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Topic 3 Evaluating and Adapting Materials in ELT

This document discusses adapting English language teaching (ELT) materials. It identifies common deficiencies in existing materials, such as failing to meet national curriculum goals or learners' needs. The document also lists advantages and disadvantages of textbooks. Additionally, it discusses principles of materials adaptation, such as making activities relevant and using authentic language. Adaptation can occur at the macro, unit, and specific activity levels by omitting, adding, reordering, or rewriting materials. The goal is to improve materials' fit for the local context and learners.

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Kanageswary Sai
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794 views

Topic 3 Evaluating and Adapting Materials in ELT

This document discusses adapting English language teaching (ELT) materials. It identifies common deficiencies in existing materials, such as failing to meet national curriculum goals or learners' needs. The document also lists advantages and disadvantages of textbooks. Additionally, it discusses principles of materials adaptation, such as making activities relevant and using authentic language. Adaptation can occur at the macro, unit, and specific activity levels by omitting, adding, reordering, or rewriting materials. The goal is to improve materials' fit for the local context and learners.

Uploaded by

Kanageswary Sai
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Adapting Materials in

ELT

Common deficiencies of
existing ELT materials

unable to fulfill the goals and


objectives specified by national or local
syllabuses or curricula
fail to fulfill the goals and objectives of
schools where the materials are used
cannot be finished in the time
available

require facilities or equipment or


other supporting materials that are
not available
not engaging the learners
personality

detrimental to the learners culture


does not cater to the learners
interests

McDonough and Shaw (1993:86)


have listed more reasons for
materials adaptation. The most
important reason is that there is
mismatch between what is needed
and what is provided by materials.

Advantages of Textbook
provides a variety of interesting texts on
different topics.
supplies self-study materials for learners.
can prepare learners for exams.
provides authentic materials.
provides sound grading and sequencing of
the material.
provides teachers with necessary guidance,
especially in terms of background information
and language points.

Disadvantages of the
textbook
focuses on reading and writing, while
ignores speaking and listening.
is out-of-date.
does not suit the students' needs.
provides little variety of activities.
is language-focused.

Good TextbooksTomlinsons
(1998)
Should attract the students curiosity, interest and
attention. In order to do this, textbooks should
have novelty, variety, attractive layout, appealing
content, etc. Of course they should also make
sure that learning really takes place when the
students use the textbooks. It is not necessarily
enough that students enjoy the textbooks.
Help students to feel at ease. The layout of
presentation, tasks and activities, and texts and
illustrations should all look friendly to the
students so that they feel relaxed when seeing
them.

Good Textbooks
Help students to develop confidence. Good
textbooks help to build up students confidence
by providing tasks or activities that students can
cope with.

Good Textbooks
Should meet students needs. What is
covered in the textbooks should be
relevant and useful to what the students
need to learn and what they want to
learn.
Should expose the students to language
in authentic use. Generally speaking,
textbooks written in authentic language
are more motivating and challenging

Good Textbooks
Take into account that students differ in learning
styles. Tasks and activities should be variable and
should cater for a range of learning styles so all
students can benefit.

Maximise learning potential by encouraging


intellectual, aesthetic and emotional
involvement which stimulates both right and
left brain activities. Good textbooks enable the
stud5nts to receive, process and retain
information through multiple intelligences.

Good Textbooks
Provide the students with opportunities to use

the target language to achieve communicative


purposes.
Take into account that the positive effects of
language teaching are usually delayed.
Research into SLA shows that it is a gradual
rather than an instantaneous process and that
this is equally true for instructed learning (formal
learning). So it is important for textbooks to
recycle instruction and to provide frequent and
ample exposure to the instructed language
features in communicative use.

Good Textbooks
Take into account that students differ
in affective factors. Good textbooks
should accommodate different
attitudinal and motivational
background as much as possible.

Principles of materials
adaptation
Grant (1987) has listed the following
principles for materials adaptation:
1) Making dialogues communicative
2) Making learning activities relevant
and purposeful
3) Meet your learners needs, both
external and psychological
4) Use models of real, authentic
language

Level of materials
adaptation
Textbook adaptation can bedone at three levels:
1) Macro adaptation
This is ideally done before the language programme
begins.
After comparing what is covered in a textbook and
what is required by the syllabus or examination,
the teacher may find that certain areas or even whole
units of the book can be omitted, and certain
contents need to be supplemented.
Important because it helps to avoid waste of time
and energy of the teacher and the students as well.
It also helps the teacher to see in advance what he
or she needs to supplement so that he or she can
keep an eye on materials that could be used.

Adapting a unit

reordering the activities,


combining activities,
omitting activities,
rewriting or supplementing exercise
material, etc.
Helps to make the classroom teaching
more smooth and cohesive.
Helps the teacher to better fulfil the
aims of a unit.

Adaptation of specific
activities
Occasionally an activity is regarded
as valuable, but it is not welldesigned or it is not feasible in a
particular class.
If the teacher does not want to give
up the activity, he or she needs to
adapt it.

Specific adaptation
Maley (1998:281, in Tomlinson, 1998)
suggested the following options for
materials adaptation:
Omission: the teacher leaves out things
deemed inappropriate, offensive,
unproductive, etc., for the particular
group.
Addition: where there seems to be
inadequate coverage, teachers may
decide to add to textbooks, either in the
form of texts or exercise material.

Reduction: where the teacher


shortens an activity to give it less
weight or emphasis.
Extension: where an activity is
lengthened in order to give it an
additional dimension. (for example, a
vocabulary activity is extended to
draw attention to some syntactic
patterning.)

Rewriting/modification: teacher
may occasionally decide to rewrite
material, especially exercise material,
to make it more appropriate, more
communicative, more demanding,
more accessible to their students, etc.
Replacement: text or exercise
material which is considered
inadequate, for whatever reason, may
be replaced by more suitable material.
This is often culled from other
resource materials.

Reordering: teachers may decide that the


order in which the textbooks are presented is
not suitable for their students. They can then
decide to plot a different course through the
textbooks from the one the writer has laid
down.
Branching: teachers may decide to add
options to the existing activity or to suggest
alternative pathways through the activities.
(for example, an experiential route or an
analytical route.)

TASK
Work in groups of four. Study the
materials provided, choose a unit
that you think needs adaptation, and
make some suggestions about
possible adaptation so that the unit
can be used more effectively in the
class. Write your suggestions and
prepare to give a three- minute
presentation.

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