Language Learning Materials Development

What are Materials?

- Anything used by teachers or learners to aid in the teaching and learning process (Tomlinson, 1998).
- Anything that provides a systematic overview of the procedures and exercises to be used in the classroom
(Brown, 1995)
- Any systematic explanation of the procedures and exercises to be used in classroom instruction; the key to
generating effective materials is to ensure that they are defined and organized well enough so that
teachers may utilize them without confusion and with the least amount of preparation time (Brown, 2007)
What is Material Development?
- Material development is basically dealing with selection, adaptation, and creation of teaching
materials (Nunan, 1991). In practice, it focused on evaluation, adaptation of published materials and
creation (development of teaching materials by teacher in line with the existing syllabus)
- Materials development is both a field of study and a practical undertaking. As a field it studies the
principles and procedures of the design, implementation and evaluation of language teaching materials’
(Tomlinson 2001).
- It refers to anything done by materials developers or teachers to facilitate the learning of the language
(teaching) a conscious process which consists of the committing to memory of information
relevant to what is being learned (learning) anything which is done by writers, teachers or learners
to provide sources of language input and to exploit those sources in ways which maximize the
likelihood of intake the supplying of information about and/or experience of the language in ways
designed to promote language learning.
- As a field - it studies principles and procedures of the design, implementation and evaluation of language
teaching material.
Who should develop the materials?
- In developing materials, it is based on teacher’s beliefs, understanding and experience. It also depends on
teacher’s goal and objectives; the way teacher conceptualizes the content of the course; the way teacher
organizes and sequence the course and teacher’s understanding of student’s needs. Material developed
by teacher must be feasible and appropriate within the context. Students can also collaborate
with the teacher in choosing and developing material.
- A good material may become the tipping point which decide the result of a learning. In order to better
facilitate students' learning teacher often have to develop their own material that will suit the students'
needs. A good teaching material will be able not only to facilitate students' learning process, but also
provide enjoyment for the students. To be able to produce a good material, the teacher should always start
from the students.
- The material should be able to capture students' need and, both present and future needs. Because
material that directly correspondent with said needs will automatically be useful and meaningful for the
students. With appropriate material the students will be prompted to learn well because they realize that
they are learning not for the sake of exams or grades, but more for the mastery of skills that they need in
the first place.
Principles and Procedures of Materials Development
Language Learning
- Learning is normally considered to be a conscious process which consists of the committing to memory of
information relevant to what is being learned.
- Spelling rules, conventions of greetings and vocabulary items can be useful to the language learner.
- Language learning consists of subconscious development of generalizations about how the
language is used and of both conscious and subconscious development of skills and strategies which
apply these generalizations to acts of communication:
o Explicit: The learners are aware if when and what they are learning
o Implicit: Learners are not aware of when and what they are learning.
o Declarative Knowledge: Knowledge about the language system.
o Procedural Knowledge: Knowledge of how the language is used.

Explicit learning of both declarative and procedural knowledge is of value in helping learners to pay
attention to salient features of language input and helping them to participate in planned discourse. (e.g.,
giving presentation, writing stories, etc.)
Systematic Evaluation of Materials
- Most of the well-known material writers follow their institutions rather than an over specification of
objectives, principles and procedures.
- Some textbook writers who sit down and identify the popular and successful features of
their competitors so that they can clone those features and they avoid the unpopular and
unsuccessful features. But it has drawbacks- needs time, controlling learner’s motivations, lack of “out-of-
class” motivation and learner-teacher rapport.
- Longitudinal, systematic evaluations of popular materials can be undertaken by publishers,
universities and association like MATSDA. They provide validated information about actual effects
of different types of language learning materials.

Second language acquisition research and materials development

- Second language acquisition report can provide guidelines for developing classroom materials. There are
some principles:
o Learners should expose to rich, meaningful and comprehensible input of language in use.
o Language learners who achieve positive affect are more likely to achieve communicative
competence than others.
o Language learners can be benefitted from noticing salient features of the input and from
discovering how they are used.
o Learners need opportunities to use language to try to achieve communicative purposes.
o Second language learners should use mental resources which they utilize when acquiring and
using their first language.
Materials should impact through:
o Novelty: unusual topics, illustrations and activities.
o Variety: breaking up monotony of unit routine with unexpected activity. Such as-using
different text types from different sources, different instructor voices on a CD.
o Attractive presentation: by using attractive colors, using white space, using photographs.
o Appealing contents: topic of interest to the target learners, topics which offer the possibility to learn
something new, engaging stories, universal themes, local references.
o Achievable Challenge: tasks which challenge the learners to think.

