Selecting and Creating ESL Curricular Materials

Posted on Feb 19, 2025 in Other civil servant exams

Unit 23: Elaboration of ESL Curricular Materials

Criteria for Selecting and Using Course Books

Introduction: In this unit, we will look at the most suitable curricular materials in the foreign language class. They are truly essential in the teaching-learning process because:

Materials promote communicative language use.
They enable students to approach the real world.
They motivate and help the students in their learning process.
They facilitate the methodological procedures for the teacher.

1. Curricular Materials for the English Class

1.1. Variables Affecting the Selection of Materials

In this section, we will analyze two important variables when selecting teaching materials: the methodological approach to be followed and the characteristics of students.

A. The Approach

The Communicative Approach and the Natural Approach have something in common: the consideration of humanistic factors in language learning. This implies a more individualized instruction, the development of a positive mood in the learner, the creation of a rich social climate in the classroom, and a rejection of the authoritarian teacher’s role of traditional teaching. All these ideas can be established in a set of principles that will affect the design of teaching materials.

Language is an instrument of communication. Learning a language implies learning how to communicate in it correctly, fluently, and appropriately.
Communicative Competence. This competence can be defined as a set of sub-competences: linguistic competence, sociolinguistic competence, socio-cultural competence, discourse competence, and strategic competence.
Constructivism: It states that learners construct their own competence autonomously and independently. The teacher must help the students to “learn how to learn” by the development of learning.
Learner-centered curriculum: The students are considered to be the center of the teaching process. Therefore, communicative situations must be based on their needs and interests, and the activities must be related to their personal experiences. The connections between the new language and the students’ experiences promote meaningful learning and add motivation.
Contextualization: Current curricular activities present the language in a realistic and natural way, contextualized.

B. Learners:

The analysis of the student’s characteristics is essential for teachers and course designers.

Age: The teacher must take into account the students’ age. This variable will particularly affect the topics that are chosen and the type of materials used, which must be adapted to the student’s age and interests.
Aptitudes: The aptitude variable will make teachers plan different teaching for learners with different types of aptitudes and respect children’s learning rhythms.
Learning style: Research has shown that people learn in different ways since they have different personalities, preferences, and abilities. The teacher should cater to different types of learners by trying to introduce variety in terms of materials.
Attitudes: The students’ attitude toward learning, the class, the teacher, the language, or the target culture will affect motivation and, therefore, L2 learning. What the teacher can do to avoid negative attitudes is to analyze the cause, show more interest towards the students, and use materials that are as interesting as possible.
Motivation: Success plays an important part in learners’ motivation. Teachers should set realistic goals and tasks at which their students can be successful.
Personality: It has been suggested that an outgoing and sociable person learns a second language better than a reserved, shy student. This can affect methodological processes, especially role-play or drama activities.

1.2. Types of Materials in Communicative FLT

In the Communicative Approach, the main role of materials is to promote communicative language use. Types:

Text-based materials (textbooks)
Task-based materials (games, pair-work activities)
Realia: Authentic materials such as magazines, advertisements, maps, objects, etc.

The use of authentic materials contributes to reducing the distance between the classroom and the real world.

2. Criteria for Selecting and Using a Course Book

The course book is probably the main resource for teachers in the teaching-learning process. It is an important aid for the students too. Psychologically, a textbook gives a sense of security and a measure of progress and achievement as lessons are completed. Some teachers use only one coursebook, whereas others take materials from different books and supplement them with material they have produced themselves.

2.1. Criteria for Selecting a Course Book

There are many published course books on the market nowadays, and it can be very difficult to select the most suitable one to fulfill our teaching purposes.

Here is a list of points to take into consideration:

The approach (communicative)
The treatment of skills (4 skills in an integrated way)
The organization of the course (cyclical organization – with revision part, self-testing, etc.)
The stages of the unit (presentation should be motivating and meaningful, presenting the teaching items in context. The practice should have a balance between controlled and free production, and the activities should be varied and adequate for the students’ age and interests).
The layout should be attractive and have an adequate size.
The complementary materials (workbook, flashcards, songs, puppets, etc.)
The teacher’s book (useful and easy to consult)

2.2. Using a Textbook

Once the teacher has looked at various textbooks and chosen one that seems suitable, she will still have to look carefully at how she is going to use it: First, the teachers should examine the general outline and the organization of the lessons. Then, they should read the introduction of the teacher’s book and the instructions for the different stages of the lesson. Next, they must decide whether they will change anything for the particular requirements of their class. Finally, the teachers can write the plan of their first lessons in detail.

2.3. Other Printed Materials

Activity books
Readers and adapted books (reading corner)
Dictionaries (promote autonomous learning)

3. The Preparation of Curricular Materials

It can be difficult and time-consuming to produce all the materials that are needed for a course. However, many teachers find it necessary to produce some materials. As Julia Edge says, “the most important role of the teacher-produced materials is to bridge the gap between the classroom and the world outside.” In the next section, we will consider visual materials, written materials, and auditory materials.

3.1. Visual Materials

Flashcards (pictures or words on a piece of cardboard)
Posters and friezes (to stick on the wall)

3.2. Written Materials

Learning written language is important because, to master a language, it is necessary to master both the oral and written forms. In real life, we need it to read and write; it reinforces the learning of oral communication. Reading and writing sentences helps retain them.

The written material most commonly prepared by teachers includes:

Worksheets: These are exercises designed by the teacher, made on sheets of paper, and then photocopied so that they can be given out to each pupil in the class.
Written texts: There is plenty of published written material to use in the English class. What the teacher has to bear in mind is that this material should focus on the real-world use of language: stories, notes, lyrics, newspapers, etc. In the English class, the list of written texts should be similar to this one, although adapted to the student’s age and English level.

3.3. Auditory Materials

The listening skill is essential because it provides the students with comprehensible input, essential for language processing. There are many recorded speech materials on the market that can be useful in class. However, the teacher’s own voice is the most powerful auditory aid in the classroom, and we should make the most of it. The teacher can prepare or adapt a variety of auditory material. Another possibility is for the teacher to make her own listening tapes. Homemade tapes can be useful in the absence of suitable commercial ones.

4. Authentic and Adapted Materials

Authentic materials are genuine materials. Their main advantage is that they provide examples of real language, but they may not be useful for beginner’s level. Adapted materials are specifically written for the teaching of English as a foreign language. The main advantage is that they adapt to each learner’s level of competence. The main limitation is that they might present an unreal use of language.

To conclude: the lower the student’s level of competence, the higher the amount of adapted materials we will have to use. As the level increases, the use of authentic materials will increase, too.

5. The Collaboration of Students in Material Design

Materials produced by students increase their motivation and respect towards the foreign language. Students can collaborate by bringing magazines, pictures, letters from pen friends, making recordings, etc. Students also can be a resource in themselves: their personal environment can be used in many learning tasks.

6. Conclusion

In this unit, we have analyzed how important the use of varied and adequate curricular material in class is. They are indispensable tools both for learners and teachers since they facilitate the teaching-learning process. Besides, materials promote communicative language use, and they help the students approach the real world. Materials must not be an end in themselves but a means to achieve our teaching purposes. The English teacher must select them carefully and must know how to use them properly so that they contribute to developing the students’ communicative competence, which is the final aim of the current educational law.