English teachers may choose to design their own teaching materials for several reasons: 1) They can contextualize materials to their specific students and educational environment since published materials are generic. 2) They can tailor materials to individual student needs and learning styles to increase engagement. 3) Home-made materials allow for more personalization, spontaneity, and tapping into student interests. However, teacher-made materials also risk being disorganized, lacking quality or coherence if not designed carefully while considering student needs, curriculum goals, teaching context, and resources available. Significant time is also required.

2. Why English language teachers may choose to
design their own materials?
Advantages of developing own materials:
 Contextualization :
EFL books are generic and not aimed at any specific
group of learners or any particular culture or
educational context. In designing their own materials
teacher can take into account their particular learning
environment and to overcome the lack of ‘fit’ of the
course-book. Availability is other consideration.
Teacher produced materials can be best option for
both school and students.

3.  Individual needs
- teaching should consider individual needs of
learners.
- Teacher designed materials can be responsive to the
heterogeneity inherent in the classroom, which will
encompass the learners’ first language and culture as
well as their learning needs and experiences.
- Few course-books deliberately incorporate
opportunities for learners to build on the first
language skills already acquired
- teacher can organize the material and activities over
the course.

4.  Personalization
home-made materials can acc personal touch to
teaching, that students appreciate. Tapping the
interest and taking into account of the learning styles
of students is likely to increase motivation and
engagement in learning. There is also greater choice,
freedom and scope for spontaneity when teachers
develop their own materials

5.  Timeliness
teachers designing their own materials can respond to
local and international events with up to date, relevant
and high interest topics and tasks.

6. Disadvantages of developing own materials
 Organization
the produced materials should be organized around an
identifiable principle and follow a discernible pattern.
In contrast, teacher designed materials may lack
overall coherence and a clear progression, which may
result in poorly focused activities lacking clear
direction.

7.  The quality
the most common criticism which against teacher
made materials is to do with their quality. At the
surface level, teacher made materials may seem ragged
and unprofessional next to those produced by
professionals.
lack of experience and understanding on the part of
the teacher may result in important elements being
left out or inadequately covered. some other problems
might be lack of clear instructions and poor choice of
text.

8.  Time
the key factor inhibiting many teachers from
producing their own teaching materials is time.

9. Factors to consider when
designing materials
 Learners
The point of teacher-created materials is relevance,
interest, motivation and meet specific individual
needs, therefore teachers must ensure they know their
learners well. Any consideration of syllabus or
materials design must begin with a needs analysis,
such as: learning needs, learning preference, students
experience, first language and levels of literacy in it,
aspirations and their interests and their purpose for
learning English

10.  Curriculum and the context
Many teachers are bound by a mandated curriculum
defining the content, skills and values to be taught. A
curriculum outlines the goals and objectives for the
learners and the course of study. It is the responsibility
of teachers to ensure that the goals and objectives of
the overarching curriculum are kept close at hand
when designing material

11.  Context
Context in which the teaching and learning occurs will
impact the types of materials that may need to be
designed. For example, a primary-level mainstream,
in English speaking setting, with a set curriculum and
access to native speakers may require materials that
facilitate interaction about subject content and
develop cognitive academic language proficiency.
Refugee adults may need teaching materials that focus
on meeting immediate survival needs and gaining
employment.

12.  The resources and facilities
Access to resources such as computers (with or without
internet access), a video player and TV, radio, cassette
recorder, CD player, photocopier, language lab, digital
camera, whiteboard, OHP, scissors, cardboard,
laminator etc. will impact on decisions in materials
design. Resource-less teaching may address the
impoverished reality of some teaching context.

13.  Personal competence and confidence
This will be influenced by the teacher’s level of teaching
experience and his or her perceived creativity or
artistic skills and overall understanding of the
principles of materials design and production. The
most realistic option for most teachers is undertake
materials design to modify, adapt or supplement a
course-book.

14. Some decisions available for teacher:
 Add activities to those already suggested
 Leave out activities that do not meet your learners’
need
 Replace or adapt activities or materials with:
1. supplementary materials from other commercial text
2. Authentic materials (newspaper, radio reports, films,
etc.)
3. Teacher created supplementary materials
 Change the organizational structure of the activities,
for example: pairs, small groups or whole class.

15.  Copyright compliance
Teachers need to be aware of the restrictions that
copyright laws place on the copying of authentic
materials, published materials and materials
downloaded from the internet for use in the
classroom. This particularly important when creating
course materials that will be used by a large number of
classes over time.

16.  Time
Teacher should consider ways to make this aspect
manageable. Block (1991) suggests a number of ways in
which teachers can lighten the load, including sharing
materials with other teachers, working in a team to
take turns to design and produce materials, and
organizing central storage so materials are available to
everyone.