The Concept of

Material Development
in ELT

Presented by:
Bate, Precious Agnes B.
Cordova, Jeremay
Theory of Learning and Teaching
(Tomlinson & Masuhara, 2004)

Learner Teacher

Material
 Learners
- succeed : positive, relaxed,
enjoyable experience
 Teachers
- teach successfully: can gain
enjoyment themselves from the
materials they are using
 Materials
- connect the learning experiences in
the classroom to their own lives
outside it
- engage the emotions of the learner.
 Definition of Teaching Material
• They are the information, equipment
and text for instructors that are
required for planning and review upon
training implementation. Text and
training equipment are included in
teaching material.
WHAT IS
MATERIALS?
Materials are…
• According to Prof. Brian Tomlinson
(2003)
– The matters or substance from which
something can be made
– Tools or apparatus for the performance of
a given task
– Having a logical connection with a subject
matter or the consequential events or
knowledge of which would significantly
affect a decision or course of action
According to James D. Brown (2007)

– Any systematic description of the

techniques and exercise to be used in
classroom teaching
– The key in developing sound materials is to
ensure that they are described and
organized well enough so that teachers can
use them with no confusion and with a
minimum of preparation time
 Principles in Developing Materials
 Tomlinson (Richards, 2001) suggests some basic principles in
conducting materials development for the teaching of
language:
– Material should achieve impacts, help learners to feel at
ease & to develop confidence
– What is being taught should be perceived by learners as
relevant and useful
– Materials should require and facilitate learner self-
investment
– Materials should expose the learners to language in
authentic use
– Materials should take into account that positive effects of
instruction are usually delayed, learners have different
learning styles and differ in affective attitudes.
– Materials should permit a silent period at the beginning of
instruction, should not rely too much on controlled practice
and should provide opportunities for outcome feedback
• Crawford (Richards-Renandya, 2002), some
points to be considered in providing
effective materials:

– Language - is functional and must be

contextualized; should be realistic and
authentic; requires learner engagement in
purposeful use of language.
– Classroom materials will usually seek to
include an audio visual component
– Learners need to develop the ability to deal
with written/spoken genres
– Materials need to be flexible enough to cater
to individual and contextual differences
 Forms of Teaching Materials

• Printed Materials
• Audio
• Audio Visual
• Interactive Teaching Materials
• Authentic Materials
• Created Materials
• Authentic Materials • Created Materials

 “texts,
photographs… specifically
 that were not developed for
specifically designed teaching purposes
for pedagogical
purposes.
 authentic language
 reflect real-world
 Advantages
Authentic Created Materials

• provide realistic • More comprehensible

practice for Students • Tailored to specific
• closely to the level of Ss
learner’s need • Tailored to specific
• offer models of real pedagogic purposes,
language e.g., to highlight
• link classroom to the past perfect tense
outside world
• authentic cultural
information about the
target culture
 Disadvantages

Authentic Created Materials

• too difficult, little • the language used

comprehensible may be artificial
input (may be • comprehension may
beyond the actually fall, as
learner’s ability) clues are removed
• Students may feel in simplification
frustrated, lose • Students feel
confidence unrealistically
confident
 Textbooks
Positive Negative
• Provide structure and • Cost more
a syllabus for a • Inauthentic language
program • Not Ss needs,
• Standardize teaching designed for a broad
• Save Teachers time audience, not specific
• Provide good language Students
models • Deskill Teachers
• Visually appealing reflect
• Support new Teachers • Less flexible
 Role and Design of Materials

Roles for materials

– Presentation of language models, as in PPP
(presentation, practice, production)
– A source of activities for learner practice
and communicative interaction
– Reference source, e.g., for grammar rules,
vocabularies, pronunciation
– A syllabus – what to teach and when
– Support for less experienced Ts
Stages of Material Design
Materials Evaluation

Materials Adaption

Materials Writing
What is materials evaluation?
• Involves measuring the value or potential
value of a set of learning materials
• Makes judgments about the effect of the
materials on the people using
• the appeal of the materials to the learners
(Are the materials attractive?
• the validity of materials
• the ability of the materials to interest
the learners and the teachers
• the ability of the materials to motivate
the learners
Types of Evaluation
• Pre-Use Evaluation: making predictions
about the potential value of materials
for their users.
• Whilst-Use Evaluation: measuring the
value of materials whilst using them or
whilst observing them being used.
• Post-Use Evaluation: measuring the
factual effects of the materials on the
users.
Adapting Textbooks

• Compromise between sole reliance on

textbooks and developing your own
• Add or delete content
• Change order or omit a lesson/unit
• Modify tasks, e.g., add a pre-task,
provide extra explanation
• Ts can collaborate on bank of
supplementary materials
What is materials adaptation?

• Materials adaptation involves changing

existing materials so that they become
more suitable for specific learners,
teachers or situation.
 Reasons for Adapting Materials
• Mismatch between materials and
teaching environment
• Mismatch between learning style implied
by materials and learning style of most
learners in the class
• Mismatch between instructions in
materials and teacher’s own personality,
beliefs, teaching style
• Mismatch between course objectives
and focus of book
 Key points in materials
• Authenticity – of material/ tasks
• Content – Interesting for learners/ level & age
appropriate
• Purposeful – for learning
• Tasks – useful/ real-world/ promote 21st century skill
development
• Visuals – represent the reality of the world/ are not
prejudice
• Inclusivity – inclusive of various cultures/ gender/ roles
etc.
• Layout/ Visual appeal – attractive/ not intimidating
• Organization – logical flow to the content/ lessons/
activities
Conclusions
• Our aim is to inspire teachers to take advantage
of their knowledge and creativity to undertake
the development of their own teaching materials.
• Effective materials make learners feel
comfortable and confident because both the
content and type of activities are perceived by
them as significant and practical to their lives.
• Therefore, in the materials designed, language
teachers need to lead their students to have
materials interact appropriately with their needs
and interests in order to facilitate learning.
• Materials development contributes directly to
teachers' professional growth insofar as it
betters their knowledge, skills and creativity,
raises their consciousness as regards teaching
and learning procedures, and allows them to act
as agents of permanent change.
• KEEP IN MIND: DESIGNING MATERIALS IS
NOT A RACE, BUT RATHER A PEACEFUL
JOURNEY TO BE SAVOURED EACH POINT
ALONG THE PATH, EACH STEP OF THE
ROUTE TO BE TRAVELLED.