This document provides an overview of theoretical foundations and practical insights for materials development in language teaching. It discusses key concepts such as the definition of teaching materials, who should develop materials, principles of materials development, and frameworks for conceptualizing the process. The document emphasizes that materials development is both an art and a science, requiring intuition as well as consideration of theories of second language acquisition. It also stresses that teachers are well-positioned to develop materials tailored to their local students' needs through a process of reflection on their teaching practice.

1. Theoretical foundations and
practical insights for Materials
Development (MD)
Adapted from Astrid Núñez Pardo M.A. &María
Fernanda Téllez Téllez M.A.
Universidad Externado de Colombia 1

2. Setting the tone
2

3. Let’s spin theLet’s spin the
spinner!spinner!
3

4. “Every teacher is a
materials developer.”
(English Language Centre
, 1997, cited in
Tomlinson , 2003, p.1)
4

5. 2. What are
materials?
5

6. 6
Printed materials: Short sorties, picture dictionaries,
chants, worksheets, lessons, units, modules, student’s
books, workbooks, audio cassettes, CD ROMs, CDs ,
videos, games, and so forth.

7. 7
Environmental materials: Made by the teacher for
notice boards, walls, windows, floor, and the sort.

8. 8
Teacher and student-made materials: leaflets,
pamphlets, brochures, booklets, comic strips,
magazines, puppets, guides, games, and the like.

9. 9
Realia: real objects like balls, dice, crayons,
marker pens, origami cards, decorated boxes,
blindfolds, etc.

10. 10
Visual materials: photographs, drawings, posters,
flashcards, charts, flip charts, and the rest.

11. 11
Manufactured products: Prop to perform role plays like a
telephone, a hat, a microphone, a handbag, glasses, a
plastic alphabet, spinning tops, toys, etc.

12. 3. MD
Conceptualisation
12

13. 13
Let’s have a buzzword!
What is MD ?

14. Why to develop materialsWhy to develop materials ??
14
1 _ M _ _ _ _ _ _
2 _ _ _ A _ _ _
3 _ _ T _ _ _ _ _ _
4 _ _ _ E _ _ _
5 _ _ _ R _ _ _ _
6 I _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
7 _ _ A _ _ _ _ _
8 _ _ _ L _ _ _ _ _ _

15. Good job!Good job!
15
1 E M P O W E R S
2 E N G A G E S
3 M O T I V A T E S
4 A P P E A L S
5 I M P R O V E S
6 I N N O V A T E S
7 S H A R P E N S
8 C H A L L E N G E S

16. 16
“Materials development is
both a field of study and a
practical undertaking”
(Tomlinson , 2011, p. 66) .

17. 17
MD, like teaching, is not a
lineal process but a
complex one in which TS
are constantly considering
multiple factors and
proceeding on many fronts
(Tomlinson , 1998 )

18. Harwood (2010) points
out that “materials
designers draw on a wide
array of theories and
frameworks” (p.3) .
18

19. “Materials
Development
(MD) implies
both a rational
process and an
artistic muse”
(Núñez et
al. , 2009.
19

20. 20
We put both our minds
and hearts into MD

21. Heilenman (1991), Richards
(2006), Samuda (2006) contend
that MD is usually seen “an essentially
atheoretical activity”
(Samuda, 2005. p 232, as cited in
Harwood, 2010. p. 3) .
21
A misconception

22. Counterarguments
Tomlinson (1998, 2003a,
2003b, 2010, 2011), Harwood
(2010), Masuhara (1998, 2006)
Bolitho, Maley (1995, 1998),
McDonough and Shaw (1993),
Sercu (2005), have realised that
MD constitutes a field of study that
goes beyond individuals' intuition 22

23. What does MD entail?
Materials
development
Materials
adaptation
Materials
evaluation
Anything
that helps to
teach
language
learners
Adjustment
to make
them more
suitable for
a target
learner
A systematic
appraisal of
materials in
relation to
their
objectives
and the
objectives of
the learners
23
(Tomlinson , 1998. p.2)

24. Assignment 1
Pondering upon
Pre-service
Teachers'
Perceptions of
Materials
Development (MD)
in Connection to
their future
Teaching Practice
(list 3 perceptions).
Then, SHARE
(GROUP WORK)
24

25. 25
4. Who should develop
materials?

26. 26
Professional
materials
writers?
Language
teachers?
Language
learners?

27. 27
“This task should not be
confined to text developers
exclusively since there is not
a complete textbook that
fulfils both learners´ and
teachers’ expectations”
(Nuñez and Téllez, 2004.
p.172) .

