Republic of the Philippines

Laguna State Polytechnic University SINILOAN (HOST) CAMPUS

College of Teacher Education

PRINCIPLES IN

MATERIALS DESIGN

Dr. Mercedita Alberto M10 Professor

RONALYN MERCADO

DAPHNE LYN DELFIN

CHRISTINE JANE MARAÑA

LEVYMAR VILLAPAÑA

REANNIE AREVALO

BSED III-A

PRINCIPLES IN MATERIALS DESIGN

“Materials are anything which is used by teachers or learners to facilitate the learning of

a language.” (Tomlinson, 2012)

I. INTRODUCTION

How do writers write materials?

According to Tomlinson:

1. Replication and adaptation of previously successful materials played a large part in

the process of the writers he surveyed. In other instances, writers benefit from

inspiration. If none of this is very helpful to the aspiring materials writer, we can take

comfort from Tomlinson’s statement of preference for a principled approach to materials

writing – one which ‘is driven by a set of agreed principles, both universal principles

applicable to any learning context and local criteria specific to the target learning

context’.

2. As well as being of more use to the novice, who likely would not have a large

repertoire of materials of their own design to which they might make modifications, the

process of defining or agreeing upon the principles could be expected to result in more

student-centered, needs-focused materials.

Some material writers rely on their repertoire and inspiration, whereas others

establish the principles first before they start designing the materials (Tomlinson, 2011)

Tomlinson (2012) suggests material designers should follow “a set of agreed

principles”; in other words, a principled framework which should be based on both

universal principles and local criteria in the designing process. By ‘universal principles’,

Tomlinson is referring to second language acquisition (SLA) theories in language

learning which may be universally applicable to any learning context, while ‘local criteria’

covers more exclusive factors such as culture, geographical location, and context.

So what are these principles? Are they all created equally? How do writers

decide which ones apply to them?

II. DISCUSSION

A. David Nunan (1988) identified the Six Principles of Materials Design

1. Materials should be clearly linked to the curriculum they serve.

Materials should be chosen on the basis of their relevance to the

objective and goals of the curriculum.

2. Materials should be authentic in terms of text and task.

Text refers to the authenticity of the input data which are used as

point f departure in materials development. Task authenticity refers to

what learners actually o in relation to input data learners asked to

undertake tasks which replicate or rehearse their communicative

behaviors.

3. Materials should stimulate interaction.

Materials should stir interaction among learners. Materials must cause

the conversation among interlocutors for them to negotiate meaning,

interprets signs and symbols or understand dialogs.

4. Materials should allow learners to focus on formal aspects of the

language

There is evidence that learners can benefit from form-focused

activities that require them to solve problems, form and perform

hypothesis, come to conclusions and construct their own rules form

instances and examples of language use.

5. Materials should encourage learners to develop learning skills, and

skills in learning.

Learning skills refer to 4C’s: Critical thinking, creative thinking,

communication and collaborating. While, skills in learning are those

Research on learning styles and work in learner-centered

curriculum development has led to the trend of incorporating into materials

activities that teach students about learning as it is impossible to teach

everything students need to know in class. Hence, it is necessary to

provide learners with efficient learning strategies, develop skills in self-

evaluation, assist them to set their own objectives and develop skills

needed to negotiate the curriculum.

6. Materials should encourage learners to apply their developing skills to

the world beyond the classroom.

That a good language learner who always looks for opportunities to

do must be made a part of the materials. Many learners fail to make

connections between the language work done in class and the language

they encounter outside. Tasks designed to get learners to apply their skills

needed to be elaborated.

AUTHENTIC VERSUS CREATED MATERIALS

Authentic materials:

Nunan (1988) defines authentic materials as the materials "which have been

produced for purposes other than to teach language".

Nunan (1999) defines authentic materials as spoken or written language data

that has been produced in the course of genuine communication, and not

specifically written for purposes of language teaching.

Other Definition of Authentic Material from the point of view of the following writers:

According to Herod (2002) authentic learning 'materials and activities' are

designed to imitate the real world situations.

Herrington and Oliver (2000) suggested a new pedagogical term, called

"authentic learning". This term is directly related to the students' real life and

prepares them to face and deal with real world situations.

Jacobson et al (2003, p. 1) sees authentic materials as printed materials, which

are used in classrooms in the same way they would be used in real life.

In other words, Stubbs (1996) defines authentic texts as "actual, attested, and

such that they have real authentic instances of use."

According to Carter & Nunan (2001, p. 68) authentic materials are "ordinary texts

not produced specifically for language teaching purposes."

Types of Authentic Materials:

Teaching materials are a very essential part of teaching and learning a foreign

language. These days, the resources for teaching materials are available for everybody.

The internet is regarded as a very important and rich source for authentic materials.

Genhard (1996) classified authentic materials into three categories as follows:

1. Authentic listening materials

Radio news, cartoons, songs, etc.

2. Authentic visual materials, such as street signs, magazines and newspapers pictures,

post cards, etc.

3. Authentic printed materials, such as sports reports, newspapers, restaurant menus,

train tickets, etc.

