University of Warwick
Centre for Applied Linguistics
MA programmes
ELT Professional Practice: Presenting Materials
Reading:
Littlejohn, A. (2011) ‘The Analysis of Language Teaching Materials: Inside the Trojan
Horse’ in Tomlinson (ed.) Materials Development in Language Teaching (2nd ed.)
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
McGrath, I. (2002) ‘Using the Real’ in Materials Evaluation and Design for Language
Teaching Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press: Chapter 6
References:
Grellet, F. (1981) Developing Reading Skills Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Maley, A. (2011) ‘Squaring the Circle - reconciling materials as constraing with
materials as empowerment’ in Tomlinson (ed.) Materials Development in
Language Teaching (2nd ed.) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
McGrath - Key Points
McGrath discusses the issues around choosing authentic materials, either to
supplement a coursebook or as the main content for a course. He summarises the
conditions for language learning as:
1) Exposure to suitable (ie good quality and appropriate) examples of language in
sufficient quantity
2) Opportunities to engage with the language samples and other language users
3) Motivation either independent of the materials and tasks given by the teacher,
or deriving from them
4) Feedback in the sense that the learner can evaluate their output, either
indirectly (for example by being understood) or directly by being corrected.
The advantage of using real materials may be that it stimulates learners to want (and
feel confident) to continue ‘communicating and learning outside of class’.
Material and Text Types
Authentic
Written
Newspaper/ magazine article
Wikipedia text
Blog
Play, novel, poem
Report, diagram
Travel brochure
Etc. (huge range….)
Spoken
News report
YouTube video
Song
TV documentary
Soap opera episode
Etc.
Pedagogic
Coursebook text
Exercises
Etc.
Scripted dialogue
Drill
Etc.
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McGrath refers to Francoise Grellet and Alan Maley who have both developed
approaches to creating exercises from source material (see references above).
Francoise Grellet’s table of different ways that a reading text can be exploited
(1981:12-13)
Reading Comprehension exercise types:
Reading techniques
 Sensitivity exercises
 Reading Speed exercises
 Reading skills exercises
Aim of text
 Function of text exercises
 Organisation of text exercises
 Themes of text exercises
Understanding meaning
 Non-linguistic response exercises
 Linguistic response exercises
Assessing the text
 Text evaluation exercises
Maley gives a useful list of different ways that ‘raw texts’ can be exploited for language
learning. McGrath expands the list to twelve (see p.113 for more detail):
1. Expansion (students add something to the text)
2. Reduction (Students shorten the text in some way)
3. Media Transfer (students translate the text into a different medium)
4. Matching (students match the text to something)
5. Selection / Ranking (students select or rank texts or parts of the text)
6. Comparison / Contrast (students identify points of similarity or difference)
7. Reconstruction (students reconstruct the original text which has been
reordered, gapped or presented in a different medium)
8. Reformulation (students express the same meaning in a different form)
9. Interpretation (students engage with the text on a personal level)
10. Creating text (students use the text as a starting point to create their own text)
11. Analysis (students carry out a linguistic analysis of the text)
12. Project work (students use the text for a more extended practical activity)
McGrath also discusses the use of the Internet and the possible problem of an
assumption that access to information is the same as knowledge / learning of that
information. He has a reservation about: “the assumed relationship between random
use and learning” (p.125). The chapter ends with advice on how to design materials
from the Internet.
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Littlejohn - Key Points
The main focus of the Littlejohn chapter is to provide a principled framework for
analysing material. The framework is designed for looking at coursebook material but it
can also be useful for exercises and materials taken from the Internet. The basic
questions on three levels are:
1) What is there?
this leads to an objective description of the
published material in terms of its physical aspects
and the instructional steps
2) What is required of users?
this is more subjective and requires an analysis of
the content and different tasks given to learners
3) What is implied?
this is again subjective and requires the teacher to
deduce the aims behind the materials, sequencing
and the roles given to the teacher and learners
Littlejohn gives a useful way of analysing tasks for the second question:
What is the learner expected to do?
A. Turn-take (Initiate? A scripted reponse?)
B. Focus (Language system? Meaning? Relationship between two?)
C. Mental Operation (Decode information? Select? Hypothesise? Repeat?)
Who with? (no one? An individual? Whole class?)
With what content?
A. Input to learners (Form? Source? Nature?)
B. Output from learners (Form? Source? Nature?)
According to Littlejohn, a principled study of material design can lead to other benefits,
beside the main aim of selecting what to use in the classroom. Materials designers can
use the framework to check that their aims are borne out by the content and
methodology offered. Teachers can use it to understand the teaching-learning
relationship better, to work out why some tasks ‘work’ and others fail, and perhaps to
know themselves better as teachers. Finally researchers can use the model as a basic
framework for data collection.
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