Efective Ways to Use Authentic Materials with

ESL/EFL Students
Charles Kelly, Lawrence Kelly, Mark Offner and Bruce Vorland
http://aitech.ac.jp/ckelly/ ! http://aitech.ac.jp/lkelly/
http://aitech.ac.jp/offner/ ! http://aitech.ac.jp/"orland/
#ichi $nstitute of %echnolo&y '%oyota, (apan)

%his paper e*plains how authentic +aterials can ,e effecti"ely used in the -.L classroo+. -ach
pair of students is &i"en a copy of the authentic +aterial acco+panied ,y a set of /uestions a,out
the contents of the handout. .tudents work to&ether with a partner to e*tract pertinent infor+ation
that is necessary to answer the /uestions.
The Authentic Materials
Background
0e ha"e ,een usin& authentic +aterials for o"er 12 years and ha"e found
that they co+ple+ent -n&lish classes ,y enli"enin& the class and creatin& a
+ore positi"e attitude toward learnin&. 0e now ha"e an e*tensi"e collection
of +aterials that include +enus, +aps, newspaper inserts, store
ad"ertise+ents, tra"el ,rochures, catalo&s, phone ,ooks, real estate
pa+phlets, and "arious pa+phlets of si&htseein& and tourist infor+ation. 0e
ha"e found that usin& sets of +aterials are particularly appealin&. # set could
include a +ap, a tra"el &uide, a +enu, and a store ad"ertise+ent fro+ the
sa+e town 33 all of which are interwo"en, i++ersin& the student in a
+ultidi+ensional -n&lish e*perience.
Choosing Authentic Materials
%here are se"eral i+portant points to consider when choosin& authentic
+aterials. 4ou should +ake sure that you ha"e enou&h copies of the
+aterials to ,e used so that each student or pair of students can ha"e a copy
to use. $t is ,est not to use +aterial with too +any pa&es, unless the pa&es
are clearly nu+,ered for easy reference. $f you plan to use the sa+e
+aterials in +ore than one class, it is i+portant that they ,e hardy enou&h to
withstand a lot of handlin& and they should ,e easily refolded and put ,ack
to&ether. Materials with +ultiple pieces or pa&es that fall out or co+e apart
should ,e a"oided. #lso, keep in +ind that so+e +aterials are +ore easily
dated than others. 5or e*a+ple, last season6s catalo& does not ha"e the
sa+e i+pact as a current one which is filled with ite+s which the student
could actually order. # +enu, on the other hand, can ,e used as lon& as the
prices re+ain conte+porary. .tudents are &enerally uninterested in special
e"ents, for e*a+ple an -*po, that ha"e already past. 7e+e+,er to choose
+aterial that is appropriate for the students6 le"el. 8owe"er, a certain a+ount
of adjust+ent can ,e +ade dependin& on the type and le"el of /uestions
used in the acco+panyin& /uestion handout.
Using Authentic Materials
0hen we first ,e&an usin& authentic +aterials, we handed out +aterials to
each student and had the+ work indi"idually. 8owe"er, e*perience has shown
that ha"in& students work in pairs is a ,etter approach ,ecause they tend to
,e +ore enthusiastic and work harder. 0e &i"e each pair the authentic
+aterial and a /uestion handout. $nterestin&ly, the student with the stron&er
co++and of -n&lish is not necessarily the one who is a,le to e*tract the +ost
infor+ation fro+ the +aterial. .tudents of different a,ilities tend to
co+ple+ent one another and, as a result, do not &et ,o&&ed down easily.
.tudents tend to contri,ute indi"idual stren&ths to the co+pletion of the task.
0e usually tell students that /uestion handouts will ,e collected since this
keeps the+ +ore focused on the co+pletion of the e*ercise. %he teacher6s
personal anecdotes and other ,ack&round infor+ation should ,e shared
,efore the students ,e&in concentratin& on the +aterial.
#fter the authentic +aterial has ,een distri,uted, we &i"e a ,rief e*planation
and point out, for e*a+ple, the i+portance of the ta,le of contents in a
pa+phlet or the le&end in a +ap. 0e point out s+all print and other parts of
the +aterial that are easily +issed. 0e ha"e found that pointin& out (apanese
words and products raises the le"el of interest in the +aterial. %his is a &ood
ti+e for the teacher to e*plain +easures, a,,re"iations, and difficult words
and e*pressions.