Materials should help learners to feel comfortable

o Make learners feel more comfortable with written materials with lots of white space that they do
with materials in which lots of different activities are crammed together on the same page.
o Are more ease with texts and illustrations that they can relate to their own culture than they are with
those which appear to be them to be culturally different.
o Are more relaxed with materials which are obviously trying to help them to learn than they are with
materials which are always testing them.
o Feeling at ease can also be achieved through a voice which is relaxed and supportive.
o Content and activities encourage the personal participation of the learners.

Materials should facilitate learner self-investment

o The role of the classroom and teaching material is to aid the learner to make efficient use of the
resources in order to facilitate self-discovery (Rutherford and Sharwood Smith (1988).
o Materials provide students with choices of focus and activity, by giving them topic control and by
engaging them in learner-centered discovery activities help the learners to discover their true self
o It also engages the learners in finding supplementary materials that which help them to develop
their decision-making ability to choose the appropriate materials/texts and finding out the
techniques to use them.
Interaction can be achieved through:
1. Information/opinion gap activities which require learners to communicate with each other or the teacher
in order to close the gap. (e.g., finding out food or 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 (e.g., deciding the television program to watch, writing a
review of a book or film).
3. Creative writing and creative speaking activities such as writing a story or improvising drama.
4. Formal instruction given in the target language either on the language itself or on another subject.
Materials should focus on the different learning styles of students.
o Visual: Some learners prefer to see the language written down.
o Auditory: Some learners prefer to hear language.
o Kinesthetic: Learners prefer to do something physical, such as following instruction for game.
o Studial: Learners like to pay conscious attention to the linguistic features of the language and want
to be correct.
o Experiential: Learners like to use the language and are more concerned and are more
concerned with communication.
o Analytic: Learners prefer to focus on discreet bits of the language and to learn them one by one.
o Global: Learners are happy to respond to whole chunks of language at a time and to
pick up from them whatever language they can.
o Dependent: Learners prefer to learn from a teacher and from book.
o Independent: Learners learn from their own experience of the language and use
autonomous learning strategies.
Materials should have a silence period at the beginning of instruction
- Starting a course with total physical response approach in which the learners respond physically to oral
instruction from a teacher or CD.
- Starting with a listening comprehension approach in which the learners listen to stories in the
target language, which are made accessible through sound effects, visual aids and dramatic
movement by the teacher.
- Permitting the learners to respond to target language questions by using their first language or through
drawings and gestures.
Materials should maximize learning potential by stimulating right and left-brain activities
- Mechanical drills, rule learning, simple transformation activities stimulate mental processing.
- Analytic, creative, evaluative and rehearsal demands on processing capacity can lead to deeper and more
durable learning.
- The contents of the materials should stimulate the thoughts and feelings in the learners.
- Maximizing the recall-the learners receive information through different cerebral processes and
in different states of consciousness so that it’s stored in many different parts of the brain.
- Engaging the learners in variety of left and right brain activities- reciting a dialogue, singing a song, writing
story and so on.
Principles of Materials Development
1. Make sure that the materials contain a lot of spoken and written texts which provide extensive
experience of language being used in order to achieve outcomes in a variety of text types and
genres in relation to topics, themes, events, locations etc. likely to be meaningful to the target
learners.
2. Make sure that the language the learners are exposed to is authentic in the sense that it represents
how the language is typically used. If the language is inauthentic because it has been
written or reduced to exemplify a particular language feature then the learners will not acquire the
ability to use the language typically or effectively. Much has been written on the issue of
authenticity and some experts consider that it is useful to focus attention on a feature of a
language by removing distracting difficulties and complexities from sample texts. My position is that
such contrived focus might be of some value as an additional aid to help the learner to focus on salient
features but that prior and subsequent exposure to those features in authentic use is essential.
3. Make sure that the language input is contextualized. Language use is determined and
interpreted in relation to its context of use. De- contextualized examples do not contain
enough information about the user, the addressee(s), the relationships between the
interactants, the setting, the intentions or the outcomes for them to be of value to the
language learner. I can, for example, think of at least three different interpretations of, “Give
him the keys. Let him drive it.” But I do not know what it really means nor why the speaker has used the
imperative until I know who is saying it, who they are saying it to, what the relationship between them
is, where they are, what has happened before and what the objectives of the conversation are. Only
extended samples of language in contextualized use can provide learners with the ‘information’ they
need to develop awareness of how the target language is actually used.
4. Make sure that the learners are exposed to sufficient samples of language in authentic use to
provide natural re-cycling of language items and features which might be useful for the learners
to acquire. Examples of Materials I use what I call task-free activities to help me to apply Principle of
 Language Acquisition 1. This involves me at the beginning of every lesson reading a poem or story, or
telling a joke or anecdote. There are no questions or tasks after the listening, just written copies of the
text for those students who were engaged by it to take home, read and file away. The students are
encouraged to ask me questions about the texts at any time and to return to read the texts they have
collected many times. I also use extensive reading, extensive listening and extensive viewing to help to
apply this principle and I use a text-driven approach to developing units of material in which an
extensive text drives the skills and language activities of each unit.
5. Prioritize the potential for engagement by, for example, basing a unit on a text or a task which is likely
to achieve affective and cognitive engagement rather than on a teaching point selected from a syllabus.
6. Make use of activities which get the learners to think about what they are reading or listening to and to
respond to it personally.
7. Make use of activities which get learners to think and feel before during and after using the target
language for communication. Examples of Materials I use a text driven approach in
which the starting point for developing each unit is a potentially engaging spoken or written text. I
