Materials development
Download as PPTX, PDF
3 likes1,881 views
Materials adaptation refers to altering teaching materials to better suit learners' needs, the teacher's demands, and administrative purposes. It involves changing internal characteristics of coursebooks to maximize appropriateness in different contexts. Adaptation aims to achieve congruence between materials, methodology, learners, objectives, language context, and the teacher's style. It may involve modifying language practices, texts, skills, or classroom management. Reasons for adaptation include materials not meeting goals, failing to engage learners, or lacking necessary resources.
Materials development
- 1. M A T E R I A L S A D A P T A T I O N Materials development
- 2. Material Adaptation Materials adaptation means matching materials with the learners needs, the teachers demands and administrations purpose. It is the process of altering materials to improve or make them more suitable for a particular type of learner or group of learners. To maximize the appropriacy of teaching materials in context, some of the internal characteristics of a course book need to be changed to suit particular circumstances better.
- 3. The context of Adaptation Adaptation and Adoption: Adaptation is essentially a process of matching. However, Adoption means no further action needs to be taken beyond that of presenting the material directly to the learners. This process is subsequent to and dependent on adoption. Adoption is concerned with whole coursebooks whereas adaptation concerns the parts that make up the whole. While designing materials, some changes might be occurred at some level in most teaching context.
- 4. External and Internal Factors: Like evaluation procedure, external and internal factors can focus on the process of adaptation. External factors comprise the overt claims made about materials, characteristics of particular teaching situations, learner characteristics, physical environment, resources, and class size. Internal factors consists of choice of topics, skills covered, proficiency level, Grading of exercises.
- 5. Congruence of Different Variables: Madsen and Bowen refer to this matching as the principle of congruence: Effective adaptation is a matter of achieving congruenceThe good teacher is constantly striving for congruence among several related variables: teaching materials, methodology, students, course objectives, the target language and its context, and the teachers own personality and teaching style.
- 6. The Scope of Adaptation: Scope means to what extent or specific areas we need to focus, for example, practicing language, texts, skills, management of classroom while adapting materials. Necessary modification and main aspects of changes are desirable in these areas.
- 7. Sources of Materials: Sources refers to from where we should adapt materials. Whether the materials are commercially produced and widely used internationally or they are designed at national level by ministry of Education; or if the materials are localized, produced by a team of teachers for a particular area. These things need to be kept in mind while adapting materials.
- 8. Availability of Resources: If the materials are available or not. Some teaching contexts are rich in resources such as coursebooks, supplementary texts, readers, computers, audio- visual equipment and consumables such as paper, pen and so on. Other context might be impoverished. While adapting materials, availability of resources is important.
- 9. Reasons for Adaptation Unable to fulfill the goals and objectives specified by national or local syllabuses fail to fulfill the goals and objectives of schools where the materials are used cannot be finished in the time available require facilities or equipment or other supporting materials that are not available not engaging the learners personality detrimental to the learners culture not cater for the learners interests
- 10. McDonough and Shaw (1993:86) have listed some of the possible areas of mismatch (Non- Congruence) identified by the teacher can be dealt with by adaptation are given below: Lack of Grammar Coverage: Sometimes, in the classroom, practices of difficult grammar points are avoided particularly. Besides, unsystematic presentation of grammar points appears while focusing on communication.
- 11. Below Standard Comprehension Question: Comprehension questions that are put into practice are not up to the mark. Thats why; answers can be lifted easily from the text with no real understanding. Inauthentic Listening Passages: Listening passages sound too much like- written materials are being read out. Inefficiency in Pronunciation: Teaching pronunciation is not carried out in the classroom in an appropriate way and the guidance that is provided on pronunciation is inefficient.
- 12. Inappropriate Subject Matter: According to the level of learners level of learners age and intellect, the subject matter is inappropriate. Cultural unacceptance: Photographs and other illustrative materials that are utilized in the classroom are culturally unacceptable. Amount of Materials: Because of time limitations, amount of materials are not definite (too much or too little) that creates mismatch with the allocation of lessons. Untrained Teachers: Teachers are unable to handle group work or role play activities with a large class. Informal Dialogues: Dialogues are unlikely to be informal or representative of everyday speech Usage Difficulty of Audio Materials: Audio materials are difficult to use in the class due to room size and technical equipment.
- 13. Rarity of Various activities: Activities that are implemented in the classroom are all alike and there is too much or too little variety in the application of materials. All aspects of the language classroom can be covered by the few examples above include: Aspects of language use Skills Classroom organization Supplementary materials