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Vol.4Issue21ResearchPaper:Language
materialsandadaptationstrategieswithspecific
referencetoAligarhMuslimUniversitybyMalika
AnwarSiddiqui
ELTWeeklyVol.4Issue#21|May21,2012|ISSN09753036

ThispaperissubmittedbyMalikaAnwarSiddiqui,ResearchScholar,DepartmentofEnglish,AligarhMuslim
University,Aligarh,India.

Abstract

ThepresentpaperdealswithsignificanceofmaterialsinanESLsettingandfindingoutwaystoapplyadaptationstrategies
foreffectiveteachingofESLinanESLsettingwhereESListaughtbyanESLteacher.Itisbelievedthatapersonwhoisnot
anativespeakeroflanguageisnotproficienttoteachanysecondlanguagetothesecondlanguagelearner.Thescenariohas
changednow,especiallyinthesecondlanguagecountrieslikeIndiawhereitisspokenandlearntinalmostallpartsofthe
country.Learningalanguageservesamediumtocommunicateandthiseagernessaccelerateslearningenthusiasticallyall
overthenation.InIndianeducationsystemthereareseveralboardsthatregulateAcademicCalendarandproducestudy
materialsfromprimarytoseniorsecondarystandards.TheseEducationalBoardspreparebooksandmaterialsthatarevery
muchculturespecific.Forinstance,therearestateBoardslikeBiharBoard,AssamBoard,UttarPradeshBoardandothers.
TherearecentralboardssuchasCBSE,ICSEwhicharerunbythecentralgovernmentofIndia.InAMUschools,books
recommendedbyNCERTandCBSEarefollowedatSecondaryandSeniorsecondarylevels.Dependinguponthelearners
profilethereisaneedtogradetextbooksforbetterlearningofstudents.Thefocusofthepaperistounderstandthelanguage
materialsandimplicationofadaptationstrategiesinESL.

Learningalanguageisacomplexprocess.Itiseasiertospeakbutdifficulttolearntoreadandwrite.Manyreadersread
fluentlyintheirmothertongue(MT).Readinghabitsofmothertongueassist/influencereadinginsecondlanguage(SL).Itis
assumedthatthelearnerswhoareproficientinreadinginMTlearntoreadinSLmucheasierascomparedtothosewhodo
notreadintheirMT.However,thisnotionhasbeencriticizedbymanylinguists.ItisnotonlytheMToflearnersthat
influenceSLlearninghabits,itisthelanguageheisexposedtoattheverybeginningstageoflanguageacquisition,itcould
belanguageofthecountryheisresidingortheamountofexposureheisgettinginthelanguage.

ThevariablesthataffectSLdevelopmentsarethemajorproponentsinlearningbehavior.Cumminsetal.(1993)conducteda
studytodeterminetheeffectsofsocialandindividualfactorsinthedevelopmentofbilingualproficiency.Itwasconcluded

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thatattitudeissignificantinlearningSL.ThestudentsexpresseddesiretobefluentspeakersofPortuguese,Englishand
French,showedinclinationtowardsCanadianandPortuguesecultureandwerecomfortablewiththeirdualidentityas
PortugueseCanadians.TheyfavoredEnglishandregardedEnglishastheimportantlanguagetocommunicateoutsidetheir
community.(Cumminset.al1993)

ConsideringCumminset.al(1993)study,similareffectscanbeseeninteachingreadingtoSLreaders.Readingisnotjustan
ordinarybasicskillitdemandsknowledgeoftheworldandreferencefromschema.Readinginvolvesgeneratingmental
representationofcontentandinterpretationofthecontext.

Tickoo(2004)proposesthatamaturereadercomprehendsthetextusingtwotypesofknowledgetogainmeaningfromthe
text.Hehasaddedtwodimensionstothebackgroundknowledge.

1.Knowledgeofthelanguagesystem(KOLS):Thiscomprisesofthephonology,morphology,syntax,semantics,
graphemesandthewordorderetc.withKOLSareaderdecodesthetextrecognizingthewordsandsentencesand
readssuperficially.
2.Knowledgeoftheworld(KOW):Herethetextisapproachedbyusingtheknowledgeoftheworld.Thereaders
experienceandexposuretotheworldaccountsforcomprehensionofthetext.Afterrecognitionoflanguagepatternthis
knowledgeguidesincomprehendingthetext.

Learningrequiresamediumthroughwhichknowledgecouldbetransferred.Intodaysworldthereareplentyofteaching
andlearningmaterialsthatareavailableforteachersandlearners.Letusfirstunderstandwhatactuallymaterialsmean.

Whatdoesthetermmaterialsmeaninlanguageteaching?

