Adapting and selecting

instructional materials in
English

 Language instruction has five

important components--students, a
teacher, materials, teaching
methods, and evaluation.
Why are materials important in
language instruction?
What do materials do in language
instruction?

Role of materials to other

elements

 Materials include textbooks, video and audio

tapes, computer software, and visual aids. They
influence the content and the procedures of
learning.
The choice of deductive vs inductive learning, the
role of memorization, the use of creativity and
problem solving, production vs. reception, and the
order in which materials are presented are all
influenced by the materials.
Technology, such as OHP, slides, video and audio
tape recorders, video cameras, and computers,
supports instruction/learning .
Evaluations (tests, etc.) can be used to assign
grades, check learning, give feedback to students,
and improve instruction by giving feedback to the
teacher.

 Though students should be the center of

instruction, in many cases, teachers and
students rely on materials, and the materials
become the center of instruction.
Since many teachers are busy and do not
have the time or inclination to prepare extra
materials, textbooks and other commercially
produced materials are very important in
language instruction. Therefore, it is
important for teachers to know how to
choose the best material for instruction,
how to make supplementary materials for
the class, and how to adapt materials.

Why do we adapt a material?

The published materials available to a

teacher are never wholly adequate.
All groups of learners are unique, with
different needs and interests that
cannot be met by a single textbook
written for a generalized audience.
As such, teachers find that they must go
searching for the materials that they need
or create new ones true in blended
classrooms, where the texts used are
often not entirely appropriate for
Language learners.
While creating new materials from time to
time is probably unavoidable, it is not
reasonable to expect a teacher to

Textbook
Allwright emphasizes that materials control
learning and teaching. O'Neill emphasizes that
they help learning and teaching
textbooks can and should allow for adaptation and
improvization.
Theoretically, experienced teachers can teach
English without a textbook. However, it is not
easy to do it all the time, though they may do it
sometimes. Many teachers do not have enough
time to make supplementary materials, so they
just follow the textbook. Textbooks therefore take
on a very important role in language classes, and
it is important to select a good textbook.

Adapting Materials

keywords
Bridging
Making objectives meet requirements
Matching purpose
Maximizing appropriacy
Looking for congruence

How to adapt?

Adding
Deleting
Modifying
Simplifying
reordering

Example excerpt from a text

Adapting materials for mixed ability classes can take

different forms.

One way to adapt materials is to rewrite

reading texts and grade the language
accordingly for different levels.
the reality is that this sort of adaptation is
extremely time consuming and not many
teachers can actually go to this length to
adapt materials for mixed level groups.
Another problem that can arise with this sort of
adaptation is that it can be awkward to give
out different texts to different students
danger in labeling a weak or strong student and,
in the case of the weaker students, this will no
doubt effect their motivation.

You can either choose to adopt or to

adapt your materials.
If you choose to adapt, here are 12
procedures which you can use to
suit your needs.

1. Expansion
Text must be lengthened in some way.
Add one or more sentences/paragraphs
to the beginning and end of the text.

Turn a prose narrative into a

screenplay
Add specific items/ sentences within the
text (e.g. adjectives).
Add comment within the text.

Example- Expansion
Thanks for your letter. I was sorry to hear that a gang
of thieves broke into your house and stole some of
your mothers jewellery. I hope the police catch them
quickly. Its tragic to experience theft. It happened to
us two years ago. They stole a lot of electrical
appliances and some of my mothers jewellery too.
We gave the police lots of information about the stolen
articles and they managed to find most of the
appliances but some of my mothers beautiful sets of
jewellery were lost forever. Such loss was a great
blow to all of us.
Adapted from Jagjeet Singh & Adrian Holden (2003)
New Remedial English Grammar

Task - Expansion
1. Why do you need to expand a text?
2. How would you expand the following text?
The blaze crackled. Fire licked up the walls
and roof of the house. The fire continued to
rage. It showed no mercy to anyone.
The blaze crackled furiously as the fire licked
up the wooden walls and roof of the house at
the edge of the forest. The fire continued to
rage fiercely and showed no mercy to anyone.

2. Reduction
Text must be shortened in some way.
Remove clauses/specified items
(e.g. adjectives)/sentences.
Combines sentences.
Rewrite in a different format.

