Quiz 1 on Language Learning Materials

Which of the following is not considered as an instructional material according to this definition by Tomlinson, "They can be linguistic, visual, auditory or kinaesthetic, and they can be presented in print, through live performance or display, or on cassette, CD-ROM, DVD or the internet?"

• Magazines

• Podcast

• Seminar

• None of the choices

What should drive materials?

• Needs and wants of learners

• the curriculum

• the knowledge and expertise of the teachers

• both the curriculum and the knowledge and expertise of the teachrs

Why aren't professional materials writers not good enough to develop materials for the students?

• These writers are usually very experienced and competent, they are familiar with the realities of publishing and the potential of the new technologies and they write full-time for a living.

• The books they write are usually systematic, well designed, teacher-friendly and thorough.

• They often lack energy and imagination and are sometimes insufficiently relevant and appealing to the actual learners who use them

• They are only after the royalties and payments for the materials. They really do not have the heart for actual knowledge development.

Which is the best way to develop materials?

• by a pair or small group of writers who have PhDs in their field of specialization.

• by a large team approach to writing materials, which aims at fast first draft production by many people followed by refinement by a smaller group of experts.

• by a selected group of teachers who are trained to write one material each.

• by all the teachers in the district all together working on one material at a time.

How should materials be evaluated?

• hire experts from higher education institutions. Prevent basic education teachers from participating as it may result to biased judgment

• evaluate in an ad hoc, impressionistic way, which tends to favour materials which have face validity and which are visually appealing

• ensure that materials evaluation establishes procedures which are thorough, rigorous, systematic and principled

• materials should be evaluated by the students, their parents, and other stakeholders to eliminate bias and to ensure contextualization and localization of the materials

Which of the following is the best definition of authentic texts?

• Authentic text is real, living language written to engage readers and draw them in; it may entertain, inform, or persuade. It invites active reading, robust problem-solving, and deep analysis because it comprises conceptually rich, compelling ideas and language from life.

• Authentic text is written for the purpose of teaching students how to read or helping students master reading skills.

• An authentic text, in language teaching terms, is one that has been written especially for language students.

• An authentic text is a “real world” passage or story written purely to inform, entertain, persuade, etc.

Most published materials focus on conscious learning of language points but many researchers argue that the learners should be provided with many more opportunities to acquire language informally from exposure to language in use.

• True

• False

According to Tomlinson, should published materials be censored?

• Absolutely yes! Students innocent minds should not be poisoned by issues not within their scope of understanding.

• Not at all times! The importance of affective engagement in language acquisition and therefore of controversial topics and provocative texts should be taken into consideration.

• Absolutely no! Students should be exposed to all types of materials regardless of topic or issues to allow them to think critically.

• Yes! Exposing children to issues and topics that are too serious could detrimentally affect their mental health.

Which is a better approach to materials development? Practical or theoretical?

• Practical since publishers continue to produce courses with face validity which they know will sell

• Theoretical since students should understand the scientific underpinnings of language learning

• A balance on both since students should understand the theoretical explanations and at the same time experience the language through practice.

• A new approach is suggested that provides exposure to language in use and for opportunities to use language for communication.

Which of the following is preferred when it comes to language exposure?

• learners should be provided with many more opportunities to acquire language informally from exposure to language in use.

• learners should be discussed with fundamental theories of language development and learning to prepare them to understand and analyze language in use.

• learners should only be exposed to language use after they have mastered the fundamental concept of language structure.

• learners are reported to have better knowledge and skill of the language if they directly and consciously learn them in an enriching anf accommodating classroom environment.