They relate more closely to learners needs.
They support a more creative approach to teaching.
Besides of containing authentic materials, there are some other criteria to decide whether the materials can be said as the good one. On the following
section, there will be a discussion about the criteria of good materials that should be considered in designing materials.
b. Criteria of Good Materials
Developing English learning materials should follow some criteria as a guide. Tomlinson 1998:7 states the criteria of good materials as follows.
a Materials should achieve impact b Materials should help learners to feel at ease
c Materials should help learners to develop confidence. Relaxed and
self confident learners learn faster Dulay, Burt and Krashen, 1982 d Learners should perceive what is being taught as relevant and
useful. In ESP materials it is relatively teaching points which are relevant and useful by relating them to know learners interests and
to “real-life” tasks which the learners need or might need to
perform in the target language. e
Materials should require and facilitate learners‟ self-investment. f Learners must be ready to acquire the points being taught.
g Materials should expose the learners to language in authentic use. h
The learner‟s attention should be drawn to linguistic features of the input.
i Materials should provide the learners with opportunities to use the target language to achieve communicative purpose.
j Materials should take into account that the positive effects of instruction are usually delayed.
k Materials should take into account that the learners are different in learning styles and affective attitude.
l Materials should permit a silent period at the beginning of instruction.
m Materials should maximize learning potentials by encouraging intellectual aesthetic, and emotional involvement, which stimulates
both right and left brain activities. n Materials should not be relied too much on controlled practice.
o Materials should provide opportunities for outcome feedback.
c. Definition of Materials Development
According to Tomlinson 1998:2 materials development refers to any process which is done by writers, teachers, or learners to produce sources or input
as the intake to expose the language use in teaching and learning process. Further, Tomlinson mentions some examples of the sources or input that can be
categorized as materials development, such as developing textbooks, telling stories, bringing advertisement into classroom, providing samples of language
use, or reading a poem aloud. He also explains that materials development concentrates on two vital things, that is, what should be given to the learners and
what can be done with it to promote language learning. In line with Tomlinson, material development is basically dealing with
selection, adaptation, and creation of teaching materials Nunan, 1991. In short, materials development is needed since the available materials should be renewed
or replaced depending on the progress or demand related to the subject matter. The materials developer then should develop materials and follow some steps to
design materials that suit to the needs of the learner. The following part will explain about the certain model that can be used to develop materials.
