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Effective Ways t o Use Authentic Materials w ithESL/EFL Students

Charles Kelly, Lawrence Kelly, Mark Offner and Bruce Vorlandhttp://aitech.ac.jp/ ckelly/ ! http://aitech.ac.jp/ lkelly/http://aitech.ac.jp/ offner/ ! http://aitech.ac.jp/ "orland/

#ichi $nstitute of %echnolo&y '%oyota, (apan) %his paper e*plains how authentic +aterials can e effecti"ely used in the - L classroo+. -achpair of students is &i"en a copy of the authentic +aterial acco+panied y a set of uestions a outthe contents of the handout. tudents work to&ether with a partner to e*tract pertinent infor+ationthat is necessary to answer the uestions.

The Authentic Materials

Background

0e ha"e een usin& authentic +aterials for o"er 12 years and ha"e foundthat they co+ple+ent -n&lish classes y enli"enin& the class and creatin& a+ore positi"e attitude toward learnin&. 0e now ha"e an e*tensi"e collectionof +aterials that include +enus, +aps, newspaper inserts, storead"ertise+ents, tra"el rochures, catalo&s, phone ooks, real estatepa+phlets, and "arious pa+phlets of si&htseein& and tourist infor+ation. 0eha"e found that usin& sets of +aterials are particularly appealin&. # set couldinclude a +ap, a tra"el &uide, a +enu, and a store ad"ertise+ent fro+ the

sa+e town 33 all of which are interwo"en, i++ersin& the student in a+ultidi+ensional -n&lish e*perience.

Choosing Authentic Materials

%here are se"eral i+portant points to consider when choosin& authentic+aterials. 4ou should +ake sure that you ha"e enou&h copies of the+aterials to e used so that each student or pair of students can ha"e a copyto use. $t is est not to use +aterial with too +any pa&es, unless the pa&esare clearly nu+ ered for easy reference. $f you plan to use the sa+e+aterials in +ore than one class, it is i+portant that they e hardy enou&h towithstand a lot of handlin& and they should e easily refolded and put ackto&ether. Materials with +ultiple pieces or pa&es that fall out or co+e apartshould e a"oided. #lso, keep in +ind that so+e +aterials are +ore easilydated than others. 5or e*a+ple, last season6s catalo& does not ha"e thesa+e i+pact as a current one which is filled with ite+s which the studentcould actually order. # +enu, on the other hand, can e used as lon& as theprices re+ain conte+porary. tudents are &enerally uninterested in speciale"ents, for e*a+ple an -*po, that ha"e already past. 7e+e+ er to choose+aterial that is appropriate for the students6 le"el. 8owe"er, a certain a+ountof adjust+ent can e +ade dependin& on the type and le"el of uestionsused in the acco+panyin& uestion handout.

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Using Authentic Materials

0hen we first e&an usin& authentic +aterials, we handed out +aterials toeach student and had the+ work indi"idually. 8owe"er, e*perience has shownthat ha"in& students work in pairs is a etter approach ecause they tend to

e +ore enthusiastic and work harder. 0e &i"e each pair the authentic+aterial and a uestion handout. $nterestin&ly, the student with the stron&erco++and of -n&lish is not necessarily the one who is a le to e*tract the +ostinfor+ation fro+ the +aterial. tudents of different a ilities tend toco+ple+ent one another and, as a result, do not &et o&&ed down easily.

tudents tend to contri ute indi"idual stren&ths to the co+pletion of the task.0e usually tell students that uestion handouts will e collected since thiskeeps the+ +ore focused on the co+pletion of the e*ercise. %he teacher6spersonal anecdotes and other ack&round infor+ation should e shared

efore the students e&in concentratin& on the +aterial.

#fter the authentic +aterial has een distri uted, we &i"e a rief e*planationand point out, for e*a+ple, the i+portance of the ta le of contents in apa+phlet or the le&end in a +ap. 0e point out s+all print and other parts ofthe +aterial that are easily +issed. 0e ha"e found that pointin& out (apanesewords and products raises the le"el of interest in the +aterial. %his is a &oodti+e for the teacher to e*plain +easures, a re"iations, and difficult wordsand e*pressions.

