should we use

REALIA
in class ?
Realia usage and
class
implementation
prof. Sandu Robert

Outline

Realia Definition

Why Should We Use Realia?

How can we decide if materials are appropriate?

Using Realia:
For Young Learners
For Learning Vocabulary/Grammar
In a role play
With Reading Instruction

Implementation
Ways to Bring Real Life into the Classroom
Activities Involving Realia
New Uses For Realia
Quick Ideas

Virtual Realia

Tips& Warnings

Advantages of Using Realia

Disadvantages of Using Realia

Conclusion

References

Realia Definitions
If youre thinking the word realia sounds vaguely Latin,
then youd be correct. In the classroom, the
wordrealiameans using real items found in everyday life
as an aid to teaching English. Using realia helps to make
English lessons memorable by creating a link between
the objects and the word or phrase they represent.
Realia are physical objects that are related to the target
culture.
Realia refers to objects or items from real life , which are
used in the classroom to illustrate and teach vocabulary
or to serve as an aid to facilitate language acquisition
and production.
Realia are objects from real life used in classroom
instruction
by
educators
to
improve
students'
understanding of other cultures and real life situations.

Realia Definitions
(in

language teaching) Actual objects and items

which are brought into a classroom as examples
or as aids to be talked or written about and used
in teaching. (Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching &
Applied Linguistics. Richards, Platt, & Platt. 1992. Essex.)

Anything

which has a purpose outside of the ESL

classroom and can be brought into the classroom.
(Realia: Bringing the Real World into the Classroom.Dickens,
Robertson, Hofmann.1995. Victoria, BC.)

Objects

of any origin used to illustrate vocabulary

and structure in the L2. (Celce-Murcia & Hilles, 1988)

Concrete

objects and the paraphernalia of

everyday life. (Zukowski-Faust, 1997)

EXAMPLES

Why should We use Realia?

Kinesthetic learning is the type of
learning that students will most effectively
acquire, mostly because they will have
hands-on experience.
The use of realia brings a welcome
change in the class, a break from typical
class activities likereadingandwriting.
They are often more interesting than
material from text books and can be on
subjects that will really engage the students.
Students will be expected to use real
material when they leave your classes.

Why Should We Use

Realia?
The

unexpectedness of having to suddenly interact

with real objects will force the students to pay attention
to the topic of discussion ; it will create excitement,
and theyll have fun.
Students have the chance to practice real life
situations like using maps and asking for directions in
a foreign language, but with the guidance of someone
who speaks fluently and will help them get it right.
Once they go outside the school enviromnent, they
will feel more confident in speaking English.
Students will clearly understand the reason theyre
learning a particular component. Instead of
wondering when and where they might have use for a
particular language element, theyll know the reason.

How can we decide if materials are

appropriate?

Decide

if the topic matter is

appropriate for your students, if you
can ask them or find out what their
interests are.
Look at how much new vocabulary
and grammar structures are in the
materials. If students are to cope
with real material, they may have to
learn to deal with topics with a lot of
alien vocabulary.

Searching for Appropriate Realia

One solution for English teachers is to
keep their eyes open for useful
realia such as magazines, menus,
newspapers, advertisements, maps and
voting brochures.
Teachers must develop an awareness of
what can be utilized in a classroom. This
involves both becoming more creative
as materials designers and also more
sensitive to the target culture and to
the culture of the students.

Common Realia for Different

Levels
Beginners
Television
timetables
Cinema
timetables
Train
timetables
Restaurant
menus
Postcards
(Writing)
Utility bills
Application
forms
Recipes

Intermedi
ate
Teenage
magazines
Surveys &
teenage
issues
Newspaper
articles from
tabloid
newspapers
Instruction
manuals
Adverts &
flyers

Advance
d
General
newspaper
article
Magazine
articles
Academic
material
At advanced
level you can
choose nearly
anything,
because they
should have
developed
strategies to
cope with
unknown

Using Realia
for Young Learners

If you are going to teach English to young

children, realia is a must. Young children are
at the perfect age to learn a language and
as visual learners, you should try to tap
into their natural creativity. Bring in fruit,
vegetables and lots of toys. Children love
to role-play and enjoy playing games, so ask
them to move animals onto tables, under
tables, or around the farmyard. Make up
simple stories using toy animals or puppets,
and children will enjoy their English lessons,
and be motivated to learn.

