This document discusses the importance of materials in teaching English as a foreign language. It outlines several materials that teachers can use, including pictures, videos, authentic materials, chalkboards, dictionaries, and social networks. Teachers must carefully select materials that are appropriate for their students' ages, levels, knowledge, and contexts. A variety of materials should be used to avoid boring students. Social networks and technology can be useful resources when incorporated appropriately.

1. NAME: Milton Fernery Morales Restrepo
TITLE: English Foreign Language Materials
UNIVERSIDAD DE LA AMAZONIA
DATE: 10-04-2012
OBJETIVE: Show the importance that materials have in the teaching & learning
process.
This position paper is related to the significance that different EFLmaterials have.
Teachers need to take into account this in order to design the best resources in
order to develop an interesting and efficient class. There are many resources
which can be used in the classroom and the professor has to sketch the most
appropriates for each activity. Also this writing remarks the relevance of the
technology and social net work in the teaching and learning process.
Plan and choose appropriate materials to teach a foreign language is one of the
most significant components that the teacher has to take into account in the
moment to set up a good and motivating class. In the moment to select material to
work in the classroom teachers have to be extremely careful, because factors like
age, level, and context are determinant in the learning process. The professor
shouldn’t use the same material to teaching a class for high level students and
beginner students, or bring at the classroom materials which is appropriate for kids
to teach for young and adult people. Also teachers have to consider the context in
which they are teaching, because students learn easier when topics are
contextualized; for example a learner from Cartagena del Chaira might not
understand an activity that refers to autumn, spring, or winter season, so that the
teacher has to use exercises that involve students in their context.
Social Networks are useful recourses which teachers can employ to involve
students to get and build up a significant knowledge, but they have to take into a
count don’t overuse them. Students enjoy working with technology, for that reason
it is so essential to include in the class alternatives such as face book, cell phone,
videos, music, and others. Students like use social net works, so that they can
improve their academic level if teachers teach them how use of these in a good
way. Also cell phone is so common today and guys have a great ability to employ it
and professors can design a great variety of academic activities to use it. So
variety is the key in the time to use these resources. That is why professors have
not to employ the equal source in their classes, because students could get boring.
For example if this week teacher use the cell phone, he / she must not use it the
next week, but rather make use of videos or music, etc. So that the best way to be
a good use of these is make a diversity of these essential elements in teaching and
learning process.

2. There are many English Foreign Language Materials that teacher can use in the
classroom. Some of those are going to be mentioned in this writing, some of those
are: pictures, portfolio, chalkboard, authentic materials, and news paper.
Pictures play a significant place in the teaching and learning process, because
teachers can use these in several activities. Pictures can arouse thousand words,
so these can be employed to make stories in order to develop the imagination and
improve the level in students. They are able to create interesting stories and
expand their four skills using this useful material; also they can re arranging, acting
out pictures stories, and re creating the picture. Moreover teacher can shows
student some pictures and they speculate about they, this is a good way to stir up
the speaking skill in them. Learners enjoy design stories because they are so
creative and like working in activities related to body movements, for that reason
this is an excellent material which professors have to take into a count to engage
students in the English learning process and allow them a major participation in the
classroom.
Videos are a valuable and excellent classroom tool. There are many videos which
teacher can use to start, in the middle or to finishing a topic or a class, but the most
important issue is to select the appropriate for each occasion. Trough the videos
students learn pronunciation, because they listen the audio and see figures, in this
way they can acquire new vocabulary, use gestures to imitating the characters .
Videos active knowledge in students, they use their imagination and force their
minds in order to understand the message. Also this medium can be used to
practices and combine a range of language points, to introduce subjects for
debates when students give their point of view, to encourage conversation
between students, to improve writing skills, to develop listening skills with visual
aid. So that videos are an indispensable tool that teacher can use in the classroom
because these permit that learners develop and improve all their skills.
Using authentic materials is one of the most imaginative and motivating tool that
teacher can bring into play in the classroom. There are many kinds of authentic
materials which are employed for teachers in the teaching and learning process.
When students think about authentic materials they usually assume that we are
talking about newspaper and magazine articles. However, the term can also
include such things as songs, web pages, radio & TV broadcasts, films, leaflets,
flyers, posters, indeed anything written in the target language and used unedited in
the classroom. So there are a great variety that professor can use to carry out their
class. The materials used have to be adapted according to the age, level
knowledge, context, topic, students' needs, and interests.
Using chalkboards in education improves teaching efficacy, classroom
management and student academic success. What you write is just as important
as how well you organize the blackboard. It helps center the class and brings the
lesson in focus. The blackboard is the most visually centered piece of equipment

3. available to teachers. They have to take into account that never give their back,
that board always be clean and write clear and orderly. The chalkboard is maybe
the most useful tool in the classroom. Students can participate actively using the
board, they can write, draw, play and many more activities and teachers always
have at hand a practice and significant tool to use in the teaching and learning
process.
Use of dictionary in teaching and learning process is so common, but it is so
important to learn how to use it. Teachers can develop several activities in the
classroom in order to carry out a significant result. Activities like find synonymous,
antonymous, look for pronunciation, meaning, spelling, derivation of words, part of
the speech, syllabication, etc can be employed to develop the skills in students.
For example students look for pronunciation words so they are developing
speaking skills, when they look for meaning so they are improving reading and
written skills and with spelling exercises they can increasing their listening skills.
In conclusion we can say that teachers are the responsible to design a good or bad
class, a significant, or an insignificant learning. Also is essential to plan and choose
materials which satisfy the needs of students, taking into account aspects like age,
level, knowledge, and context and don’t over use the same activity, because it
could bore students.