MATERIAL

General Principles of Selection

Habiba Akter, M.A. in Applied Linguistics

Department of English, NDUB
● Selection on the basis of the objectives of the course
● All the items cannot be taught or learned
● Selection of the core/basic material
● Highly influenced by 2 factors:

1. External Factors: non-language-based

2. Internal Factors: language-based

External Factors
1. Objective: the purpose of learning and/or teaching
a. General objectives
b. Specific objectives

2. level : materials are provided to minimize the difference in levels

a. Level of learners
b. Level of teachers
c. Level of education/competence

3. Time: available chunk/span/frame of time

Internal Factors
1. Dialect
2. Register: choice of words or structures according to specific area or discipline
3. Style: ornamentation---formal or informal
4. Medium:

A way of communicating information

Selection of it relates to the distinction btw. spoken and written lg.

Selection of Language Forms
Language forms based on the linguistic levels:

phonological____morphological____syntactic____semantic
Criteria for Selection of Forms
● Frequency: words and structures that occur most frequently in the sample.
These are preferred to less frequent ones.
● Range: the way the words and structures are distributed over the various parts
of the sample. (Also called distribution, dispersion, or repartition
● Availability: relates with the readiness of the words and structures
● Coverage: replacement. Refers to the words that can replace other words.