Activity Time

When grow up...

I want to be a
doctor.
I want to be a
teacher.
I want to be a rock
star.

You are
going to tell
us what
you are and
WHYHave
Fun!!!

Choose the things that fit you, to dress

up..

Dont be
shy ; at the
end when
you are
ready

Like your dream!

Using Realia
for Learning Vocabulary/Grammar
It

is unrealistic to bring real

objects into your classroom for
every single word that you wish
to teach and some words will
lend themselves better than
others to using realia. Remember,
realia can be used indirectly
as
a
tool
for
teaching
grammar; for example, items of
food and drink are perfect for
teaching
uncountable
and

Using Realia with Reading

Instruction
Bad Kitty Gets a Bath by Nick Bruel
Another installment of "Bad Kitty," Bruel offers us an insightful and hysterical
look at how to give a cat a bath. The Introduction reminds us of what happens
when we have asked Kitty to do things that Kitty did not want to do...such as
eat vegetables...before beginning the saga. The pictures are definitely worth a
thousand words, especially with the expressions on Kitty's face!
Examples of Realia:
*sponge
*brush
*towel
*stuffed animal (cat)
*soap or shampoo
*band-aids
*"tub" (to serve as bathtub)
Suggested Themes:
humor
inference (using the pictures to have students predict Kitty's feelings)
prediction/connections (reading strategies)
cats

Using Realia in Role-play

Dont stop at using realia to learn

vocabulary or grammar. Use objects in roleplays to make the situation more realistic.
This could be something as simple as a
mobile phone or your train tickets. Using
realia is only limited by your imagination:
here are some ideas on how to use realia in
your lessons.
Use your countrys flag and a map to show
students where you live and to help them
learn the names of foreign countries.

Timetables, tickets and pedestrian maps of

London are great for practising role-play
scenarios such as asking for directions, or
buying tickets.

Implementation
Ways To Bring Real Life Into The
Classroom
We may teach a subject with flashcards or
picture. However, if we bring realia students
will be surprised and thrilled and will never
forget
this
lesson.
This is what the use of realia in the
classroom is all about: the use of real life
objects that students can touch, feel, and
even smell to effectively teach language
components.
Here are some ways to take full advantage
of the possibilities offered by the use of
realia in the classroom.

Ways To Bring Real Life Into

The Classroom
5 oclock tea
This

is by far the best way to teach table manners,

requests, or expressions related to ordering or serving tea,
coffee, or any meal in a home setting. For the following
dialogue:
- Would you like some tea?
- No, thank you.
- What would you like?
- Id like some coffee, please.
- With milk and sugar?
- Just black coffee.
Simply

bring a childrens tea complete with tea cups,

saucers, spoons, teapot and/or coffee pot, sugar bowl,
creamer, biscuits, etc... and have students practice offering
and serving each other coffee or tea. You can make it as
simple or as complete as you wish, or as time allows.

Ways To Bring Real Life Into

The Classroom
Eating out
Obtain or Design and print
out a menu with the food you'd like to
teach including starters, main
courses, and desserts.
Have one student play
the role of waiter and take orders,
while the other students order
their meals. Then have students switch roles.
Students may ask the waiter for a
missing item like a spoon, fork, or napkin.

Ways To Bring Real Life Into

The Classroom
Location, location, location!
Toteach prepositions of place take common
classroom objects like pens, pencils, books, balls
etc
Place them on or under desks, and around the
classroom; then have students simply tell you
where each item is, or take turns asking each
other where their own personal items are.
Also for teaching this, that, these, and
those, as the perspective of having items near
and far from you clearly illustrates the
differences
between
the
demonstrative pronouns .

