Materials Writing Materials Development

for a unit in a set of materials the text should have the potential to engage the learners affectively and cognitively and should offer the learners a rich experience of both language and life. If the text is used as a basis for a readinglistening skills lesson, the text should not be selected just because it focuses on a particular skill which is taught. It still has to fulfill the same criteria as if it is used as a basis for a unit in a set of materials. If the text is for use in language teaching, besides the criteria mentioned in previous part, the text also has to include sufficient samples of the typical use of a particular language item or feature e.g. the simple past, reported speech, and requests and provide sufficient contextual information to help the learners understand and generalize about the use of the language item or feature selected for particular attention. 2 Writing Instruction There are nine aspects discussed by Tomlinson 2004:29 that can help the materials writers to write clear instructions. First, it should be very clear for the learners which words are instructions and which words are not. It can be achieved by putting the instructions in bold, in a distinctive font, in a different colour or in a box. Second, each instruction should refer to one action only. It should also contain only one clause, use an imperative or a simple tense, be in the active voice, and only use vocabulary known to the students. Third, an instruction should use nouns rather than pronouns and use clear indicators by mentioning numbers, letters, colours, or bold type rather than such words as ‘opposite’, ‘above’, or ‘below’. Fourth, it is often 27 useful to give an example of what you want the learners to do. Fifth, it is important to specify what the learners actually have to do by using specific words such as ‘draw’, ’write’, or ’list’ rather than such words as ‘match’, ’connect’, or ’show’. Sixth, throughout the materials similar instructions should be expressed in similar ways. Seventh, the instructions given should be in the same sequence as the actions you want the learners to do. Eighth, each instruction should be physically separated from other instructions for the same activity. Last, instructions should be staged so that the learners do not have to remember a lot of instructions at once. 3 Using Illustrations Illustrations in this study refer to all kinds of visual elements in materials. Hill, as cited by Tomlinson 2004:34, points out that photos and drawings are the two major kinds of illustrations widely used in course books. Both have the strengths and weaknesses in terms of effects. Photos are useful to give impressions of reality and authenticity in terms of people, objects, and events. However, photos can lack focus, inhibit learners’ imaginations and date very quickly. Drawings are more flexible than photos and can be made to order in terms of specificity, focus, emphasis, and details. However, drawings can be seen to lack authority and reality, and different artistic styles could induce either positive or negative reactions. 28 4 Arranging Design and Layout Layout means structural arrangement of parts e.g. text and illustrations Tomlinson, 2004:35. Good layout can play a significant role in attracting attention, providing focus, sequencing smoothly, separating different sections, attracting aesthetic responses, providing consistency, and providing impact by dramatically departing from the normal layout. The factors that contribute to good layout may include positioning, size, sequence, use of space, balance of visuals and text, separation, and repetition. Design is an overall plan which governs the appearance and functions of materials Tomlinson, 2004:36. Materials with good design are likely to be appealing, aesthetic, impactful, functionally clear, easy to use, and cost effective.

B. Theoretical Framework

This study is intended to design a set of English conversation materials for advanced learners of English Conversation Class at Quick Concept Solo. In designing the materials, the writer uses some theories that are used as the basics of this design. The first principle, taken from Kemp 1977, is about instructional design model. The writer uses Kemp’s model as the guideline to design the materials. Kemp’s offers an effective instruction, which is based on the learners’ needs and characteristics, and can be applied on any educational level. It tries to answer three questions: 1 What must be learned? 2 What procedures and resources will work best to reach the desired learning levels? 3 How will we know when the required 29 learning has taken place? The process has eight steps: 1 Considering goals, topics, and general purposes, 2 Determining learner characteristics, 3 Specifying the learning objectives, 4 Listing the subject content, 5 Developing pre-assessments, 6 Selecting teachinglearning activities and resources, 7 Coordinating support services, and 8 Evaluating students’ accomplishments. The second principle deals with Communicative Language Teaching. According to Nunan 1989:12, CLT is an approach which focuses on the use of the target language more than the understanding of the various grammatical rules of it. American and British proponents, as mentioned by Richards and Rodgers 1986:66, see CLT as an approach that aims to make communicative competence the goal of language teaching and develop procedures for the teaching of the four language skills that acknowledge the interdependence of language and communication. However, according to Littlewood 1981:1, as cited by Richards and Rodgers 1986:66, the roles of the language elements cannot be neglected at all. In CLT, according to Breen and Candlin 1980, as cited by Richards and Rodgers 1986:77, the teachers have roles as a facilitator, participant, organizer, guide, researcher, and also learner. Richards and Rodgers add that the teachers also play roles as a need analyst, counselor, and group process manager. According to Breen and Candlin, as cited by Richards and Rogers 1986:77, the students in CLT have a role as a negotiator between the self, the learning process, and also the subject of learning. What they contribute should be as much as what they gain. Richards and Rodgers 1986:79-80 state that CLT practitioners view materials as a way of influencing the quality of 30