FACTORS TO CONSIDER IN WRITING IMs (ORNSTEIN)

1. UNDERSTANDING
It requires matching the materials to the learners’ abilities and prior knowledge. If
students do not understand the materials, frustration sets in, making learning
more difficult. The teacher/writer must know whether the materials are suited to
the level of the students and whether they will understand those.Thus, the
teacher/writer must provide for background lessons and check-up activities and
exercises to assess students’ understanding.This is especially important for
younger and slower students and when introducing new concepts.

2. STRUCTURING/ CLARIFYING
It involves organizing the material so that it is clear to the students. It is
especially important when new subject matter is introduced, and when it is being
linked to the previous lessons.  Directions, objectives, and main ideas are
stated clearly. Internal and final summaries cover the content. Transition
between main ideas is smooth and well integrated.  Writing is not vague. 
Sufficient examples are provided.  New terms are defined.  Adequate practice
and review assignments reinforce new learning.

3. SEQUENCING
It refers to the arrangement of the materials to provide for continuous and
cumulative learning where complex concepts are taken only after prerequisite
skills and concepts have been mastered.There are four basic ways of
sequencing a material:  Simple to complex  Parts to whole  Whole to parts
 Chronological arrangements
4. EXPLAINING
it refers to the way headings, terms, illustrations, and summary exercises are
integrated with the content. Does the example illustrate major concepts? Are the
major ideas identified in the chapter objectives and overview? Do the headings
outline a logical development of content? Do the materials show relationships
among topics, events, facts to present an in-depth view of major concepts?The
students should be able to discover important concepts and information and relate
new knowledge on their own through the materials.

5. PACING
It refers to how much and how quickly the lessons in the textbooks are
presented.The volume or length of the materials should not overwhelm students,
but there must be enough to have an effect. As students get older, the amount of
materials can increase, the presentation can be longer and more complex and
the breadth and depth can be expanded.

6. REVIEWING
It refers to the extent to which the material allows students to link new ideas to
old concepts in the form of a review. High- achieving and older students can
tolerate more rapid pacing than low-achieving and younger students, thus less
proficient learners would need more review or linking than the more proficient
ones.
7. ELABORATING
Elaborating ensures that students learn better through a variety of ways.The idea
is to provide in the textbook opportunities for students to transform information to
one form to another, and to apply new information to new knowledge – by using
various techniques such as comparing and contrasting, drawing inferences,
paraphrasing, summarizing and predicting. A series of elaboration strategies help
students learn new materials.The author must provide students with a broad list
of questions (of comparing and contrasting, drawing, analogies, etc.)

8. TRANSFER OF LEARNING
Transfer of learning may be done in a number of ways.Transfer of learning maybe
concept-related, inquiry-related, learner or utilization-related. The first two
organizers seem to work best with intrinsically motivated students and the second
two best with students who needs to be extrinsically motivated. Since most
students need some extrinsic motivation, learner-related and utilization-related
materials will be more effective with majority of students.

AUTHENTIC VERSUS CREATED MATERIALS

 Authentic materials refer to the use in teaching of texts, e.g. photographs, video
selections and other teaching resources, that were not specially prepared for
pedagogic purposes.

 Created materials refer to textbooks and other specially developed instructional

resources.

ADVANTAGES FOR AUTHENTIC MATERIALS

They have a positive effect on learner motivation because they are intrinsically
more interesting and motivating than created materials.There is a huge source of
authentic materials for language learning in the media and on the web, and these
relate closely to the interests of many language learners.
They provide authentic cultural information about the target language. Materials
can be selected to illustrate many aspects of target culture, including culturally-based
practices and beliefs and both linguistic and non-linguistic behaviour. Advantages
claimed for authentic materials are (Phillips and Shettlesworth, 1978; Clarke, 1989;
Peacock, 1997)
They provide exposure to real language rather than the artificial texts found in
created materials, that have been specially written to illustrate particular grammatical
rules or discourse types.
They relate more closely to learners’ needs and hence provide a link between the
classroom and students’ needs in the real world.
They support a more creative approach to teaching. Teachers can develop their
full potentials as teachers, developing activities and tasks that better match their
teaching styles and the learning styles of students.