first of all devise readiness activities which help the learners to activate their minds prior to experiencing
the text, I give the learners a holistic focus to think about when experiencing the text and I invite them to
articulate their personal responses to the text before going on to use it to stimulate their own language
production.
8. Make use of activities which get learners to visualize and/or use inner speech before during and after
experiencing a written or spoken text.
9. Make use of activities which get learners to visualize and/or use inner speech before during and after
using language themselves.
10. Make use of activities which help the learners to reflect on their mental activity during a task and
then to try to make more use of mental strategies in a similar task. Examples of
Materials I build into all my materials activities which encourage and help the students to
visualize, to talk to themselves in inner speech and to make connections with their lives. For example,
before asking the students to read a poem about a boy’s first day at school I asked the students to
visualize their own first day at school and then to talk to themselves about how they felt.
11. Use an experiential approach in which the learners are first of all provided with an experience which
engages them holistically. From this experience they learn implicitly without focusing conscious
attention on any particular features of the experience. Later they re-visit and reflect on the experience
and pay conscious attention to features of it in order to achieve explicit learning. This enables the
learners to apprehend before they comprehend and to intuit before they explore. And it means
that when they focus narrowly on a specific feature of the text, they are able to develop their
discoveries in relation to their awareness of the full context of use.
12. Rather than drawing the learners’ attention to a particular feature of a text and then providing
explicit information about its use it is much more powerful to help the learners
(preferably in collaboration) to make discoveries for themselves. Examples of Materials I use a lot of
language awareness materials in which the students experience a potentially engaging text,
respond to it personally and then focus on a particular feature of the text in order to make
discoveries about it. For example, the students read about a student whose parents gave him a
graduation party. They then discussed the reasons why the parents gave him the party and the
reasons he was reluctant to attend it. Next one half of the class analyzed the father’s use
of the interrogative and the other half analyzed the son’s use of the imperative. They came together in
groups to share their discoveries and then they wrote a version of the text in which the mother (rather
than the father) tried to persuade the son to attend the party.
13. Provide many opportunities for the learners to produce language in order to achieve intended
outcomes.
14. Make sure that these output activities are designed so that the learners are using language rather than
just practicing specified features of it.
15. Design output activities so that they help learners to develop their ability to communicate fluently,
accurately, appropriately and effectively.
16. Make sure that the output activities are fully contextualized in that the learners are responding to an
authentic stimulus (e.g., a text, a need, a viewpoint, an event), that they have specific addressees and
that they have a clear intended outcome in mind.
17. Try to ensure that opportunities for feedback are built into output activities and are provided for the
learners afterwards. Examples of Materials I develop a lot of material in which the students have to
produce a text which is a development from one they have just experienced. For example,
in one unit the students had to tell a circle story about part two of a story about strange creatures on a
beach which they had acted out from the teacher’s narration of the story. In another unit they had to re-
locate a story set in Liverpool in their own city. In another unit they had to design an improved version
of a vehicle in a newspaper advert and then to write a newspaper advert and perform a tv advert for
their vehicle.
Materials Evaluation
English may be the most dominant language in the world and used for a variety of purposes such as
educational and commercial purposes. McKay (2002) discusses the reasons for the spread of
the English language, for example, English language is the key in the global sense because it enables
countries to discuss and negotiate political, social, educational and economic concerns. It is learned by more
and more people so it is potentially central to a growing global economy and it plays a very important
role in the economic development of the country.
The term "materials" may mean anything which can be used to facilitate the teaching and learning of a
language (e.g., Richards and Schmidt 2002). In many countries, the coursebook might be the most
important element within English language materials and so I provide a brief discussion about its potential
usefulness and purposes. Wala (2003), for example, argues that the coursebook is necessary language and
coursebooks do not exist in a vacuum they exist for and are shaped English language coursebooks,
therefore, are multi-purpose tools i.e., they can be used for a different variety of purposes
such as: Developing language learning effectively (e.g., Edge and Wharton 1998; Tomlinson 1998,
2003; Richards 2001; Mukundan, 2004, 2009; Dat 2006; and Timmis, Mukundan, and Alkhaldi 2009).
Crawford 2002; McGrath 2002; Bolitho 2003; and Timmis, Mukundan, and Alkhaldi 2009). 2002; McKay 2002;
Tomlinson 2003; Mukundan 2004, 2009; and Timmis, Mukundan, and Alkhaldi 2009). Training teachers: they
may well play a de facto role as source of teacher training (e.g., Cunningsworh, 1995; Edge and Wharton,
1998; Richards, 2001; Crawford, 2002; McGrath, 2002; Mukundan, 2004, 2009; and Timmis, Mukundan,
and Alkhaldi 2009).
Principled, comprehensive and rigorous evaluations can investigate the actual usefulness and effectiveness of
the input in the English language coursebook and its accompanying materials. In other words, the
principled evaluation framework suggested in this module can investigate this useful advantage and its
potential effect on the users in a comprehensive approach.
Materials Evaluation
- Materials evaluation may be defined as a procedure or a systematic appraisal measuring the
potential value(s) of materials on learners in relation to their objectives (Tomlinson 1998, 2003). In
other words, materials evaluation means a principled process of providing useful information about the
targeted materials in order to select and/or develop them in a reliable and valid approach.
- Material evaluations can be impressionistic or empirical (Ellis 1997) and the impressionistic way of
materials evaluation has come under criticism for being unempirical or unscientific (Mukundan 2006).
Moreover, the evaluation practices have not been examined critically to determine the effectiveness and
value in teaching-learning environments (Mukundan 2004, 2009).
Why do we evaluate materials?
- To identify the popular and successful features of existing materials, which will help us to produce better
materials.
- To choose suitable materials for language programs.
- To adapt the materials to make them better suit the needs of the students and the needs of teaching.
- To identify how successful the materials used in the classroom are.
- To examine whether the materials fulfil the prescribed course
- To examine the extent to which materials permit students to achieve learning objectives.
- To identify whether the designs of the materials are suitable for a task-based syllabus.