0hile the students are workin& on the assi&n+ent, we help the+ yanswerin& uestions and co++entin& on their work. %his is also a &ood

chance to &i"e hints to those who are stuck on a particular uestion.Once the allotted ti+e is up, we collect the +aterial alon& with the uestionhandout and &o o"er the difficult uestions with the class. $f the handouts areto e factored into the students6 &rades, it is a &ood idea to +ake sure theyha"e a chance to work with "arious partners o"er the course of the se+ester.

Putting the Question Handout Together

5or the authentic +aterials to e effecti"e, the uestions +ust e wellconstructed to 'a) &i"e the students the opportunity to practice -n&lish, ' )help the students &ain confidence in their -n&lish a ility, 'c) e*pose thestudents to cultural differences and custo+s, and 'd) help the studentsde"elop their a ility to find pertinent infor+ation uickly.

Tour Questions

%he first part of the uestion handout should contain easy +ultiple choice orfill3in factual uestions. %hese uestions &i"e the students a 6tour6 of the+aterial and e*poses the+ to a "ariety of uestion types. %he students &ainan o"er"iew of the +aterial as they answer these initial easy uestions andthis +akes the+ feel confident enou&h to tackle +ore difficult uestions later.

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Cultural and Personal Choice Questions

%he second part of the handout should contain uestions that can e used torin& attention to cultural differences in packa&in&, si9es, and pricin&.

#uthentic +aterials often contain references to cultural e"ents such asholidays, and uestions can e used to rin& these to the students6 attention.

uestions which re uire one word or written answers could e used at thissta&e. 5urther+ore, students are fa+iliar enou&h with the +aterial at thispoint to answer personal choice uestions. %hese uestions usually re uirethe students to choose ite+s fro+ the +aterial or a course of action ased onpersonal preference. %hese often lead to li"ely discussion ecause students+ust a&ree on what answer to write.

Challenging Questions

%he third part should ha"e uestions that are +ore challen&in& and ti+econsu+in&. Because of the differences in a ilities 'and so+eti+es luck), theti+e it takes students to co+plete a uestion handout can "ary considera ly.%he +ore challen&in& uestions at the end of the handout tend to work as6e uali9ers6 and slow down faster students so slower students can catch up.

uestions can in"ol"e readin& the s+all print, e especially detailed, orin"ol"e deducti"e reasonin&. 0hen students are workin& on the challen&in&

uestions they often e&in to co+pare their pro&ress to that of theirnei&h ors6. ;eli erately +isleadin& 6red herrin&6 uestions add to theco+petiti"eness while de"elopin& the students6 critical thinkin&.

Types of Questions an d Sample Questions

Multiple Choice:

1. 8ow +any Navel Oranges can you uy for a dollar< a) = ) > c) ?@. 0hich is the cheapest< a) oran&e juice ) &rapefruit juice c) to+ato

juice

One Word Answer:

1. 0hat country are the seedless &rapes fro+< AAAAAAAAAA @. On the ack pa&e it says Chilean Asian Pears for 1.22 each. 0hatdo you think #sian pears are called in (apanese< AAAAAAAAA

Written Answer:

1. 0hy are the straw erries on the ack pa&e called CaliforniaStrawberries <

@. 8ow do you order coupons on the $nternet for this store<

Lists:

1. 4ou want to +ake sandwiches for your fa+ily. 0hat would you uy<

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1. tone Dround 0heat Bread 3 @ loa"es 3 >.22@. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3 AAAAAA =. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3 AAAAAA >. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3 AAAAAA ?. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3 AAAAAA

@. 4ou are ha"in& a party for fi"e friends at your house. 4ou can spendonly ?2 dollars. 0hat would you uy for the party<

1. Cape Cod Eotato Chips 3 > si* ounce a&s 3 F.22@. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3 AAAAAA =. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3 AAAAAA >. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3 AAAAAA ?. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 3 AAAAAA

Factual:

1. 8ow +any lar&e rown e&&s can you uy for 1< AAAAAAAAA @. 8ow +uch are two jars of Mayonnaise on pa&e G< AAAAA

