Materials Evaluation,

Adaptation and Design Day 1

Day 1 Principles of materials evaluation
and the Speaking Skill
Day 2 Principles of differentiation and
the Listening Skill
Day 3 Principles of materials adaptation
and the Reading Skill
Day 4 Principles of materials design and
the Writing Skill
Materials Evaluation
Session 1

Communicative classrooms and the needs

of learners
Getting to know each other

g
• A name
• A place
• An activity
• Another important
piece of information
Considering the communicative
classroom

In order to evaluate
materials we need to set
the standard and the
principles we want to use
in the classroom.
Considering the communicative
classroom

The challenges:
• Broad spectrum of abilities-
leading up to A1 through to C2
• Need to cover:
- selection of materials to
supplement course books
including for pre- and post-
task
- self access classes and libraries
Considering the communicative
classroom
 Considering the communicative
classroom

LEARNERS TEACHERS MATERIALS /

LANGUAGE
 Considering the communicative
classroom
LEARNERS TEACHERS MATERIALS/LANGUAGE
Considering the communicative
classroom
MATERIALS/LANGUAGE
 Considering the communicative
classroom
A task – names and personal information
 Considering the communicative
classroom
A task – names and personal information

a. How relevant/meaningful is the context to your

students?
b. How realistic is the use of language e.g. why do they
need to exchange the information?
c. How varied are the questions?
d. How personalised to your students is the information?
 Considering the communicative
classroom
Learners in the communicative
classroom
In the communicative classroom, learners will be active
participants in the learning process. This means that the
teacher will give plenty of opportunities for the learners to use
language naturally and may often set up a variety of
interaction patterns including work with groups and pairs.
This allows the learners to work creatively with language and
to become more autonomous.
 Considering the communicative
classroom
Teachers in the communicative classroom
The role of the teacher is very important in promoting a
communicative classroom. The teacher spends a lot of time
monitoring group or pair work activity to see how the learners are
coping. The teacher will also be guiding and helping them
complete the activity when they need it. Although there will be
some points where the teacher will do some correcting this will
often happen after the activity is completed; it is important
learners understand that making mistakes is part of the learning
process and during activities the teacher will usually focus on
encouraging and supporting the learners.
 Considering the communicative classroom

Materials and language in the

communicative classroom
Materials and activities used in the classroom work best if
they use language for a meaningful purpose such as
solving a problem or sharing information. This will give the
learners a reason to complete the task. It is also important
that the type of language used is realistic and natural
because this will provide a good model for learners. If the
materials relate to the lives of the learners and is
personalised to them it will be more motivating: this can
include making sure the materials are varied and use a
mixture of visuals, audio and tasks that include movement.
 Evaluating
Considering materialsclassroom
the communicative

So what does this mean for materials

evaluation?

When we evaluate materials it is best to use

• a systematic procedure
• a process that measures the value of the materials
to teachers, learners and administrators.

(Tomlinson 2003)
 Evaluating materials

McDonough and Shaw 1993

External

Internal
 Evaluating materials

McDonough and Shaw 1993

External

Internal
 Evaluating materials

McDonough and Shaw 1993

External

Internal
 Evaluating materials

Using check lists is a systematic way to evaluate

External

Internal
 Evaluating materials

Using check lists is a systematic way to

evaluate.
Checklist
 Considering the communicative
Evaluating materials classroom

The selection of materials involves matching

the given materials against the context in
which they are going to be used and the
needs and interests of the teachers and
learners who work within it, to find the best
possible fit between them.
Rubdy 2003
 Considering the communicative
Evaluating materials classroom

Select effective
materials
After
evaluation

Adapt and add

supplements

Design additional
content
Day 1
Session 2

Applying the criteria to Speaking

Considering the communicative
classroom

Let’s look at a
speaking
task for Preschool
children
 Evaluating materials

Video
Considering the communicative
classroom

Let’s reflect…
…and discuss
Considering the communicative
classroom

Which level?

Leading to A1 / A1
 Evaluating materials

• Engaging and fun

• Meaningful - the game has an
• No written form
aim and purpose
• No reflection element
• Familiar objects for the
children
[Possibly added later]
• Children able to practice
orally and reinforce the
language
• Uses spoken English
combined with visual and
kinaesthetic activity
 Evaluating materials

When looking at materials we can use:

• our knowledge of the classroom
• our experience
• our knowledge of the students and their needs
to decide if they are appropriate.

But using criteria makes the process much more

systematic.
A communicative classroom classroom
Considering the communicative context for
evaluating materials
A B C
SECONDARY PRIMARY PRESCHOOL

Collaborative problem Support through clear Secure, positive

solving examples, step by step environment
Space for independent Encouraging co- Giving lots of praise
learning operative learning Flexibility
Working out solutions Teacher monitoring, Mixing high activity
Choosing guiding & listening to with calming activity
topics/activities & contributions High levels of variety
reflecting on their own Creativity- games and
including a range of
work in detail puzzles
kinaesthetic, audio and
Using prior knowledge
visual
Recognising success

Active participation
Meaningful and realistic language use
Examples and activities that are personalised / related to the learners’
experience
A variety of tasks using audio, visual and kinaesthetic
Acceptance of errors
Principles for evaluating
Speaking tasks and materials
 Degrees of achievement: An example

