Types of Authentic Materials

Authentic materials can include audio, visual and printed materials. Multimedia materials involving audio, video and graphical presentations can also be included. Any of these types of materials which are used for communicating specific messages in real life will fall under this category. The messages may be addressed to native speakers or to those who use this language as second language in their country for communication.

Some of the materials are listed here but the list is not exhaustive.

Authentic audio materials: 

Music, news and other audio materials available on the internet
TV programming including Movies, commercials, quiz shows, cartoons, news and weather
Radio including ads, music and sales pitches
Taped or eavesdropped conversations, such as one-sided phone conversations
Meetings, talks
Announcements in airports and stores
Professionally audio-taped short stories and novels

Authentic Visual Materials:

Images and graphs available on the internet
Photographs
Paintings and drawings, children’s artwork
Wordless street signs
Pictures from magazines, postcards, wordless picture books
Stamps
X-rays
coins and currency
clocks
phones
Halloween masks and other holiday decorations

Authentic Printed materials:

Web based printed materials available on the internet
Newspapers including articles, movie reviews and advertisements, astrology columns, sports reports, obituary columns, advice columns, classified ads
lyrics to songs
Restaurant menus
Street signs
Food product labels such as cereal boxes, candy wrappers
Tourist information brochures
University catalogs
Telephone books
Maps
Magazines including TVguides, comic books, catalogs
Greeting cards, letters
Grocery coupons and flyers
Pins or T-shirts with messages
Bus schedules
Mail including bills, missing children flyers and junk mail
Prescription labels, over-the-counter medicine labels
Flyers, posters, billboards
School notices
Forms including leases, tax forms, applications, medical history forms

Authentic Multimedia Materials

TV, Video programmes of various kinds
Podcasting on the internet
web based programmes involving multimedia use

The list does not include all the authentic materials that are available for use. Though there is a huge resource of materials available teachers need to sets up specific criteria for selecting authentic materials suited to the special group of learners to be taught.

<< Previous    1  [2]  3  4    Next >>