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Authentic materials in language learning and teaching
The main objective of this article is to present an overview of the concept
of authenticity in TEFL. Authentic materials are discussed in terms of their
definition, typology, historical background and the advantages of their use.
Authentic materials are an inexhaustible source of ideas for language
learning and teaching because they link the classroom with the surrounding
world. It is especially important because students function in the real world and
are able to take advantage of their language knowledge in real, natural, everyday
life situations.
Definition of authentic materials
Authenticity in foreign language learning and teaching has been a very
popular topic recently. Experts generally agree that authentic materials are texts,
both oral and written, produced in the process of communication that takes place
between native speakers of a given target language.
Nunan claims that „ authentic texts are those that have been produced in the
course of genuine communication, not specially written for purposes of
language teaching. They provide learners with opportunities to experience
language as it is used beyond the classroom”
The communicative approach towards authentic texts emphasizes that they
should be perceived as materials which express the author's intention in order to
achieve communication goals associated with a real, specific situation.
However, there is some ambiguity in the concept of authentic materials in
ELT. There are experts who point out some problems connected with the notion
of authenticity in the foreign language classroom. First of all, different types of
authenticity can be distinguished, i.e. authenticity of the text, authenticity of the
task based on a given text, authenticity of the students own interpretation of
texts, authenticity of the language classroom conditions and finally authenticity
of the author and the addressee of the text.
„ A classroom text is authentic if it was originally written for a non-classroom
audience. A newspaper article or a pop song are thus considered authentic
whereas a coursebook drill or dialogue are not”
A process-orientated approach to authenticity is presented by Widdowson
who claims that authenticity should be considered in terms of interaction
between the author and the addressee of a given text. Therefore, he makes a
distinction between two terms - authentic and genuine texts which cause a
difference in perception. Genuine texts are associated with native speaker
language, whereas, the notion of authenticity relates to native speaker's
response.
„ The language presented to students may be a ...
