Language Learning

Materials
Development
According to Brian Tomlinson (2011), material developers might write
textbooks, tell stories, bring advertisement into the classroom, express
an opinion, provide samples of language use or read a poem aloud.
Whatever they do to provide input, they do so ideally in principled ways
related to what they know about how languages can be effectively
learnt.

We should focus on three vital questions:

What should be provided for the learners
How it should be provided and
What can be done with it to promote language learning.
WHAT IS LANGUAGE TEACHING?

Teaching in this book refers to any activity by materials

developers or teachers to facilitate language learning,
including classroom instruction, textbooks providing language
usage samples, and providing necessary vocabulary for
challenging tasks.
WHAT IS LANGUAGE TEACHING?

Teaching can be direct or it can be indirect. It can also be pre-

emptive, facilitative, responsive or remedial in that it aims to
remedy problems.
WHAT IS LANGUAGE LEARNING?
Learning is a conscious process that involves committing
information to memory, but it also involves subconscious
development of generalizations about language usage and
skills and strategies for communication, both conscious
and subconscious.
Language learning can be explicit or it can be implicit.
Language learning can also be of declarative knowledge or
of procedural knowledge.
PRINCIPLES OF SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION RELEVANT TO THE
DEVELOPMENT OF MATERIALS FOR THE TEACHING OF LANGUAGES:

Materials should achieve impact

Impact is achieved when materials have a noticeable effect on learners, that is when the
learners curiosity, interest and attention are attracted. If this is achieved, there is a better
chance that some of the language in the materials will be taken in for processing.

Materials can achieve impact through:

A. Novelty
B. Variety
C. Attractive Presentation
D. Appealing Content
E. Achievable Challenge
PRINCIPLES OF SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION RELEVANT TO THE
DEVELOPMENT OF MATERIALS FOR THE TEACHING OF LANGUAGES:

Materials should help learners to feel at ease

Research has shown the effects of various forms of anxiety on acquisition: the less
anxious the learner, the better language acquisition proceeds. Similarly, relaxed and
comfortable students apparently can learn more in shorter periods of time. (Dulay,
Burt and Krashen 1982)
PRINCIPLES OF SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION RELEVANT TO THE
DEVELOPMENT OF MATERIALS FOR THE TEACHING OF LANGUAGES:

Materials can help learners to feel at ease in a number of ways. For

example, I think that most leamers

feel more comfortable with written materials with lots of while space than they do
with materials in which lots of different activities are crammed together on the
same page,
are more at ease with texts and illustrations that they can relate to their own
culture than they are with those which appear to them to be culturally alien,
are more relaxed with materials which are obviously trying to help them to learn
than they are with materials which are always testing them.
PRINCIPLES OF SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION RELEVANT TO THE
DEVELOPMENT OF MATERIALS FOR THE TEACHING OF LANGUAGES:

Beck, McKeown, and Worthy (1995), suggests that language-learning materials should
be more casual and personal, revealing the writer's preferences, interests, and opinions.
They indicate that materials be written semi-formally, allowing for a more authentic and
personal connection with the learners. Also, one of the most important factor is that the
“voice” of materials. Teachers should try to achieve a personal voice by ensuring that
what they say to the learners contains such features of orality as:

Informal discourse;
The active rather than the passive voice;
Concreteness;
Inclusiveness
PRINCIPLES OF SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION RELEVANT TO THE
DEVELOPMENT OF MATERIALS FOR THE TEACHING OF LANGUAGES:

Materials should help learners to develop confidence

Relaxed and self-confident learners learn faster (Dulay, Burt and Krashen 1982)

Materials developers often simplify language learning to make learners feel successful, but
this approach can diminish confidence. Learners become aware that their efforts are
simplified and not resembling actual language use. Instead, they should build confidence
through stimulating, challenging tasks that encourage extra-linguistic skills like
imagination, creativity, and analytical thinking. Elementary-level learners can gain greater
confidence through creative activities like story-writing or grammatical discovery than by
simply completing simple drills.
PRINCIPLES OF SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION RELEVANT TO THE
DEVELOPMENT OF MATERIALS FOR THE TEACHING OF LANGUAGES:

What is being taught should be perceived by learners as relevant and

useful
Teachers often recognize the importance of making learners aware of the relevance and
utility of language and skills they are teaching. Research has shown that learning and recall
of items of personal significance to the learner positively affects learning and recall. In
English for Specific Purposes (ESP) materials, relating teaching points to known learner
interests and real-life tasks can help convince learners of their relevance and utility.
However, in general English materials, narrowing the target readership and researching
learners' interests and goals can make this more difficult. Creating relevance and utility for
teaching points can be achieved by referring learners to help pages or encouraging them to
make decisions about their tasks. Providing learners with a choice of topic and task is
crucial for achieving perception of relevance and utility in general English textbooks.
 MATERIALS SHOULD REQUIRE AND
FACILITATE LEARNER SELF-
INVESTMENT

Many researchers have written about the value of learning activities

that require the learners to make discovers for themselves. According
to Rutherford and Sharwood-Smith(1988) assert that the role of the
classroom and of teaching materials is to aid the learner to make
efficient use of the resources in order to facilitate self-discovery.
Similar views are expressed by Bolitho and Tomlinson (1995); Bolitho
et al. (2003), Tomlinson(1994a, 2007) and Wright and Bolitho(1993).
 LERANERS MUST BE READY TO ACQUIRE
THE POINTS BEING TAUGHT

Certain structures are required only when learners are mentally ready
for them. (Dulay, Burt and Krashen 1982).