Anythingthatisusedasameanstoimpartknowledgeiscategorizedasmaterials.Materialscanbeinphysicalforminthe
shapeofBooks,Newspapers,Handouts,Photocopiedpapers,Floppydisk,Compactdisk,Flashdrives,Memorycard,Audio
visualaids(CDs),Audioaids(CDs),PicturesandCardsetc.Materialscanalsobeintheformoflectureswheretheteacher
deliverslecturesandstudentslistentolecturetakingdownpointsforlaterstudyMaterialsaretheinstructionalinstruments
thatworkascatalystsinlearningprocess.Tomlinson(1998)hasdefinedteachingmaterialsas:

Anythingwhichisusedtohelptoteachlanguagelearners.Materialscanbeintheformofatextbook,a
workbook,acassette,aCDRom,avideo,aphotocopiedhandout,anewspaper,aparagraphwrittenon
whiteboard:anythingwhichpresentsandinformsaboutthelanguagebeinglearned.(p.xi)

Withthedevelopmentinappliedlinguisticstherehasbeenasignificantprominenceintheissuesrelatedtoteacher
education.Thereisacuteneedofteachertrainingprogramtofosterthetechnicalskillsessentialforteacherdevelopment
program.Itisessentialtofamiliarizethemwithnovelideasofusingthestudymaterialsdependingupontherequirementsof
ESLcontext.Materialsinschoolsorinanylearningsituationservethepurposeofbridgingthegapthatexistsbetween
teachersandlearner.Learnersrestoreandgaininformationfromthematerialstheyarestudying.Ateacherteacheswiththe
materialsinclassroombyadoptingdifferentstrategiesforexecutionofprescribedmaterialsbutsometimesteacherslackthe
requiredtechnicalskillstobridgethegap,itiswhens/heisunabletoutilizetheresources.

MaterialsinESLteaching

Materialsdeveloponeortheotherskill.Studymaterialshavetobedesignedaccordingtotherequirementoflearners.There
arevariousitemswhichareorganizedinasystematicwaytopresentsequentialflowinlearning.Moreovertheyarethe

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sourceofeffectivelanguagemodelandinput(Richards:2001)thatarerequiredtobeimplementedandadaptedtodevelop
essentiallanguageskillsandsubskills.Materialsarerequiredtobeexploredandstudiedtogainmaximumutilityofthe
languageitems.Forthisthemostsignificantskillsarethestudyskillswhichnecessitatedevelopmentofcertainsubskillsto
attainadegreeofassemblingdifferentstrategiesforlearninglanguage.Inthisageofexplosionofknowledge,materials
playpivotalroleinlifeofeveryESLlearner.

MaterialsforteachingESLclassroomare:

1.Adaptedtextsthetextsareadaptedforthelessadvancedlearnerstoteachthemparticulargenre.Forinstance
ShakespearesplayMacbethcanbeadaptedintheformofastorytoteachthemoralofbreachingthetrust.
2.SlightlyabridgedtextsOnlypartsoftextsthatseemdifficultareabridgedtosimplifytheconcept.
3.AuthentictextsNewspapers,magazines,brochurescouldserveasreallifematerialsforteachinglanguageforms.
4.CoursebooksThebooksarerecommendedtoteachinschoolsandcolleges.Thematerialspresentedaresequenced
andgradedwhichmeansshiftingfromsimpletocomplexlanguageitems.
5.Pictures,Graphs,TablesReadingisnotonlydonebyreadingalphabets,italsoinvolvesinterpretationofthenon
printtextwhichconveythemeaninginamosteconomicalmanner.Advertisementsareoneofthegoodexamplesof
suchmaterials.TheotherexamplecanbeGraphsdepictingriseandfallintheeconomyandschedulesoftrainarrival
anddeparture.

Materialsusedforteachingreadinginacademicslayemphasisonenhancingskillsrequiredforcomprehendingthetext.
Therearefactorslikewordrecognition,readingspeed,culturaldifferencesandmanyinthetextthatimpedein
comprehendingwrittenmaterialsforlearners.Learnersarenotabletogetfineinstructionstodevelopproficiencyinreading
.Therearesituationswhenmaterialsarenotutilizedandneglected,thusthelearnersremainpoorandunabletoget
professionalguidance.Thereforethequestionarises:

Whatarecontextsoftheneglectofmaterials?

1.Intheclassroomwheretheteacherisunabletoexplorethetextduetovariouslimitationse.g.lackofinterest,time,lack
oftrainingandpoorrapportbetweenteacherandlearners.
2.Intheclassroomamongthelearners,itisduetopoorinterestandlackofpositiveattituderesultinginlackof
motivation.
3.Intheclassroomwhenlearnersdonotfeeltheneedofmaterialsoranyreferencematerialsduetothesefactorsthey
lacksenseofurgencytocollectinformationandfeelsatisfiedwiththelimitedinformationtheyhavegained.
4.OutsidetheclassroomwherelearnersdonothavecommandinSLlanguagewhichdemotivatesthem.
5.Teacherslackingtheimpetustoteachmaterials.Toexploitmaterialstothemaximumutility,itisrequiredtobuild
readingconfidenceandreadingcompetence(Harmer:1983)amongthelearners.Theteacherisrequiredtohavethe
teachingconfidenceofreadingwhichdemandsteacherefficiencyinlanguageteaching.

Materialshavethesubstancetoteachanyskillprovidedthatthetechniquesandmethodemployedinthepedagogyoughtto
beaimedtoteachspecificskill.Teachingreadinginschoolsisthemostneglectedskillonthecontraryitisthemostwidely
usedskillinacademicsandprofessionaldevelopment.Inschools,learnersneedtoreadmaterials,booksandmaterialson
internettogaininformationandtoinfermeaningforbettercomprehension.InmostbooksprescribedbyCBSE,certain
linksareprovidedforthestudentsasreferencematerials.Theskillsofskimming,scanning,browsingarerequiredfor
locatingimportantinformationinmosteconomicalmanner.

