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Natalie Nanisitta

Authentic Material Assignment

Authentic materials mean that the materials that have been prepared and provided are

designed to be relevant to the learners’ needs and preferences. This means that authentic

materials are individualized to learners’ developmental stages (University of Oregon, 2009).

For example, kindergarten students are introduced to puppet dolls to learn vocabulary; this is

age-appropriate since kids at that stage are especially attracted to learning through playing or

seeing something they deem as fun. Authentic materials also mean that the material is

designed especially for a real-world transfer with actual contexts in everyday life. Thus,

students realize the urgency and the relevancy of the lessons they learn since it connects

directly to the real use of the material in daily life or future use. Authentic materials also grab

local materials that are commonly used but overlooked such as local magazines. By using

local magazines, students are able to relate to the content because they are specifically

designed for the locals.

Realia helps students relate to the content they learned. Through it, they are able to

see the direct usage of something that happens every day by providing students with physical

visual aids they can interact with (University of Oregon, 2009). For example; in the video

shown four puppets are provided to illustrate the concept of gender in English. The puppets

with long hair illustrate a girl and those with short hair are boys.

Another similar situation can be implemented with seventh grade learners with

beginner proficiency levels. Let’s say the lesson is about enhancing vocabulary about

occupations; the students will be provided with uniforms for different jobs such as policeman,

nurse, doctor, fireman, chef, and pilot. Students will be able to interact and observe the

uniform and make real-world direct connections with the uniform. By doing this, they are
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able to touch and observe the learning materials instead of just sitting and listening to the

lecture in order to learn.

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References

University of Oregon. (2009, January 16). Shaping the way we teach English: Module 08,

authentic materials [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=8mgwWhWa0Q8&t=1s