Republic of the Philippines

CENTRAL BICOL STATE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE

Sta. Cruz Poblacion, Calabanga, Camarines Sur 4405
Website: www.cbsua.edu.ph
Email Address: ca.calabanga@cbsua.edu.ph
Trunkline: (054) 881-3258

PRINCIPLES OF LANGUAGE LEARNING MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT

Language learning materials development is a procedure of designing, implementing

and evaluating materials teachers used to facilitate implicit or explicit learning of the
language. In this module, we shall discuss the principles of language learning materials
development and why materials need to be developed in language teaching.

Learning Objectives
At the end of the lesson, students are expected to:
a. define keywords in language learning materials development;
b. explain the principles of language learning materials development of Tomlinson; and
c. write ones’ own principle in language learning materials development.

Discourse
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS  
 Instructional materials may be operationally defined as especially designed
classroom tools which contain instructions to learners and teachers, and which
specify each increment of learning: the content to be learned; the techniques of
presentation; practice and use of that content; and the modes of teaching associated
with those techniques (Johnson, RELC Journal)
 Instructional materials generally serve as the basis for much of the language input
learners receive and the language practice that occurs in the classroom (Richards)
 IMs are an important element within the curriculum and are often the most tangible
and visible aspect of it (Nunan, 1991)
 They can provide a detailed specification of content, even in the absence of the
syllabus (Richards and Rodgers, 1986).
 They can define the goals of the syllabus, and the roles of the teachers and the
learner within the instructional process (Wright, 1987)

LANGUAGE LEARNING MATERIALS

This term is used to refer to anything which is used by teachers or learners to

facilitate the learning of a language. This may be instructional, experiential, elicitative, and
exploratory (Tomlinson, 2001).

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 of
language teaching materials (Tomlinson, 2001). As a practical undertaking, it refers to
anything which is done by writers, teachers or learners to provide sources of language
input, to exploit those sources in ways which maximize the likelihood of intake and to
stimulate purposeful output.
MATERIALS EVALUATION

This term refers to attempts to measure the value of materials. In many cases, this is
done impressionistically and consists of attempts to predict whether or not the materials will
work, in the sense that the learners will be able to use them without too much difficulty and
will enjoy the experience of doing so.

LANGUAGE TEACHING

This is used to refer to anything done by materials developers or teachers to

facilitate the learning of the language. Teaching can be direct (in that it transmits
information overtly to the learners) or it can be indirect (in that it helps the learners to
discover things for themselves). It can also be pre-emptive (in that it aims to prevent
problems), facilitative (in that it aims to help the learners do something), responsive (in
that it responds to a need for language when it occurs) or remedial in that it aims to remedy
problems.

LANGUAGE LEARNING

Language learning can be explicit or implicit. Language learning can be of

declarative or procedural knowledge.

Role of Instructional Materials

 
Cunningsworth (1995) summarizes the role of materials (particularly course books) in
language teaching as a:
 
 resource for presentation materials
 source of activities for learner practice and communicative interaction
 reference source for learners on grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, etc.
 source of stimulation and ideas for classroom activities
 syllabus (where they reflect learning objectives which have already been
determined)
 support for less experienced teachers who have yet to gain confidence in the
language classroom.
 
Dudley-Evans and St John (1998) suggest that for teachers of ESP courses, materials
serve the following functions:
 As a source of language
 As a learning support
 For motivation and stimulation
 For reference

PRINCIPLES OF SLA RELEVANT TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF MATERIALS FOR THE

TEACHING OF LANGUAGES

1. Materials should achieve impact.

2. Materials should help learners feel at ease.
3. Materials should help learners develop confidence.
4. What is being taught should be perceived by learners as relevant and useful.
5. Materials should require and facilitate learner self‐investment.
6. Learners must be ready to acquire the points being taught.
7. Materials should expose the learners to language in authentic use.
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 8. Learners’ attention should be drawn to linguistic features of the input.
9. Materials should provide the learners with opportunities to use the target language to
achieve communicative competence.
10. Materials should take into account that the positive effects of instruction are usually
delayed.
11. Materials should take into account that learners differ in learning styles and affective
attitudes.
12. Materials should permit a silent period at the beginning of instruction.
13. Materials should maximize learning potential by encouraging intellectual, aesthetic
and emotional involvement which stimulates both right and left-brain activities.
14. Materials should provide opportunities for outcome feedback.