0hile the students are workin& on the assi&n+ent, we help the+ ,y
answerin& /uestions and co++entin& on their work. %his is also a &ood
chance to &i"e hints to those who are stuck on a particular /uestion.
Once the allotted ti+e is up, we collect the +aterial alon& with the /uestion
handout and &o o"er the difficult /uestions with the class. $f the handouts are
to ,e factored into the students6 &rades, it is a &ood idea to +ake sure they
ha"e a chance to work with "arious partners o"er the course of the se+ester.
Putting the Question Handout Together
5or the authentic +aterials to ,e effecti"e, the /uestions +ust ,e well
constructed to 'a) &i"e the students the opportunity to practice -n&lish, ',)
help the students &ain confidence in their -n&lish a,ility, 'c) e*pose the
students to cultural differences and custo+s, and 'd) help the students
de"elop their a,ility to find pertinent infor+ation /uickly.
Tour Questions
%he first part of the /uestion handout should contain easy +ultiple choice or
fill3in factual /uestions. %hese /uestions &i"e the students a 6tour6 of the
+aterial and e*poses the+ to a "ariety of /uestion types. %he students &ain
an o"er"iew of the +aterial as they answer these initial easy /uestions and
this +akes the+ feel confident enou&h to tackle +ore difficult /uestions later.
Cultural and Personal Choice Questions
%he second part of the handout should contain /uestions that can ,e used to
,rin& attention to cultural differences in packa&in&, si9es, and pricin&.
#uthentic +aterials often contain references to cultural e"ents such as
holidays, and /uestions can ,e used to ,rin& these to the students6 attention.
:uestions which re/uire one word or written answers could ,e used at this
sta&e. 5urther+ore, students are fa+iliar enou&h with the +aterial at this
point to answer personal choice /uestions. %hese /uestions usually re/uire
the students to choose ite+s fro+ the +aterial or a course of action ,ased on
personal preference. %hese often lead to li"ely discussion ,ecause students
+ust a&ree on what answer to write.
Challenging Questions
%he third part should ha"e /uestions that are +ore challen&in& and ti+e
consu+in&. Because of the differences in a,ilities 'and so+eti+es luck), the
ti+e it takes students to co+plete a /uestion handout can "ary considera,ly.
%he +ore challen&in& /uestions at the end of the handout tend to work as
6e/uali9ers6 and slow down faster students so slower students can catch up.
:uestions can in"ol"e readin& the s+all print, ,e especially detailed, or
in"ol"e deducti"e reasonin&. 0hen students are workin& on the challen&in&
/uestions they often ,e&in to co+pare their pro&ress to that of their
nei&h,ors6. ;eli,erately +isleadin& 6red herrin&6 /uestions add to the
co+petiti"eness while de"elopin& the students6 critical thinkin&.
Types of Questions and Sample Questions
Multiple Choice:
1. 8ow +any Navel Oranges can you ,uy for a dollar< a) = ,) > c) ?
@. 0hich is the cheapest< a) oran&e juice ,) &rapefruit juice c) to+ato
juice
One Word Answer:
1. 0hat country are the seedless &rapes fro+< AAAAAAAAAA
@. On the ,ack pa&e it says Chilean Asian Pears for B1.22 each. 0hat
do you think C#sian pearsC are called in (apanese< AAAAAAAAA
Written Answer:
1. 0hy are the straw,erries on the ,ack pa&e called California
Strawberries<
@. 8ow do you order coupons on the $nternet for this store<
Lists:
1. 4ou want to +ake sandwiches for your fa+ily. 0hat would you ,uy<
1. .tone Dround 0heat Bread 3 @ loa"es 3 B>.22
@. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3 B AAAAAA
=. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3 B AAAAAA
>. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3 B AAAAAA
?. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3 B AAAAAA
@. 4ou are ha"in& a party for fi"e friends at your house. 4ou can spend
only ?2 dollars. 0hat would you ,uy for the party<
1. Cape Cod Eotato Chips 3 > si* ounce ,a&s 3 BF.22
@. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3 B AAAAAA
=. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3 B AAAAAA
>. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3 B AAAAAA
?. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3 B AAAAAA
Factual:
1. 8ow +any lar&e ,rown e&&s can you ,uy for B1< AAAAAAAAA
@. 8ow +uch are two jars of Mayonnaise on pa&e G< B AAAAA
Analytical (multi-step):
1. 8ow +uch do 12 ears of Florida Super Sweet Corn and @ pounds
'l,.) of Fresh Ground Round cost< B AAAAAA
@. 0hich costs +ore, one l,. of Fresh Boneless Shar Steas or one l,.