Created materials:

Created materials refer to textbook and other specially developed

instructional materials. (Nunan, 1988)

Materials expressly created for the foreign language learner (Gallien,

Hotho & Staines, 2000; Kmiecik & Barkhuizen, 2006).

Those that are specifically designed for the language learners. They are

either adapted or simplified or written keeping in mind the language

proficiency of the learners in question. (Awasthi, 2006)

B. Principles In Materials Design Presented By Hutchinson And Waters

(1987)

1. Good materials provide stimulus to learning and encourage students to

learn.

They should contain interesting texts, enjoyable activities,

opportunities for learners to us their existing knowledge and skills, and

content that is suitable for the teacher and the learners.

2. Good materials should help the teaching-learning process.

They should provide a clear and coherent unit structure which will

guide teacher ad learner through various activities in such a way as to

maximize the chances of learning. The materials must clear and

systematic, but flexible enough to allow for creativity an variety.

3. Materials embody a view of the nature of the language learning.

They reflect the writer’s thinking and feeling about the learning

process.

4. Materials reflect the nature of the learning task.

Language learning is a complex process involving different kinds

and level of knowledge. The materials should create “a balanced outlook”

which reflects the complexity of the task and make it appear manageable.

5. Materials function to broaden the basis of teacher training by

introducing teachers to new techniques

6. Materials provide correct models of appropriate language use.

C. Principles in Materials Design Set by Tomlinson

Tomlinson set 16 principles based on second language in general

and is not context-specific, which suggests that they are universally

transferable and applicable to all material design. How they are applied,

however, is another issue i.e. to each individual activity in a course book,

to each chapter or the holistic approach to the whole course book. In any

case, the principles suggested by Tomlinson are all encouraging and

having a course material that reflects and adheres to these principles is

surely a good framework for producing pedagogically successful

materials.

Tomlinson’s 16 principles of material design are:

1. Materials should achieve impact.

Impact is achieved when materials have a noticeable effect on

learners, that is when the learners curiosity, interest, and attention are

attracted. If this is achieved there is a better chance that some of the

language in the materials will be taken for processing . Further, it is said

that materials can achieve impact when they are new, varied, presented

attractively, and appealing content.

2. Materials should help learners to feel at ease.

Materials can help learners to feel at ease in many ways, for example,

texts and illustrations rather than just texts, texts that the learners can

relate with their own culture than those that are culturally bound, materials

that include examples rather than without, and many others.

3. Materials should help learners to develop confidence.

Quoting Dulay, Burt, and Krashen 1982, Tomlinson (1998:9) said that

Relaxed and selfconfident learners learn faster .Many learners feel

relaxed and self-confident if they think that the materials they learn are not

too difficult but just one step further or more difficult than they master.

4. What is being taught should be perceived by learners as relevant and

useful.

In ESP, teachers of English can easily select materials that are

relevant to the specific choice of topics and tasks that the learners are

also learning in their field of study, therefore, the materials they learn must

be relevant and useful.

5. Materials should require and facilitate learner self-investment.

Materials that enable the learners to be interested in them, that can

draw their attention, and that can attract them to learn the materials will

facilitate them to learn the materials by themselves.

6. Learners must be ready to acquire the points being taught.

To acquire the points being taught, the materials learned should be i +

1 in which i represents what has already been learned and 1 represents

what is available for learning. According to Krashen (1985), each learner

will only learn from the new input what he or she is ready to learn.

7. Materials should expose the learners to language in authentic use.

A lot of teaching/learning materials can provide exposure to

authentic input through the instructions, advice they give for the activities

and the spoken and the written texts included in the materials. The

learners attention should be drawn to linguistic features of the input.

These linguistic features should not become the main focus in the

materials but the learners should be made aware that linguistic features

are needed to locate and to make a generalization about the function of

the linguistic features in the main materials.

8. The learners’ attention should be drawn to linguistic features of the

input.

These linguistic features should not become the main focus in the

materials but the learners should be made aware that linguistic features

are needed to locate and to make a generalization about the function of

the linguistic features in the main materials.

9. Materials should provide learners with opportunities to use the target

language to achieve communicative purposes.

After learning the materials, learners should be given opportunities to

practice the language they have learned for communication in real life

situation not just practicing it in the classroom controlled by the teacher.

10. Materials should take into account that the positive effects of

instruction are usually delayed.

As it can be observed in our daily teaching, learners learning a

language is not an instantaneous process but a gradual one. In order to

facilitate the gradual process of learning or acquiring a language, it is

important to give frequent and ample exposure to the instructed language

features in communicative use.

11. Materials should take into account that learners differ in learning

styles.

Not all learners have the same learning styles. Language learning

styles include visual, auditory, kinaesthetic (e.g. the learner prefers to do

something physical, such as following instructions), studial (e.g. the

learner likes to pay conscious attention to the linguistic features of the

language and wants to be correct), experiential, analytic, global,

dependent and independent.

12. Materials should take into account that learners differ in affective

attitudes.

