Dumitrescu (2000) mentions several advantages to using authentic materials in the classroom. Can you add more advantages to the list below?
- Authentic materials contain topics of interest to students and encourage reading for pleasure, and they are practical and real because they provide valid linguistic data.
What would be possible disadvantages? Explain in your own words.
Answer the following questions based on the text "What is the history of reading and writing?" 1) Find examples of fixed expressions, semi-fixed expressions and collocations. 2) Think of a possible teaching context and plan three activities to present the new vocabulary. You may use or adapt any of the sample exercises in chapters 6 and 7. 3) Based on your experience wirking with the text proposed, What would you say are the pros and cons of this approach? Do you agree with the following statement by Thornbury (p.11): "Lewis offers us a prospect of a journey, even an exciting one, but it is a journey without maps". Discuss your answers in pairs.
Using Authentic materials as teaching tools in the ESL classroom is a useful way to tackle the two main needs students in general have: learning English and to adapt to the ESL community.
ReplyDeleteAdvantages of using authentic material in ESL:
In the case of Adults, it's easier for them to spot the high relevance of these items, that is, they can fulfill the learner's survival needs. (Along with the linguistic ones)
There are at least three layers taken into account:
Language learning.
Cultural insight.
Practical application.
The choice of objectives and the use of Critical thinking:
How the learner views the item and knowing how to use it.
Consider how a native speaker would use certain article or material to become informed.
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DeleteSome possible disadvantages may be:
DeleteThe amount of time devoted to doing research about the material which is going to be used in class could not be realistic to some extent.
Preparing a class with authentic material requires much more time investment as it is less organized and structured than a book.
Using authentic material may lead the instructor to focus only on use, leaving aside usage.
More disadvantages:
DeleteCultural gap: New vocabulary structures which even instructors may not be aware of.
Students may find it too difficult to understand authentic material.
Advantages:
ReplyDelete- Students can relate what is being taught in the classroom tyo their immediate reality, thus incorporating lexis and structures more meaningfully.
- Students can identify the relevant points to fulfill their needs.
- Students can create situations in the classroom that they are likely to encounter in their real life, such as planning a trip abroad or looking for a job.
- In the case of ESL, Students will adapt easier to their new environment, being able to participate in the social life of their neighbourhood.
Disadvantages:
- The level of the authentic material may go beyond the actual level of the Students, so material may need to be adapted, in which case it would lose its authenticity.
- Authentic material needs background knowledge, so some time may be consumed while giving students that prior knowledge they need in order to understand the material they are presented with.
ADVANTAGES
ReplyDelete* Authentic materials can be used to provide a bridge between the linguistic skills of learners and their professional knowledge goals.
* Authentic materials can provide wealth of linguistic and conceptual contents to learners who are focused on specific applications of their linguistic skills.
* The content of the material is more easily understood because it is closely related to adults’ professional reality.
POSSIBLE DISADVANTAGES
* It is sometimes difficult to find material appropriate to the objectives of the curriculum or the task we are planning due to the amount of information on the internet. That’s why, in my opinion, teachers should be trained and provided with resources to rely on when starting to use authentic materials.
* The texts might be so ambiguous that the teacher could find it difficult to adapt them according to the learners’ needs or backgrounds.
* The planning process of courses based on authentic materials takes more time. That’s why most teachers prefer working with a textbook.