Dear students (Group 2013 - 10, Term 2)

The questions and comments below are meant for the BB discussion on Materials
& Resources. I highly recommend that you participate in the discussion of all the
questions. You should also read your classmates' opinions and comments on them
as well. I will open one thread per question so that your answers/participation can
appear under the right heading/thread. Remember that some of the best
discussions happen when there is a difference of opinion and remember when this
happens it is the idea that you oppose not the person. So be cool if someone does
not agree with your opinion, just defend your idea with some theoretical
background and your experience in the field.

Regards,

Majid


QUESTIONS FOR DEBATE ON MATERIALS & RESOURCES:
1. To start this debate, lets talk about the design of the teaching materials we are
currently working with.
a) Which aspects are more frequently considered?
b) Which aspects are seldom or never considered?
c) What do you usually do to make up for those deficiencies?
Sheldon 1988 the textbook is the visible heart of any ELT program
Hutchinson 1994 The textbook is an almost universal element of ELT
teaching ESTO PUEDE INCLUIRSE, PERO AUN NO SE DONDE..
2. Please comment on: "Creating original materials to meet our students' needs:
procedure, aspects to bear in mind and difficulties".
3. Do materials disappoint educational interests and learners expectations? Why?
They often do, why? In my experience, some are uninspiring and, in general,
not relevant to the expectations of our students. Some of them are not
student-centered and they do not use technology.
To mention a few features, they should:
-foster interaction and greater autonomy
-encourage our students to develop problem-solving skills
-have electronic/on line platforms (e.g. Pearsons Language Lab)
-draw on multiple intelligences
-take into account cultural issues
-be based on the latest SLA research
I have found the debate on this link particularly enlightening and I would like
to share it with all of you:
http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2013/sessions/2013-04-11/elt-journal-signature-event-
published-course-materials-don%E2%80%99t-reflect-lives-or-ne

4. Should materials be driven by syllabus needs, learners needs or market needs?
Why?
The 3 elements should be taken into account when a publisher develops
materials for our students, and I consider that-to a certain extent-they are
present in the texts that we often use.
Market needs: this is clear in the publishing companies marketing strategies,
namely, new editions, novelty of teachers resources, special offers to
schools adopting their texts, free seminars. All this influence the choice of
those schools which do not have a real syllabus and rely totally on the ELT
materials.
Syllabus needs: As I mentioned before, some schools do not have their own
syllabus so they just divide the units of a commercial textbook to fit the
school term. On the other hand some state schools do not have a say on
their selection of material since they have to comply with a de facto
syllabus and the texts are chosen and even developed/designed by the
Ministry of Education.
Learners needs: textbook developers target a very large population of
learners, thus topics and approaches are very general for such global users
and they do not meet all students learning needs, interests and concerns.
There is no such thing as the perfect ELT material. We should choose the
most appropriate after thorough research and for me this is essential-
adapt it, enrich it, to suit our students needs, culture and reality
5. How can we make material evaluation and adoption effective and not a burden
on the shoulders of busy teachers?



6. How could we involve learners in evaluation of ELT materials?

As the textbook can play a crucial role in our students achievement, I would
suggest interviewing the students at the end of the term inviting them to
answer a simple checklist to rate the effectiveness of the textbook and
material used. Such checklist could include, among many other items:

-Suitability to the students: was it learner friendly?
-Lay out: attractive visuals, artwork
-Cost effectiveness
-Interesting tasks/topics: motivating
-Material up to date and culturally sensible
-Clear instructions

Learners feedback is, undoubtedly, a useful source of information for further
classroom decision but learners evaluating the material entail a change of attitude
towards the traditional teaching approach. Please comment.
7. Which are the most relevant criteria which teachers should take into account
when evaluating the effectiveness of materials? Is the specification of these criteria
an easy task? Why?
I have just read the following article by Leslie Sheldon which clearly
describes her point of view on material evaluation criteria. What do you
think, mates?
http://203.72.145.166/ELT/files/42-4-1.pdf

8. Discuss the self-evaluated/reflection tasks& the assignment. That is, if you have
a doubt or question about the assignment, this is the place to try it out.

Re: Question 8 M&R
de Majid Safadaran Mosazadeh - sbado, 8 de marzo de 2014, 21:42

Dear all,
Some tips about the M&R assignment.
Like all other assignments you need to include a cover page, an index, an
introduction, the body (in this case the rationale for the self-made kit) plus detailed
explanation of different parts/components used in the kit, some explanation about
the teachers copy, and so on.
Finally we have the conclusion, the bibliography and the appendix (the kit). If the
kit includes material (e.g. photos etc.) that is scanned and weighs a lot then you
can only include a few samples because in the text of the assignment you have
explained each component in detail. If you have a way to reduce the weight of the
kit then you can either paste it at the end of the assignment (these pages don't
count as the assignment 8 to 10 pages), or you could upload it in a separate
document. But remember that first you need to upload all the documents you want
to submit and only then you should click on submit, because if you submit the
assignment and later you want to submit the kit, the system will close your
assignment file and you will not be able to do so.
Actually, I believe it is best to put the assignment and the KIT on the same word
document to avoid problems. And the scanned pages (just a few samples) could
be in jpg format which does not weigh very much.
The KIT would look like a typical unit of an EFL text, with all skills and sub-skills
covered. Then you need to also have a segment that would be the teachers guide
that explains how the unit and its components should be used.
The questions that come up frequently are: Can I copy and paste an existing
material? Can I use part of an existing material? Can I use bits and pieces from
here and there and create my KIT? And so on.
My recommendation is: If you create the material from scratch, i.e. you are the
author, then that would be an ideal case. The next best choice is to take ideas from
other printed sources and then create your own KIT based on those ideas, but you
need to make reference to the source/s you have used. The next option is copy
bits and pieces from here and there in an organized and coherent manner to create
a unit (KIT) Don't forget to mention the sources. The worst option would be to copy
and paste an existing unit and I would really be tempted to give you a failing grade,
because in reality you havent done much.
I guess it is very clear now.
Regards,
Majid