Authentic Materials

The Britannia CELTA

 How do people learn languages?
Input Learning Use

Understandin
g
Memory
Restricted Exposure Reflection Restricted Output
(Reading/ Listening) (speaking/ Writing)

Authentic Exposure
(Reading/ Listening) Noticing Authentic Output
(speaking/ Writing)
Other Data
Coursebook information
Preparing
Teachers Explanations (To speak/ Write)
Grammar books etc
Criteria for selection of texts
General interest of topic
Exploitable language
Reading skills development
Potential for Speaking/ Writing Extension
Text 1 | aims: a or b?
By the end of the lesson students will be better
able to

a. practice gist-reading skills and have a general

understanding of a narrative
b. practice scan reading for names and places
Text 1 | aims: a or b?
By the end of the lesson students will be better
able to

a. practice reading in detail to infer the writers

attitude
b. practice reading in detail to understand the
sequence of events
Text 1 | aims: a or b?
By the end of the lesson students will be better
able to
a. practice vocabulary associated with
emergency-rescue situations
b. clarify vocabulary used to talk about the sea
Text 1 | aims: a or b?
By the end of the lesson students will be better
able to

a. notice verb phrases associated with past

narratives.
b. contrast uses of was going to.
Text 1 | aims: a or b?
By the end of the lesson students will be better
able to
a. improve speaking fluency by means of a role
play
b. use simple past forms orally.
 Text 1 | tasks
Look at these suggestions of gist reading tasks.
How effective are they?
1. Read the text quickly and find out about the
cave.
2. What did John Broad think?
 Text 1 | tasks
Look at these suggestions of detailed reading tasks.
How effective are they?
1. Who has told of the 11-hour fight for life
2. What is the weather like at Mawgan Porth?
3. Is there a romantic relationship between Shane
and Renee?
4. What is the meaning of the word huddled?
5. Who was flown to hospital suffering from
hypothermia?
 Text 1 | tasks
Can you think of more appropriate gist and
detailed reading tasks for text 1?
What vocabulary would you pre-teach for
text 1?
Authentic materials| pros or cons?

Authentic materials
contain examples of real language used by native
speakers
are perceived as entertainment such as DVDs
can contain a lot of cultural information
can often be quite long
have real-world transfer, such as maps
can be quite topical in terms of their content
are often used to supplement coursebook materials