Materials Development for ELT

By professor M.E.d Yohana Aguirre Álvarez www.yohanaaguirre.blogspot.com

Definition of “materials development in ELT.”

• It is the art of integrate elements such as: theory review, principles for effective language teaching, creativity, students needs and authenticity.

Why materials should be created and customized?

• Materials:

• Facilitate the teaching-learning process • Motivate• Address the students’ needs (language and register) • Give the opportunity to practice the language in a

contextualized and authentic way

Needs

The need to communicate:

the main goal of learning a

language is to communicate.

The need for long-term goals:

Learn a language is a process.

The need for authenticity:

is that appropriate register?

Is it correct for that situation?

The need for student-

centeredness: Is my language

teaching practice taking to account what my students

need?

1. Expose the learners to language in authentic use: in terms of enough practice and variety.

Principles for materials development.

2. Help the learners to pay attention to features of authentic input : In this way the students develop language awareness by themselves.

3. Provide the learners with opportunities to use the language to achieve communicative purposes: Prepare activities in which the students can use the language rather than practice it.

4. Provide opportunities for outcome feedback: It is important to develop language awareness.

5. Achieve impact in the sense that they arouse and sustain the learner’s curiosity and attention: Classes that motivate English language learning.

6. Stimulate intellectual, aesthetic and emotional involvement: the materials should encourage the students to think and feel.

Thanks!