Adapting Learning

Materials
 LANGUAGE LEARNING MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT

6.5 Adapting Learning Materials

Books and other learning materials are already available whether

online or in stores. Now, the challenged for teachers is how to make
effectively and efficiently use it in the teaching-learning process. That is
when adaptation of learning material happen.

At the end of the lesson, you, based on the activities and discussions
on adapting learning materials, will be able to:

 Differentiate the terms adopting and adapting

 Explain the concept and purpose of adapting learning material
 Explain the terms contextualization, localization and
indigenization
 Discuss the reasons for adopting learning material
 Adapt language learning material for various types of target
learners

ELT 216 65
 LANGUAGE LEARNING MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT

6.1 The Context of Adaptation

Activity 1: Breaking the Gap

Directions: In order to better understand the context of adaptation of

learning materials, first try to differentiate “adapt” from the term “adopt”
using the diagram below.

Adapt vs Adopt

Let us discover the difference between the two terms that was often
used interchangeably when writing sentences.

Adopt | əˈdɑpt
It's a verb that means taking something legally as your own
or starting to use something.

Adapt | əˈdæpt
It's a verb that implies to adjust with a new circumstance or
intention.

ELT 216 66
 LANGUAGE LEARNING MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT

Putting it in the context of learning material, adopt means taking

other’s work as your own. On the other hand, adapt means improving or
changing a learning material to make it suitable for your learners, lesson
and situation. Adaptation of learning materials involve contextualization.
Contextualization is something the teacher uses to help establish
awareness of language and/or ideas by incorporating resources such as
real objects, photographs, movements or words, etc. It is making
something relatable to the students.
In addition, contextualization refers to the educational process of
linking the curriculum to a specific setting, situation or area of application
in order to make the competencies relevant, meaningful and useful to all
learners. The degree of contextualization may be described and
distinguished as follows:

1. Localization refers to the process of linking the learning content

specified in the curriculum to local information and materials in
the learning community.

Examples of Localization of Materials

1. Examples utilized in lessons begin with those used in the

locality.
2. Names, situations, settings needed to give context to test
questions or problem-solving exercises are those of the
immediate community.
3. Local materials are used as often as possible to make
instructional materials.
4. Local stories are used in the areas of language learning
5. Translating a story written in another language into the
language of one's learners for use in MTB-MLE.

ELT 216 67
 LANGUAGE LEARNING MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT

2. Indigenization, on the other hand, refers to the process of

enhancing curricular competencies, educational resources and
teaching-learning processes in relation to the biogeographical,
historical and socio-cultural context of the learning community.
Indigenization can also include the strengthening of the
curriculum structure, the curriculum architecture and the
learning expectations of the subject areas, driven by the
standards and values adhered to by the national curriculum.

Examples of Localization and Indigenization

Competency: Identify star patterns that can be seen at particular times of

the year (S5FE-IVi-j-1)

Localization The use the community's name for prominent stars, if

they have, while retaining the use of the Greek
constellations and its background in discussing star
patterns.
Indigenization Discuss the community's own calendar of star
patterns and its background before discussing the
Greek constellations.

Competency: Compose forms of literary writing (EN9WC-IIi-9)

Localization The students will write a poem using their own

mother-tongue. This poem should be translated in
English.
Indigenization The students will write a poem about the wedding
practices of their own tribe using their mother
tongue. This poem will then be translated to the
English language.

ELT 216 68
 LANGUAGE LEARNING MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT

Activity 2: Venn diagram

Directions: Now that you have read what is localization and indigenization,
compare and contrast the two terms in your own words using the Venn
diagram.

Remember that localizing learning material doesn’t necessarily

indigenizing it, while indigenizing learning materials mean localizing it.

6.2 Reasons for Adapting Learning Materials

A learning material used by the students and teachers of Malita

Central Elementary School may not be relatable to the students and
teachers of Bolila Elementary School. Also, the materials used in the
teaching-learning process of Ateneo de Manila University may not suit to
the needs of the students in SPAMAST. These are only few of the reasons
why some materials should be revised.
In a research conducted by Harim and Harim (2016) they presented
the common reasons for some teachers to adapt their materials:

ELT 216 69
 LANGUAGE LEARNING MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT

Unsuitable material for the degree of competence of learners

Resources that will not suit within the resources allocated for the
course
Not adequate knowledge in grammar
Not enough practice of grammar points of special difficulty for
learners
Grammar portrayed as unsystematic
Understanding the lines includes so much obscure language
Comprehension problems are so simple and can be omitted from
the document without any clear interpretation.
Subject matter is not suitable for age, society or intellectual
standard
Insufficient or inadequate photos and other illustrative content
Dialogues that are so structured and not indicative of ordinary
expression
So much or so little in the range of tasks

Moreover, teachers should remember that the learning of the

students should be the topmost priority in whatever the reason a teacher
may have in adapting the learning material.