Reasons and Purposes of Materials Evaluation

- Identifying the reasons for materials evaluation is necessary to achieve the main purpose of
evaluation. Cunnings worth, for example, identifies two reasons for evaluation; the intention to adopt
new coursebooks is one of the main reasons. To identify the points of strengths and weaknesses is
another reason for evaluation. Mukundan (2004, 2009) argues that there are two purposes for
evaluation; the first purpose is to select the coursebook or materials and the other purpose is to
determine the effectiveness of the coursebooks or materials while they are used. However,
Tomlinson and Masuhara (2004) indicate that the ultimate purpose of evaluation is for re-
 development of material. Identifying the potential strengths and weaknesses of the materials for selection
and/or development purposes is useful.

However, there is another important reason for materials evaluation. The reason is possibly to identify
the potential effectiveness of language theories which are embedded in the materials for different
purposes such as selecting the materials appropriately and/or developing them effectively.

Language involves consideration of both theory and practice to be used successfully by learners (Cook
and Seidlhofer, 1995). They maintain that language teaching is a useful resource to understand the
relation of knowledge about the language to the activities which are involving the language. This
framework, therefore, can well provide researchers with some evidence of the effectiveness of language
theories which are embedded in the language materials. The effectiveness and usefulness of
theories depend on their effectiveness in practice in the classroom (Abd Samad, 2003). He maintains
that some theories have logical basis but limited to specific situations, whereas other theories may be too
abstract that they do not supply the teachers with enough procedures for application in the classroom.
Consequently, the strengths and weaknesses of language theories can effectively be assessed on the
basis of their theoretical strengths and pedagogical strengths. The framework that involves a
comprehensive list of instruments for principled materials evaluation can effectively identify the
potential strengths and weaknesses of language theories. In other words, language theories and
findings of SLA research are embedded in materials, although not always explicitly.