MaterialsandAdaptation

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Materialsareacentralelementinteachinglearningencounters,notonlyinschoolsettingsbutathighereducational
contexts.Teachingrequiresamediumtotransfernewitemsthataretobelearntbylearners.EnglishLanguageTeaching
(ELT)hasarangeofdifferenttypesofsyllabiwhichareintegratedwithlanguageskills.Thebookscontaindifferent
materialsandexercisestodevelopskillsoflearners.Thereareentitiesthatcouldberestoredbylearnerswhenthe
instructorsarenotwiththem.Materialstendtodictatewhatistaught,inwhatsequenceand,towhatextent.Whileone
factoristheireffectivenessfortheclassroomcontext,anotherwillbehowtheteachersperceivethematerialsintermsof
learnersprofile.Itiswhentheyfeeltheneedofselfpreparedmaterialforlearners.Itisnotuncommonthatseveraltimesa
teacherfindsacontentofthetextnotsuitableforaparticulargroupandhenceitrequirescertainmodificationtobringits
clearmeaningforbettercomprehension.Thesemodificationsaredonetoachieveasenseofsimilaritybetweenthetextand
thelearner.AnymodificationinthetextbooksorinanylearningmaterialiscalledAdaptation.

Adaptationisoftenrequiredtoincreasemotivationforlearningbymakingthelanguagemorereal,thesituationsmore
relevant,theillustrationmorevividandinteresting.Itissometimesrequiredtoensuregreatereaseofacquisitionby
providingsufficientpractice,logicalexplanationgivingexamplesorexercisesthatareonthelevelofthelearner.Itisdone
toensureappropriate,accurateandeffectivecommunicationwhichaimstosetupabridgebetweenthelearnerandthe
materials.MadsenandBowen(1978)describeadaptationtakesplaceonthreelevels:

1.Theindividualizingofmaterials.
2.Modifyingatextforpurposenotintendedoranticipatedbytheauthor.
3.Compensatingfordefectsintextbooks.

EffectingadaptationisamatterofachievingCongruence.Theprincipleofcongruencehasaninfinitevarietyof
application.Thetextmodifieddevelopssimilaritywiththelearnersdemandsandmakesitcompatiblewithhisneeds.
Teacheroftendonothavetimetodevelopalloftheirmaterialsfromscratch.Adaptationinvolvestakinganexistingresource
andrevisingittofitparticularneeds.Itisessentialtoprovidesuchmaterialstostudentthatisconducivetolearningand
understandingofthetextinabetterway.Byitsapplicationinclassroomtheclassbecomesmoreefficientandresult
oriented.

Adaptationinlanguageteachingcouldnotpossiblymeetalltherequiredmodificationsbutdoproviderelieffrommany
aspects.Moreoveradaptationdevelopsmaterialsandmagnifyscopeofitsuseinvarioussettings..Thematerialsareadapted
todevelopthelanguageskillsforinstanceListening,Speaking,Reading,andWriting.Themajorareaswherethematerials
needadaptationare

Theacademicinstitutions,whereacentralizedbodythatgovernstheentireeducationsystemrecommendsthe
textbooks.

Materialdesignerswhoareunawareofthelocalneedsofthelearnersdesignthebooks.Inviewofthefactthatthe
materialsdesignersarenotawareofthelearnerswhowouldbeusingthematerials(textbooks),therecommended
textbooksrequirelocalizationtocreateasenseofsimilaritybetweenthelearnerspresentlevelofproficiency.

Itfortifiesthesituationwheretherearedisparategroupoflearnersintheclassroom.

Adaptationofthetextbooksissignificantto:

Developcommandoflanguageskillsinordertocontinueeducationandtakepartineverydayaffair.

Developfruitfulunderstandingandworkwiththenewandnovelversionsofthetext.

Bringeffectivelanguageinstruction.

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Thetextthatisadaptedandlocalizedaccordingtotheneedsofthelearnersreinforcesconfidenceandmotivation.Every
simplifiedtextiseasiertostudythantheoriginalversionwhichcontainsvocabularybeyondlearnerslevelofunderstanding
.Theresultantdissatisfactionfromthetextduetodifficultyingettingmeaningdemotivateslearners.Materialsusedin
academicinstitutionshavecertainobjectivestherefore,materialsrequireadaptationvisvisskill.Whenteachingany
language,readingskillplayspivotalroletoreiteratealllanguagelearning,Readingskillisoneofthemostsignificantskill
thathasbeeninuselargely.Itisamediumandamodethatthelearnersusewhilestudying,theyreceiveinformationfrom
printedtext/resources,transcribetheinformationandretaininformationintheirmemory.Inrecentyears,materialsin
languageteachinghaveundergonegradualdevelopment,withsomanyresearchesgoingaroundtheworldinlanguage
teaching,materialdevelopershavebeguntoproducematerialsafterneedsanalysis.Thematerialsthusproducedare
effectiveandinformative.Inthepresentoranytimeinthepast,teachersdonotorrarelypreparedcoursematerialsfor
schoolsandcolleges.Nowadaysaclassroomisaheterogeneouscommunityeventuallyithasresultedinlearning
problems.Adaptationingeneralisoneofthegoodescapesfrommanyoftheproblemsinclass.