According (1985) argues the need for roughly tuned input, which is
comprehensible becuase it features what the learners are already
familiar with, but which also contains the potential for acquiring other
elements of the input which each learner might or might not be ready
to learn.
 MATERIALS SHOULD EXPOSE THE
LEARNERS TO LANGUAGE IN
AUTHENTIC USE
Krashen (1985) makes the strong claim that comprehensible input in the target
language is both necessary and sufficient for the acquisition of that language
provided that learners are 'affectively disposed to "let in" the input they
comprehend' (Ellis 1994: 273).

Ideally materials at all levels should provide frequent exposure to authentic

input which is rich and varied. In other words, the input should vary in style,
mode, medium and purpose and should be rich in features which are
characteristic of authentic discourse in the target language. And, if the
learners want to be able to use the language for general communication, it is
important that they are exposed to planned, semi-planned and unplanned
discourse (e.g. a formal lecture, an informal radio interview and a spontaneous
conversation). The materials should also stimulate learner interaction with the
input rather than just passive reception of it. This does not necessarily mean
that the learners should always produce language in response to the input; but
it does mean that they should at least always do something mentally or
physically in response to it.
 THE LEARNERS' ATTENTION SHOULD BE
DRAWN TO LINGUISTIC FEATURES OF
THE INPUT

Many researchers that helping learners to pay attention to

linguistic features of authentic input can help them to eventually
acquire some of those features. However, it is important to
understand that this claim does not represent a back-to-grammar
movement. It is different from previous grammar teaching
approaches in a number of ways. In the first place the attention paid
to the language can be either conscious or subconscious.
 MATERIALS SHOULD PROVIDE THE
LEARNERS WITH OPPORTUNITIES TO
USE THE TARGET LANGUAGE TO
ACHIEVE COMMUNICATIVE PURPOSES

Most researchers seem to agree that the learners should be

given opportunities to use language for communication rather
than just to practice it in situations controlled by the teacher
and the materials. Using the language for communication
involves attempts to achieve a purpose in a situation in which
the content, strategies and expression of the interaction are
determined by the learners.
Interaction can be achieved through, for example:

1. information or opinion gap activities which require learners to

communicate with each other and/or the teacher in order to close the gap
(e.g. finding out what food and drink people would like at the class party);
2. post-listening and post-reading activities which require the learners to
use information from the text to achieve a communicative purpose
3. creative writing and creative speaking activities
4. formal instruction given in the target language either on the language
itself or on another subject
MATERIALS SHOULD TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THAT THE
POSITIVE EFFECTS OF INSTRUCTION ARE USUALLY
DELAYED

Research into the acquisition of language shows that it is a gradual

rather than an instantaneous process and that this is equally true for
instructed as well as informal acquisition.
Learners cannot learn a new feature and use it effectively in the same
lesson. They may rehearse, retrieve, or produce it, but not necessarily
use it immediately.
MATERIALS SHOULD TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THAT LEARNERS
DIFFER IN LEARNING STYLES

Different learners have different preferred warming styles.

Styles of learning that need to be catered for in language-learning
materials include:
Visual
Auditory
Kinaesthetic
Studio
Experiential
Analytical
Global (
Dependent
Independent
MATERIALS SHOULD TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THAT LEARNERS
DIFFER IN AFFECTIVE ATTITUDES

The learner's motives, emotions, and attitudes screen what is presented in the
language classroom This effective screening is highly individual and results in
different rates and results (Dulay, Burt, and Krashen 1082)
In diversifying language instruction based on cognitive styles and attitudes
can help meet the diverse needs of language learners
Provide choices of different types of task
Provide choices of different types of activities
Provide optional extras for the more positive and motivated learners
Including activities that involve the learners in discussing their attitudes
and feelings about the course and the materials.
Researching and catering to the diverse interests of the identified target
learners;
Being aware of the cultural sensitivities of the target learners-
Giving general and specific advice in the teacher's book on how to respond
to negative learners
MATERIALS SHOULD PERMIT A SILENT PERIOD AT THE
BEGINNING OF INSTRUCTION

This silent period can facilitate the development of effective internalized

grammar which can help the learners to achieve proficiency when they
eventually start to speak in the L2.
An important point is that the materials should not force premature
speaking in the target language and they should not force silence either.
Ways of giving learners the possibility of not speaking until they are
ready include:
Starting the course with a Total Physical Response (TPR)
Starting with a listening comprehension approach
Permit the learners to respond to the target language
 MATERIALS SHOULD MAXIMIZE LEARNING POTENTIAL BY
ENCOURAGING INTELLECTUAL, AESTHETIC, AND
EMOTIONAL INVOLVEMENT WHICH STIMULATES BOTH THE
RIGHT- AND LEFT-BRAIN ACTIVITIES
A narrowly focused series of activities that requires very little cognitive
processing (e.g mechanical drills, rules learning, simple transformation
actives) usually leads to shallow and ephemeral learning unless linked to
other activities that stimulate mental and affective processing

MATERIALS SHOULD NOT RELY TOO MUCH ON

CONTROLLED PRACTICE
A very little research that indicates that controlled practice activities are
valuable. Sherwood-Smith (1981) does say that it is clear and uncontroversial
to say that the most spontaneous performance is attained by dint of practice,
but he provides no evidence to support this very strong claim.
According to Bialystok (1988), says that automatically is achieved through
practice but provides no evidence to support her claim.
 MATERIALS SHOULD PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR
OUTCOME FEEDBACK

Feedback which is focused first on the effectiveness of the outcome

rather than just on the accuracy of the output can lead to output
becoming a profitable source of input.
THANK YOU FOR
LISTENING!