Materials Evaluation, Adaptation

and Design Day 3

Adapting and designing
materials
Day 3
Sessions 1 and 2

Principles of materials adaptation

Applying the principles to Reading skills
Day 3
Session 1

Principles of materials adaptation

 What is adapting?
External and internal criteria

Adapting is a process of matching what we have to

work with (external criteria) and what the materials
offer (internal criteria) to maximise teaching materials
in a context, and the starting point of the process is the
realisation, through an evaluation, that materials may
not be fit for their intended purpose.
 What is adapting?
External and internal criteria

Learners’ characteristics Class size Technology

Physical environment Choice of topic Proficiency level
Skills covered Methodology Other resources Sequential order of
exercises

What we have to work with What the materials offer

(external) (internal)
 Analysing Material

INTERNAL
What internal considerations might you need to take i
nto account for your context?

EXTERNAL
Which external considerations might you need to take
into account for your context?

Handout 1
 Key elements for Preschool and Primary

• Lots of guidance
• Variation of focus and activities to help concentration
spans
• Step-by-step approach
• Continued support from teacher
• Encouragement of creativity and spontaneity
• Multi-sensory tasks (visual, kinaesthetic, auditory)
• Activities which are short and visual
• Active participation
• Support through a clear example
 Primary

Other key considerations for a communicative approach at this age group

are:

• active and varied participation

• support through a clear example
• encouraging co-operative learning
• teacher monitoring and guiding.

‘Children’s foreign language learning depends on what they experience. If

we want children to develop certain language skills, we need to ensure
they have experience in lessons that will build on those skills.’

-Lynne Cameron (2001) Teaching Languages to Young Learners, CUP

 Secondary key components

content
concepts communication

CONNECTIONS
commitment challenge

creation curiosity co-operation collective

 Secondary and Post-Secondary

The key components of a communicative approach at this

age group are

• Collaborative problem solving

• Finding ways to tackle…
• Evaluating information
• Reading between lines
 A communicative classroom

Decide which words or expressions relate to a communicative

classroom
active learners
teacher controls
focus on pairs and groups
the classroom is always quiet
focus on autonomy
lots of correction
passive learners
teacher monitors
the classroom can be noisy
dependent on teacher
lots of learner co-operation
 Why Adapt?

Some of the main reasons for adapting are to

• add real choice

• cater for learning styles
• adjust the level of the material
• include more autonomy for the learners
• develop thinking skills
• modernise through the use of technology
• make the input more enjoyable
• differentiation
• change pace
• provide variation
• include local context
• increase student to student interaction.
 What do we adapt?

The content
The level
The process
The language
 How can we adapt?

ADDING MODIFYING

DELETING SIMPLIFYING

RE-ORDERING
 An example

Read the instructions for the exercise types

with a class of learners on festivals and
celebrations. Then discuss the questions
with a partner.

What areas from the lesson description might

benefit from adaptations? Why and what
kind of adaptations?
Handout
3a/3b
 Adaptation

What forms of adaptation would you need to

focus on in a Malaysian context?

Discuss with your

partner
Day 3
Session 2

Applying the criteria to reading

 Communicative language teaching and
reading

Read the paragraph below about communicative language teaching

and the implications for reading. What implications does this
have for your teaching context?

When we
think of a
Reading activities, purposes and strategies

What is the difference?

Can you think of
some examples?
Reading activities

Reading purposes Reading strategies

 Reading

Reading Activities
website signs instructions notes correspondence
Reading Purposes
pleasure specific information gist general
orientation detailed understanding
Reading Strategies
skimming scanning predicting inference
 Reading progress

How do native speakers read the following?

a book you see in a bookshop you might buy

a train or bus timetable
a newspaper to see what’s on TV.
 Reading strategies: Secondary/Post
Secondary

Skills involved include:

perceptual skills
inferencing
predicting
using imagination
rapid scanning
referring back and forth
interpreting and drawing conclusions
guessing from context
using prior knowledge to help understanding.
 Reading support

Labels
Posters
Messages
Reading aloud
Focusing on reading fluency
Running dictation
Story books or comics
Creating backstories
Creating a class binder
 Adapting a text

Imagine you want to use the text in Handout 1 with a group of

Secondary students. The text is B2 level and your
students are B1 but you really like the theme of the
text and you know your students would like it a lot so
you decide to adapt it. Which of the strategies below for
adapting the text would you use?

Rewriting the text to simplify

Reducing the length of the text
Finding a different text about the same topic
Dividing the text into manageable blocks
Adding pictures to help understanding
Labelling a diagram
 Text or task?

What other modifications could we use inst

ead of rewriting the text?

e.g. Pre-teach vocabulary

Change the task
Extend tasks after reading

Handout 5
 Working with weaker learners

Support for weaker learners

Pre-teach difficult vocabulary

If there are gaps, give students the answers
in a jumbled order
Draw attention to the title, pictures etc.
Set the scene beforehand
Break the text into chunks
Give the option of only reading some of the
text
Working with stronger and weaker learners

Extension (post) activities for stronger students

Ask early finishers to write new vocab up on the

board with definitions
Rewrite a part of the text in a different tense /
person
Write their personal opinion / a short summary of the
text
Can you remember?
Handout 6
1. What are the key aspirations for English
language learning in Malaysia regarding
Reading skills?

2. What are the key challenges to

developing Reading skills in Malaysia?
3. What level would you like to
focus on when adapting materials?
Why?
Any queries?

Do you have any

questions?
Day 3
Session 3

Analysis and application: Apply the

framework in sector groups
 Considerations for sector groups

Which are more relevant for your teaching situation?

Can you add more areas for consideration for your

learners?

Handout 7
 Analysing the text

Look at the material and answer the questions:

What does it focus on?

What are the positive points of the material?
How do you think your learners would respond to
the material?

Handout 8
 Adapting material

Material A is for Preschool. The learners are a large

group of mixed ability and mixed ages.

Material B is from a coursebook for A1 Primary

learners. Imagine you have to use this material
with one of your classes which is a group of
pre-A1 learners.

Material C is from a coursebook for B1 secondary

learners. Imagine you have to use this material
with one of your groups which is a mixture of
Day 3
Session 4

Adaptation continued

Handout 9
Presenting the reading task
Reflection
 Reflection

Did you find it difficult to make decisions about any

of the adaptations?

Which one(s) do you feel more satisfied with?

If a teacher had to choose one of the adaptations,

which one would you suggest?