Principles in Materials Evaluation

There are two principles in materials evaluation: effectiveness and efficiency (Ellis 1998 in Tomlinson
1998).

- Effectiveness principle: Is a course book or material effective in meeting the needs of the learners?
Compare what the learners knew and were able to do before they used the course book or material with
what they know and are able to do after they have used it
- Efficiency principle: Does a course book or material meet the needs of the learners more effectively
than some alternative course books? Compare the learning gains evidenced by using one course
book or material with the gains evidenced by another material.
Approaches to materials evaluation
a) Ad hoc impressionistic evaluation vs. systematic evaluation
An ad hoc impressionistic evaluation is based on intuitions, impressions, and experience of using
materials.

In an ad hoc evaluation, valid methodological considerations may give way to an eye-catching

appearance. Ad hoc impressionistic evaluation can be biased by misconceptions about what ‘desirable’
materials should look like. Both classroom teachers and specialized researchers can have these
misconceptions. Think about why.

A systematic evaluation is based on a specification of objectives, principles and procedures adopted or

embedded in materials. A systematic evaluation is best done in a longitudinal fashion, which has three
stages: pre-use evaluation, whilst-use evaluation and post-use evaluation. Systematic evaluation
needs more theoretical background in language learning and more expertise in materials development.

b) Internal evaluation vs. external evaluation

An internal evaluation focuses on the internal accountability of the materials, e.g., the theoretical
assumptions behind the materials; the intended objectives and the extent to which the objectives have
been realized; the justification of language selection and grading; the design of activities and tasks.
An external evaluation examines the extent to which a set of materials meets the needs of a particular
group of learners, the syllabus, and the examination, i.e., whether a set of materials is suitable for a
group of students.
N.B.: McDonough & Shaw (1993) distinguishes between “external evaluation” and “internal
evaluation”, both of which focus on the evaluation of materials “as they are”, rather than relate what’s in
the materials to the needs of the students. So, both types belong to internal evaluation outlined above

Frameworks and checklists for materials evaluation

In order to make materials evaluation more operable and easier to conduct, many frameworks or
checklists have been developed.
A) Breen and Candlin’s (1987) framework: (in Sheldon 1987, ELT Document 126)
PHASE ONE: Initial questions
1. What do the materials aim to do and what do they contain?
2. What do the materials make your learners do while they are learning?
3. How do the materials expect you to teach the learners in the classroom?
4. Are the materials the only resource in classroom language learning?

PHASE TWO: Your learners and the materials

1. Are the materials appropriate to your learners’ needs and interests?
2. Are the materials appropriate to your learners’ own approaches to language learning?
3. Are the materials appropriate to the classroom teaching/learning process?
4. Seven design features of materials for classroom work
5. Discovering learners’ criteria for good materials

B) Dougill’s framework (Dougill 1987, in Sheldon 1987, ELT Document 126)

• Framework
• The units
• Subject-matter
• Form
• Course components

C) Littlejohn’s framework for analyzing materials (Littlejohn 1998, in Tomlinson 1998:214-6)

Publication:
1. Place of learners’ materials in the set
2. publication form: worksheets vs. bound book; durable vs. consumable
3. Subdivision of materials into sections;
4. Subdivision of sections into sub-sections
5. Continuity
6. Route (whether teaching order is predetermined; i.e. can a section be skipped)
7. Access (how access into the materials are supported, for example, whether there are contents lists,
wordlists, and indexes)

Design:
1. Aims
2. Principles of selection
3. Principles of sequencing
4. Subject matter and focus of subject matter
5. Types of learning/teaching activities
6. Participation: who does what with whom
7. Learner roles
8. Teacher roles
9. Role of materials as a whole

D) Cunningsworth’s (1984) checklist (Cunningsworth 1984:74-9)

E) Grant’s (1987) evaluation criteria (Grant 1987)

