Competence Standard
1. Identifying an approppiate materials design Basic Competence
1. Identifying Materials Design
2. Identifying on how to organize materials for language teaching Instructional Objectives
After this course, the students are expected to be able to : 1. Describe framework for materials design
2. Analyze how to organize materials for language teaching 3. Select authentic materials in language teaching design 4. Develope materials for language teaching design LESSON V COMPONENT OF CURRICULUM : MATERIALS
Teaching material is one of the important aspects in English teaching programs. From textbooks, videos, pictures from internet, teachers rely greatly on a diverse range of materials to support teaching and learning process.
A. Framework for Material Design
Before actually adopting, adapting, developing materials, the language programs overall orientation must be considered in terms of approaches and syllabuses, as well as in terms of how that orientation will influence the choices that must be made in the development and implementation of materials41. 1. Approach
The one point about which most language curriculum developers would probably agree is that there must be some sort of theoretical motivation underlying any curriculum development. The approach can be viewed as historical developments that happened thoroughly in the order listed, all of these approaches continue in use in class rooms throughout the world today.\
2. Syllabuses
As defined here, the teaching activities called syllabuses are predominantly concerned with the choices necessary to organize the language content of a course or programs. The procedure involved in developing a
41 James Dean Brown. 1995. The Element of Language Curriculum
syllabus should eventually include examining instructional objectives, arranging then in terms of priorities and then determining what kinds of techniques and exercises are required in order to attain those objectives.
The information gathered in the course of conducting a language need analysis will help to determine the direction that a particular syllabus planning project will go since the same units of analysis used in the need analysis will tend to be used in the objectives result. For instance, in an institution where the teachers are well trained and hold similar views on which approaches are appropriate, detailed specification of syllabus content may not be necessary.
The teachers may prefer to work directly from the program objectives , selecting content themselves from the variety of sources made available to them by the program administration. In other situations, because of political or administrative requirements, a detailed syllabus may be necessary to ensure that the desired content for the course or programs is covered in a standard sequence.
The syllabus is a contract between the teacher and the students. The syllabus is the blueprint for the course expectations, requirements, ground rules, readings, assignments, exams, and final projects.
3. Techniques
This set of activities was defined as ways of presenting language points to the students. In this case the criteria for selecting technique are related to the idea that it is useful to provide opportunities for students to develop their writing skills in contexts and on the basis of models of teacher and students writing.
4. Exercises
Materials developers must make early decisions about the principles kinds of exercise that will be most appropriate for the program in question as well as decisions about the criteria that will be used for selecting exercises. The primary questions concern the weight that will be assigned to each activity per lesson or units and the configurations of teacher / learner / group / class that will be used. These issues must be addressed within the program before deciding on detailed specifications for the exercise that will go on the daily classes.
B. Materials Blueprint
The curriculum developers whoever they may be , would be well advised to formulate a materials blue print that represents the kinds of language program that they are proposing based on all the information obtained in the needs analysis objectives setting , objectives setting and testing stages of program
development. Such a blueprint might eventually form part of a teachers manual can also contain information that will support instructors in their teaching effort. Whatever form such a materials blueprint eventually takes, it should account for all the relevant information learned in the initial curriculum development stages and include all factors judged to be potentially important influences on the programs and its future curriculum. The materials can then be described in terms of units of analysis that were used in developing the syllabuses involved, as well as in terms of the scope and sequence of any resulting units.
Finally, an effective blueprint for materials development must include some form of evaluation component. This component might take the form of detailed plans for studying the effectiveness of the materials or discussion processes that will be instituted to constantly revise and urade materials, or both. Some of regular evaluation of materials is essential because no set of materials is perfect and because the conditions within a program and needs of the students may change, thus eventually making the materials inappropriate or ineffective.
C. Where Do Materials Come From?
1. Adopting Materials
Adopting material in a rational manner is not as easy as it might at first appear. First, it is necessary to decide what types of materials are desirable. Second, all available material of these types should be located just in case they might prove useful. Third, some form of review / evaluation procedures must be set up to pare this list down to those materials that should be seriously considered so that final choices can be made. Fourth, some strategy for the regular review of these adopted materials must be set up to make sure that they do not become irrelevant to the needs of the students and the changing conditions in the program.
Curriculum materials are one important part of student learning.
Successful programs may be almost all in curriculum. However, the matter of teaching materials is another factor that contributed to student success is studying. Some other factors including quality of teaching, parental involvement, support available and the various aspects of external. In matter itself, the adoption of the curriculum often contributes to the success of students due to teacher collective renewal, training, and commitment to best teaching practices.
2. Developing Materials
The primary thrust of this has been the systematic design of curriculum within that framework, need assessment, goal and objective and test have already been discussed at great length. If the tentative needs, objectives and test do indeed describe a program and if all effort to adopt material for purposes of teaching those objectives fail to uncover suitable materials, its may be necessary to consider developing them from scratch. I treat this option as a second option not because it is an undesirable alternative, but because it represents tremendous amount of work. Nevertheless, with the help and ideas of a number of people within a program, especially the teachers, materials and the curriculum in question.
Remember that materials are never finished so provisions should be made for ongoing materials development particularly in term of reviewing how well all materials are matching the needs of the students , the goals and objective , the test and so forth.
3. Adapting Materials
Adapting existing educational materials usually requires less time and fewer resources than developing new materials. Before using existing materials, review the materials to ensure accuracy of information. Also, be sure to review and evaluate the materials based on individual, community, and program needs. You may be able to use some products and materials without any modification. Other materials may not be appropriate for your target audience or compatible with your program’s guidelines. These materials may require modification.
The first stage in adapting materials is to find and evaluate materials that might serve at least some of the students need and help to meet at least some of the course objectives. This process is virtually the same as the one described in the previous section for adapting materials. However, as the materials are being evaluated, teachers should also analyses the degree to which each set of existing materials matches the course objective, as well as the degree of mis-match. In this case, the ultimate goal of the analyses is to decide which of the potential sets of materials contents the highest percentage of matches. This will in turn determine the percentage of objective that will need to be supplemented from outside these materials. In the end, a decision must be made as to which set, or sets of materials will be adapted.