BENEFITS OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

Teachers
 Provide materials for presentation of new items for reinforcement, consolidation, and
practice
 Provide materials for teaching particular skills, particular areas of languages, and
other special difficulties
 Guide the teacher on the methods and techniques in introducing the lessons and the
series of exercises for teaching the concepts
 Give them more opportunity to make the best use of their time and skills to do more
real teaching
Students
 Concretize the syllabus
 Opportunity for individual work in or outside the classroom
 Follow a course of study with little help from teachers
 
FACTORS AFFECTING MATERIALS PREPARATION
1. The curriculum, syllabus, and learning competencies
2. Learners’ learning styles, aptitudes, proficiency
3. Pedagogical principles held by the teachers
4. Societal demands

AUTHENTIC VERSUS CREATED MATERIALS

 Authentic materials refer to the use in teaching of texts, e.g., photographs, video
selections and other teaching resources, that were not specially prepared for
pedagogic purposes.
 Created materials refer to textbooks and other specially developed instructional
resources.
Advantages claimed for authentic materials are (Phillips and Shettlesworth, 1978;
Clarke, 1989; Peacock, 1997):
  
¨  They have a positive effect on learner motivation because they are
intrinsically more interesting and motivating than created materials. There is a huge
source of authentic materials for language learning in the media and on the web, and
these relate closely to the interests of many language learners.
¨  They provide authentic cultural information about the target culture.
Materials can be selected to illustrate many aspects of target culture, including
culturally-based practices and beliefs and both linguistic and non-linguistic behavior.

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 ¨  They provide exposure to real language rather than the artificial texts found
in created materials, that have been specially written to illustrate particular
grammatical rules or discourse types.
¨  They relate more closely to learners’ needs and hence provide a link
between the classroom and students’ needs in the real world.
¨  They support a more creative approach to teaching. Teachers can
develop their full potential as teachers, developing activities and tasks that better
match their teaching styles and the learning styles of students.

However, critics of the use of authentic materials point out that: 

¨  created materials can also be motivating for learners. Published materials
are often designed to look like teenage magazines and other kinds of real-world
materials and may be just as interesting and motivating for learners.
¨  authentic materials often contain difficult language and unneeded
vocabulary items. Since they have not been simplified or written based on any
lexical or linguistic guidelines, they often contain language that may be beyond the
learners’ abilities.
¨  created materials may be superior to authentic materials because they
are generally built around a graded syllabus, and hence provide a systematic
coverage of teaching items.
¨  Using authentic materials is a burden for teachers. In order to develop
learning resources around authentic materials, teachers have to be prepared to
spend a considerable amount of time locating suitable sources for materials and
developing activities and exercises to accompany the materials.

DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT AND DISSEMINATION OF MATERIALS

1. Design Phase
a. Accumulated experience – the writer reviews or surveys existing
materials which can give useful information about the demands and the
needs in the field.
b. Rationale for the design – identifies the shortcomings of existing
materials to ensure that such shortcomings are not repeated in the present
material.
c. Conceptual Framework – combines major and minor concepts regarding
language learning, language teaching theories, and materials design
principles upon which the material is anchored.

Major concepts refer to the overall principles of second/foreign language learning and
teaching will affect every aspect of the design of the instructional materials.
                    
Minor concepts refer to the following:
 Organization of languages skills to be taught:
 Selection, gradation and arrangement of content:
 Methodology associated with the acquisition of these skills:
 Organization for the development and dissemination of the materials.
 
2. Detailed writing of the specification for the new materials – the specification
includes:
 Goals of the materials
 Subject matter, language content to be covered, and the skills to be acquired
through the content

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  Techniques and modes of presentation, practice, use and management associated
with the learning of the content
 Format of the materials including how learning units are divided
 Technical details for the writing of the materials

3. Developmental Phase
a. Writing the experimental materials
b. Internal evaluation of materials
c. Controlled tryout

4. Dissemination Phase
a. Extensive use of the new IM
b. Field evaluation of the IM
 
GUIDELINES FOR DEVELOPING MATERIALS
 
The following guidelines were based on the final report of the 5 th sub-regional workshop on
the development of basic literacy learning materials for ‘unreached’ population in South
Asia (1998)
 
1. Needs Assessment – Surveys and identifies the concerns of the target learners
because the objectives of the materials should be carefully drafted based on the
interests, problems, and need of the target learners

2. Development of curriculum grid – Helps materials developers and teachers to

know learners’ needs and to decide on the content and the level of materials to be
produced.
a. Goals of national literacy program
b. Core content based on national concerns
c. Locally relevant content based on the identified needs of the learners
d. Prescribed levels in the three Rs
e. Levels of literacy skills of learners

3. Selection of themes
4. Setting up objectives
5. Deciding on the format
a. Considerations
 Age group
 Location in which the IM is to be used
 Literacy level of target clientele
 Cost of development and use of the material
 Ability of the teachers to utilize the material
 Type of role that the material plays (i.e., motivational, instructional,
awareness building, informative, etc.)

b. Various formats
1. Written (e.g., booklet, flashcards, flip chart, posters, comics,
games, wallpapers)
2. Electronic media (e.g., audio tapes like songs, dramas, talks,
speeches, announcements, broadcasts: video presentation: radio
and television program, etc.)

