Edelaine V.

Saycon BSED II-English

Language Learning Materials Development Activity 1

Kindly answer the following questions:

1. What is Materials Development?

Material development is basically dealing with selection, adaptation, and creation of

teaching materials (Nunan, 1991). In practice, it focused on evaluation, adaptation of published
materials and creation (development of teaching materials by teacher in line with the existing
syllabus).

2. What are 'materials'?

Materials, also known as teaching/learning materials (TLM) or instructional materials are

any collection of materials including animate and inanimate objects and human and non-human
resources that a teacher may use in teaching and learning situations to help achieve desired
learning objectives. Instructional materials may aid a student in concretizing a learning
experience so as to make learning more exciting, interesting and interactive. They are tools used
in instructional activities, which include active learning and assessment. The term encompasses
all the materials and physical means an instructor might use to implement instruction and
facilitate students’ achievement of instructional objectives. In short, materials are the aids used
by the teacher to help him/her in facilitating his/her lesson effectively.

3. What are the considerations to make a good teaching material?

The considerations to make a good teaching material are as follows:

a. Start by deciding what you want the students to know at the end of the lesson; this is
referred to as the cognitive objective. Also consider what you want the students to be able
to do at lesson's end, otherwise known as the behavioral objective. Establishing
objectives prior to creating the material will provide you with a better understanding of
what you are trying to accomplish.
b. Consider differing learning styles. Students learn more effectively when they are engaged
in their style of learning. Provide your students with a learning inventory to determine
whether your students are mainly visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learners.
c. Seek ways to integrate technology. Using technology increases student engagement.
When creating your materials, consider ways in which you could use available
technology. If you could show an online video or have students complete a digital
simulation, take advantage of the opportunity and use the technology available to you to
aid student learning.
 d. Instructional materials should support the educational philosophy, goals and objectives
of the District and the objectives of the curricular offering in which the materials will be
used.
e. Instructional materials should be appropriate for the age, emotional and social
development, and ability level of the students for whom the materials are selected.
f. Instructional materials should be diverse with respect to levels of difficulty, reader
appeal, and should present a variety of points of view.
g. Instructional materials should meet high standards of quality in factual content and
presentation.
h. Instructional materials should have aesthetic, cultural, literary, or social value. The value
and impact of any literary work will be judged as a whole, taking into account the
author’s intent rather than individual words, phrases or incidents.
i. Instructional materials should foster respect for men, women, the disabled, and minority
groups and should portray a variety of roles and life styles open to people in today’s
world. Instructional materials should foster respect for cultural diversity.
j. Instructional materials should be designed to motivate students to examine their own
attitudes and behaviors and to comprehend their own duties, responsibilities, rights and
privileges as participating citizens in a pluralistic society.
k. Instructional materials should encourage students to utilize higher order thinking skills
and to become informed decision-makers, to exercise freedom of thought and to make
independent judgments through examination and evaluation of relevant information,
evidence and differing viewpoints.
l. Instructional materials should be selected taking into account instructional materials
already available in the District in order to meet the above criteria and in order to replace
materials worn, obsolete or no longer appropriate. Licensed professional staff shall
provide for constant and continuing renewal of the collection not only by the addition of
up-to-date material, but by the judicious elimination of materials which no longer meet
needs or find use.
m. Select a delivery method. Determine how you want to present the material. Do you want
to make copies, or instead project the image onto a screen with an LCD projector?
Consider which delivery methods have proven effective with your students in the past, as
well as which method is the most appropriate match for the learning styles present in
your class.

4. Why do teachers need to design their own materials?

Teachers need to create effective teaching materials to ensure that students are learning to
their maximum potential. By designing or adapting their own teaching materials, enables the
teachers to take into account their particular learning environment and to overcome the lack of
‘fit’ of the course book.
 English classrooms are diverse places not only in terms of where they are situated, but
also in terms of the individual learners within each context. Teacher-designed materials can be
responsive to the heterogeneity inherent in the classroom. “Home-made” materials can increase
motivation and engagement in learning. It is greater choice, freedom and scope for spontaneity
when teachers develop their own materials. Further, teachers designing their own materials can
respond to local and international events with up-to-date, relevant and high interest topics and
tasks.

5. What are the principles that teachers need to adhere to when developing teaching
materials? Refer to the principles gathered by Tomlison in 2011.

Principles of second language acquisition relevant to the development of materials for the
teaching of languages:

 Materials should achieve impact

 Materials should help learners to feel at ease
 Materials should help learners to develop confidence
 What is being taught should be perceived by learners as relevant and useful
 Materials should require and facilitate learner self-investment
 Learners must be ready to acquire the points being taught
 Materials should expose the learners to language in authentic use
 The learners’ attention should be drawn to linguistic features of the input
 Materials should provide the learners with opportunities to use the target language
to achieve communicative purposes
 Materials should take into account that the positive effects of instruction are
usually delayed
 Materials should take into account that learners differ in learning styles
 Materials should take into account that learners differ in affective attitudes
 Materials should permit a silent period at the beginning of instruction
 Materials should maximize learning potential by encouraging intellectual,
aesthetic and emotional involvement which stimulates both right- and left-brain
activities
 Materials should not rely too much on controlled practice
 Materials should provide opportunities for outcome feedback