Learner contributions to
materials in language
teaching
Made by: Zehra Veysel & Bihter Yılmaz
Table of Contents.
01 Introduction 02 Critical issues 03 Implications and
and topics challenges for
materials
development
04 05 Future 06 Conclusion
Recommendations directions
for practice
INTRODUC
TION
The importance of learner involvement in materials
development for language teaching will be discussed.
1. Classroom scenario: Teacher encourages students to
co-construct course content.
2. Challenging the traditional use of textbooks.
3. Students explore their environment for grammar-
related errors or challenging translations.
4. Students prepare PowerPoint presentations to
analyze and discuss examples.
5. Learner-centered philosophy fosters engagement
and deeper understanding.
6. Collaboration between teachers and learners in
materials development.
7. Emphasizing the benefits of learner contributions.
‘Anything you do for your learners that they could figure
out how to do for themselves, robs them of an opportunity
for learning.’
Learner-centered vs. traditional curriculum
development
LEARNER-CENTERED: Curriculum is a collaborative effort between teachers and learners.
- Learners actively participate in decision-making regarding curriculum content and teaching methods.
- Emphasis on involving learners in shaping the curriculum.
TRADITIONAL: Curriculum development is primarily driven by teachers.
- Limited involvement of learners in decision-making processes.
- The teacher sets the course goals and framework
and guides the learners.
- Learners actively contribute to materials
development while learning.
- Materials have different purposes: instruction,
providing experiences, eliciting language use, and
promoting self-discovery.
- Materials include goals, input (texts,
multimedia), and procedures (exercises, tasks).
- Materials should be usable by other learning
groups with similar goals.
- Learners can use provided input or create their
own for tasks.
- Learner-generated materials should supplement, not replace, commercial or teacher-
created materials.
- Learner-generated materials promote autonomy and responsibility in learning.
- Teachers should consider student needs and course goals when deciding on student-
centered learning.
- Learner engagement in materials development fosters autonomy and resourcefulness.
Critical issues and
topics
Syllabus design (the ‘what’)
Synthetic Syllabuses: Analytic Syllabuses:
- Organized around non-linguistic principles, such as
- Organized around individual linguistic elements content-based instruction, topics/themes, and
(sounds, words, and grammar items). texts/tasks/projects.
- Methods like grammar-translation and - Learner needs analysis is the starting point for design.
audiolingualism follow this approach.
- Learners use holistic chunks of language initially and later
- Linguistic elements are taught separately and step- analyze them into constituent parts..
by-step, gradually building the language structure.
- Phonological, lexical, and grammatical elements are
considered but selected as secondary activities.
Student Contributions:
- Feasible for learners to contribute to materials
development in analytic syllabuses.
- Even young learners can nominate topics, select
input, and create tasks/projects.
- Students have made significant contributions to
content selection, treatment, and assessment in
previous studies.
Methodology (the ‘how’)
Experiential Learning:
- Experiential learning aligns well with analytic syllabus design.
- David Kolb's model emphasizes "learning by doing" and reflection.
- Four-step procedure: concrete experience, reflective observation,
abstract conceptualization, active experimentation.
Procedure for Experiential Learning:
1. Concrete experience: Students engage in new experiences that connect to existing knowledge and
transform it.
2. Reflective observation: Students reflect on the experience and identify what they have learned.
3. Abstract conceptualization: Students make generalizations based on their reflections.
4. Active experimentation: Students apply and try out new ideas in real-world contexts.
Connection to Learner-Centredness:
- Learners play a central role in the learning process.
- They make connections, reflect, generalize, and apply new learning.
- The teacher scaffolds the process, especially at the initial stage.
Self-Evaluative Dimension:
- Advanced learners creating their own materials or collaborating with a teacher can apply Kohonen's four-step
procedure to the materials development process.
Authenticity
The issue of authenticity has generated considerable While we are committed to the appropriate use
discussion and debate since the concepts first emerged of authentic materials in the classroom, we are
with the advent of CLT in the 1970s. Initially, discussion not suggesting that non-authentic materials such
focused on input authenticity. A rule of thumb definition as specially written dialogues, simplified
of authenticity was that the input, be it spoken, written, readers, controlled practice, and grammar
or some other visual or auditory source, came about in exercises have no place in the language
the course of real communication, rather than being classroom. We also accept some of the criticisms
created for instructional purposes. With the advent of made of the (usually inappropriate) use of
TBLT, it was realised that authenticity had to extend to authentic materials.
what learners did with the input.
Autonomy and resourcefulness
Autonomy is the capacity to take control of
one’s own learning. Resourcefulness is an
attitude towards language use.
Autonomy and resourcefulness are closely
related constructs. As constructs, they cannot be
directly observed but have to be inferred from
observable behaviour.
For learners to invest in their own learning by
contributing materials to that learning, they must He asserts that ‘developing some degree of
exercise a degree of autonomy, and this requires autonomy is essential if learners are to become
resourcefulness. effective language users, and that the ability to
direct one’s own learning can be developed
Nunan (1997) argues that few students begin through pedagogical procedures of one sort or
language learning as fully autonomous another’ (Nunan 1997:192). His own approach
individuals, that autonomy is a matter of degree, is a five-level procedure for developing learner
not an all-or-nothing concept, and that autonomy autonomy.
can be taught.
Implications and challenges for materials
development
Engaging students in learner-centred activities such Students from traditional backgrounds may
as materials development requires redefining teacher question why they are being asked to modify,
and learner roles. It is no longer adequate for adapt, and create materials for learning and need
teachers to see themselves as transmitters of to be educated into redefining their roles as
knowledge, nor for learners to be passive recipients materials developers through the sorts of
of that knowledge. activities described and exemplified in the
preceding section.
How can we deal with? Teachers can help students to form groups, and
teachers can begin this process by introducing a ask individuals to negotiate a plan with their
range of different materials learners might use, group members in selecting places they would
discussing the importance of thinking carefully like to visit to collect the input they think they
about their choice of materials to include in their will need. Teachers listen to the different groups’
websites. (Awarness) ideas to make sure their ideas are practical and
ethical. Once plans are finalised, learners head
out to collect their materials over a short period
of time. (Involvement)
it is likely learners will contact their teacher to
ask further questions about the requirements of Learners then assemble the materials together in
the task and whether adjustments either to the their own time. Teachers are available to answer
structure of the task, design of their work, or further questions but do not intervene in the
appropriation of certain authentic materials they meaning/design learners seek to make.
found could be possible according to their (Creation)
ongoing negotiations with the group members
and issues they encounter as the project
progresses. Teachers at this stage can encourage Learners present their work in class, receive
learners to provide clear arguments for feedback from the whole class, and make
adjustments they wish to make, ask questions decisions about how they might address issues
about their processes. (Intervention) that arise and/or further enhance their website
for publication purposes with the guidance of
their teacher (Autonomy)
As shown in this example, teachers are involved
in every step of students’ meaning-making
journeys, not as managers but as co-
collaborators with the learners to help create
meanings in ways that make sense to them.
Teachers provide structures and become
facilitators and critical friends in the meaning-
making process.
Conclusion
In this chapter, we have made a case for involving learners in the generation of materials.The
theoretical rationale for this stance is derived from the notion of learner-centredness: that with the
incorporation into the classroom of reflective learning-how-to-learn activities, learners can (and
should) be involved in making decisions about what to learn, how to learn, and how to be assessed.
We also made the point that learners do not first create materials and then learn from them, but that
the processes of creation and learning are inextricably entwined, and that this intertwining fosters
positive engagement, critical reflection, resourcefulness, and autonomy.
Thank
you!
Do you have any questions?