Qualities each unit of material should reflect

Here are the qualities of characteristics of an effective language learning material:
1. Materials should impact on the audience (novelty, variety, attractive presentation, and appealing content).
- It is important because is the way to get and keep learner’s attention. To produce this kind of material, it is
important to know interests and motivations of learners.
2. Materials should help the learners to be at ease.
- Making learners uncomfortable to the point of feeling over exposed or embarrassed could be
counterproductive for the learning process. However, a reasonable amount of pressure can make learners step
out their comfort zone to achieving learning goals.
3. Materials should help learners develop confidence.
- It is important that materials have the appropriate level of difficulty: too easy and students will get bored;
too hard and students will get frustrated and discouraged. We need to be aware of simplification of
materials because it often diminishes students.
- Additionally, giving the learners the opportunity of using their extra-linguistic skills in the learning environment
could help them to achieve a communicative goal, which could result in more self-confidence.
4. What is being taught should be perceived by learners as relevant and useful
- It is nonsense trying to teach something not part in the learner’s world, something they are not
interested in or something that has not profit for them.
5. Materials should require and facilitate learner self-investment.
- This promotes autonomy and self-regulation of learning by letting students to have choices and make
discoveries.

Types of Materials Evaluation

There are possibly three categories of evaluation that applied linguists subscribe to them: pre-use evaluation,
whilst (in)-use evaluation and post-use evaluation (Cunningsworth 1995; Ellis 1995, 1997; Tomlinson 1998,
1999, 2003; McGrath 2002; Mukundan 2004, 2009; and Tomlinson and Masuhara 2004):
1. Pre-Use Evaluation: It involves making predictions about the potential value of materials on people who
use them (Tomlinson 1998, 2003). He indicates that this type of evaluation is often impressionistic,
subjective and unreliable since a teacher scans a book quickly to gain an impression about its value. This
type of evaluation is very important, particularly, in the process of materials selection. For
instance, McGrath (2002) has emphasized the relationship between reemphasis in much that has been
written on materials evaluation is therefore rightly on what we might call pre-use evaluation in relation potential
suitability. In a similar vein, Ellis (1997) and Mukundan (2009) indicate that predictive evaluation
is carried out to determine if the materials are adequate for use (i.e., for selection purposes). In other words,
this type of evaluation may be impressionistic if it is conducted on the existing materials but it may be effective
and useful predictive evaluation if it is conducted for selection purposes. The related literature reveals that the
attention more or less exclusively focuses on this category (Ellis 1997).
2. Whilst (In)-Use Evaluation: It measures the value of the materials whilst observing or using them. It is
more reliable than pre-use evaluation since it makes use of measurement rather than prediction
(Tomlinson 1998, 2003). Tomlinson maintains that it observes the performance of learners on exercises,
however; it cannot measure durable and effective learning because of the delayed effect of
instruction. Whilst use evaluation and retrospective evaluation are likely to have similar purposes (i.e.,
measuring the effect of the materials or determining the effectiveness of the existing materials whilst
using them). Mukundan (2009), for example, indicates that retrospective evaluation is the
reevaluation of materials while they are in-use to decide if the materials work. This category has special
significance since it provides applied linguists/teachers with information that help them to using the materials
again, which activities work and which do not, and how to modify the materials to make them more effective for
future, p. 37)
3. Post-Use Evaluation: It is the most important and valuable type of evaluation because it can
measure the actual effects of the materials on the users and provide reliable information (Tomlinson
1998, 2003). Tomlinson maintains that it can measure short term effects such as motivation,
impact achievability and instant learning. It can also measure long term effects such as durable learning and
application. This category may be the most useful evaluation since it is conducted after the
participants have had reasonable time using the materials. The users of the materials can then give clear and
useful opinions and suggestions about the evaluated materials. This type of evaluation provides applied
linguists with valid and reliable information that help them to develop the target materials. Moreover, this
type of evaluation is helpful and useful for identifying the points of strength and weakness that emerge over
a period of using the coursebooks (Cunningsworth, 1995).
The findings of both whilst (in)-use and post-use evaluations will shed light on the suitability of the materials
and the suitability of the criteria which have been used to select them (McGrath, 2002). The success
or failure of the coursebook can only be determined meaningfully during and after its use in the classroom
(Sheldon 1988). The proposed framework in this article is designed for evaluating the existing materials
and it can be used for selection purposes, therefore, this might be a helpful contribution to the related
literature of materials evaluation.

