Teaching English 11. Materials design. Nancy Grimm Michael Meyer Laurenz Volkmann

Teaching English

11. Materials design

0. Table of contents

1. Curricula and textbooks

1.1 Curriculum design

1.2 The textbook: friend or foe?

2. Designing effective materials

2.1 Materials and tasks

2.2 Basic tips for designing

worksheets

3. Digitally designed materials

4. Recommended reading

Discuss:

Have a look at the cartoon. Reflect on the status as well as the advantages and

disadvantages (for teachers, students, lessons) of using the textbook, comparing this to the use of self-designed materials.

1.1 Curriculum design

- Standards

- Curriculum/a

- In-school syllabus

1.1 Curriculum design – input, process, output

whatcontent (= input) and in which sequence of learnable units (= syllabus) Input Syllabus howteaching is carried out (= process)

and with which

learning procedures, activities, etc.

(= methodology)

Process Methodology

what learners are able to do (= output) after a period of instruction, e.g., a school year (= learning outcome) Output Learning Outcome based on Richards 2013

1.1 Curriculum design

Input

Process

Output

1.1 Curriculum design

Central design: process first

Input

Output

1.1 Curriculum design

Backward design: output first

Input

Process

1.1 Curriculum design – forward, central, backward design

1.1 Curriculum design – forward, central, backward design

1.1 Curriculum design

Study the EFL curriculum in the area you are studying or teaching in. Which design elements can you identify in the curriculum? With fellow students or colleagues, discuss how well the curriculum supports the planning of lessons.

1.2 The textbook:

friend or foe? –

teacher types

Textbook = resource of

materials, content, teaching ideas, learning support, and reference

1.2 The textbook: friend or foe? – pros

Systematization and structure of material Standardization Quality Multimodality Efficiency Support cf. Sercu 2000: 627, Richards 2007: 254-55

1.2 The textbook: friend or foe? – cons

Inauthentic language

Distorted and/or stereotypical content

Neglect of students’ needs and interests

Deskilling of teachers

Money

1.2 The textbook: friend or foe?

Study a current EFL textbook. Which of the aforementioned advantages and disadvantages do you find in the textbook? How would you

2. Designing effective materials – pros

Positive effect on learner motivation

Authentic cultural information

Exposure to real language

Support a more creative approach to teaching

2. Designing effective materials – cons

Inferior quality

Copyright infringement

Linguistic difficulty or mistakes Lack of structure

Limited time Financial burden

2.1 Materials and tasks – evaluation of materials

2.1 Materials and tasks – evaluation of materials

2.1 Materials and tasks

With fellow students or colleagues, discuss which of items on the

2.1 Materials and tasks

Tasks

complexity grading sequencing

2.1 Materials and tasks

Grading tasks based on Nunan 2000: 102-03

Learner

Confidence Motivation Learning experience Learning pace Ability in language skills Cultural knowledge/ awareness Linguistic knowledge

2.1 Materials and tasks

Have a look at two or three pages from a current textbook. Evaluate the complexity of the tasks, if and how they are graded, and if the task

2.2 Basic tips for designing worksheets

Header Footer Line spacing Font Annotations Visuals Sources

3. Digitally designed materials

Digital technology Efficiency Appeal Creativity Adaptation Mediation Sharing Cooperation

3. Digitally designed

materials

Popplet – organizing and presenting ideas

3. Digitally designed

materials

Tagxedo – word clouds with style

3. Digitally designed materials

Try out the tools introduced above and create a popplet or an

Recommended reading

García Mayo, María del Pilar, ed. (2007). Investigating Tasks in Formal Language Learning. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Mishan, Freda (2005). Designing Authenticity into Language Learning Materials. Bristol: Intellect.

Motteram, Gary (2011). Developing Language-Learning Materials with Technology. In: Brian Tomlinson, ed. Materials Development in Language Teaching. 2nd ed. Cambridge et al.: Cambridge University Press, 303-27. Richards, Jack C. (2007). Curriculum Development in Language Teaching. Cambridge et al.: Cambridge University Press.

Tomlinson, Brian, ed. (2011). Materials Development in Language Teaching. 2nd ed. Cambridge et al.: Cambridge University Press.

Tomlinson, Brian, ed. (2013). Developing Materials for Language Teaching. 2nd ed. London et al.: Bloomsbury.

Acknowledgments

Howard, Jocelyn & Joe Major (2005). Guidelines for Designing Effective English Language Teaching Materials. http://www.paaljapan.org/resources/proceedings/PAAL9/pdf/Howard.pdf.

Kultusministerkonferenz (2012). Operatoren für das Fach Englisch.

http://www.kmk.org/fileadmin/pdf/Bildung/Auslandsschulwesen/Kerncurriculum/Operatoren_fuer _das_Fach_Englisch_Stand_Oktober_2012_ueberarbeitet.pdf.

Nold, Günter (2007). Die Arbeit mit dem Lehrwerk. In: Johannes-P. Timm, ed. Englisch lernen und lehren: Didaktik des Englischunterrichts. Berlin: Cornelsen, 127-36.

Nunan, David (2000). Designing Tasks for the Communicative Classroom. Cambridge et al.: Cambridge University Press.

Richards, Jack C. (2007). Curriculum Development in Language Teaching. Cambridge et al.: Cambridge University Press.

Richards, Jack C. (2013). Curriculum Approaches in Language Teaching: Forward, Central, and Backward Design. In: RELC Journal 44.1, 5-33.

Sercu, Lies (2000). Textbooks. In: Michael Byram, ed. Routledge Encyclopedia of Teaching and Learning. London et al.: Routledge, 626-28.

Acknowledgments

The cartoons at the beginning of each ppt were designed by Frollein Motte, 2014. If not otherwise indicated, the copyright of the figures lies with the authors. The complete titles of the sources can be found in the references to the units unless given below. All of the websites were checked on 10 September 2014.

Slide 4: http://wright2.wikispaces.com/State+Standards,

http://tisteahe2012.blogspot.de/2012/09/why-is-it-important-to-have-education.html,

http://hoganhayes.blogspot.de/2014/10/thoughts-on-writing-in-english-from.html

Slides 9 & 10: Characteristics of forward, central, and backward design, based on Richards 2013: 30

Slide 18 & 19: Materials design checklist, based on Howard & Major 2005: 104 – 07

Slide 21: Language performance requirements, based on Kultusministerkonferenz 2012: 1-2

Slide 26: Sample popplet; pictures Wikipedia/Wikimedia –

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_Mavericks#mediaviewer/File:Dallas_Mavericks_logo.svg,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_Mavericks#mediaviewer/File:Victory_Plaza_1.jpg,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_Mavericks#mediaviewer/File:Rick_Carlisle.jpg,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_Mavericks#mediaviewer/File:Jason_Terry.jpg,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_Mavericks#mediaviewer/File:Jason_Kidd_drives_Feb_24_2008.jpg

Slide 27: word cloud created with Tagxedo (www.tagxedo.com)

Slide 28: sample glogs –

http://earypr.edu.glogster.com/english-grammar-and-vocabulary-townhouse/?=glogpedia-source, http://davidohf.edu.glogster.com/the-shawshank-redemption/?=glogpedia-source,

http://garciasammy.edu.glogster.com/the-road-revolution/?=glogpedia-source

Slide 29: screenshot of LearningApps-homepage (learningapps.org); screenshots of sample modules –