The Reading Matrix

Vol.6, No.2, September

2006
THE USE OF AUTHENTIC MATERIALS IN
THE TEACHING OF READING
Sacha Anthony Berardo

THE USE OF AUTHENTIC IN

THE TEACHING OF READING
SITI HUMAIRA BT AHMAD KAMAL
NOORASRIN BT BAHARUDDIN
AMIRAH BT KHAIRILANUAR
NUR SYUHAIDAH BT ABD MANAP

INTRODUCTION

The aim of this paper: to discuss the use

of authentic materials in the teaching of
reading.
Language learning (Widdowson 1990:67) ;
i) traditional: language presented to
learners should be simplified for easy
access & acquisition
ii) present: language presented should be
authentic

READING
(always has a
purpose)

 DEFINITION:

an enjoyable, intense, private activity,

from which much pleasure can be derived,
and in which one can become totally
absorbed (Alderson, 2000: 28)
Reading means different things to different

people
Recognizing written words
An opportunity to teach pronunciation &
practice speaking

 Reason for reading

Survival: to be in response to our

environment, find out information, street
sign, ads & timetables
Learning: type of reading done in the class
& goal oriented
Pleasure: something that does not have to
be done.

The central ideas of reading :

Nuttall (1996) :
-the idea of meaning
-the transfer of meaning from one mind to
another
-the transfer of message from writer to reader
-how we get meaning by reading
-how the reader, the writer & the text all
contribute to the process.

 Reading process
Bottom-Up

The reader builds up meaning by reading

word for word, letter for letter, carefully
scrutinizing both vocabulary & syntax
Often associate with poor/slow readers BUT
sometimes occur when the readers own
schema knowledge is inadequate.

 Top-Down

A global meaning of the text is obtained,

through clues in the text & the readers
good schema knowledge
Often associated with good reader, who does
not read word for word but quickly and
efficiently.

 Interactive models

Combining elements of both bottom-up &

top-down models.
Schema theory
Our knowledge & experiences of the world
around us also influence how a text is
read/processed (Barlett, 1932).
Schemata: cognitive constructs which
allow for the organization of information in
the long term memory (Widdowson, 1983:
34)

AUTHENTIC MATERIALS
&
AUTHENCITY
Sources and Choices

AUTHENTIC TEXT
Wallace (1992:145),
real-life texts, not written for
pedagogic purposes
Peacock (1997),
materials that have been produced to
fulfill some social purpose in the
language community

Artificial

Unvaried

Designed for the

language learning
purposes

NON-AUTHENTIC TEXT
Contain a series
of false-text
indicators

Concentrate on
the topic that has
to be taught

SOURCES OF AUTHENTIC
MATERIALS

INTERNET
Continuously updated
Visually stimulating
Interactive
Easy to access
Very quick
Offers a vast amount
of resources

3 MAIN CRITERIA WHEN

CHOOSING TEXTS
(Nuttall, 1996):
Suitability of content
Exploitability
Readability

SUITABILITY

The reading materials should be based

on students interest.
The texts must be relevant.
The texts match with the needs and
the abilities of students.
Have a clear connection to established
learning objectives.
The text should be able to motivate the
readers.

EXPLOITABILITY

A text that facilitates the environment

of certain language and content goal
that is exploitable for instructional
tasks and that is integratable with
other skills.
Aims to develop students competency.

READIBILITY

A text with lexical and structural

difficulty that will challenge students
without overwhelming them.

VARIETY & PRESENTATIO

o

The use of pictures, diagrams,

photographs

Grab the students attention.

Motivate the students to keep on
reading.
Help in delivering the meaning
clearly.

AUTHENTICITY

Central to CLT which means that the

learners have to use the language
actively.

4 types of authenticity (Breen, 1985:61):

- authenticity of the texts which we
use as input data for students.
- authenticity of the learners own
interpretations of texts.
- authenticity of tasks conducive to
language learning.
- authenticity of the actual social
situation of the classroom language

The Use of Authentic

Materials in the
Classroom

Main ideas / Purposes

To expose the learners to as much real language as

possible.
Authentic texts can be motivating because they are
proof that the language is used for real-life purpose by
real people. (Nuttall 1996:172)
To give the learners the opportunity to gain real
information and know what is happening in the real world
around them.

Advantages of Using Authentic

materials

Exposing learners to the real language

Learners are informed about what is happening
in the world
Having a positive effect on learners motivation
Giving authentic cultural information
Relating more closely to learners needs
Supporting a more creative approach to teaching

Disadvantages

Often too culturally biased, difficult to understand

outside the language community
Vocabulary might not be relevant to the learners
immediate needs
Too many structures are mixed, so lower levels have
problems decoding the texts
Special preparation is necessary, can be time
consuming
Can become outdated easily (e.g. news stories, articles)

Possible solutions

Pre- reading:
Simplify the authentic texts according to the level
of the learners (linguistic, cognitive,
psychological simplicity)
Stimulate learners existing knowledge in prereading discussion
Review new vocabulary before reading
Ask learners to perform tasks that are within their
competence (skimming / scanning for specific
information before they begin intensive reading)

Possible
solutions

While- reading:
Encourage the learners to be flexible, active
readers
Promote a dialogue between readers and writer
Post- reading:
Often are questions that follow a text, used to
test understanding

Writers personal experience using

authentic materials in the classroom

Working with university engineering studentsdesigning an intensive reading course

The course last to 6 weeks for 36 hours teaching
time, twice a week for 3 hours per lesson
The only criteria to achieve in this designed
course is to be able to read and understand
English text by the end of the course
Initial approach- the use of ESP textbooks
however it soon discovered that the materials
were not stimulating and motivating at all!
So.

They downloaded the materials room the

internet!
The skills concentrated Extensive &
Intensive reading and Skimming & Scanning
They also use the task-based activities, peer
and group learning and also peer correction
POSITIVE RESULT- the students are highly
motivated, preferred to work with authentic
materials, find it more interesting and
stimulating as compared to the textbook.

CONCLUSION
Students benefit from the exposure to real
language being used in the real context
More positive aspects if using authentic
materials:
-highly motivating
-encourage further reading
-up-to-date, especially materials from the
internet (most useful resources)
-versatile, use for different ways to improve
different skills

The main reason for using authentic

materials is the learner will not encounter
the artificial language of the classroom but
the real world and language how it is really
used.

Teachers role- not to delude the language

learner but to prepare them, giving
awareness and necessary skills so as to
understand how language is actually used.

it is not that a text is understood

because it is authentic but that it is
authentic because it is
understood..Everything the learner
understands is authentic for him
(Davies 1984:192)

THANK YOU!!