Task - Reduction
1. Why do you need to shorten a text?
2. How would you shorten the following text?
It takes about four hours from Kuala Lumpur,
and you get the chance to see little towns
like Bidor, Manjung and Setiawan that are
sprinkled along the journey.
It takes about four hours from Kuala Lumpur,
and you pass little towns along the journey.

3. Media Transfer
Text must be transferred into a diff.
medium or format.
Transfer into a visual form (e.g. pictures,
graphs, maps, tables)
Turn prose into a poem (vise versa)
Turn a letter into a newspaper article
(vise versa)
Turn headline into proverb (vise versa)
Turn poem into an advertising slogan
(vise versa)

4. Matching
A connection must be found between
the text and something else.
Match text with a visual representation.
Match text with a title/another text.
Match text with a voice/music.

5. Selection/ranking
Text must be chosen according to
some given criterion/placed in order
of suitability for a given criterion.
Choose the best text for a given purpose.
Choose the most/least (difficult, personal,
complex,etc.) text.
Choose words from a text to act as an
appropriate title.
Package

6. Comparison/contrast
Points of similarity/difference must be
identified between two or more texts.
Identify words/expressions common to
both texts.
Identify words/phrases in one text which
are paraphrased in the other.
Identify ideas which are common to both
texts.
Identify facts present in one text and not
in the other.
Compare grammatical/lexical complexity

7. Reconstruction

Coherence/completeness must be
restored to an incomplete/defective text.
Insert appropriate words/phrases into gapped
texts.
Reorder jumbled words, lines, sentences,
paragraphs,etc.
Reconstruct sentences/texts from a word array.
Reconstitute a written text from an oral
presentation (various types of dictation).
Remove sentences/lines which do not belong in
the text.

8. Reformulation
Text must be expressed in a form
different from the original without loss
of essential meanings
Retell a story from memory/notes.
Use key words to rewrite a text.
Rewrite in a different format (e.g. prose
as poem)
Rewrite in a different mood or style.

9. Interpretation
Personal knowledge/experience must
be used to clarify and extend the
meaning(s) of the text.

What does this remind you?

What image does this produce?
What associations does it have?
What questions do you wish to ask the
author?
What does the text not say that it might
have said?
Formulate WH-questions on the text.

10. Creating text

Text is to be used as a springboard
for the creation of the new text.
Write a parallel text on a different
theme.
Use the same story outline/model to
write a new text.
Use the same title but write a new text.
Combine these texts to create a new
text.

11. Analysis
Text is to be submitted to some form of
language-focused scrutiny.
Work out the ratio of one-word and two-word
verbs.
How many different tenses are used? Which are
most/least frequent?
How many content (or function) words does the
text contain?
List the different ways in which the word X is
referred to in the text (Anaphoric reference).
List all the words to do with(the sea, movement,
ecology, etc.) in this text.

12. Project
Text is used as a springboard for some
related practical work with a concrete
outcome.
Use the text as a centerpiece of an
advertising campaign. First decide on
the product. Then design the campaign
posters, advertising jingles, etc. Finally
present the product as a TV commercial
(which must incorporate the text). If
possible, video it.

 This is about the problem of X. Design a

questionnaire on this problem for other
groups to complete. Tabulate the result
and present them to the rest of the class.
This text presents a particular point of
view. With a partner, prepare a brief
magazine article which either supports
or disagrees with this point of view. In
both cases, you will need to collect ideas
and examples to support your own point
of view. Display the articles on the class
notice-board.

Some keys to successful adaptation of authentic

materials include:

converting them into workshop

activities
adjusting the length of the materials
simplifying or explaining key
language elements
converting authentic materials into a
variety of exercise types

Example benefits when materials

are adapted
Learners benefit from listening
materials spoken at normal
conversational speed vs. English
language learner directed listening
materials which have been altered
or slowed to enable improved
comprehension.

 language videos, CDs, newscasts and

radio programs can provide
invaluable insight into current events
and cultural aspects of Englishspeaking countries for language
teachers and learners in other parts
of the world. A benefit of recorded
material is the ability to be able to
rewind and repeat it as many times
as necessary in order to effect

We cant throw away course book,

realistically, consider adapting more
authentic materials for use in your
English language learning
classroom.