Ways To Bring Real Life Into

The Classroom

Tell me about your family

Realfamilyphotos

are

great for not only

learning about relationships
but also physical descriptions.
Have students bring one family
photo each and describe family
members. Students may also take
turns asking classmates questions.

Ways To Bring Real Life Into The

Classroom

Lets have a fashion show

Children love to play dress up, and
what a better way for them to
learnitems of clothingand colors

than put them on and strut around

the
classroom to show
off their unique style?

Adult learners can also model the

clothing theyre wearing.

Ways To Bring Real Life Into

The Classroom

Celebrate the holidays

Learning English is not only about learning to speak in

a foreign language. Students should learn about
cultural elements as well. Special holidays like
Halloween,Thanksgiving,
andChristmasoffer
unique learning opportunities.
To teach students about Halloween,
plan a celebration complete with
pumpkin carving, costume contest, and
typical games like bobbing for apples.
Give
your students the chance to
experience the
holidays and not just
read about them.

Ways To Bring Real Life Into

The Classroom
The Job Interview
Do

you have students who will be

applying for jobsin English? Try to get your
hands on some real job applications and have
students practice filling them out in class. You
may also conduct job interviews using real life
interview questions.
not only teach them the vocabulary they
should know, give students the boost of
confidence they need.

Activities Involving
Realia

Identity envelopes
Get three or four envelopes and fill them with
bits and bobs you find around the house such as
foreign currency, shop receipts, postcards,
photos, buttons, etc. Put students into groups
and ask them to have a good look at the objects
and to decide who they belong to.
They should be able to build up the identity of a
character from the objects.
You could say they are all suspects from a crime
and they have to decide who did it, or simply
create the characters to use in a role play.

Activities Involving
Realia
Recycling race

(Depending on the recycling facilities in your area you will need

to adapt the task accordingly) For this you just need a bag of
rubbish (clean items out first) that you are about to recycle like
tetrabriks, glass jars, cereal boxes, tins, old newspapers etc.
Ask students what all the objects are and which container
theyd put them in to recycle them.
Draw a picture of each of the possible containers and get
students to come and choose an item and tell the class where
theyd put it to recycle it and why.
You could make this into a team race by giving each team the
mission of collecting all the items for their container one by
one. You could then use the recyclable material to make a
poster with your students about recycling.

Activities Involving
Realia

Island survival
Bring in a selection of items such as a coat hanger, a
corkscrew, a packet of dental floss, a clothes peg, a
plastic bag, a wooden spoon, some swimming goggles,
elastic bands etc.
Put the students into groups and tell them they have
been ship wrecked on a desert island with their group.
Luckily there are some random items on the island they
can use to help them survive.
Reveal the items one by one and elicit vocabulary.
Then tell students they have ten minutes to think about
how they are going to use the items to help them
survive. At the end, listen to each groups ideas and
vote on which group you think would survive the
longest.

Specific Grammar Points

A Tie and Prepositions.
Show the students how to tie a tie.
'Put the tie round your neck.
Cross the ends in front of you,
then pull the smaller end under,
Then over, then under again, over
again, then up, behind the knot,
through the knot, then down.
Pull the knot up.'

Free Speaking Activities

Discussion and a Microphone
This is suggested by television programme
hosts, who control conversations by the use
of the microphone. Put students in groups,
and give one student the microphone.
Say a group of six students are talking about
'holidays', the person with the microphone
can move around the group giving different
people the chance to speak, ensuring
everyone gets an equal chance to contribute.

New Uses for Realia

Classroom

aids are all around us, but

sometimes we need to think about the
best ways to use an object. 'Mapping'
the use of an object onto a language
point, or finding a language related
use of an object are two ways of
using realia in class. Have look around
the staffroom. The teaching aids you
need may be closer than you think.

