QUESTIONS FOR DEBATE ON MATERIALS & RESOURCES:

1. To start this debate, lets talk about the design of the teaching materials we are currently
working with.

Ideally, materials should be tailored for student's goals, age, location. Materials usually include
teacher's notes and various tools to assist the teacher, substantially alleviating his preparation for
the lesson and allowing to focus on the actual teaching.

a) Which aspects are more frequently considered?

The aspects that are more frequently considered is that they have to:

.be developed by competent authors and producers and meet high standards of quality in factual
content and presentation

be appropriate for the subject area and for the age, emotional development, ability level, learning
styles, and social development of the students for whom the materials are selected have aesthetic,
literary, and/or social value

have a physical format and appearance suitable for their intended use

be one of a variety of media presentation modes

b) Which aspects are seldom or never considered?

From my point of view which is never considered not only by teachers but editors are students with
different abilities and intellectual disabilities, students with learning disabilities, students with visual
impairments, students with language difficulties or hearing impairments even students with special
gifts and talents, so theyre left behind and will never be given the opportunity to achieve a progress
in learning English.

c) What do you usually do to make up for those deficiencies?

Well, first of all I consider that lesson planning is the key to succeed in the teaching - learning
process so when I am planning a course I always take into account the type of students learning
abilities, multiple intelligences, especial abilities or any kind of impairment my students may have.
Second, I have never married to a textbook (as a way of speaking) the school where I work is a
public high school in Moroleon Guanajuato Mexico which students community is lower class
income so, they cant afford to buy a book; for me is ok because I can mix many activities from
different books, also I download many activities from the web and play songs according to my
students preferences in music.
2. Please comment on: "Creating original materials to meet our students' needs: procedure,
aspects to bear in mind and difficulties"

Theres not a magic wand to succeed in the English Teaching-learning process, it requires
lots of work and effort in order to achieve any teachers goal. Teachers should bear in mind
many aspects while planning either a lesson or a course; such as the type of students
learning abilities, multiple intelligences, especial abilities or any kind of impairment that
students may have.

Also, teachers should take into account the syllabi which they are working with and their
institution objectives as well as the local and family context. We can look at different
Internet sites and google for things that might be interesting for students. We can also start
to use fiction, magazines, movies and party games for example; is above all to create
variation, enthusiasm among the students and curiosity, because no lesson is the same
and the students appreciate this, they always write this in evaluations.

Tailoring the material to make it suit the group, even if they are heterogeneous, it is
possible creating material that is up to date, feels relevant and also to color the material
depending on what program a student is taking. And few course books meet these criteria.
Regarding the students influence I start every new course with a questionnaire where I
ask the students about how they used to work in their old schools, what methods they
used, how they would prefer to work now and what topics they would like to work with. I
ask them to estimate their level concerning the target language and what grade they aim
at as well. Furthermore, we discuss the criteria for the different grades. And we do peer
and self- assessment in order to enrich the students learning experience.

3. Do materials disappoint educational interests and learners expectations? Why?

Yes, materials disappoint educational interests and learners expectations at some point; since
students think these materials will help them like magic to achieve their goals in learning English.
Also, learners get disappointed because materials are boring and if they have not been chosen
carefully, these resources could lack context and practicality.

Then, students motivation play a very important role in learning English, so it is not only about the
materials but teachers disposition and temper to motivate as much as possible to students.
4. Should materials be driven by syllabus needs, learners needs or market needs? Why?

In my opinion, materials should be driven by a balanced needs among syllabus, market and
learners; this is because ESL teachers must bear in mind that they have to accomplish many goals
while the teaching-learning process is happening.

5. How can we make material evaluation and adoption effective and not a burden on the
shoulders of busy teachers?

When doing material evaluation may seem overwhelming, teachers must not forget that
the review process and support adoption of materials is an essential part of their work and
it has to be done in order to succeed in both students and teachers goals. Selection of
curriculum materials is one of the most important responsibilities of teachers, schools, and
districts. And careful analysis of how materials address standards and instruction is a
necessary foundation for this work and critical to the learning of all students.

The creation of extensive evaluation checklists by leading experts provides criteria for
detailed coursebook analysis. For example: Cunningsworths checklist for evaluation and
selection contains 45 questions, covering criteria such as aims, design, language content,
skills, and methodology, as well as practical considerations such as cost and obtainability.
And so on, teachers should rely on this handy authors creations to make their work easier
and better.

6. How could we involve learners in evaluation of ELT materials?

Learners feedback is, undoubtedly, a useful source of information for further classroom decision but
learners evaluating the material entail a change of attitude towards the traditional teaching
approach. Please comment.

7. Which are the most relevant criteria, which teachers should take into account when evaluating
the effectiveness of materials? Is the specification of these criteria an easy task? Why?

8. Discuss the self-evaluated/reflection tasks& the assignment. That is, if you have a doubt or
question about the assignment, this is the place to try it out.