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Conclusion
From the start of this module, I put on the board that I wanted a ‘criteria for choosing’ materials as I saw myself as a teacher who favoured an eclectic approach, picking the best of everything but mainly in the shape of the coursebook. My wish for this criteria came up pretty quickly in the course when we looked at principles and frameworks in groups and came up with the following 5 principles:
Evoke reactions from teacher and learner alike
Materials should be relevant to the context of the learner
Materials should accommodate implicit learning
Materials should be perceived by learners as relevant and useful
Materials should encourage learners to apply their developing skills to the world beyond the classroom
The next thing is to look at how well these principles link up with the evaluation framework that I used with a colleague of mine while looking at a coursebook.Well, the first principle relates well to the topic content section of the framework and more specifically point 2 which is, “To what extent are the topics likely to engage the learners affectively?”The second principle links well with point 5 in the authenticity section, “To what extent does the course connect the learner’s learning experience in the classroom to their life outside the course?”
The third principle can’t directly be connected with any of the points of the evaluation framework which leads me to two possible scenarios, one being whether I should add a point related to this principle under the teachability section on the framework. The other possibility is whether this principle has any grounding to be kept on as a principal, but Ellis’ (2011) definition of a ‘focused task’, as something where learners are not necessarily always, “made aware of what feature they are supposed to be producing”, makes me think otherwise.Principle number 4 however can be linked with a multiple number of points on the evaluation framework such as point 5 in the flexibility section, “To what extent does the course cater for the needs of all the learners?”, point 4 in the authenticity section, “To what extent do the communicative activities have a real purpose?“, and point 5 in the topic content section, “To what extent do the topics relate to the ‘real’ life?”.Principle 5 is similar to principle 2 as it also links with point 5 in the authenticity section.What I’ve learnt most about this evaluation framework is after using it on my 2nd created material, the Ted Ed video lesson. This is when I realised the value of the framework because after I had used it, I saw at least 4 or 5 things I could do immediately to improve the material even more before even field testing it in the classroom. Without this evaluation, I wouldn’t have identified these things and therefore wouldn’t have had the mind to adapt it.That leads me on nicely to the adapting and supplementing part of the module which was useful for me for two reasons. The seminar was useful because it gave me the opportunity to see how the other teachers adapt and supplement a coursebook themselves but also, through the reading, I was able to find a great definition of all the adaptation and supplementation options from Maley’s (2011) article, ‘Squaring the circle’, which I could relate to from my own teaching:
Omission – take out inappropriate, offensive, or unproductive thing for a particular group.
Addition – add material, either in the forms of text or exercise material
Reduction – shortening an activity giving it less weight or emphasis.
Extension – lengthening an activity to give it an additional dimension.
Rewriting/modification – rewrite material to make it more appropriate, more ‘communicative’, more demanding, etc.
Replacement – replace material which is considered inadequate
Reordering – changing the order of the materials to a more logical or appropriate way, suitable to the class.
Branching – adding options to an existing activity or suggest alternative pathways through the activities.
4.Claire, E., & Clavarella, E. G. (1998). ESL Teachers Activities Kit
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