Module teaching and integrating language skills lesson 1

MODULE1. TEACHING AND INTEGRATING SKILLS
LESSON 15
Theme: Getting students to read purposefully. Improving students’ reading comprehension
Activity 1 How to select authentic texts?
Objective: to introduce criteria for selecting authentic texts
Time: 30 min
Materials: handout 1 (1 copy), 20 samples of authentic texts used in last lesson, board, markers
►Procedure:

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  (10 min) Distribute at least 5 samples of authentic materials (for example, postcards, travel brochures, newspapers etc) and one of the strips (A, B, C, D) from handout 1. Distribute to each group. Ask groups to choose a piece of reading material suitable for the specific group of students profiled in their handouts. Ask groups to be ready to present the chosen text and explain why they think this text is suitable for the group profiled in the handout.
  
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  (5 min) Invite groups to present their text and explain their choice to the whole group.
  
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  (5 min) Ask groups to make a list of criteria a teacher should employ in selecting authentic texts. Cue the discussion by suggesting one or two criteria, for example, relevance to the syllabus.
  
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  (10 min) Invite groups to share their criteria. Summarise all the criteria mentioned by groups on the board. Suggest additional criteria from the following list if necessary:
  

Possible criteria for the selection of authentic texts
1. Relevance (to syllabus, to learners’ needs).
2. Interesting topics which will encourage learners to respond.
3. Cultural appropriateness (e.g. absence of any phrases or pictures that can be offensive, also whether the text is culturally accessible)
4. The level of difficulty of the language in relation to the ability of the target group.
5. Cognitive demands (familiarity with the subject matter, key concepts).
6. Length

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  Make a transition to the next activity by saying that now that the texts have been selected participants will consider types of tasks which they can design to prepare the text for classroom use.