of !hiting Fillets< AAAAAAAA
Personal Preference:
1. Look at the ,ack pa&e. 0hat fruit would you like to eat< AAAAAAAAAA
@. 0hat flowers do you want to &i"e to your +other on Mother6s ;ay<
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA B AAAAAA
Conversion:
1. 8ow +any ounces are there in a two liter ,ottle of Pepsi One< AAAA
@. 8ow +any &ra+s of Florida Red Potatoes can you ,uy for fi"e
dollars< One pound is a,out >?= &ra+s. AAAAAAAAA
Red Herring:
1. One Florida "ui#e Orange costs B@.22. %rue or 5alse 'HO%- %O
%-#C8-7.: %he ad"ertise+ent says one ,a& is B@.22.)
@. 0hich is cheaper, one l,. of !hiting Fillets or one l,. of Crun#hy
Cla$ Strip< AAAAAAAA
Obvious:
1. 0hat is the na+e of this store< AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
@. 0hat +onth is the Mother6s ;ay .ale< AAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Challenging:
1. 5ind so+ethin& that is cheaper in (apan than in the I.#. AAAAAAAA.
@. 0hat can you ,uy in a &lass jar that is usually sold in a plastic ,ottle
in (apan< AAAAAAAAA
Activities
%here are other +ethods of usin& authentic +aterials. .o+e of these can ,e
used as a supple+ent to the /uestion handout, or on their own, for "ariety.
8ere are four e*a+ples of effecti"e acti"ities with ,rief e*planations.
Word Search
%he students search for parts of speech such as adjecti"es on a &i"en pa&e
or search for certain cate&ories of thin&s. #n ad"anta&e of this acti"ity is that
students do not need identical copies of the authentic +aterial.
Crosswords
%he teacher prepares a crossword pu99le usin& words fro+ the handout. %he
/uestions for the handout can also ,e presented as crossword clues.
Crossword &eneratin& pro&ra+s found on the $nternet +ake this easy.
Personalizing
%he students write a list of purchases for an i+a&inary party usin& a
super+arket handout, plan a trip usin& a tra"el ,rochure or plan a +eal with a
+enu. %he students could also ,e asked to fill out a +ail order for+ with an
i+a&inary order of purchases for fa+ily +e+,ers, ,oyfriends, &irlfriends, and
the+sel"es.
Pair Practice
%he students ask and answer the printed /uestions on the handout and are
encoura&ed to ask their own /uestions. %he students can role play the parts
of custo+er and clerk either followin& a sa+ple con"ersation pro"ided ,y the
teacher or +akin& up their own.
Internet
%he $nternet can ,e used to pro"ide authentic +aterial as well. %he teacher
can search for sites that focus on a specific topic, +ake /uestions, and post
the+ online. %hese online lessons can ,e co+pleted ,y the students on their
own. #lthou&h the $nternet has +any ad"anta&es, it cannot replace the hands3
on, three di+ensional /uality of real +aterials ,rou&ht into the classroo+ ,y
the teacher.
.ee the followin& I7Ls for e*a+ples of online lessons:
0e, .ite Duides for -.L .tudents
http://iteslj.or&/&uides/
$nternet %reasure 8unts for -.L .tudents
http://iteslj.or&/th/
-5L/-.L Lessons Isin& 0e, .ites
http://iteslj.or&/t/ws/
%ra"el Elans for Con"ersation Eractice
http://aitech.ac.jp/offner/tra"elesson/
Conclusion
0hen used effecti"ely, authentic +aterials help ,rin& the real world into the
classroo+ and si&nificantly enli"en the -.L class. -*posin& the students to
cultural features &enerates a deeper understandin& of and interest in the
topic. On one hand, the students de"elop their a,ility to 9ero in on rele"ant
infor+ation, and on the other, they learn how to disre&ard what is not rele"ant.
#s students pool their indi"idual stren&ths they &ain confidence in ,ein& a,le
to function in an -n&lish3speakin& society.