the roles, advantages, disadvantages, ideal use of materials

1. LECTURE 2
THE ROLE OF INSTRUCTIONAL
MATERIALS

2. THE ROLES OF MATERIALS
• Resource for presentation materials – both
spoken & written
• Source of activities for learners practice &
communicative interactions
• Reference source for grammar,
vocabulary & pronunciation

3. THE ROLES OF MATERIALS
• Source for stimulation & ideas for
classroom language activities
• As syllabus (reflect learning objectives
which have already been determined)
• Resource for self-directed learning
• A support for less experienced teachers

4. ADVANTAGES OF TEXTBOOKS
• Tsiplakides (2011):
–Psychologically indispensable –
progress & achievement are measured
using it
–Published materials have more
‘credibility’ than ‘in-house’ materials
–Usually sensitive to students’ needs –
save time & money, allow adaptation
–Inexpensive, require little preparation

5. ADVANTAGES OF TEXTBOOKS
• Tsiplakides (2011):
–Effective for self directed learning
–Provide structure for a program
–help standardized instruction
–Maintain quality
–Provide a variety or learning resources
–Provide language models & input
–Usually visually appealing

6. ADVANTAGES OF
TEXTBOOKS
• Richards (2002)
– Provide structure & syllabus for programme
– Help standardized instruction
– Maintain quality
– Provide variety in learning resources
– Efficient
– Provide effective language model & input
– Can train teachers
– Visually appealing

7. ADVANTAGES OF
TEXTBOOKS
• Ur (1996) cited in Yilmaz 2005:
– Provides a clear framework – keep teachers &
learners on the right track
– Can serve as syllabus – teachers & learners
can follow subject systematically
– Provide useful guidance & support for
inexperienced teachers
– Learners can learn, review & monitor
progress of target language independently

8. DISADVANTAGES OF
TEXTBOOKS
• Richards (2002):
– Contain inauthentic language
– Distort content
– May not reflect students needs
– Can deskill teachers
– Can be expensive

9. DISADVANTAGES OF
TEXTBOOKS
• Tsiplakides (2011):
– Not flexible – mirror pedagogic, psychological
& linguistics preferences of the author
– Contain social & cultural biases
– Too contrived & artificial in the presentation of
the target language
– Prevent teachers’ creativity & undermined
teachers role

10. IDEAL USE OF TEXTBOOKS
• Use the textbook as core reference but
also supplement it with other materials
• As a common framework & act as a point
of reference – to keep teachers on the
right track
• Rookie teachers can use as much as they
need to & progress to use lesser as they
gain experience & knowledge

11. IDEAL USE OF TEXTBOOKS
• There is a scope for replacing unsuitable
parts of the book with other materials
• There is a scope for teachers to develop
confidence to experiment with alternative
materials
• Gives more variety to classroom activities
& teaching techniques
• Gives more flexible response to students’
individual needs.

12. THE AUTONOMY POWER
• In Malaysia the common practice is that
the textbooks are prescribed by the
ministry while other supplementing
materials are selected by the committee
(Panitia).
• In some occasions, teachers are also
required to make selection on materials for
language room or resource centres.

13. THE AUTONOMY POWER
• Most higher education institutions also
require teaching staff to select their own
materials (course books) to be used in
courses/subjects the teachers teach
• If the teachers have sufficient knowledge
on the process of selecting materials, the
task can rewarding as they can choose
materials that are suitable for their group
of learners.

14. THE AUTONOMY POWER
• If the teachers are less experienced and
less knowledgeable, the task can be very
intimidating.
• Materials selection can be a demanding
task as well as time consuming – having to
evaluate a large number of materials
before making the decision.

15. DEGREE OF AUTONOMY
• Factors affecting degree of autonomy:
1.Type of education system
– In centralized system (ie:Malaysia) textbooks
are prescribed by the education authorities
hence less autonomy for teachers
– In decentralized system (ie:USA) gives more
autonomy to teachers to choose what is
suitable for their students

16. DEGREE OF AUTONOMY
2. Syllabus / material constraints imposed
by education authorities
– the more constraints imposed by the syllabus
(curriculum is spelled out in details), the less
autonomy power the teacher has
– there are less materials that can be chosen to
be used along with the syllabus, hence the
used of textbooks as these books are written
based on the specification

17. DEGREE OF AUTONOMY
3. Culture of the learners
– certain cultural restrictions may lessen
autonomy of the teachers in selecting
materials
– Teachers will have lesser pool of materials to
choose from as they have to consider the
restrictions in hand

18. DEGREE OF AUTONOMY
4. Amount of training for teachers
– the more training teachers receive the
more they can exercise the autonomy
power given
5. Teacher’s experience & confidence
– less experienced teachers will find the
autonomy power useless because they
do not know how to work it to their
advantage

19. DEGREE OF AUTONOMY
6. Teachers’ command of English (NNS) –
less proficient teachers will have lesser
materials to choose from, hence less
autonomy to be exercised
7. Availability of alternative t/b & resources
for materials production – autonomy will
be pointless if there is no materials to
choose from

20. TUTORIAL 2
• Discuss the degree of autonomy power to
select materials in each of the scenario:
– Trainer in HR department of a banking
institution
– Teacher in a language centre
– Lecturer in a public university
• Explain why do you think each scenario
has that level of autonomy power