NeedofAdaptation

InAMUtheclassusuallyconsistsofculturallyandlinguisticallydiverselearners.Theteachersfacegreatdifficultyinclass
management.Adaptationisthebeststrategytoworkwithsuchgroup.Itisusuallyadoptedtoachievemaximumutilityof
availablematerials.Yetitshouldbecalledforonlywhenitisneededandappliedintheclassinaccordancewiththelevelof
learners.Noteverymethodofadaptationcanbeappliedateverystageoflearning,anditneednotbeappliedeverytimeor
ineverycontext.Theleveloflearnersandtheextentofadaptationrequiredinthematerialsistheessentialquestiontobe
lookedfor.ThetextbooksrecommendedatthesecondarylevelinAMUaimtoteachlanguageskillstomakelearners
proficientinlanguage.Thefocusoftextbooksislargelytodevelopextensivereadingskillsamonglearners.Thestudentsat
AMUsecondaryschoolsarelearningEnglishforthepast810years,whichimpliesthatbythetimetheyenterthesecondary
classestheyshouldbeabletoreadandwriteproficiently.Speakingskillisnotexpectedtobedevelopedbecausetheyusually
donotcommunicateinEnglishandtheenvironmentoftheschooldoesnotencouragestudentstospeakEnglishlanguage.
Skillsofreadingandwritingthatareexpectedtobedevelopedbythemiddleschoolarenotsatisfactory.

Tomakethelessonsinteresting,livelyandsignificant,studentsmayberecommendedotherreferencematerialstoread.
TextbooksmeantforUrdumediumsectionscoverallthenecessaryitemsthatarerelevantforlowproficiencylearners.It
aimstodevelopextensivereading.Therearesectionsofspeaking,writinggrammarpracticeandcomprehensioncheck
questions:clozeexercises,longandshortanswerquestions,matchinginformationthetextissupportedwithexercisethat
makesuseofdictionaryworktoexpandlearnersvocabularystock.Thetextbookcouldbesupplementedbyengaging
learnerswithtaskbasedteachingwheretheycoulduselanguagetoperformactivitiesgivenintheformoftasks.

Aslanguagelearningisacomplexprocessandneedstobetaughtinaskilledmanner,therearenumberofapproaches,
methods,techniquesandstrategiesateacherapplieswhenheteachesinalanguageclassroomwithahopethatESLlearners
couldmakemaximumuseoftheirtextbooksandlearnvariousskillsofthetargetlanguage.

Adaptationmaximizesutilityofthematerialsitcouldbeappliedatanypartofthetextbookandthelesson.Itmaybeatthe
preteachingphase,whileteachingphaseoritmaybeatthepostteachingphase.Adaptationmaybedoneatanypartofthe
textwhichisconsideredbeyondcomprehensionoflearners.Ateachermayresorttoanymethodtoadaptthetextkeeping
theusabilityandeffectivenessofthemethodwhichitwillserve.Theteachermayalterthecomprehensionquestionsand
developotherquestionssuchaswritingprcisorsummary,askingtrue/falsequestions.Stevick(1978)citedinMcDonough
andShaw(1993)stated:

Theteachermustsatisfythedemandsofthetextbook,butinwaysthatwillbesatisfyingtothosewholearn
fromit.(p.83)

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InlinewiththesimilardiscussionBecherCosta(1998)explains:

Adaptedmaterialwouldbeanytextorpartofatextwheresomeoriginalcharacteristicshavebeenaltered,
suchassubstitutinglexicalitemsorchangingverbtensesorevensimplifyingsyntacticstructures,orwhere
difficultpartshavebeeneliminatedforthesakeoffacilitatingthestudentstask.(p.10)

RobertONeill(1982)maintains:

Agreatdealofthemostimportantworkintheclassmaystartwiththetextbookbutendoutsideit,in
improvisationandadaptation,inspontaneousinteractionintheclass,anddevelopmentfromthatinteraction.
(p.110)

Needofadaptingatextemergesfromthefactthatlearningmaterialsarenotalwaysincongruencewiththelearnersneeds
andsocietalrequirementstheyusuallydonotcontainallthenecessaryinformationwhichisexpected.Sometimesthe
materialsgrowold,theoriesonwhichtheyhavebeendesignedchange,syllabusandcurriculumneedstoberevised
(MadsenandBowen1978).Newtechnologiesintroducedinthecoursesencouragesneedbasedchangingofthecontent
structure.Adaptationoccursonthreelevels

1.Theindividualizingofmaterials:

Theteacheradaptsaccordingtohisperceptionandcompetenceoftext.

2.Modifyingatextforpurposenotintendedoranticipatedbytheauthor:

Itsuggeststhatchangingatextbysimplifying,usingMTorrewritingtomatchlearnerslevel.Asmentionedby
Campbell(1987),ifthetextbeingmodifiedisaliterarypiecethentheflavorofliterarinessislessenedorifitpresentedin
narration,itsnarrativetechniquesislost.

