limited resources. The authors are also concerned with the choices teachers and learners have with regard to the timing and location of learning, and include a discussion of homework, virtual learning environments, and the flipped classroom.

• Language: English
• Publisher: TESOL Press
• Release date: Jul 15, 2015
• ISBN: 9781942799054

Book preview

Stannard.

Series Editor’s Preface

The English Language Teacher Development (ELTD) Series consists of a set of short resource books for English language teachers that are written in a jargon-free and accessible manner for all types of teachers of English (native, nonnative speakers of English, experienced and novice teachers). The ELTD series is designed to offer teachers a theory-to-practice approach to second language teaching, and each book offers a wide variety of practical teaching approaches and methods for the topic at hand. Each book also offers opportunities for each teacher to interact with the materials presented. The books can be used in preservice settings or in in-service courses and can also be used by individuals looking for ways to refresh their practice.

Steve Mann’s and Fiona Copland’s book Materials Development explores different approaches to materials development and the various challenges this may present to a language teacher. Steve and Fiona provide a comprehensive overview of how to develop materials for the language classroom in an easy-to-follow guide that language teachers will find very practical for their own contexts. Topics covered include choosing and adapting materials, and materials inside and outside the classroom and on the Internet. Materials Development is a valuable addition to the literature in our profession.

I am very grateful to the authors who contributed to the ELTD Series for sharing their knowledge and expertise with other TESOL professionals, because they have do so willingly without any compensation to make these short books affordable to all language teachers throughout the world. It is truly an honor for me to work with each of these authors as they selflessly gave up their valuable time for the advancement of TESOL.

Thomas S. C. Farrell

1

Introduction

This book is designed to get you thinking about materials and coursebooks. What makes materials successful? How can we provide or adapt activities and resources to motivate language learners? What can we do if the materials we have don’t suit the learning context in which we work? These are important questions for us all. We hope these chapters will provide some support to guide your choice of materials, or shape what you do with the materials and resources you have available to you. We can’t provide a blueprint for all ages and teaching contexts, but we hope to enable you to reflect on what is important for you and your learners so that you can make informed choices and changes.

In order to illustrate our discussions and to bring the practitioner voice into play, we have elicited and included comments and suggestions from a number of teachers, teacher educators, and coursebook experts. These comments are flagged by the symbol: inline-image .

Materials and Change inline-image

Teachers find that materials get between learners and learning. The materials may be dull, may not fit the teachers’ context or specific needs, or may be imposed by the school or other authority, giving teachers no choice but to use them. Because materials play a significant part in lessons, how teachers feel about them is important.

REFLECTIVE BREAK

Think about the materials you will be using next time you teach.

Write down four words that describe the material.

Identify one element you would like to change about the materials.

A teacher in a language school in Japan said this about her coursebook:

inline-image I quite like the