This course offers an insight into how best to select and adapt authentic materials to use with students as a way of exposing them to other cultures and ways of thinking. It has been shown that authentic materials are more motivating for students (Peacock, 1997) and thus the class will feature practical demonstrations of ways in which authentic materials can be used to help motivate students. In the class, participants will look at, observe and demonstrate tasks which utilise authentic materials and participants will also have the chance to a adapt materials and design their own tasks in a hands-on workshop

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USING & ADAPTING AUTHENTIC
MATERIALS TO HELP MOTIVATE STUDENTS
Dr Richard Pinner| rpinner@sophia.ac.jp |www.uniliterate.com | @uniliterate
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course offers an insight into how best to select and adapt authentic materials to use with students as a
way of exposing them to other cultures and ways of thinking. It has been shown that authentic materials are
more motivating for students (Peacock, 1997) and thus the class will feature practical demonstrations of ways
in which authentic materials can be used to help motivate students. In the class, participants will look at,
observe and demonstrate tasks which utilise authentic materials and participants will also have the chance to a
adapt materials and design their own tasks in a hands-on workshop
NOTE- Due to COVID19 precautions, the Hands-on Workshop will be slightly different, this time featuring
a lesson share and reflection format. Many thanks for your understanding.
INTRODUCTION: DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Some questions for you to reflect on and discuss. These questions will be relevant throughout the workshop.
1. What is the best lesson you have ever taught?
I. Who enjoyed it most, you or the students? Was it a mutual enjoyment?
II. How do you know that the students enjoyed the lesson?
2. What made the lesson successful in terms of learning?
3. Was the lesson motivating?
I. Who was it motivating for, you or the students, or both?
II. What was motivating about it?
III. How do you know that they were motivated?
4. Was the lesson authentic?
I. What made it authentic?
5. What role did materials play in this lesson?
You may not be able to answer all the questions right away. Please share your answers and reflect on the
questions. Which ones are the hardest to answer?
WHAT IS AUTHENTICITY?
What do you think authenticity is, in relation to English language teaching? Is there a
difference between ‘authentic language’ and ‘authentic materials’? Can materials be
‘authentic’ in and of themselves?
Please use the link and input your answer into the online form in order to share with the
group. https://forms.gle/nTBaqL9Rdh91zGS2A
See Pinner (2016a, b) for research on teacher’s ideas about authenticity.

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DEFINING AUTHENTICITY: THE DEBATE
Authenticity comes from the Greek word authenteo which meant ‘to have full power’. The word is made of
two parts; auto- means ‘self’ and hentes refers to the doer or being, and thus has etymological roots with
autonomy (self and nomos as in law, self-governing).
Alex Gilmore (2007) identifies eight ‘inter-related’ meanings from the literature:
Adapted fromGilmore
(2007, p. 98)
Which of these
definitions do you find
the most convincing? Can you see any problems?
In my own writings, I have further simplified this to Two Basic
Strands of the authenticity debate (Pinner, 2016a).
What is the best way to link these two strands?
World Englishes and Authenticity
It is no longer possible to say that something is
authentic just because it comes from an American or
British newspaper, and it is also no longer possible to
say something is not authentic for the same reasons. As David Graddol says,
“The future status of English will be determined less by the number and
economic power of its native speakers than by the trends in the use of
English as a second language” (2003, p. 157)
The 3Cs of Authenticity
Frieda Mishan (2005) advocates the
consideration of 3 Cs – Culture (target and
home), Currency (as in time) and Challenge
(level+1 or zone of proximal development).
SUMMARY DISCUSSION
Look back at the Introduction Discussion
Questions, items 4 and 5. How does your answer
to these questions relate to the ideas we
discussed in this section?
existential
• interactions
practical
• materials
Native
Real
Self
Classroom
Task
Social
Assessment
Culture
Kachru (1985)
Culture
Currency
Challenge
All Englishes are equal, but
some varieties are more
equal than others
(Pinner, 2016b, p. 69)
Inner
circle
Outer
circle
Expanding
circle
Working Definition
authenticity is “the degree of congruence
between one’s actions and one’s core self-
conceptions – consisting of fundamental
values, beliefs, and identities” (Vannini &
Burgess, 2009, p. 104)

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AUTHENTICITY AND MOTIVATION
Social Authentication
“Authentication is basically a personal process of
engagement, […] it is reasonable to suggest that a teacher’s authenticity may stimulate authenticity in
the students as well.” (van Lier, 1996, p. 128)
Teachers who invest personally in their teaching expect a similar personal investment
from their students. When this is reciprocal, it creates Social Authentication (congruent validation in the
learning process) which leads to positive motivational synergy. In this way authenticity can either be a
BRIDGE or a GAP between the teacher and students’ motivation (Pinner, 2019). Personal disclosures have
also been shown to
Energy Return on Investment (ERI)
• This is a term taken from physics and ecology, often used to explain the efficiency of fuels.
• Energy is fundamentally defined as the ability to do work, and ERI is very basically
the payback received
• In terms of teaching, I apply ERI to refer to the amount of energy a teacher
invests in the class, and how much energy (work) is returned by the students.
In my research, I hypothesise ERI to be the way that social authentication is forged. If there is a high
congruence between teacher and learners, this creates a close synergy with reciprocal and mutually
beneficial energy flow. At other times, unresponsive learners mean that a teacher will naturally reduce
the amount of energy they expend on a class, which in turn has a knock-on effect for motivation.
SUMMARY DISCUSSION
Going back to the Introduction Discussion Questions, which of these questions do you think
are related to ERI and Authenticity? Which questions are still unanswered?
Is Motivation similar to Energy? Which way does the Energy of a lesson flow? How does authencity allow
energy to flow in both directions? Can this ever flow in a negative direction? What are your personal
epxeriences of this?
dynamic link
between
teacher and
student
motivation
Authenticity Motivation
The relationship between student and
teacher motivation can be “either
positively or negatively synergistic” (Deci,
Kasser, & Ryan, 1997, p. 68)

