The definitions of authentic
materials are slightly different in literature. What is common in these
definitions is 'exposure to real language and its use in its own community'.
Rogers (1988) defines it as 'appropriate' and 'quality' in terms of goals, objectives,
learner needs and interest and 'natural' in terms of real life and meaningful
communication (p. 467). Harmer (1991), cited in Matsuta (n.d., para. 1) defines
authentic texts as materials which are designed for native speakers; they are
real text; designed not for language students, but for the speakers of the
language. Jordan (1997, p. 113) refers to authentic texts as texts that are not
written for language teaching purposes. Authentic materials is significant
since it increases students' motivation for learning, makes the learner be
exposed to the 'real' language as discussed by Guariento & Morley (2001, p.
347). The main advantages of using authentic materials are (Philips and
Shettlesworth 1978; Clarke 1989; Peacock 1997, cited in Richards, 2001):
·
They have a positive effect on learner
motivation.
·
They provide authentic cultural
information.
·
They provide exposure to real language.
·
They relate more closely to learners '
needs.
·
They support a more creative approach to
teaching.
Authentic
materials are even more relevant for students who have the aim of going to the country
itself. If they are to function in the foreign society they will have to get accustomed to all the trivial reading items that they
will encounter every day. So if the students actually need to be able to communicate and interact socially in the target language
environment, authentic materials seem an essential preparation for their task. Being
able to cope with an English train timetable,
to tell if they have the right ticket, to know which notices are important and addressed to them and which are not, all these are
vital to their communicative purpose.
There are some advantages and disadvantages to use authentic
materials in TEFL. Richards (2001, p. 253) points out that alongside with
these disadvantages, authentic materials often contain difficult language,
unneeded vocabulary items and complex language structures, which causes a
burden for the teacher in lower-level classes. Martinez (2002) mentions that
authentic materials may be too culturally biased and too many structures are
mixed, causing lower levels have a hard time decoding the texts.
Authentic materials provide the following
benefits:
- motivation
to learning;
- authentic
cultural informationreal
language presentation;
- real
language presentation
- creative
approach to teaching
There are
many ways to find authentic material and you don’t have to search far to find
it. Here are a few examples of original native material that can be used in the
classroom: newspapers, literature, video, TV, surveys, guest speakers,
cultural quizzes / tests, role plays / dramatizations, songs, anecdotes, travel
brochures, menus, catalogues, real estate pamphlets, phone books, CDs, the
Internet, illustrations and so on.
The use authentic material
effectively in the classroom. According
Guariento & Morley (2001) claim that at post-intermediate level, the use of
authentic materials is available for use in classroom. This might be attributed
to the fact that at this level, most students master a wide range of vocabulary
in the target language and all of the structures. They also note that at lower
levels, the use of authentic materials may cause students to feel de-motivated
and frustrated since they lack many lexical items and structures used in the
target language. Matsuata (n.d.) states that the use of authentic materials is
a burden for the instructors teaching beginning students as they have to spend
a lot of time to prepare for authentic materials regarding the ability level of
the students.
According to the findings of the
survey carried out by Chavez (1998), learners enjoy dealing with authentic
materials since they enable them to interact with the real language and its
use. Also they do not consider authentic situations or materials innately
difficult. However, learners state that they need pedagogical support
especially in listening situations and when reading literary texts such as the
provision of a full range of cues (auditory and visual including written
language)
There are some use
authentic material effectively in the classroom
1. Use recent material that is not dated
2. Choose material that you can find several copies of
3. Choose relatively short/concise material
4. Laminate or choose material that will be able to withstand over time
5. Choose material that is appropriate for the age level
6. Questions/exercises to accompany the activity
7. Have students work in groups
8. Introduce authentic material to the class
In brief, authentic
materials designed for the needs of learners to interact with the real target
language or languages. Learning by using authentic materials can provide
benefits to learners. Learners are motivated to study harder, and teachers will
be creative in teaching the use of a foreign language to students
Refference
Chavez, M. (1988).
Learner's perspectives on authenticity. International Review of
Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 36(4), 277ff.
Guariento, W. &
Morley, J. (2001).Text and task authenticity in the EFL classroom.
ELT Journal 55(4), 347-353.
Richard, J.C. (2001).
Curriculum development in language teaching. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.