CRITICS OF AUTHENTIC MATERIALS POINT OUT THAT:

 Created materials can also be motivating for learners. Published materials are
often designed to look like teenage magazines and other kinds of real-world
materials and may be just as interesting and motivating for learners.
 Authentic materials often contain difficult language and unneeded vocabulary
items. Since they have not been simplified or written based on any lexical or
linguistic guidelines, they often contain language that may be beyond the learners’
abilities. However, critics of the use of authentic materials point out that:
 Created materials may be superior to authentic materials because they are
generally built around a graded syllabus, and hence provide a systematic coverage
of teaching items.
 Using authentic materials is a burden for teachers. In order to develop learning
resources around authentic materials, teachers have to be prepared to spend a
considerable amount of time locating suitable sources for materials and developing
activities and exercises to accompany the materials.

ADAPTING MATERIALS

REASONS FOR ADAPTING MATERIALS

Instructional materials should generally be authentic and communicative, and even if
they are already nearly perfect, adaptation of materials nevertheless happens. Here
are some reasons for materials adaptation.
• Not enough grammar coverage in general
• Not enough practice of grammar points of particular difficulty to learners
•The communicative focus means that grammar is presented unsystematically •
Reading passages contain too much unknown vocabulary
• Comprehension questions are too easy, because they sound too much like written
material being read out
• Not enough guidance on pronunciation • Subject matter inappropriate for learners
for a particular age and intellectual level
• Photographs and other illustrative materials not culturally acceptable • Amount of
materials too great or too little to cover in the time allocated
• No guidance for teachers on handling group work and role play activities with a
large class • Dialogues are too formal, and not really representative of everyday
speech
• Audio material difficult to see because of problems with room size and technical
equipment •Too much or too little variety in the activities
•Vocabulary list and a key to the exercise would be helpful
• Accompanying tests needed

PRINCIPLES and PROCEDURES for ADAPTING MATERIALS

• Personalizing materials refers to increasing the relevance of content in relation to
learners’ interest and their academic, educational or professional needs.
• Individualizing addresses the learning styles of both the individuals and of the
members of a class working together.
• Localizing takes into account the international geography of English language
teaching and recognizes that what may work well in one region may work in another.

POINTS TO REMEMBER IN ADAPTING MATERIALS:

1. Adaptation can be seen as a kind of matching process or ‘congruence’ where
techniques are selected according to the aspect of the material that needs alteration.
2. Content can be adapted using a range of techniques; or conversely, a single
content technique can be applied to different content areas.
3. Adaptation can have both quantitative and qualitative effects.
4. Techniques can be used individually or in combination with others.

ADAPTINGTEXTBOOKS
1. select appropriately from what is available
2. be creative with what is available
3. modify activities to suit learners’ needs
4. supplement by providing extra activities (and extra input) Most teachers are not
creators of teaching materials but providers of good materials. Dudley-Evans and St.
John (1988) suggest that a good provider of materials will be able to:
1. Commercial textbooks can seldom be used without some form of
adaptation to make them more suitable for the particular context in which
they will be used.This adaptation may take a variety of forms.  Modifying
content. Content may need to be changed because it does not suit the
target learners, perhaps because of factors related to the learners’ age,
gender, social class, occupation, religion, or cultural background. Modifying
(including re-writing and re-structuring) refers to the internal change in the
approach or focus of an exercise.
2. . • Re-writing is done when some linguistic content needs modification. It is
currently the most frequently done because there is a need for the materials
to be ‘more communicative’. • Re-structuring applies to classroom
management. For many teachers who are required to strictly follow a
coursebook, changes in the structuring of the class are sometimes the only
kind of adaptation that is realistically possible.
3. Modifying tasks. Exercises and activities may need to be changed to give
them additional focus.A listening activity may focus only on listening for
information, so that students listen a second or third time for a different
purpose. An activity may be extended to provide opportunities for more
personalized practice.  Adding or deleting content.The book may contain
too much or too little for the program.Whole units may have to be dropped,
or perhaps sections of units throughout the book omitted because a course
may focus primarily on listening and speaking skills, and hence writing
activities in the book will be omitted.  Reorganizing content. A teacher may
decide to reorganize the syllabus of the book, and arrange the units in what
she considers a more suitable order.
4. Addressing omissions.The text may omit items that the teacher feels are
important. For example a teacher may add vocabulary activities or grammar
activities to a unit.  Extending tasks. Exercises may contain insufficient
practice, and additional practice tasks may need to be added.  Expanding
brings about a quantitative change.That is, expanding adds to the
methodology by moving outside it and developing it in new directions, for
instance by putting in a different language skill or a new component.
5. Deleting (subtracting and abridging) • Subtracting means reducing the
amount of the material. • Abridging happens when the materials is not only
subtracted but is replaced with something else that does not alter the
balance of the lesson or the material. Example:The material contains a
discussion section at the end of each unit. However, the learners are not
really proficient enough to tackle this adequately, since they have learned
the language structures but not fluency in their use. The syllabus and its
subsequent examination do not leave room for this kind of training.
IMPLICATIONS OFTHE COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH
1. ‘Communicative’ implies ‘semantic’, a concern with the meaning potential
of language.
2. There is a complex relationship between language form and language
function.
3. Form and Function operate as part of a wider network of factors.
4. Appropriacy of language use has to be considered alongside accuracy.
5. ‘Communicative’ is relevant to all four language skills.
6. The concept of communication is beyond the level of the sentence.
7. ‘Communicative’ can refer both to the properties of language and to
behavior.