28. “Teachers as innovative
professionals, have the
potential to explore their
creativity by designing
materials for their classes”
(Nuñez, Pineda & Téllez ,
2004. p 130).
28

29. According to Kessler “Teachers
are the most immediate experts
on the needs of ESOL learners, the
cognitive abilities of different age
groups and the learning process
of their specific learners” (as
cited in Menezes, 2001) .
29

30. 30
5. The importance of
MD

31. RRR teachers
31
R
1. A teacher characterised by
quiet thought or
contemplation
2. A teacher that acts effectively
or imaginatively in a given
situation
3. A teacher that is ready and
willing to listen to and accept
new ideas and suggestions
R
R

32. 32
R e f l e c t i v
e 1. A teacher characterised by
quiet thought or
contemplation
2. A teacher that acts effectively
or imaginatively in a given
situation
3. A teacher that is ready and
willing to listen to and accept
new ideas and suggestions
e
v
i R
t e
p s
e o
c u
e R l u f e c r
RRR teachers

33. MD allows for
 “reflective observation and
conceptualization that enables
teachers to theorize their practice”
(Shön, 1987, cited in
Tomlinson, 2003. p. 2) .
 Reflection is a dialogue of thinking
and doing that makes teachers more
competent (Shön, 1987, cited in
Giovennelli, 2003. p. 293).
33

34. Teachers construct, deconstruct,
and reconstruct their daily
teaching practice as a means to
face decision making, improve
their teaching performance,
innovate in their classes and so
develop professionally. (Núñez ,
Téllez and Castellanos,
34

35. 6. Materials
Development
Principles 35

36. Tomlinson (2003)
“language learning materials
should ideally be driven by
learning and teaching
principles rather than been
developed on ad hoc
imitations of best-selling
course books” (p. 81). 36

37. There are some basic
principles of Second
language Acquisition (SLA)
that are relevant to MD
(Tomlinson,
1998)
37

38. 38
MD Equation
Materials writers’
intuition
Adapted from Tomlinson , 2011

39. MD is a demanding enterprise thatMD is a demanding enterprise that
implies a clear sense of:implies a clear sense of:
39
Those
materials
will be
used

40. Assignment 2
Reflecting upon SLA
Principles Relevant to
MD for Local Contexts
that Develop the
Communicative
Competence
(Select three SLA
Principles and
justify).
Then, SHARE
(GROUP WORK)
40
1.
2.
3.

41. MD finalMD final
assumptions…assumptions…
41

42. “There is an increase in
attempts to personalise
the learning process by
getting learners to relate
topics and texts to their
own lives, views and
feelings.”
42

43. 43
“The effectiveness of
materials used for language
teaching depends largely on
how meaningful, relevant and
motivating they are to the
learners.”
(Núñez and Téllez, 2009
p. 173)

44. 8. Authentic versus
Inauthentic materials
44

45. The debate
45
Are you in favour or
against the use of
authentic materials?

46. 46
Carter (1998) asserts
that both inauthentic as
well as authentic texts can
inform the curriculum (as
cited in Hardwood, 2010, p.
5).

47.  Carter (1998) and
Shortall (2007) contended
that “Inauthentic as well as
authentic texts are pedagogically
exploitable. [...] These artificial
texts may intentionally contain a
high frequency of a particular
language item to alert learners to
its existence and to provide them
with practice in manipulating it”
(as cited in Harwood, 2010,
47

48. Materials that are adapted
to students’ requirements
and interests, are known as
modified materials, which
are developed for
pedagogical purposes,
(Aebersold & Lee,
2002, p.48).
48

49. Authors like Allwright
(1981); Hutchinson and
Torres (1994); and
O’Neill (1982 ) admit that
“no-prepared materials can
ever meet the needs of any
given class precisely, some
level of adaptation will be
necessary” (as cited in
49

50. Masuhara (1998) “The
teachers’ home-grown materials
may be more finely tuned to the
local classroom needs with valid
methodological awareness but the
colourful or glossy appearance of
commercial course books may be
more eye-catching and may even
seem to the learners to have more
face validity” (246-7).
50

51. Hands-on-work
Exercise on authentic
and inauthentic
materials
51

52. 9. A framework of
components
52

53. 53
A framework for MD is valuable
in the planning and development
of the instructional design for
research projects (needs
analysis, pedagogical
intervention as an innovation,
reflection on language & learning
theories) (Núñez , Téllez and
Castellanos , 2012)

54. A framework of components for
course development
54
Graves (1997)

55. Do not get impressed for
what materials “look like”
See what materials “do” in
the EFL classroom;
to what degree, how and
why they facilitate language
learning
(Tomlinson ,2003,
55

56. 56
Thanks a lot for
being such a
wonderful audience!

57. 57
Enjoy the fascinating
task of developing your
own didactic language
learning materials!

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