The Design of the Evaluation Framework

To achieve the purpose of materials evaluation and development, it is important to develop a
principled evaluation framework based on a thorough reading of core literature about English
language teaching and learning, materials evaluation and development, and research methods.
Published language materials still depend on the use of written texts despite the many innovations in
methodology and advances in technology (Timmis, Mukundan and Alkhaldi op. cit.). Many learners,
however, still have difficulty in learning the language using the materials (Tomlinson 1998), as indicated
earlier. The reason for this might be that publishers try to achieve commercial benefits and success at the
expense of pedagogic purity (e.g., Timmis, Mukundan and Alkhaldi op. cit., and Richards op. cit.). This is only
one potential problem, among others, of the learners' failure. The rationale of framework, therefore, may
successfully let the researchers identify what may cause the mismatch between the learners and their
materials and/or between language theories and practice. As a result, the expected results of applying the
framework can provide reliable and valid implications and insights for development purposes.
It is also assumed that there is no ideal or perfect coursebook (e.g., Richards op. cit.) and this is true so
that utilizing the coursebooks and adapting them using a principled framework can motivate the learners to be
engaged in language learning. In other words, the best viable solution to have successful language materials
and to achieve effective learning is to use what is of value in selected or existing materials, evaluate
them in a comprehensive principled approach, and develop them appropriately according to the findings.
To achieve this, the evaluation criteria and instruments of the framework should be developed
according to the findings and implications of SLA research.

SLA Research and Materials Evaluation

Applied linguists and/or materials writers should not expect a definite answer from SLA research
nor should they expect one research-based model of language learning to triumph over all the others
(Tomlinson 1998). However, this should not stop applied linguists from applying what they do know about
SL/FL learning process to the development of materials which are written to facilitate language learning
(Tomlinson 1998). Tomlinson maintains that the knowledge of applied linguists about language learning is a
result of thousands of years of reflective teaching and a century of experimental and observational
research which can be used for formulating criteria that contribute in developing language materials
successfully.
Despite the disagreements about the process of language teaching and learning (e.g., Abd Samad 2003),
there is a sufficient consensus on certain useful features that help in facilitating language
learning and articulating principles to be used as a basis of language materials evaluation (Tomlinson 2003).
This article discusses useful features and develops principles in an attempt to bridge the gap
between theories/principles and the practice of English language teaching and learning. Language materials,
therefore, should reflect useful and effective principles derived from SLA.

The following SLA based principles have been applied to materials development:
- Materials should have an impact on the learners in the sense that they provoke some emotion in the
learners (e.g., Richards op. cit.). (e.g., Timmis, Mukundan and Alkhaldi op. cit.). (wants) which motivates
learners to learn the target language effectively (e.g., Cunningsworth op. cit.).
- Materials should help learners to feel secure and develop their confidence and independence
(e.g., Crawford op. cit.). (e.g., Bolitho op. cit.). op.cit.).
- Materials should assist learners to use the target language for communicative purposes
(e.g., Edge and Wharton op. cit.). Materials should take into account different learning styles of
learners (e.g., Oxford 2001). present and future uses (e.g., Ellis 1997).
- Materials should provide the learners with useful content that encourages them to be involved in
learning the language mentally and emotionally. (e.g., Arnold 1999).
- Materials should be flexible in order to give the opportunity for teachers to make some
adjustments and considerations while in use.
- Materials should provide teachers with methodological support to facilitate their job and provide
inspiration to them to articulate creative teaching methods or ideas (e.g., Timmis, Mukundan and
Alkhaldi op. cit., and Edge and Wharton op. cit.).
Devising the Comprehensive Principled Framework
The framework has been developed through the following stages:
1. Specifying and stating the reason(s) and purpose(s) of the evaluation (Tomlinson 1999,
Cohen, Manion and Morrison 2007, and Creswell 2009;). Creswell (2009) suggests, in
designing a survey, that the researchers should identify the reason and the purpose of the research.
Tomlinson (1999) urges the researchers to think of the reason for the evaluation of materials and
specify the objectives of the evaluation