3.Compensatingforthetextbook:

Usuallytextbookoranylearningmaterialisnotfoolproof.Adaptationstrengthensweaknessofmaterialsbysupplementing
thedeficienciesatthelowerleveloflanguage.Itallowslearnersaccesstotheinformationinthematerials.

InAMUsecondaryschoolswhereEnglishistaughtasaSL.TheaimoftheteachingistoenablethelearnerstouseEnglish
competentlyandefficiently.ThetextbooksthataretaughtinClassesIXXarerecommendedandpreparedbytheCBSE
boardandNCERTNewDelhi.

Indiaisamultilingualcountry,eachofitsstatehasitsownStateBoardofSecondaryEducation,wherethemediumof
instructionisusuallytheregionallanguage.ThelearnersofthesebackgroundshavelowproficiencyinEnglishlanguage,
theyareslowtoadaptwithlanguageitems.Tomaintainharmony,curriculumdesignersatAMUhaveadaptedEnglish
courseinadvance.ThecourseisdividedintotwosectionsCourseAandCourseBtosuitthelevelandtherequirementof

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thedisparategroup.ItisdonetomakeslowlearnerstoacquaintthemselveseasilywithEnglishlanguageboththecourses
CourseAandCourseBaretaughtatAMU.ThenamesofthebookstaughtatAMUsecondaryclassesare:

1.CourseA

ClassIXClassX

1.LiteratureReader.1.LiteratureReader.

2.MainCoursebook.2.MainCoursebook.

3.Workbook.3.Workbook.

2.CourseB

ClassIXClassX

1.Beehive1.FirstFlight

2.Moments2.FootprintswithoutFeet

CourseA:ItfollowsCommunicativeApproachandhaswellarrangedsectionsfordevelopmentoffourlanguageskills.The
teachersaresupportedwiththeTeachersBook,whichextensivelyincludestipstoteachthelessonsinamorelearner
centeredway.ThenamesofbooksmentioninthissectionedarerecommendedforthestudentsatAMUwhoreceive
instructioninEnglishinclassIXandclassX.

CourseB:ItfollowsCommunicativeApproach.ItemphasizesmoreonExtensiveReadingtomakelearnersdevelopthe
habitofreadinginEnglish.ThecoursecontentincludeslessonsfromIndianandforeignwritersaswell.Thelessonsaimto
familiarizelearnerswithforeignculture,whichenablesthemtounderstandthetextininterestingway.Languageusedis
simple,contentincludesvariousgenresofwriting,storiesandincidentsfromvariouswalksoflifetoexpandlearner
vocabulary.Poemsaresimpleinlanguageandthought,eachtextendswithanumberofcomprehensiontestexercises.The
booksmentionedincourseBarerecommendedforstudentsatAMUwhoreceiveinstructionsinUrdu.

Typesofmaterials

Materialsarethekeycomponentsineveryteaching/learningcontexts.Therearevarioustypesofmaterialsbeingusedto
teachL1andL2.Thesematerialsincludealltheessentialcomponentsoflanguagethatistobelearnt.Materialscanbe
broadlycategorizedasTeachersmaterialsandLearnersmaterials.

LearnersMaterials

1.Textbook

Teachingofeverysubjectrequiresatextbookthatcontainsalltheinformationwhichistobetaughttothelearners.
Textbookdevelopsskillsrequiredfordevelopmentandprogress,thesearegradedandpresentlanguageitemsinasequence.
Tomlinson(1998)definestextbookas

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Atextbookwhichprovidesthecorematerialsforacourse.Itaimstoprovideasmuchaspossibleinonebook
andisdesignedsothatitcouldserveastheonlybookwhichthelearnersnecessarilyuseduringacourse.Such
abookusuallyincludesworkongrammar,vocabulary,pronunciation,functionsandskillsofreading,writing,
listeningandspeaking.(p.ix)

2.Workbook

Thisbookmainlycheckscomprehensionofthelearntitems.Therearevariousactivitiesandexercisesmeantfordeveloping
languageskillsTomlinson(1998)definesworkbook:

Abookwhichcontainsextrapracticeactivitiesforlearnerstoworkontheirown.Usuallythebookisdesigned
sothatlearnerscanwriteinitandoftenthereisananswerkeyprovidedatthebackofthebooktogive
feedbacktothelearners.(Ibid:xiii)

3.SupplementaryMaterials

Thesematerialsaremeantforindependentstudy/reading.Supplementarymaterialsdevelopstudyhabitsamonglearners.
Usuallyconsistsofsimpleshortstoriesandabridgedtextsthataimtoinculcateassimilationofstudyskills.Tomlinson
(1998)advisesthatsupplementarymaterialsare

Materialsdesignedtobeusedinadditiontothecorematerialsofacourse.Theyareusuallyrelatedtothe
developmentofskillsofreading,writing,listeningorspeakingratherthantothelearningoflanguageitems.
(Ibid)

4.ReferenceMaterials

Mostofthetextbookscontainasectionattheendofthelesson,whichsuggestbooksforfurtherreadingontherelatedtopic.
Thesebooksarethereferencebooksthatextendcomprehensionleveloflearnersthelearnerscanoptforthesebooksifthey
finddifficultyinthetexttheyarestudying.Usuallythereisasectioninalmosteverysubjecttextbooke.g.HistoryTextbooks
andScienceTextbooksthatsuggestarticlesbasedonthetopicofstudywhichcanbeexploredbylearnerstoovercome
difficulty.

