ESP Course material

1. Materials Evaluation
and
Materials Design

2. Why evaluate
materials?
Evaluation
Judge the fitness of something for a particular purpose.
There is NO ABSOLUTE good or bad, only degrees of fitness for the
required purpose
The result of the
evaluation
Large investment of
money or time in home-
produced or adapted
materials
LEAD TO

3. How do you evaluate materials?
Evaluation = Matching Process
➔ It has to be as OBJECTIVELY as possible.
➔ Any choice will depend on what you consider
to be important.
➔ It has to suit the needs of a number or
parties:
Teacher, Students and Sponsors.

4. We can divide the evaluation process into 4 major steps

5. Tips
● Use Materials Evaluation Process to
question and develop your own
ideas.
● Have some kind of rank
orders of factors.

6. You will need to decide which you think is the
more important to the various people concerned.
Here is a model of checklist of criteria
for objective and subjective analysis.

7. ➔ Even if you eventually decide to write your own materials, the
evaluation of existing materials can provide a good source
of ideas, of what to avoid and what to do and also different
techniques.
The evaluation process should be systematic and is best
seen as a matching exercise:
Matching your analysed needs with available
solutions.
Tips

8. Materials design
● Materials may not be available commercially.
● Publishers are naturally reluctant to produce materials for very
limited markets.
● Currency or import restrictions.
● ESP material may be written for non-educational reasons
The process of materials writing help to make teachers more
aware of what is involved in teaching and learning.
Reasons for doing your own materials:
For these reasons, thereis an established tradition of ESP
teachers producing in-house materials

9. The following principles will guide us in the actual writing
materials:
What are the materials supposed to do?
➔ Materials provide stimulus to learning.
➔ Help to organize the teaching-learning process. Provide
a path.
➔ A materials model must be clear and systematic, but
flexible enough to allow for creativity and variety.
➔ Materials should truly reflect what you think and feel
about the learning process.
➔ Recognize that language learning is a very complex
process.
➔ Materials as a basis of teacher training.
➔ Provide models of correct and appropriate language
use.

10. A material design model
Provide a coherent framework for the integration of the various aspects of learning and,
at the same time, allowing enough space or room for creativity.
The model consists of four elements: Input, content focus, language focus and task.
Input: This is any piece of communication data, depending on the needs the
teachers has defined. This element provides:
➔ Stimulus materials for activities
➔ New language items
➔ A topic for communication.
➔ Opportunities for learners to use their information processing skills
and use their existing knowledge of the lang and subject matter.

11. Language Focus:
Content Focus: ➔ Language is a means of conveying information
and feelings about something. Non-linguistic
content should be exploited to generate
meaningful communication.
➔ Learners have the chance to take the language
to pieces, study how it works and practise
putting it back together again.
➔ Enable learners to use the language
Task: ➔ Materials should be designed to lead
towards a communicative task in which
learners use the content and language
knowledge they have built up through the
unit.

12. ➢ The primary focus is the task. The model acts as a vehicle which leads the learners to the
point where they are able to carry out the task.
➢ The language content are drawn from the input and are selected according to what the
learners will need in order to do the task.
➢ Create coherence in terms of both language and content throughout the unit.

14. Materials and the Syllabus
We must take account the visible and intangibles factors that relate to
the learning situation, such as learner involvement, variety, use of
existing knowledge, etc
In addition to having an internal coherence, each unit must also relate
effectively to the other units in the course.
COHERENCE BETWEEN THE UNIT STRUCTURE AND THE SYLLABUS STRUCTURE

15. In
conclusion:
Materials writing has different aspects that a teacher has to
consider before making the decision to create them. It is
important to state that for a number of reasons, material writing
is best regarded as the last sort.
➔ Common ground between learners
of apparently very different subject
specialisms.
➔ First, question whether the learners’
needs are significantly different
from other groups
➔ Look at the published materials
➔ A judicious selection may cover the
students’ needs
➔ Try adapting existing materials. ➔ You might add or change them to
make more appropriate.
➔ Try and reduce the area that will
require new material.

16. For those who feel they have to write new
materials, here are some hints
➔ Use existing materials as a source for ideas.
➔ It is better to work in a team.
➔ Materials can always be improved
➔ Don’t underestimate the time needed for materials writing.
➔ Pay careful attention to the appearance of your materials.
➔Good
luck!