Teaching Functional English Through Authentic Materials

Teaching 'Functional English' through 'Authentic Materials' will make the learners feel that they are learning a real language which is alive. When learers are asked to memorize grammar rules or study the textbook for examination purposes they cannot experience the feel of the language as a real language used for real life purposes. Research studies on the use of authentic materials have proved that there is an overall increase in motivation to learn, a more positive attitude towards learning, as well as increased involvement and interest in the subject matter. Authentic materials are perceived by the learners as useful, lifelike, and interesting.

The following sections take up the discussion of the definition of authentic materials, types of authentic materials, the criteria for selection of authentic materials, the advantages and problems of using authentic materials and activities and tasks to teach functional English through the use of authentic materials.

Definition of Authentic Materials

There are a number of definitions related to authentic materials and three are presented here.

An authentic text is a stretch of real language, produced by a real speaker or writer for a real audience and designed to convey a real message of some sort. (Morrow, 1977, p. 13)

Authentic texts (either written or spoken) are those which are designed for native speakers: they are real texts designed not for language students, but for the speakers of the language in question. (Harmer, 1983, p. 146)

A rule of thumb for authentic here is any material which has not been specifically produced for the purposes of language teaching. (Nunan, 1989, p. 54)

In the many definitions available for authentic materials there are some common factors. some of the common factors are:

'exposure to real language and its use in its own community'
'appropriate' and 'quality' in terms of goals, objectives, learner needs and interest and 'natural' in terms of real life and meaningful communication
materials which are designed for native speakers; they are real text; designed not for language students, but for the speakers of the language.
texts that are not written for language teaching purposes.

Types of Authentic Materials

Authentic materials can include audio, visual and printed materials. Multimedia materials involving audio, video and graphical presentations can also be included. Any of these types of materials which are used for communicating specific messages in real life will fall under this category. The messages may be addressed to native speakers or to those who use this language as second language in their country for communication.

Some of the materials are listed here but the list is not exhaustive.

Authentic audio materials:

Music, news and other audio materials available on the internet
TV programming including Movies, commercials, quiz shows, cartoons, news and weather
Radio including ads, music and sales pitches
Taped or eavesdropped conversations, such as one-sided phone conversations
Meetings, talks
Announcements in airports and stores
Professionally audio-taped short stories and novels


Authentic Visual Materials:

Images and graphs available on the internet
Photographs
Paintings and drawings, children’s artwork
Wordless street signs
Pictures from magazines, postcards, wordless picture books
Stamps
X-rays
coins and currency
clocks
phones
Halloween masks and other holiday decorations

Authentic Printed materials:

Web based printed materials available on the internet
Newspapers including articles, movie reviews and advertisements, astrology columns, sports reports, obituary columns, advice columns, classified ads
lyrics to songs
Restaurant menus
Street signs
Food product labels such as cereal boxes, candy wrappers
Tourist information brochures
University catalogs
Telephone books
Maps
Magazines including TVguides, comic books, catalogs
Greeting cards, letters
Grocery coupons and flyers
Pins or T-shirts with messages
Bus schedules
Mail including bills, missing children flyers and junk mail
Prescription labels, over-the-counter medicine labels
Flyers, posters, billboards
School notices
Forms including leases, tax forms, applications, medical history forms

Authentic Multimedia Materials

TV, Video programmes of various kinds
Podcasting on the internet
web based programmes involving multimedia use

The list does not include all the authentic materials that are available for use. Though there is a huge resource of materials available teachers need to sets up specific criteria for selecting authentic materials suited to the special group of lear

Advantages of Using Authentic Materials

There are several advantages of using authentic material especially in classrooms where English is used as Second Language.

Authentic materials,

expose learners to a wide range of natural language.
brings reality into the classroom and makes the interaction meaningful.
connects the classroom to the outside world and brings the real world into the artificiality of the classroom.
makes the teaching and assessment focus on skills rather than facts of language.
makes the teaching and learning of language move away from delivering a set of facts to be memorized for examination purposes.
helps teachers access readily available, attractively packaged, inexpensive resources and add variety to classroom activities. Helps students practise the skills learnt in the classroom in the outside world when they come across similar materials in real life.

A number of research studies have proved that the use of authentic material results in an overall increase in motivation to learn, a more positive attitude towards learning, as well as increased involvement and interest in the subject matter. Authentic materials are perceived by the learners as useful, lifelike, and interesting.

To sum up authentic materials,

have a positive effect on learner motivation.
provide authentic cultural information.
provide exposure to real language.
relate more closely to learners' needs.
support a more creative approach to teaching.