EVALUATION OF SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE

TEACHING

TOPIC: INCLUSIVITY IN MATERIALS PREPARATION AND EVALUATION

Inclusivity- the concept of appropriating for the ‘marginalized’ sector of the society •
Handicapped (with physical, emotional and mental/learning disabilities) • Children
(age) • Women (gender) • Indigenous people (ethnicity) • People of color (race) •The
poor,The third world (economics)

An inclusive curriculum • develops an awareness of the issues of marginalization

• voices the concerns of the marginalized sector
• is sensitive to and responsive of the needs of the marginalized – the subaltern •
enhances critical thinking through issue-based teaching and learning processes
• generally employs:
-contact learning
- portfolio assessment
- multiple intelligences theory
- cooperative learning strategies
- constructive principles

INCLUSIVE CURRICULUMWHY CONSIDER INCLUSIVITY IN MATERIALS

PREPARATION AND EVALUATION?
• Language determines thought and behavior patterns of people • Language reflects
values of society
• Instructional materials have lasting influences in propagating sexism through
linguistic bias, stereotyping, invisibility, trivialisation and fragmentation (Sadker,
Sadker and Long in Banks and Banks, 1989)
• Instructional materials have a way of perpetuating stereotypes
• Practices that propagate marginalization
Absence/Omission – women and other marginalized sectors are nowhere to be
found in books, commercials/advertisements, the mass media and other instructional
materials
Silencing – the marginalized are there represented/drawn/mentioned but given
passive roles (e.g. listener, pained/abused/victimized, helper, no line at all)
Trivialized – presented but rendered unimportant; given stereotyped roles like ailing
mother, hopeless maidens, forlorn princess, etc.
Fragmentation – viewing the contributions of the marginalized as phenomenal
(e.g.Woman doctor operates Siamese twins;Woman Astronaut lands on the moon)
• Studies prove that in various instructional materials, the marginalized have been o
Stereotyped (damsels in distress, loving wives, sacrificing mothers, poor girls, etc.) o
Omitted (in textbook pictures/ graphics, in cliparts) o Silenced (present but not given
a voice) oTrivialised (present but given passive roles) o Fragmented (victories
rendered as supernatural/phenomenal)
• Human rights code, the Philippine Constitution declare honouring the human rights
of children, women, the handicapped • Communication symbols evolve to meet
human needs; equality issues influence communication symbols
• Sex-role restrictions – out of date and unfair
• Self-fulfilling prophecy of women’s “inferiority’ and “failure” • Loss of potential
contribution of women to society • Non-sexist communication can be natural,
graceful, grammatically correct

CHARACTERISTICS OF INCLUSIVE INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

• Devoid of stereotypes
•The experiences of women, children, people of color, the handicapped, the poor,
etc. are o Represented not voiced oVoiced not silenced o Rendered important and
not trivialized nor fragmented
• Replete with alternative roles
• use non-sexist language • Provides insights on multiculturalism and diversity •
Issue-based, content area related, contextualized, authentic
• Extra textual components like cartoons and other graphics are also inclusive
• Multicultural; free from ethnocentric/regional/racial bias