Adapting Materials

Adapting Materials
•We have discussed in the previous section some
factors in the evaluation of materials which help us
decide whether a given set of course materials is fit
to be taken/adopted for a teaching programme.
•We have also seen how teachers very often do not
have an active role to play in the selection or
evaluation of materials.
 Adapting Materials
•Adaptation, thus, is a process dependent upon
and subsequent to the process of adoption. It
involves consideration of possible changes that
have to be made in the materials so that they can
be worked with in a balanced way according to
the obiectives of a specific teaching situation.
Adapting Materials
• The changes can be effected in terms of
deleting or adding portions, modifying,
simplifying or recordering parts so that the
materials can match up to the needs,
expectations and proficiency level of learners.
Adapting Materials
• Since, it is essentially a process of matching what is given' with 'what
should be given' in a proper context, it must form part of a good
teacher's repertoire of activities. Think of your own experience of
teaching a small child. Did you need to change or reword an
exercise? Did you simplify a question by splitting it into two parts?
Did you use an example that was not given in the text? If you did
these, you adapted the materials by adding, deleting, modifying and
simplifying portions for their more effective use.
Reasons for
Adapting
Why should adaptation -on the spot adjustment or a formal
reformulation leading to rewriting or revision-be necessary at aill? Think
of probable situations when the material does not lend itself to effective
implementation. Here are some examples
1. A reading passage containing too many new and
different vocabulary items. What is to be done?
Select a small number of new words and explain each of
them. Teach as many new words as you can. Let children
have an alternative passage. Simplify the passage using
only a limited number of new words.
 2. There is no grammar or plenty of it, at the end
of a lesson. Some grammar points have not been
adequately exemplified.

3. Comprehension questions are too simple, or too few,

and the ones given test only factual comprehension without real
understanding.

4. The subject matter of some passages is

inappropriate to the intellectual level of the group.
Should those passages be deleted or modified?
5.There is unsuitable cultural loading of the content and
children should not be exposed to it. If instances of this nature
are too many, the entire book may have to be replaced.

6.The size of the material is unmanageable in

the time available.

7. There is no variety in the exercises and activities

and classroom interaction remains dull and
uninspiring.
 How are the situations to be remedied?
• The remedy lies, one hopes, in the techniques applied to content to
bring about changes in it. Some changes can be made by
personalising ', 'individualising' or localising' the content.
Personalising the content refers to increasing its relevance in
relation to the learner's interests and educational needs.

Individualising the content refers to bringing it in line with

learner's style of learning, both individually (wherever possible)
and collectively.

Localising the content implies lending it

a touch of locàl colour or making it appear familiar in relation
to the cultural as well as geographical features of the region.
Then there are other techniques/procedures that can be used to change the
content according to one's requirements. The techniques can be used one at
a time or in combination with one
another depending upon the changes required. Consider the
following in particular.

Creating Materials
✓Adding - Adding implies supplying some more exercises for better
exemplification. At the end of every text, for instance,there is a set of five or
six comprehension questions. The teacher can
supply many more keeping in mind the time schedule. The teacher thus is
adding to the given quantity of content by extending it.
✓Deleting - Deleting or omitting is the opposite of
adding or extending. Instead of putting in more,
something is taken out of the content because it is
repetitive, not quite appropriate or simply too elaborate.

✓Modifying- Modifying the content is to introduce

'internal' changes in it, like changing the focus of an
exercise or text by means of rewriting parts of it or
restructuring the class management. Modifying is much
more than simple adding or deleting in qualitative terms.
✓Simplifying - Simplification is something that happens,
or many happen, in every classroom when teachers and
learners are working with the materials. Simplification refers
to the act of making items - instructions, explanations,
questions, texis - appear simpler than they are in the original.

✓Reordering- Reordering means 'reworking' of a course

book by changing the sequence of its units, or changing the
sequence of presentation within a single unit. This is not
always necessary if the materials have been subjected to
careful inspection before adoption.
Adapting materials through
adding, deleting or simplifying is of
great practical value because it makes the
content more relèvant to the learners.
Evaluation and adaptation of materials are
supportive of each other and both develop
from an understanding of the features of the
syllabus and the organisational principles of
materials.
 THANKS
White space is an advanced method of design. It is a blank space. It is the most common in minimalist design. Keeping white space sounds and then use

it properly most common in minimalist design. Keeping white space sounds very simple and then use it properly