Learners attitudes vary in types and times. Ideal learners will need

strong and consistent motivation, positive feelings towards the target

language, their teachers, their fellow learners, and the materials they are

learning. Realizing this fact, materials should provide choices of different

types of texts and types of activities.

13. Materials should permit a silent period at the beginning of instruction.

The silent period is used to facilitate the development of an effective

internalized grammar and other language elements which can help

learners to achieve proficiency. The other possible extension of the

principle of permitting silence is to introduce most new language points

through activities which initially require comprehension before production..

14. Materials should maximize learning potential by encouraging

intellectual, aesthetic and emotional involvement, which stimulates

both right – and left-brain activities.

This principle means that materials which encourage the learners to

learn the same lesson involving different cerebral processes and different

states of consciousness in many different parts of the brain will maximize

recall.

15. Materials should not rely too much on controlled practice.

This principle is intended to state that it is still controversial to say

that controlled practice activities are valuable. The statements which state

that most spontaneous performance is attained by dint of practice

(Sharwood-Smith, 1981) and automaticity is achieved through practice

(Bialystok, 1988) have no evidence. However, many researchers agree

with Ellis saying that controlled practice appears to have little long term

effect on the accuracy with which new structures are performed (Ellis,

1990:192) and has little effect on fluency (Ellis and Rathbone, 1987). Yet,

controlled grammar practice activities still feature significantly in popular

coursebooks and are considered useful by many teachers and by many

learners.

16. Materials should provide opportunities for outcome feedback.

Feedback which is focused on the effectiveness of the outcome rather

than just on the accuracy of the output can lead to output becoming a

profitable source of input. Therefore, a learner who is successful to

achieve a particular communicative purpose will gain positive feedback on

the effectiveness of the use of the language for further language outcome.

In relation to this, materials developer has to be sure that language

production activities have intended outcomes other than just practicing

language.

III. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Materials should be clearly linked to the curriculum they serve (Nunan,

1988). The curriculum cycle below illustrates the three phases of the

curriculum development.

IV. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Hutchinson and Waters (1987) present a model for writing materials.

The model provides “a coherent framework of integration of various aspects of

learning” and, at the same time, allows “creativity and variety” to develop.

Curriculum Planning

Identify learner

needs

Set goals and

objectives

Write materials

Write tests.

Curriculum

Implementation

Instruct learners

Monitor and

adapt instruction

Write

supplementary

materials

Curriculum Evaluation

Test learners

Evaluate

curriculum

Plan changes in

the curriculum

PHASE 1 PHASE 2 PHASE 3

The model consists of four elements. They are:

1) Input

It can be in the form of text, dialogue, video-recording, diagram or any piece

of communication data. It depends on the needs the writer has defined in the

analysis. The input provides:

a) Stimulus materials for activities b)

b) New language items 17

c) Correct models of language use

d) Topic for communication

e) Opportunities for learners to use their information processing skill

f) Opportunities for learners to use their existing knowledge of the language

and the subject matter.

2) Content focus

The content focus means that language is a means of conveying information

and feelings about something. Therefore, it generates meaningful

communication in the classroom.

3). Language focus

It gives the learners the chance to take the language into pieces, study

how it works and practice putting it back together again.

4) Task

Materials should be designed to lead towards a ‘communicative task’ in

which learners use the content and language knowledge they have built up

through the unit.

A Material Design Model shows the relation between input, content focus,

language focus and task.

Figure 1: A Material Design Model (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987)

Further, Hutchinson and Waters present the process of designing learning

materials as follows:

1) Conducting needs analysis

2) Writing syllabus

3) Developing the materials

4) Developing teaching methodology

5) Trying out the materials

6) Evaluating the materials

7) Revising the materials

SUMMARY

There is no published, universal set of principles for materials design and in fact

commercial material writers claim to be whimsical in their approach and “follow their

intuitions rather than an overt specification of objectives, principles and procedures”

(Tomlinson, 2011) and “replicating previous materials, adapting activity types that have

worked for them before and relying upon creative inspiration” (Tomlinson, 2012).

There are some areas of clear agreement between these authors. For instance,

the need for relevance was mentioned by most. Tomlinson makes the point that it is the

perception of relevance on the part of the learners that is important; He values materials

which require an investment from and devolve responsibility to the learners. Nunan

focuses for materials that facilitate links between the learners’ developing skills and the

wider world; He refers to developing ‘learning skills and skills in learning. He also

extends authenticity of tasks as well as texts. Hutchinson & Waters require materials to

be equal to the complexity of the task of learning a language and give the learners the

necessary tools to succeed. The terminology used amongst authors and their phrasing

could be seen as clues to their views on how languages are learned.

For Tomlinson and Nunan, materials which promote noticing are to be valued –

they speak of attention being drawn and allowing a focus on language patterns. For

Hutchinson & Waters, the models provided are important but also the way these models

are delivered – ‘not simply … statements of language use’.

REFERENCES:

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:WzCrKN2uGWsJ:blogs.brighton.ac.u

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http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:fNp580Vt0qgJ:www.iltec.pt/pdf/Princi

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http://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/materialsdesign/2016/02/21/whose-principles/#fnref-22-4

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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