A2 Speaking rating scale

[Cambridge English Language Assessment]

A2 Grammar and Vocabulary Pronunciation Interactive Communication

 Shows a good degree of control of simple  Is mostly intelligible, and has  Maintains simple exchanges.
grammatical forms. some control of phonological  Requires very little prompting and
5
 Uses a range of appropriate vocabulary features at both utterance and support.
when talking about everyday situations. word levels.
4 Performance shares features of Bands 3 and 5.
 Shows sufficient control of simple  Is mostly intelligible, despite  Maintains simple exchanges, despite
grammatical forms. limited control of phonological some difficulty.
3
 Uses appropriate vocabulary to talk features.  Requires prompting and support.
about everyday situations.
2 Performance shares features of Bands 1 and 3.
 Shows only limited control of a few  Has very limited control of  Has considerable difficulty
grammatical forms. phonological features and is maintaining simple exchanges.
1
 Uses a vocabulary of isolated words and often unintelligible.  Requires additional prompting and
phrases. support.
0 Performance below Band 1.

Handout 5
Sample task: C2 level

A Speaking task
 The Speaking skill: sub-skills
Considering the communicative classroom
The Speaking skill: characteristics of fluency in
conversational English
Possible features of a good fluency True/False
speaking task:
Produces a lot of language
Encourages the learners to read aloud
Is easy for students to follow
Has lots of different rules and activities
Involves the teacher error correcting all mistakes heard
Is economical to set up
Provides meaningful communication
Gives students a chance to interact with each other in
groups or pairs
Can be followed by error correction after the task has
finished
Should include lots of new vocabulary and grammar
forms
Will involve students standing and speaking in front of
the class one by one
The Speaking
Consideringskill: characteristics
the communicative of fluency
classroom
in conversational English
Possible features of a good fluency True/False
speaking task:
Produces a lot of language T
Encourages the learners to read aloud F
Is easy for students to follow T
Has lots of different rules and activities F
Involves the teacher error correcting all mistakes heard F
Is economical to set up T
Provides meaningful communication T
Gives students a chance to interact with each other in T
groups or pairs
Can be followed by error correction after the task has T
finished
Should include lots of new vocabulary and grammar F
forms
Will involve students standing and speaking in front of F
the class one by one
The Considering
Speaking skill: potential challenges
the communicative classroom for
learners
Potential challenge Possible solution
Inhibition Encouraging atmosphere
Nothing to say Scaffold task
Use of mother tongue Prizes, points, bribes
Delay error correction
Allow planning time
Pre-teach difficult language
Show models
Motivating topic
The Considering
Speaking skill: potential challenges
the communicative classroom for
learners

Potential challenge Possible solution

Inhibition

Nothing to say

Use of mother tongue

The Considering
Speaking skill: potential challenges
the communicative classroom for
learners

Potential challenge Possible solution

Inhibition Motivating topic
Encouraging atmosphere
Delay error correction
Nothing to say

Use of mother tongue

The Considering
Speaking skill: potential challenges
the communicative classroom for
learners

Potential challenge Possible solution

Inhibition Motivating topic
Encouraging atmosphere
Delay error correction
Nothing to say Scaffold task
Allow planning time
Pre-teach difficult language
Show models
Use of mother tongue
The Considering
Speaking skill: potential challenges
the communicative classroom for
learners

Potential challenge Possible solution

Inhibition Motivating topic
Encouraging atmosphere
Delay error correction
Nothing to say Scaffold task
Allow planning time
Pre-teach difficult language
Show models
Use of mother tongue Prizes, points, bribes
 Tasks to build confidence (more
controlled)
• Chanting and repetitions
• Songs
• Dialogue builds with prompts
• Responding to prompts
• Guessing games
• Putting pictures in order to tell stories
• Explaining if something is true or false
• Describing pictures (in pairs)
• Board games with speaking elements
Day 1
Session 3

Analysis and Application: Apply the evaluation

in sector groups
Using the criteria
The Speaking skill: applying the criteria

A speaking task
Level B1 up to C2

Handout 8a / 8b
1. Your favourite café is going to get some new pictures for the wall. They have asked all their customers to choose the best pic
2. You are looking at one of the pictures. Tell your partner about your picture. What are the similarities and differences?
The Speaking skill: applying the criteria

1. Your favourite café is going to get some new pictures

for the wall. They have asked all their customers to
choose the best picture. What kind of pictures would
you like to see? Discuss with your partner.

2. You are looking at one of the pictures. Tell your partner

about your picture. What are the similarities and
differences?

Handout 8a / 8b
Considering the communicative classroom
The Speaking skill: applying the criteria

Use the criteria check list.

Decide how far the material achieves
the criteria using points:

2 = Yes, fully covered

1 = Partially covered
0 = No, not covered

Handout 9
Considering the communicative classroom
 Thinking about evaluation

• What additional materials and resources do

most teachers in Malaysia have?
• How confident will they be in evaluating the
materials?
• What will they find challenging or easy?

Discuss in your group

Applying the Principles
Reflection
 Evaluating material

3 things you remember

2 things you found useful
1 question you still have
 Reflection

Think about the following questions:

• Was it easy to use the check list?

• What did you find easy or difficult?
• Did your initial impression of the material
change?