5.ESPMaterials

Materialsarealsodesignedforspecificfields.CoursesthataretaughtforspecificfieldssuchasEHM(EnglishforHotel
management),EST(EnglishforScienceandtechnology)etcareESPcourses.Theseareintensivecoursesdesignedfor
specificgroupoflearnerstomeettheirneedsoflearning.Thesematerialshavespecificregistersandstylethatistaughtto
fulfilltheirprofessionalrequirements.

6.AuthenticMaterials

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Thetermauthenticmeansrealintermsoflanguagematerialsitmeanslanguageusedbynativespeakersofthatlanguage.
Authenticmaterialsactuallypresentsreallifelanguage,authenticmaterialssuchasnewspapers,speech,dialogues,travel
brochures,invitationcards.Thesematerialsenablelearnerstolisten,read,writeandproduceL2asitisusedinL2
environment.TeachersmayengagelearnersinrealworldtaskwhichmaybetermedasauthentictaskssuchasBuying
dresses,Givingdirections,Interviewsessionsetc.whichwouldthusinvolvelearnerstodorealworldauthenticactivities
foractualpracticeofcommunicativeneedsforrealworldapplication.Itiscertainlytruethatmanyauthentictasksmaybe
difficultforlowproficiencylevellearnersbutthefactisittakesthenoutoftheclassroomwhichtheactualplacewherethe
languageisused.

7.AudioVisualMaterials:

LanguagelearnersareoftenprovidedwithnonprintmaterialsintheformofCDsandcassettessuchmaterialshelplearners
todeveloplisteningandspeakingskills.Tomlinson(1998)hasdefinedthesematerialsasmultimediamaterialshesays
that

.thesematerialsareinteractiveandenablethelearnerstoreceivefeedbackonthewrittenorspoken
languagewhichtheyproduce.(p.xi)

Onlinestudycoursesandtestsprovidelearnerswithimmediatefeedback.Therearevarioussoftwarepackagesavailablein
languageteachinginstitutessuchasLinguaphone,DynamicEducation(DynEd)inHeroMindmineandmanymorethat
enablelearnerstolearnsoftskillsandessentiallanguageexpressionsforbetterintelligibilitywhicharenecessaryto
communicateinL2

8.Classnotes/Handouts

Inclasslearnersareprovidedwithnotesbytheteachers,intheformofhandoutsorlectures.Thesematerialsareofgreat
significanceinlearningbecausetheteacherhimselfprovidestherequiredinformationtothelearnersandthusthenotes/
lectures/handoutsarepreparedbytheteachersinlinewithlearnersproficiency,requirementsandneeds.

9.SetofTests(Testpapers)

Learningnecessitatesevaluation,teachersassesslearnersperiodicallytochecktheirfollowupofinstruction.Evaluation
couldbeoralorwritten.Teachersoftenaskquestionsasawhileteachingandpostteachingactivity.Byconductingsetof
tests,learnersstrengthandweaknesscanbeassessed.Eventuallyassessmentreinforceslearning.

10.AssigningLanguagetask(languageactivity)

Materialscouldbeanythingthataidsinlearning,contextuallygroundingandpromotinglanguage.Activitybasedlearning
assistslearnersindiscoveringaboutthelanguagebyusingit.Itpromotescooperativelearningwherethelearnersgetchance
toexplorethelanguageandinteractwithfellowpupilsbyusingthelanguage.

11.Homework(Preparingassignmentsetc)

Homeworkisusuallyassignedtogivethelearnerspracticeinpreparingthelanguageitemsandtraininstudyskills.For
instance,writinganswerstothelessontaughtinclass,ReadinglessoninadvancefortheclassandListeningtonewsfor

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gatheringinformationofaroundtheworld.Homeworkismeanttotrainlearnerstocultivatehabitoflearningoutside
classroomenvironment,whichisaplacewhereactuallearningtakesplace.

TeachersMaterials

1.TeachersManual:

Itisahandbookforteacherswhichcontainteachingtips,strategiesandlessonplansforteachingtheprescribedtextbooks.
Forinstance,theCBSEeducationalbodyproducesinstructionalmaterialsforsecondaryschoolsandalsopreparesteachers
helpbooksimultaneouslybasedonlearnersbooks.Tickoo(2004)definesteachersmanualbysayingthatteachersmanual:

.iscapableofguidingtheteacher,tounderstandtheimportantwaysinwhichherclass(room)maybe
strengthened(e.g:initssize,furniture,learnersbehaviorandbeliefs,socialexpectations)andofhelping
herputtouseadditionalsourcesofsupport(e.g.:themothertongue,interlingualtranslation,theskills
learntinthemothertongueandhowtheycanbeputtouseintheFLclassroom.(p.263)

Itisaresourcebookforteacherswhichultimatelybenefitslearners.

