The Power of Materials for ELT

Objective: The objective of this blogg is for readers to know the importance of materials for teaching a second language and to learn which materials can be applied in ELT.

    First, it is important to know that materials are all that can be used for teaching a language. In other words, they are all those things that faciliate the learning of a language. It can be videos, DVDs, dictionaries, grammar books, workbooks, newspapers among others (Tomlison, 2011a: 2). Materials have a great impact on achieving the objective of students acquire a language, that is why teachers must evaluate the appropriate material to use it in teaching the different contents of the class, adapting to the needs of the students. It is important that the materials are designed correctly and that they meet certain characteristics such as attractive and user-friendly so that they can achieve the teaching goal.

    There are different types of ELT materials which are traditional materials, communicative materials, commercial and non-commercial materials, authentic and non-authentic materials.

• Traditional materials: Traditional materials are those materials that teachers traditionally use as textbooks that are used to teach the language as a system. According to Grant, it has the following characteristics: it only emphasizes grammar rather than communicative language. , they focus more on reading and writing activities than listening and speaking activities, most of the time they use L1 and they are widely used by teachers because they are easier to use. The problem with traditional textbooks is that students use them for many years, but they are not able to use the language.

• Communicative materials: Communicative materials are textbooks focus on creating opportunities for students to use the language in the classroom and then use it in real life. The communicative textbook has thefollowing characteristics: it focuses on communicative functions, they try to reflect the needs and interests of students, they focus on the four linguistic skills, the contents are more attached to the language used in everyday life and also encourage group work.

• Commercial materials: They are those that are created for a diverse audience of teachers and students. These are available at different stores and are produced at different levels, with their respective purposes. They can be for general English and English for specific purposes

• Non-commercial materials: Non-commercial materials are those materials that are provided by the government for example textbooks. They are usually produced for exclusive use to meet the curricular objectives.

• Authentic materials: They are those materials created by a native speaker which do not have the objective of teaching a language but rather focus on real life issues. These materials expose students to real life situations which will allow them to learn how to use language in certain aspects of life.

• Non- authentic materials:  Non-authentic materials are teaching materials that are manufactured and designed solely for teaching purposes. These materials are planned, designed and adapted according to the content of the lessons.

As you could see, the materials are of great importance for the teaching of a language since they capture the attention of the students. It is a powerful tool used by teachers to teach a second language as it helps to easily retain the content of the lessons. That is why we will present different materials that you can implement in the classroom and that will surely help you teach in a more fun, interactive and motivating way so that students do not feel bored just by reading textbooks. Next we will present materials such as: PPP game, Board Blueprint, Flashcards, Bulletin Board- Final product, Flipcharts, Worksheets, Hand Puppets and Posters. And also it will provide some examples of each one.