Analytical (multi-step):

1. 8ow +uch do 12 ears of Florida Super Sweet Corn and @ pounds'l .) of Fresh Ground Round cost< AAAAAA

@. 0hich costs +ore, one l . of Fresh Boneless Shar Stea s or one l .of !hiting Fillets < AAAAAAAA

Personal Preference:

1. Look at the ack pa&e. 0hat fruit would you like to eat< AAAAAAAAAA @. 0hat flowers do you want to &i"e to your +other on Mother6s ;ay<

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAA

Conversion:

1. 8ow +any ounces are there in a two liter ottle of Pepsi One < AAAA @. 8ow +any &ra+s of Florida Red Potatoes can you uy for fi"e

dollars< One pound is a out >?= &ra+s. AAAAAAAAA

Red Herring:

1. One Florida "ui#e Orange costs @.22. %rue or 5alse 'HO%- %O%-#C8-7 : %he ad"ertise+ent says one a& is @.22.)

@. 0hich is cheaper, one l . of !hiting Fillets or one l . of Crun#hyCla$ Strip < AAAAAAAA

Obvious:

1. 0hat is the na+e of this store< AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA @. 0hat +onth is the Mother6s ;ay ale< AAAAAAAAAAAAAA

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Challenging:

1. 5ind so+ethin& that is cheaper in (apan than in the I #. AAAAAAAA.@. 0hat can you uy in a &lass jar that is usually sold in a plastic ottle

in (apan< AAAAAAAAA

Activities

%here are other +ethods of usin& authentic +aterials. o+e of these can eused as a supple+ent to the uestion handout, or on their own, for "ariety.8ere are four e*a+ples of effecti"e acti"ities with rief e*planations.

Word Search

%he students search for parts of speech such as adjecti"es on a &i"en pa&e

or search for certain cate&ories of thin&s. #n ad"anta&e of this acti"ity is thatstudents do not need identical copies of the authentic +aterial.

Crosswords

%he teacher prepares a crossword pu99le usin& words fro+ the handout. %heuestions for the handout can also e presented as crossword clues.

Crossword &eneratin& pro&ra+s found on the $nternet +ake this easy.

Personalizing

%he students write a list of purchases for an i+a&inary party usin& asuper+arket handout, plan a trip usin& a tra"el rochure or plan a +eal with a+enu. %he students could also e asked to fill out a +ail order for+ with ani+a&inary order of purchases for fa+ily +e+ ers, oyfriends, &irlfriends, andthe+sel"es.

Pair Practice

%he students ask and answer the printed uestions on the handout and areencoura&ed to ask their own uestions. %he students can role play the parts

of custo+er and clerk either followin& a sa+ple con"ersation pro"ided y theteacher or +akin& up their own.

Internet

%he $nternet can e used to pro"ide authentic +aterial as well. %he teachercan search for sites that focus on a specific topic, +ake uestions, and postthe+ online. %hese online lessons can e co+pleted y the students on theirown. #lthou&h the $nternet has +any ad"anta&es, it cannot replace the hands3on, three di+ensional uality of real +aterials rou&ht into the classroo+ ythe teacher.

ee the followin& I7Ls for e*a+ples of online lessons:

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• 0e ite Duides for - L tudents

http://iteslj.or&/&uides/• $nternet %reasure 8unts for - L tudents

http://iteslj.or&/th/• -5L/- L Lessons Isin& 0e ites

http://iteslj.or&/t/ws/• %ra"el Elans for Con"ersation Eractice

http://aitech.ac.jp/ offner/tra"elesson/

Conclusion

0hen used effecti"ely, authentic +aterials help rin& the real world into theclassroo+ and si&nificantly enli"en the - L class. -*posin& the students tocultural features &enerates a deeper understandin& of and interest in thetopic. On one hand, the students de"elop their a ility to 9ero in on rele"antinfor+ation, and on the other, they learn how to disre&ard what is not rele"ant.

#s students pool their indi"idual stren&ths they &ain confidence in ein& a leto function in an -n&lish3speakin& society.