2.TeachersResourcebooks:

Teachersarefacilitatorsinlearning.Inforeignlanguageteachingoneofthemajorproblemshadbeenhowtomanage,large
classroomandstudentsvariedlearningstyleswithintheclass.Theresourcebooksforteacherprovideguidelinesfor
developingteacherefficiency,withresearchedtechniquesthatmaybeappliedintotheclassroomforlearninginan
environmentthatisconducive.

Adaptationstrategies

Therearevariousstrategiesthatareadoptedtoadaptatextforbetterlearning.MadsenandBowen(1978)suggesteffective
adaptationisamattertoachieveCongruencewithlearnersneedsandlevels.Adaptationisimplementedtoattainadegree
offitnessbetweenlearnersandtheirlearningmaterials.Adaptationisrequiredtodevelopandexpandlearnersattention,
interestandmotivation.Itisfurthersaid:

Adaptationisoftenrequiredinordertoincreasemotivationforlearningbymakingthelanguagemorereal,
thesituationsmorerelevant,theillustrationmorevividandinteresting.Itissometimesrequiredtoensure
greatereaseofacquisitionbyprovidingsufficientpractice,logicalexplanations,plusexamplesorexercises
thatareonthelevelofthelearners.(MadsenandBowen1978:viii)

Anylanguagematerialisnotalwayswithoutflaws,sometimesthelanguageistoodifficultoritmighthavedisorganized
presentation,anditmaynotrelatetocontemporaryissues.Theclaimisthatagoodteacherisconstantlyadaptingapplying
variousstrategiesbyadding,paraphrasing,translatingandrelatingthecontenttopreviousknowledge,orsupplementingby
usingapicture,songorrealia.Thestrategiesforadaptationare:

1.Adding:

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Materialsaresupplementedbyputtingintotheminformationthatstrengthenswhiletakingintoaccountthepracticaleffect
ontimeallocation.Alternativetermusedforaddingcanbeextendingandexpanding.Expandingisdistinctfrom
extendingwhiletheformeraddstothemethodologybymovingoutsideitanddevelopingitinnewdirectionsitisdoneto
expandintermsofquality,forinstancebyputtinginadifferentskilloranewcomponent,latteraddsinformationrestricted
totheclassroomteachingi.e.itisdonetoensurequantity.Itisnotnecessarythatadditioninatextbemadeintheend
ratheritcanbeintroducedatthebeginning.Itcanbedoneatwarmupexercise.Inteaching,addingcanactasa
consciousraisingtostimulatelearnersattention.

2.Deleting/Omitting:

McDonoughandShaw(1993)explain

..althoughmaterialistakenoutratherthansupplemented,asatechniqueitcanbethoughtofastheother
sideofthesamecoin.(p.90)

Additionanddeletionoftenworkatthesamepointwhensomegrammaticalitemisomitteditisreplacedwith
someotheritemtocompensateitforthedeletion.

3.Modifying:

Thisstrategycanbeappliedtoanypartofthecontentofthetext.Itcanbeappliedatanypartsuchasorderofwords,
sentencestructure,usingalternativevocabularyforunfamiliarwordsetc.Itcanbefurtherdividedintotwosections:

a)Rewriting:

Itcanbeusedtorelateactivitiestolearnersownlinguisticbackgroundsandinterests,introducemodelsof
authenticlanguage,orsetmorepurposeful,problemsolvingtaskswheretheanswersarenotalwaysknown
beforetheteacherasksquestion.(McDonoughandShaw1993:92)

Itisusuallyadoptedwhensomeofthelinguisticcontentneedsmodification

b)Restructuring:

Achangeinthesequencingandstructuringofthetextbooksisrequiredwheretheneedtocontrolclassroombecomes
significantinordertomaintaindiscipline,developinterestandmotivation.Inotherwordsitdealswithclassroom
management.

4.Simplifying/Easifying:

Simplifyingmeansmakinglanguageitemseasyforlearnerstounderstandbyprovidingsimplifiedversionofadifficultitem.
Tomlinson(1998)suggeststhatsimplifiedtextsaremadeeasyby:

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Reductioninlengthofthetext,shorteningofsentences,omissionorreplacementofdifficultwordsor
structures,omissionofqualifyingclausesandnonessentialdetails.(p.xii)

Hesuggestedsimplifyingatextbyusingexamples,repetitionandparaphrasingandbyincreasingredundantinformation.

5.UsingMTorTranslation:

UsingMTinESLclassroomhelpsineveryaspectoflearning,butoveruseofMTshouldbeavoided.Translatingunfamiliar
wordsinMTencourageslearnersinterestinreadingcomprehension.UsingMTsupportslearnerstofocusonallthe
elementofthetext.Theycarefullybegintolookformainideasandinferencesinthetext.Translatingatextasapostreading
activityworkswellinL2contextwhereL1relianceisingreatamount.Abdulmomein(2006)agreesbysaying:

L2learnerscustomarilyrelyontheirL1,especiallyinacquisitionpoorenvironmentswhereexposuretotheL2
isconfinedtoafewhoursperweekofformalclassroominstructions.(p.31)

InAMUschool,thestudentsarealsotaughtinUrdumedium,theirL1(Urdu)ismediumofinstruction.Theystudyallthe
subjectsinUrdumedium,receiveinstructionsandwriteexaminationsinUrdu.Themediumofinstructioncanbeusedasa
supporttoexplaindifficultconcepts.Itcanbeusedasacomprehensioncheckstrategywhichcouldrevealagoodmeasureof
theirunderstandingofvocabulary,perceptionandinterpretation.However,itisadvisedthatintheclassroomwherethereis
ampleuseofMTwhileteachingatleastinteachingEnglishrelianceonMTshouldbeavoidedtoaminimaluse.