Activity 3: Song Translation

Directions: One of the struggles in teaching any English topic, especially

literature, is how learners can appreciate and understand the content and
message of the literary piece. In this activity, imagine that you will be
teaching English in a far-flung area where students find it hard to
understand the English language. Now, using your mother tongue,
translate the parts of the English song that corresponds to the first letter of
your first name, without altering its meaning. In this way, the learners who
come from your area will appreciate the message of the song.

ELT 216 70
 LANGUAGE LEARNING MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT

First Letter of
SONG TITLE CHORUS
First Name
A, J, N, Q, Y, Z, Heal the World There are ways to get there
M, T, U by Michael If you care enough for the living
Make a little space
Jackson Make a better place

Heal the world

Make it a better place
For you and for me
And the entire human race
There are people dying
If you care enough for the living
Make it a better place
For you and for me
B, I, O, P, X, D, Fight Song by And all those things I didn't say
G, E, F Rachel Platten Wrecking balls inside my brain
I will scream them loud tonight
Can you hear my voice this time?

This is my fight song

Take back my life song
Prove I'm alright song
My power's turned on
Starting right now I'll be strong
I'll play my fight song
And I don't really care if nobody
else believes
'Cause I've still got a lot of fight
left in me

C, H, K, R, W, L, A Million Dreams They can say, they can say it all

S, V from The sounds crazy
They can say, they can say I've
Greatest lost my mind
Showman I don't care, I don't care, so call
me crazy
We can live in a world that we
design

'Cause every night I lie in bed

The brightest colors fill my head
A million dreams are keeping me
awake
I think of what the world could be
A vision of the one I see
A million dreams is all it's gonna
take
A million dreams for the world
we're gonna make

ELT 216 71
 LANGUAGE LEARNING MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT

Write your translation and song title here:

ELT 216 72
 LANGUAGE LEARNING MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT

6.3 The Principle and Procedures of Adapting Learning

Materials

Material adaptation may be done in various ways. One of it is

through translation, which you have done in the previous activity. Here are
some other ways in adapting language learning materials:
1. Adding
This can be done through adding more examples to the
material in order for the learners to deepen their understanding.
It is not changing the learning material, but just adding features
to it.

2. Deleting or omitting
Basically deleting is the exact opposite of adding. It is
omitting some part of the material that would not be applicable
to the level of the learners. Deleting and adding usually comes
together.

3. Modifying
Modifying can either be rewriting or restructuring. Rewriting is
making the material more communicative. It is making the
material more closely to the learners’ cultural background or
interest. While restructuring materials refer to changing some
parts of the material to suit with the situation.

4. Simplifying
This is almost the same to rewriting, wherein you will make
the material appropriate to the learning standard of the learners.

5. Reordering
It is rearranging the content and pacing of the material to suit to
the level of the learners.

ELT 216 73
 LANGUAGE LEARNING MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT

6.4 Framework for Adaptation of Learning Materials

To clearly understand the context of adapting learning materials

study the framework below:

Generally, materials adaptation is done by every teacher, whether

those teaching English or teaching other subjects. Adaptation of learning
material can be done in different ways in order to meet that standard of the
course/subject and the level of students. Also, it is for teachers to use the
material in an effective and efficient manner.

ELT 216 74
 LANGUAGE LEARNING MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT

Quiz No. 4: Fill in the Blank

Directions: Read and understand the statements carefully. Supply the

missing word or words to complete statement. Write your answer on the
space provided.

1. __________ refers to changing a learning material to make it suitable

for the learners, lesson and situation.
2. Contextualization refers to the educational process of linking the
___________ to a specific setting, situation or area of application in
order to make the competencies relevant, meaningful and useful to
all learners.
3. _______________ refers to the process of linking the learning content
to local information and materials, while _______________ refers to
the process of enhancing educational resources in relation to the
socio-cultural context of the learning community.
4. ______________ is making the material more closely to the learners’
cultural background or interest.
5. Reordering is _________________ the content and pacing of the
material to suit to the level of the learners.

Closure: The Beauty of My Tribe

Directions: Imagine that you will be teaching adjectives to Grade 8

students of your own tribe. Write a haiku using adjectives that will describe
your own tribe. After writing it in English, translate it to your mother-
tongue to help the learners understand the poem better.

Translation:

ELT 216 75
 LANGUAGE LEARNING MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT

References

Halim, S., & Halim, T. (2016). Adapting Materials: Revisiting the Needs of
Learners. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES AND CULTURAL
STUDIES, II(4), 633-642.

URL
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/qa/adept-adapt-or-adopt
https://www.mydigitalchalkboard.org/portal/default/Content/Vie
wer/Content?action=2&scId=100031&sciId=7246

ELT 216 76