Quick Ideas
Take

along a hat, scarf, gloves, to

introduce winter/winter activities.
Teaching business English? Make use
of mobile phones to create realistic
telephone conversations. Use diaries,
to schedule meetings, and plan
events.

Virtual Realia
Virtual realia: (in language teaching)
digitized objects and items from the target
culture which are brought into the classroom
as examples or aids and used to stimulate
spoken or written language production.

It is a collection of linguistic and nonlinguistic authentic materials which have

been compiled, scanned, and posted on
WWW server.
It benefits especially those international
teachers who are less mobile or unable to
collect their own materials.

Virtual Realia
Can virtual realia still be
considered realia?The larger
question regarding authenticity of
which realia is a part paints a
confused
and
contradictory
picture at best. What does seem
clear,
however,
is
that
authenticity is a relative matter
and that different aspects of it
can be present in varying
degrees (Taylor, 1994).

Virtual Realia

But virtual realia isn't really the

object at all; it's just a digitized
image of the item.Foreign language
practitioners do accept modifications of
realia items such as the lamination of
authentic materials onto a card
(Zukowski-Faust, 1997). Wood (1980)
even presents the postage stamp as a
cultural artifact that may be easily
photographed and enlarged to facilitate
its use and discussion in class.

The Advantages of Using

Realia
As

English teachers, the use of realia is only

limited by your imagination. It is possible to
use realia to teach almost any subject. Using
realia stimulates the mind, and is one way of
encouraging creativity by involving the senses.
Realia saves time, as recognition of an object is
immediate and so cuts out the need for lengthy
explanations and drawing funny pictures on the
board. Elicitation becomes much easier and
holding up the object with a raised eyebrow will
usually result in the desired word being spoken.
Realia breathes life into new vocabulary, and
the chances of your students remembering the
new words you have taught them increases.

The Advantages of Using

Realia
Using realia in the English class proves a
positive and rewarding experience since it
makes lessons more interesting and
enjoyable
is a link between language learning and
sociocultural learning
brings English classes nearer to the English
speaking countries
helps students to discover and process new
input
is a good complement to the usual reading
materials

Advantages of Using
Realia
Accessible
Relevant
Visually

interesting and captures the

attention of the learner
Provides a focus away from the written
word or the 1:1 interaction its like a
third person that can be spoken about
(without consideration to feelings, social
conventions etc)
Useful to help your students grasp the
cultural differences or learn practical skills.

Disadvantages
Real

objects may not support a

cultural distinction.
Activities with real objects might
lose the class path.
Spending too much time in one
activity with real objects in the
class.

Conclusion
You will have probably realized by
now that including realia in the
classroom involves a great deal
of preparation in some cases. Is it
really worth you time? The
answer is, yes. Absolutely! And
your students faces will be living
proof.

References

Harmer, Jeremy.The Practice of English Language Teaching with DVD (4th Edition)
(Longman Handbooks for Language Teachers). Pearson Longman ELT. pp.177.
ISBN978-1-4058-5311-8.

Jean-Pierre Berwald. 1987. Teaching Foreign Languages with Realia

and other Authentic Materials. Eric. Center for applied linguistics. Washington.

Simon Mumford. Using Creative Thinking to Find New Uses for Realia
. Izmir University of Economics Turkey.

Penny Ur. Grammar Practice Activities. Cambridge University Press. 1988

http://authenticteaching.wordpress.com/2011/05/13/business-english-realia/

http://busyteacher.org/

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/realia

http://www.ehow.com/how_4549705_use-realia-esl-lessons.html

http://elementaryreadingrealia.blogspot.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realia_(education)

http://iteslj.org/Articles/Smith-Realia.html

http://www.jamesabela.co.uk/advanced/realia.html

http://www.learner.org/libraries/tfl/key_terms.html

http://oupeltglobalblog.com/tag/realia/

http://www.stephenhenryconsulting.com/letter/dr_lozanov.php

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/language-assistant/teaching-tips/realia

http://www.usingenglish.com/weblog/archives/000228.html

Thank You.

Prof. Sandu Robert