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 3. Interactive formats (e.g., CD courseware, web-based courses, on-
line hyperlinks)
6. Selection and arrangement of content
7. Titles and captions
8. Scriptwriting
a. Script expressions, inclusive language
b. Short sentences
c. Illustration
d. Local language flavor
e. Reading flow
f. Attractive layout

9. Illustrations (balanced and inclusive)

10. Editing
 
MATERIALS EVALUATION
 
1. External Evaluation aims to examine the organization of the material as stated
explicitly by the author of the publisher. This type of evaluation analyzes what the
“book talks about itself” by looking at the ad blurb, the introduction, and table of
contents. Through external evaluation, information on the following may be called:
 Intended audience
 Proficiency level
 Context in which the materials are to be used
 Organization into teachable units
 Date of publication
 Author’s view on language learning and teaching
 Publisher

2. Internal Evaluation covers an in- depth investigation of the value of the material in
relation to its objectives, principles, lesson design, and assessment procedures. At
this stage, the evaluator analyzes the extent to which claims in the introduction and
blurbs actually match up with the internal consistency and organization of the
materials. In order to perform effective internal evaluation of the material, at least two
units of a book or a set of materials need to be inspected. The following information
may be analyzed:
 Presentation of the skills in the material
 Grading and sequencing of skills
 Authentic or artificial recordings
 Authentic or artificial dialogues for speaking
 Relationships of tests and exercises to learner needs and course content
 Provisions for different learning styles and self-study.
 Motivation for the learners

3. Overall Evaluation analyzes the value of the material in relation to its usability,
generalizability, adaptability and flexibility.
 Usability – How far could the material be integrated into a particular syllabus
as ‘core’ or as supplementary material?
 Generalizability – How much of the material could be used by the individual
or by a group of people?
 Adaptability – Can parts be added/extracted/ used in another context or
modified for local circumstances?

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  Flexibility – How rigid are the sequencing and grading? Can the material be
used in different ways? Can they be entered in different parts?
 
EVALUATION OF SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE
TEACHING
Topic: Inclusivity in Materials Preparation and Evaluation

Inclusivity – the concept of appropriating for the ‘marginalized’ sector of the society
 Handicapped (with physical, emotional and mental/learning disabilities0
 Children (age
 Women (gender)
 Indigenous people (ethnicity)
 People of Color (race)
 The poor, The third world (economics)

Inclusive Curriculum
An inclusive curriculum
 develops an awareness of the issues of marginalization
 voices the concerns of the marginalized sector
 is sensitive to and responsive of the needs of the marginalized – the subaltern
 enhances critical thinking through issue-based teaching and learning processes
 generally, employs
o contact learning
o portfolio assessment
o multiple intelligences theory
o cooperative learning strategies
o constructive principles

Why consider Inclusivity in Materials Preparation and Evaluation?

 Language determines thought and behavior patterns of people
 Language reflects values of a society
 Instructional materials have lasting influences in propagating sexism through
linguistic bias, stereotyping, invisibility, trivialization and fragmentation (Sadker,
Sadker and Long in Banks and Banks, 1989)
 Instructional materials have a way of perpetuating stereotypes
 Practices that propagate marginalization
 
Absence/Omission – women and other marginalized sectors are nowhere to be
found in books, commercials/advertisements, the mass media and other instructional
materials
 
Silencing – the marginalized are there represented/drawn/mentioned but given
passive roles (e.g., listener, pained/abused/victimized, helper, no line at all)

Trivialized – presented but rendered unimportant; given stereotyped roles like ailing
mother, hopeless maidens, forlorn princess, etc.
 
Fragmentation – viewing the contributions of the marginalized as phenomenal (e.g.,
Woman doctor operates Siamese twins; Woman Astronaut lands on the moon)

 Studies prove that in various instructional materials, the marginalized have been

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 o Stereotyped (damsels in distress, loving wives, sacrificing mothers, poor girls,
etc.)
o Omitted (in textbook pictures/graphics, in clipart)
o Silenced (present but not given a voice)
o Trivialized (present but given passive roles)
o Fragmented (victories rendered as supernatural/phenomenal)

 Human rights code, the Philippine Constitution declare honouring the human rights
of children, women, the handicapped
 Communication symbols evolve to meet human needs; equality issues influence
communication symbols
 Sex-role restrictions – out of date and unfair
 Self-fulfilling prophecy of women’s “inferiority” and “failure”
 Loss of potential contribution of women to society
 Non-sexist communication can be natural, graceful, grammatically correct