2. Articulating principled
criteria (Tomlinson 1999,
2003, Tomlinson and
3. Masuhara 2004, Dörnyei,
2007). The following framework
for articulating criteria
4. was developed:
5. Articulating principled
criteria (Tomlinson 1999,
2003, Tomlinson and
6. Masuhara 2004, Dörnyei,
2007). The following framework
for articulating criteria
7. was developed:
8. Articulating principled
criteria (Tomlinson 1999,
2003, Tomlinson and
 9. Masuhara 2004, Dörnyei,
2007). The following framework
for articulating criteria
10. was developed:
2. Articulating principled criteria (Tomlinson 1999, 2003, Tomlinson and Masuhara 2004, Dörnyei,
2007). The following framework for articulating criteria was developed:
a. Brainstorming evaluation criteria (Cunningsworth 1995, Tomlinson1999, 2003, McGrath 2002, Tomlinson
and Masuhara, op. cit., and Dörnyei, 2007). Dörnyei (op. cit.) argues that the first step is that
researchers should let their imagination go free and create as many as potential items they can think of
and he refers to should articulate a list of universal criteria i.e., the criteria is applicable to any language
material anywhere for any learner. They derive from language learning principles and provide the
fundamental basis for any materials evaluation.
However, not everyone would go about this in the same way. McGrath (op. cit.), for instance, has suggested
the following potential list of possible steps in the design of a checklist for close evaluation of materials:
Step 1: Decide general categories within which specific criteria will be organized.
Step 2: Decide specific criteria within each category.
Step 3: Decide ordering of general categories and specific criteria.
Step 4: Decide format of prompts and responses.

- The process of articulating and classifying criteria is not simply a matter of

(1) decide general categories of criteria
(2) decide specific criteria or vice versa (McGrath op. cit.). He argues that brainstorming usually throws up
specific criteria alongside general categories, and general categories suggest specific criteria.

b. Subdividing the criteria (Tomlinson 2003 and Tomlinson and Masuhara, op.cit.).
c. Monitoring and revising the criteria (Cohen, Manion and Morrison 2007; McGrath op. cit.;
Tomlinson 2003; and Tomlinson and Masuhara, op. cit.). McGrath (op. cit.), for example, argues
that the best way to check the transparency of the criteria and to see whether they work in the way they
were intended is to try them out.
Classifying the criteria into categories (Cunningsworth op. cit.; Tomlinson, 1999, 2003; Cohen,
Manion and Morrison, 2000, 2007; McGrath op. cit.; and Tomlinson and Masuhara, op. cit.). McGrath
(op. cit.) indicates that during considerations of layout, it is necessary to think about the ordering
of the criteria and categories. He maintains that user convenience and logical interrelationships
need to be taken into account.
e. Articulating specific criteria related to the medium of the materials (Tomlinson 1999, 2003 and Tomlinson and
Masuhara, op. cit.).
f. Localizing criteria (Tomlinson 1999, 2003 and Tomlinson and Masuhara, op. cit.).
3. Developing a comprehensive list for materials evaluation. The comprehensiveness is necessary for
like example a specific task, which is in use. It is also very effective and useful in explaining the
complexity and richness of materials evaluation by studying it from different sources of data and making
use of, for example, quantitative and qualitative research instruments (e.g., Creswell 2009).
4. Piloting the study instruments (e.g., Cohen, Manion and Morrison 2007, McGrath op. cit.; and
Dörnyei, op. cit.).
5. Revisiting the research instruments and evaluation criteria (Cohen, Manion and Morrison 2007,
McGrath op. cit.; Tomlinson 2003; and Dörnyei, op. cit.).
6. Conducting the research instruments.
7. Providing significant information and principled frameworks for materials evaluation and
development and wider awareness of theoretical issues of wider communication.
Implications
Materials evaluation is an important applied linguistic activity (e.g., McGrath 2002; and Tomlinson
and Masuhara 2004). Tomlinson and Masuhara (op. cit.), for example, argue that language teachers develop
theories of teaching and learning, which they apply in their language classrooms. It is useful for
teachers to try to articulate their theories of teaching by reflecting on their practice. They
maintain that in this way, the teachers can learn a lot about the learning process and about themselves,
and they can use their articulated theories as a useful basis for developing criteria for materials
evaluation.
McGrath maintains that materials evaluation is an applied linguistic activity, that is, it is
oriented towards practical outcomes that make relevant experience and specialist knowledge/skill
necessary, and this specialist knowledge/skill is possessed by applied linguists. I would argue that the
process of materials evaluation can make the evaluators aware of the importance of the framework in
evaluating and developing the materials. It can also enable them to gain deeper understanding and
insights about the process of materials evaluation and development. Therefore, the framework likely has
a significant role to play in the field of applied linguistics. In other words, the process of
developing and applying the principled evaluation framework lets me have insights into the
language materials and how they might be developed appropriately.