Authentic materials in teaching English

Abstract

This article provides general information about authentic materials andtheir use in a foreign language classroom. It does so by giving a brief overview of theconcept of authentic materials and discussing core problems that impede a wide use ofauthentic materials in a classroom. English language teachers find them timeconsuming for planning a lesson and avoid using authentic materials because theycontain complex language structures. Further, the paper goes on with a literatureand historical overview and describes different approaches to the definition of theterm ‘authentic materials. The article also discusses the difference between authenticmaterials and adapted (or fabricated) materials. Further, the discussion touches uponthe problem of incorporating materials into teaching. The article continues by givingstrategies for incorporating authentic materials into teaching. The study in this paperwas done to explore the attitude of teachers to the use of authentic materials in aclassroom. The results of the study demonstrate that most respondents vote forpositive influence of authentic materials on learners’ language competency.