Characteristics of Inclusive Instructional Materials

 Devoid of Stereotypes
 The experiences of women, children, people of color, the handicapped, the poor, etc.
are
o Represented not voiced
o Voiced not silenced
o Rendered important and not trivialized nor fragmented
 Replete with alternative roles
 Use non-sexist language
 Provide insights on multiculturalism and diversity
 Issue-based, content area related, contextualized, authentic
 Extra textual components like cartoons and other graphics are also inclusive
 Multicultural; free from ethnocentric/regional/racial bias

ADAPTING MATERIALS

Reasons for Adapting Materials

Instructional materials should generally be authentic and communicative, and even if they
are already nearly perfect, adaptation of materials nevertheless happens. Here are some
reasons for materials adaptation.
 Not enough grammar coverage in general
 Not enough practice of grammar points of particular difficulty to learners
 The communicative focus means that grammar is presented unsystematically
 Reading passages contain too much unknown vocabulary
 Comprehension questions are too easy, because they sound too much like written
material being read out
 Not enough guidance on pronunciation
 Subject matter inappropriate for learners for a particular age and intellectual level
 Photographs and other illustrative materials not culturally acceptable
 Number of materials too great or too little to cover in the time allocated
 No guidance for teachers on handling group work and role play activities with a large
class
 Dialogues are too formal, and not really representative of everyday speech
 Audio material difficult to use because of problems with room size and technical
equipment
 Too much or too little variety in the activities

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  Vocabulary list and a key to the exercise would be helpful
 Accompanying tests needed
 
Principles and Procedures for Adapting Materials
 Personalizing materials refers to increasing the relevance of content in relation to
learners’ interest and their academic, educational or professional needs.
 Individualizing addresses the learning styles of both the individuals and of the
members of a class working together.
 Localizing takes into account the international geography of English language
teaching and recognizes that what may work well in one region may work in another.

Points to remember in adapting materials:

1. Adaptation can be seen as a kind of matching process or ‘congruence’ where
techniques are selected according to the aspect of the material that needs alteration.
2. Content can be adapted using a range of techniques; or conversely, a single content
technique can be applied to different content areas.
3. Adaptation can have both quantitative and qualitative effects.
4. Techniques can be used individually or in combination with others.

ADAPTING TEXTBOOKS

Most teachers are not creators of teaching materials but providers of good materials.
Dudley-Evans and St. John (1988) suggest that a good provider of materials will be able to:
1. select appropriately from what is available
2. be creative with what is available
3. modify activities to suit learners’ needs
4. supplement by providing extra activities (and extra input)
 
Commercial textbooks can seldom be used without some form of adaptation to make
them more suitable for the particular context in which they will be used. This adaptation
may take a variety of forms.

 Modifying content. Content may need to be changed because it does not suit the
target learners, perhaps because of factors related to the learners’ age, gender,
social class, occupation, religion, or cultural background.

Modifying (including re-writing and restructuring) refers to the internal change in the
approach or focus of an exercise.
 Re-writing is done when some linguistic content needs modification. It
is currently the most frequently done because there is a need for the
materials to be ‘more communicative’.
 Re-structuring applies to classroom management. For many teachers
who are required to strictly follow a coursebook, changes in the
structuring of the class are sometimes the only kind of adaptation that
is realistically possible.
 
Modifying tasks. Exercises and activities may need to be changed to give them additional
focus. A listening activity may focus only on listening for information, so that students listen
a second or third time for a different purpose. An activity may be extended to provide
opportunities for more personalized practice.

 Adding or deleting content. The book may contain too much or too little for the
program. Whole units may have to be dropped, or perhaps sections of units
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 throughout the book omitted because a course may focus primarily on listening and
speaking skills, and hence writing activities in the book will be omitted.
 Reorganizing content.  A teacher may decide to reorganize the syllabus of the
book, and arrange the units in what she considers a more suitable order.
 Addressing omissions. The text may omit items that the teacher feels are
important. For example, a teacher may add vocabulary activities or grammar
activities to a unit.
 Extending tasks. Exercises may contain insufficient practice, and additional practice
tasks may need to be added.
 Expanding brings about a quantitative change. That is, expanding adds to the
methodology by moving outside it and developing it in new directions, for instance by
putting in a different language skill or a new component.
Deleting (subtracting and abridging)
·         Subtracting means reducing the amount of the material
·         Abridging happens when the material is not only subtracted but is
replaced with something else that does not alter the balance of the lesson or
the material.

Example: The material contains a discussion section at the end of each unit. However, the
learners are not really proficient enough to tackle this adequately, since they have learned
the language structures but not fluency in their use. The syllabus and its subsequent
examination do not leave room for this kind of training.

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