AUTHENTIC

MATERIALS

Erika
 Authentic Materials
A stretch of real language, produced by a real speaker or
writer for a real audience and designed to convey a real
message of sort (Morrow, 1977)
Appropriate and quality in terms of goals, objectives, learner
needs and interest and natural in terms of real life and
meaningful communication (Rogers, 1988)
Exposure to real language and its use in its own community
(Widdowson, 1990)
Materials which are designed for native speakers; they are
real texts; designed not for language students but for the
speakers of the language (Harmer, 1991)
Materials that we can use in the classroom and that have not
been changed in any way for ESL students (Sanderson,
1999)
 Sources of Authentic
Materials
Newspapers
TV Programs
Menus
Magazines
Internet
Movies
Songs
Etc..
Advantages of using authentic materials

Students are exposed to real discourse, as in videos of

interviews with famous people where intermediate
students listen for gist.
Authentic materials have a positive effect on learner
motivation.
Authentic materials keep students informed about what is
happening in the world, so they have an intrinsic
educational value. (Sanderson, 1999).
Authentic materials can produce a sense of achievement
Advantages of using authentic
materials

The same piece of material can be used under different

circumstances if the task is different.
Language change is reflected in the materials so that
students and teachers can keep abreast of such changes.
Reading texts are ideal to teach/practice mini-skills such
as scanning (Martinez, 2002).
Authentic materials can encourage reading for pleasure
Authentic materials support a more creative approach to
teach
 Disadvantages of using
authentic materials
Authentic materials may be too culturally biased, so
unnecessarily difficult to be understood outside the language
community.
The vocabulary might not be relevant to the students
immediate needs.
Too many structures are mixed so lower levels have a hard time
decoding the texts.
Special preparation is necessary which can be time consuming.
 Disadvantages of using
authentic materials
Too many different
accents can be heard
which can cause
some confusion.
The material can
become outdated
easily
There are many
headlines, adverts,
signs, and so on that
can require good
knowledge of the
cultural background.
Considerations for the Implementation
of Authentic Materials (Breen, 1985)

What is an authentic text?

For whom is the text authentic?
For what authentic purpose?
What is authentic to the social
situation of the classroom?
 Three Aspects in order to facilitate an
interaction between learners and materials

Text factor (individual differences)

Task factor (task design)
Learner Setting factor (learning
environment)
 CONCLUSIO
N
Students benefit from being exposed
to the language in authentic materials
Authentic materials should be used in
accordance with the students level of
knowledge
Students should be helped by their
teachers to overcome the difficulties
they encounter