LANGUAGE LEARNING MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT
Title of the Module: DEVELOPMENT OF MATERIALS
Course/Subject: ENGLISH 321
Time Allotment:
INTRODUCTION
Authenticity and purposiveness of instructional materials for language learning are
essential elements before they can be meaningfully utilized in class. They are essential
elements and potent guides in designing and developing these materials. Moreover,
teachers’ experiences in language teaching as well as their understanding of their students’
knowledge, skills and behavior are other key factors towards motivating the students to
learn the target language. Here are some ideas about material development.
I. LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this module, learners should be able to:
identify the forms and roles of materials in the aspect of learning and
development;
support collaborative efforts in materials development by participating actively and
respectfully in peer sharing sessions; and
value the importance of developing appropriate, relevant, and responsive
instructional materials by expressing appreciation for well-designed materials that
meet students' diverse learning needs.
II. ACTIVITY
Imagine stepping into a classroom with only a textbook in hand—would it be enough to
spark real engagement or meet the diverse needs of your learners? Materials do more than
just fill time; they shape the learning experience. Think of a moment when a lesson became
more meaningful because of a video, a game, a story, or even a visual aid. What made it
effective?
III. ANALYSIS
In what ways can teacher-created materials better address student needs than
commercial textbooks?
What instructional material have you developed? Describe its purpose.
Why is there a need to develop an instructional material when there are ready-made
ones?
What challenges did you encounter while evaluating the materials?
What considerations did you make in adapting the material?
How does the context of your target learners influence material development?
IV. ABSTRACTION
Materials development is basically dealing with selection, adaptation and creation of
teaching materials. According to (Nunan, 1991) “Materials development refers to anything
which is done by writers, teachers or learners to provide sources of language input in ways
which maximize the likelihood of intake.” (Tomlinson, 1998) “The importance of
materials-as-content acts as a stimulus for communicative interaction and materials-as-
language serves the purpose of information about the target language and carefully selected
examples of use.” (McGrath, 2013) “Teacher-produced materials play an important role in
bridging the gap between the classroom and the world outside.” (Pardo and Tellez,2009)
“Language learning and teaching have been further transformed by the rapid development
of a wide range of technology-mediated resources, materials, tasks and learning
environments.” (Reinders and White,2010) “Integrating texts with the local culture will
lessen the unfamiliarity and help students to read better.” (Regmi as cited in Namibia,
Ibrahim,et.al. 2020).
The development of instructional materials is a challenge among the teachers. Its
rigorous preparation should not be taken for granted. It has to be well thought of and
carefully aligned with the desired learning outcomes as well as the learning activities.
Understandably, in certain cases teachers who are confronted with a number of
responsibilities, resort to utilizing available materials at hand offered by colleagues and
friends not showing much concern on the appropriateness, relevance and responsiveness of
the instructional materials to the diverse needs of students. In effect, students’ learning
remains theoretical and not practical. On the positive note however, there are teachers who
take the challenge of developing the instructional materials themselves. Some of them claim
that there’s no better way to utilize instructional materials than to have them personally
designed and developed. Whichever the case maybe, the teacher is the legitimate authority
to act on the most appropriate action with this aim in mind ; to enhance students’ learning
and make the academic engagement meaningful.
Below are some suggestions that may help you in developing instructional materials for
language learning:
Know your students well.
• Get acquainted with the individual students’ profile, family background, health record, and
other pertinent data that can help you assess the student’s would-be performance in class.
In doing so, you already have in mind at some point the kind of activities/instructional
materials he/she needs.
Understand the learning outcome/s.
• This is your anchor in the selection/development of the instructional materials.
Ultimately, the expected students’ learning outcome of the course is to be proficient in both
oral and written communication skills. Therefore your preparation as well as facilitation of
the learning activities should apparently lead to the attainment of these
competencies/outcomes.
Think smart and practical.
• Indigenous materials may just be found around the corner. Carefully select and
reconfigure them to serve as instructional materials.
Adapt/adopt well-proven effective instructional materials.
• A number of research-based effective instructional materials for language may be
appropriately utilized in certain communicative contexts.
Create contextualized materials.
• Print (hard copies) and non-print materials (soft copies) are both indispensable to
teaching and learning. Any teacher is given the opportunity to create his/her own
instructional materials with due consideration of the context, content and structure.
V. APPLICATION
Design a contextualized language learning material suited for a specific grade level. You may
use indigenous, digital, or adapted content. Include:
Target Learners
Learning Objectives
Description of the Material
Sample Activity
Prepare a short presentation of your output for peer feedback.
VI. ASSESSMENT
Create/ Develop an informatics that would serve as an instructional material for language
learning. Describe it and write a corresponding activity fit for Junior High School Students.
Prepared by:
Niño M. Helorentino
Instructor I
