(by Edinson Arboleda)
The materials
designed for teaching English are often used as a coupling or connecting
element between the teacher and / or learner and the reality. Ideally all
teaching and learning of English language is maintain in contact with the real
life, but it is not always possible or desirable and therefore a number of
means, resources or materials that serve as bridge between what draw teaching
and learning and the real world. So the teaching material replaces reality and
tries to represent it in the best way possible, facilitating its
objectification. In general, when we talk about materials or learning
resources, we refer to a number of means or instruments that promote the
teaching and learning of English language.
According to Brian Tomlinson (1998) materials
refers to "anything which is used by teachers and learners to facilitate
the learning of a language" and "anything which is deliberately used
to increase the learners knowledge and or experience of the language".
“Materials could obviously be cassettes, videos, CD-Roms, dictionaries,
grammarbooks, readers, workbooks or photocopied exercises…. newspapers,
instructions given by a teacher….” (p.2). Materials are necessary and
sufficient conditions for teaching and learning. We need materials to support
our lessons and activate our learners.
Despite the
importance of materials and their impact on the learning process of English
language teaching, theory and research has neglected its study as regrets
Escudero (1982: 87): "The media (...) have not due attention enjoyed by
educational theory and research, obeying the borrowed more goodwill than
intuitionism and empiricism to understand scientifically rigorous approaches
its operation. "
But the
effectiveness of learning and teaching resources depends on how you use the
teacher and student. As such, it may be neither positive nor negative. They
depend on the methodology that is used with them.
As we know, there are various types of facilities
and resources for teaching and they all play an important role in certain
situations. The most used are:
· The overhead
transparencies, digital projector ("barrel")
· Textbooks,
consultation, exercise, etc.
· The language
laboratory, computer room and media room:
Recordings, films, radio, TV, videos, computer
programs, internet, etc.
· Magazines and
newspaper articles, "abstracts", news, features, announcements,
· The
franelograma and plastigrama; the "flashcard" and mobile labels
· Organization
charts, posters, murals, films, etc.
· Actual or
miniature objects
· "Realia"
coupons, tickets, flyers, brochures, forms, consulting, advertising, photos of
posters, clippings, etc.
· Slides, slides,
photos, postcards
· Travel to the
country, visits and excursions: visits to museums, monuments, native contacts,
etc.
The most
suitable materials are those that best reflect our conception of education and
that are consistent with the theories of learning that are most appropriate in
each context. Today, learning is conceived as an active and dynamic process
that involves selecting information, process and organizes it, relates it to
prior knowledge and experience we possess, use it in appropriate situations and
contexts, appreciate and reflect on the effectiveness of the results, etc. The
materials are to facilitate the progressive 'construction' of knowledge through
"significant" lessons that will enrich the complex cognitive
structure of students. Additionally, Littlejohn and Windeatt (1989 to 1990)
highlight the importance of materials and tasks that encourage reflection on
learning processes and metacognitive instruction that students learn to learn.
The materials
we use for teaching and learning English (or any language) need to be designed
in ways that favor the development of a) oral and written communication skills,
both as language and communication abilities, skills activities strategies and
procedures that promote the proper use of spoken and written English; b)
attitudes and values that favor certain autonomy and self-regulated learning and
c) self-evaluation of teaching and learning. To meet all these objectives must
be some alternating roles by teachers and students when using the materials for
the teaching and learning of English. The teacher will use the materials as a
source of information that students receive, select, organize and assimilate in
terms of their individual characteristics. Other times, the teacher will act as
a mediator or facilitator of learning and students who will, independently, and
with the help of the materials used as regulate and be responsible for what you
learn.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ü LITTLEJOHN, A. y WINDEATT, S. (1989). Beyond
Language Learning: Perspectives on Materials Design, en The Second
Language Curriculum. K. Johnson (ed.). Cambridge: C.U.P.
ü Richards, J. (1998). Textbooks: help or hindrance
in teaching?. Ch.7:125-140. in J.Richards, Beyond Training: Perspectives on
Language Teacher Education. Cambridge: Cambridge University