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Indicators of Synergy
In the Introduction Discussion Questions, you were asked ‘how do you know’ about the student’s
enjoyment of a lesson and their motivation. This is a difficult question to answer. In order to make claims
about my own teaching, I created a framework which teachers can use in order to explain how they are
able to gauge their learner’s motivation.
Which of these indicators do you use in your own classes when you reflect on your lessons and your
students’ level of engagement? Use your answers to the Introduction Discussion Questions to help you
reflect.
Are any of these indicators more important than others? Which ones?
The Language Impetus Triad
Due to the close conceptual links between autonomy, motivation and authenticity, it might actually be
simpler to think of them as part of an interdependent system, aka the Language Impetus Triad.
SUMMARY DISCUSSION
• Does any of this seem true to you from your own experiences?
• Do you agree with idea of Energy Return on Investment?
• Do you have experiences of positive motivational synergy?
• Do you have experiences of negative motivational synergy?
• What practical things can we do in the class to ensure Authenticity acts as a BRIDGE to
positive motivational synergy?
Synergy
On-task
Engagement
Group
Dynamics
Empathy
Intuition
Performance
Feedback
authenticity
autonomy
motivation

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ACHIEVING PRAXIS
Now that we have established the main points of the workshop and shared our own experiences and
reflections to illustrate them, how can we turn these into practical strategies that we can use in our
classes?
In groups, we will develop a list of strategies that can help us design more authentic and motivating
classes. Many of these strategies are likely to be things you already do with your learners which you feel
are effective. Let’s try to come up with 3 strategies per group. Feel free to write more.
Do you have any ideas about how to break the negative synergy, when Authenticity is a GAP between
your students and yourselves?
Some ideas to take away:
• Remember to explain to the students the pedagogic value of a classroom activity. This will help
you to align your beliefs and achieve a sense of congruence with your actions in the classroom.
• Encourage your students to regularly reflect on their own learning.
• Allow the students to personalise the content by asking them questions that illicit an authentic
and meaningful response relevant to their own lives and identities.
• Encourage students to make their own learning goals and find reasons for investing in the
language.
1
2
3

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REFERENCES
Deci, E. L., Kasser, T., & Ryan, R. M. (1997). Self-
determined teaching: Opportunities
and obstacles. In J. L. Bess (Ed.),
Teaching well and liking it: Motivating
faculty to teach effectively (pp. 57-71).
Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University
Press.
Gilmore, A. (2007). Authentic materials and
authenticity in foreign language
learning. Language Teaching, 40(02),
97-118.
doi:10.1017/S0261444807004144
Graddol, D. (2003). The decline of the native
speaker. In G. Anderman & M. Rogers
(Eds.), Translation today: trends and
perspectives (pp. 152-167). Clevedon:
Multilingual Matters.
Kachru, B. B. (1985). Standards, codification and
sociolinguistic realism: the English
language in the outer circle. In R. Quirk,
H. G. Widdowson, & Y. Cantù (Eds.),
English in the World: Teaching and
Learning the Language and Literatures
(pp. 11-30). Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Mishan, F. (2005). Designing authenticity into
language learning materials. Bristol:
Intellect Books.
Peacock, M. (1997). The effect of authentic
materials on the motivation of EFL
learners. ELT Journal, 51(2), 144-156.
doi:10.1093/elt/51.2.144
Pinner, R. S. (2011). Making the most of moodle.
English teaching professional(73), 64-
66.
Pinner, R. S. (2016a). The nature of authenticity
in English as a foreign language: a
comparison of eight inter-related
definitions. ELTWO Journal, 9(1), 78-93.
Pinner, R. S. (2016b). Reconceptualising
Authenticity for English as a Global
Language. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Pinner, R. S. (2019). Social Authentication and
Teacher-Student Motivational Synergy:
A narrative of language teaching.
London: Routledge.
Tomlinson, B., & Masuhara, H. (2010).
Applications of the research results for
second language acquisition theory and
research. In B. Tomlinson & H.
Masuhara (Eds.), Research for materials
development in language learning :
evidence for best practice (pp. 399-409).
London: Continuum.
van Lier, L. (1996). Interaction in the language
curriculum: Awareness, autonomy and
authenticity. London: Longman.
Vannini, P., & Burgess, S. (2009). Authenticity as
motivation and aesthetic experience. In
P. Vannini & J. P. Williams (Eds.),
Authenticity in culture, self, and society
(pp. 103-120). Surrey: Ashgate
Publishing.
Widdowson, H. G. (1978). Teaching language as
communication. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
SUMMARY
You can download the slides and additional resources at
www.uniliterate.com
• Please email me!
rpinner@sophia.ac.jp
Thanks for your attention and ‘keep it real!’
There will now be a compulsory exam section. During the exam, you will be asked to write a reflection
paper on the following prompt: What is your experience of Authenticity and Motivation, especially with
regards to Energy Return on Investment? Do you agree that there is a connection between how much
energy you put into class and how much energy students give back? These responses may be used as part
of my ongoing research, unless you choose to opt-out which you can do by marking an X in the box at the
top of the page.