My presentation on Issues in Materiel Devlopment

1. Topic- Syllabus Design: Issues in Materials Development
Paper No.12(ELT)
• Prepared by: Arati R. Maheta,
• Roll No.2,
• M.A Part-2 (Batch:2013-15),
• Semester : 3,
• Submitted to: Department Of English
Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji
Bhavnagar University
 Email id :davearati656@gmail.com
 Year: 2014

2. Introduction
• ‘Materials’ Include anything which can be used to
facilitate the learning of language.
• They can be linguistic, visual, auditory or kinesthetic,
and they can be presented in print, through live
performance or display ,or on cassette, CD-ROM, DVD
or the internet.

3. They can be..
Instructional
• In that they inform learners about the
language.
Experiential
• In that they provide exposure to the
language in use.
Elicitative
• In that they stimulate language use
exploratory
• In that they seek discoveries about
language use

4. What is Materials Development?
• Materials Development is both a field of study and a practical
undertaking.
• As a field it studies the principles and procedures of the design,
implementation and evaluation and adaptation of language
teaching materials.

5. • As an undertaking it involves the production ,evaluation and adaption
of language teaching materials by teachers for their own classrooms
and by materials writers for sale or distribution.
• Ideally these two aspects of materials development are interactive in
that the theoretical studies inform and are informed by the
development and use of classrooms materials
• (e.g. Tomlinson 1998c)

6. What are the issues in they?(M.D)
• The many controversies in the field of Materials
Development include the following questions:
Do learners need a course
book?
Should materials be learning or
Acquisition focused?
Should text be contrived or authentic?
Should material be censored?

7. Do learners need a course book?
It is the most
convenient form of
presenting materials.
It gives a learners a
sense of system,
cohesion and
progress.
It helps teachers
prepare & the
learners revise,
A course book is
inevitably, superficial
&reductionist in its
coverage of language
points and in its provision
of
language experience, it
can’t cater for the diverse
need of all it’s users.
It imposes uniformity of
syllabus and approach and
it removes initiative and
power from teachers
Proponent
Opponent
• See Allwright1981; O’Neil1982;Littlejohn1992
Hutchinson&Torres1994

8. Should texts be contrived or
authentic?
• Materials aiming at explicit learning usually contrive
examples of the language which focus on the feature
being taught.
• These examples presented in short, easy texts or
dialogue and it is argued that they help the learner by
focusing attention on the target feature.

9. • The counter argument is that contrived examples overprotect
learners and do not prepare them for the reality of language
use.
• Whereas authentic text can provide meaningful exposure to
language as it is typically used.
• Most researchers argues for authenticity and stress its
motivational effect on learners
• E.g. Bacon and Finnemann1990; Kuo1993

10. • Day and Bamford attack the ‘cult of authenticity’ and advocated
simplified reading texts which have ‘the natural qualities of
authenticity’.
• R.Ellis(1999)argues for ‘’enriched input’’ which provides learner with
input which has been flooded with example of the target structure in
the context of meaning focused activities

11. Should materials be censored?
• Most publisher are anxious not to risk giving offence and provide
writers of global course books with lists of taboo topics which
include:
• Sex, drugs, alcohol, religion, violence, politics history and pork
e.g. Heinemann International Guide for Writers (1991)

12. • They also provides guidelines to help their writers to avoid sexism and
racism.
e.g. On Balance 1991
 Whilst some form of censorship might be pedagogically desirable and
economically necessary.
 Many teacher argues that published materials are too bland and often
fail to achieve the engagement needed for learning

13.  Wajnryb (1996:291)
 E.g.-complains about the ‘safe, clean, harmonious ,benevolent, undisturbed world
of EFL course book
 Text book projects supported by a national ministry of education often suffer less
censorship and their books are some time more interesting to use.
 E g. the popular Namibian course book On Target(1996)
 Which contains texts inviting learners respond to issues relating to drugs,
violence..etc.

14. Some further unresolved issues
Be driven by theory or
practice
Materials should
Be driven by syllabus
needs, learner need or
market needs
Cater for learner
expectations or try to
change them
Cater for teacher needs
and wants as well as
those of learners
Aim to contribute to
teacher development as
well as language
learning
Aim for language
development only or
should be aim for
personal or
educational
development