As Pinner (2015) and others highlight that authentic materials are more difficult because of the originality of the language and they have to be adapted for the learners without changing the nature of them. Due to the authentic materials are not originally created for foreign language learners, they may be difficult and ambiguous for especially students who are in lower level classes. Therefore, we need to either adapt them or prepare the learners for them but how can we do this? Do you have any ideas or suggestions about this issue?
Here is a conference paper I wrote a few years ago that addresses this question of the benefits of authentic materials, versus the challanges resulting from the difficulity of the materials. Maybe it will help you with some ideas.
Conference Paper Literature as an organic language learning tool
Hi Mustafa,
it depends on what kind of authentic materials we are talking about (videos, audio recordings, text, pictures...). Speaking only about authentic video documents, I would suggest you to read the works by J. Sherman, especially this book, which is not only theoretical but gives very practical advices:
Sherman, J. (2003). Using authentic video in the language classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Best
Lionel
Hello,
Historically, there have been two opposing views concerning the issue of authenticity and adaptation. Some have argued that classroom materials should be an exact replica of the real world events and suggest authentic sources as the basis for classroom teaching. By contrast, there are those who insist on change, adaptation ,or modification stating that materials should be culturally appropriate to the local learning environments. Despite the worldwide approval of using authentic materials in L2 classrooms, many contemporary research studies have questioned the total reliance on such a notion and have opted for development of materials adapted to particular needs of particular EFL language learners. The following links can hopefully provide you with what you are looking for.
1) www.esoluk.co.uk/calling/pdf/Authentic_Task_Based_Materials.pdf
2) https://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource.../module8-authentic-materials.pdf
3) https://americanenglish.state.gov/.../thomas_meeting_efl_learners_halfway_by_using_lo...
Best regards,
R. Biria
Hi Mustafa,
in my opinion based on my long-term experience both of a student and EFL teacher, there will always be pros and cons of any teaching and learning tool and method. However, if you integrate authentic material in your classroom environment (mentioning it as a substitute for authentic English, or any other language, speaking environment, then it is a must no matter the comprehension difficulty and level of your students. The earlier the better in order to provide your students with the shocking authentic experience they would also have once in the authentic environment no matter the length of their studies. You can do a lot of things with authentic material. The first thing I would suggest is to let your students just listen to anything of your choice, yet preferably of your students´interest, and do it just as a regular practice for a few minutes each lesson. Right after listening is finished, try to ask them a few simple questions to figure out how much and what they could understand. Suggest them to do it themselves outside of the school and recommend them good online sources. Then, of course, you can adapt the audio material by pausing it every now and then and pick up some of the key words and phrases appropriate for their level and most importantly, for using in real life. Teach them how to listen properly so that they can pick up as many words and complex sentences as possible. Combine the audio content divided into individual sentences with explaining and applying the grammar rules (e.g. the contracted forms, which are mainly if not always used by native speakers). For sure, once you pick the authentic material, you cannot really adapt the very material anyhow. What you can adapt, on the other hand, is the way your students work with it, and most importantly are curious about.
Here is an article that might be of use, Mustafa.
Article European Journal of English Language Teaching THE USE OF AUT...
Dear Meral Unver,
I'm really happy to see your article. It's exactly about my question. Thanks for your contribution.
Hi,
The following are some criterion we need to consider while adapting or modifying authentic materials.
1.Adaptation should facilitate instruction
2.Adaptation should encourage learning
3 .Adaptation should focus on learners
4.Adaptation should ensure relevance
5. Adaptation should prompt flexibility
6. Adaptation in terms of motivationality
For details please read:
Ebrahimpourtaher, A., & Hamidi, E. (2015). Authenticity and adaptation in EFL materials. International Archive of Applied Sciences and Technology, 6(2), 34-9.
hi
I believe nowadays a lot of people are using AI to do almost everything, perhaps you can use such facilities as Chat GPT or the services offered by google itself. I cannot say we teachers are losing jobs to AI, but I'd say this modern incredibly smart breakthrough can help us a lot with the cumbersome manual work we are supposed to do. Having said that, I suggest that you use AI to do that for you and then check with the literature our friends posted above.
Wish you luck
Ali
Ali Hosseinipour Thank you. Trying many things with ChatGBT meselden nowadays. It’s been quite useful!
This is an intriguing and challenging question that has been the focus of our efforts since 2014. If you're interested, please check out some of our articles on the subject, including: https://tinyurl.com/pscaptioning
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