6.UsingTaskbasedapproaches:

Taskbasedteachinghelpslearnerslearnlanguageinauthenticmanner.Whenthetextdoesnotsupportreallifelanguage
usingtaskbasedapproachesascertainlanguagelearning.Corder(1967,1981)citedinTomlinson(1998)claims:

Learnershavetheirownbuiltinsyllabuswhichisinsomewaymoreefficientthantheinstructorgenerated
sequence.(p.226)

Taskbasedlearningpromoteslanguageacquisitioninameaningfulsituations,likegivinginstructions,askingforthecostof
anitem,sharingexperienceetc.Exercisesmaycontaininsufficientpracticesandadditionalpracticaltasksmayneedtobe
added.

Conclusion

Itisdesperatelyrequiredtofocusontheareaofmaterialwritingandtofindtheresearchedmethodsthatareapplicableand
validinthefieldoflanguageteaching.Thematerialwritersshouldpreparethematerialsthatfulfilllocalneedsoflearners
i.e.thematerialsarerequiredtobeproducedaccordingtotheneedsofthelearners.Requirementsoflearnersvarywithtime
andspaceitisthedutyoftheteachertomake(adapt)materialsinconcomitanttotheneedsoflearners.Teacherscando
thisbyapplyingdifferentstrategiesofadaptationthatencourageslearnerinterestandconfidenceinlearningmaterials.

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Adaptationnotonlybenefitslearnersbutitalsohelpstheteachers.Theycanusethesamematerialsindifferentclassroom
withdifferentleveloflearnersbyadoptingdifferentmethodsofmodificationwiththelearnersproficiency.Thematerials
(coursebooks)thatarerecommendedtothelearnersoughttobeadaptedtosuittheleveloflearners.tisrequiredto
producesuchmaterialsthatpersuadelearnerstodevelopspeakingaswellasreadingapartfromgainingmaximum
informationfromcoursematerials.

References

Abdulmomein,M(2006):TranslationandForeignLanguageReadingComprehension:ANeglectedDidacticProcedure,
EnglishTeachingForumVol.:44,Number4.

BecherCosta,Silvia.B.A(1988):AddingVarietyinTranslationCourses,EnglishTeachingForum.Vol.:XXVI,Number1.

Campbell,N(1987):AdaptedLiterarytextandtheEFLreadingprogramme,ELTJournal,Vol.:41/Number2.

Clark,D.F(1989):MaterialsAdaptation:WhyleaveitAlltotheTeachers?ELTJournal,Vol.:43Number2.

Cumminset.al(1993):DevelopingBilingualproficiency,CambridgeUniversityPress:Cambridge.

Devi,M.I,Kumar,J.PandRao,B.D(2004):ValuesinLanguageTextbooks,DiscoveryPublishingHouse,NewDelhi.

Gabrielatos,C(2002):MaterialsEvaluationandAdaptation:ACaseStudyofPronunciationTeaching?UnpublishedEssay.
www.gabrielatos.com.

Gardner,DandMiller,L(eds.)(1996):TasksforIndependentLanguageLearning,TESOL,Inc.

Harmer,J.(1983):ThePracticeofEnglishLanguageTeaching,Longman.

Madsen,H.SandBowen,J.D(1978):AdaptationinLanguageTeaching,Rowley:NewburyHouse.

McDonough.JoandShaw,Christopher(1993):MaterialsandMethodsinELT:ATeachersGuide,BlackwellPublishers:
Oxford.

Moyle,D(1968):TheTeachingofReading,EbenezerBaylisandSonsLtd.London.

Nation,I.S.P(2009):TeachingESL/EFLReadingandWriting,Routledge.

ONeill.R.(1982):Whyusetextbooks?ELTjournalVol.:36Number2.

Richards,J.C(1985):Method:approach,design,andprocedureinTheContextofLanguageTeachingbyJackCRichards,
CambridgeUniversityPress:Cambridge.

Richards,J.CandRodgers,T.S(1985):ApproachesandMethodsinLanguageTeachingCambridgeUniversityPress:
Cambridge.

R.L.Allwright.,WhatDoWeWantTeachingMaterialsfor?ELTOctoberJournal,Vol.:36Number1.

Tickoo,M.L(2004):TeachingandLearningEnglish:ASourcebookforTeachersandTeacherTrainers,NewDelhi,Orient
Longman.

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Tomlinson,B(1998.):MaterialsDevelopmentinLanguageTeaching,CambridgeUniversityPress:Cambridge.

www.languageinindia.com

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