AUTHENTIC TEXT THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

C. AUTHENTIC TEXT

The Understandings of Authentic Text The form of Authentic according to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary means known to be real and genuine and not copy, true and accurate made to be exactly the same as the original. Beside that, there are many discussions of the use of authentic texts or materials in English as a foreign language ESL classroom. Ferit Kilickaya expalins that the common definition of authentic text is „esposure’ to real language and its use in its own community. He wrote: “many teachers have discussed that English presented in the classroom should be authentic, not produced for instructional purposes. Generally what this mmeans is material which involve langiage naturrally occuring as communication in native speaker context of use, or rather those selected contexts where standars English is the norm: ral newspaper report, for example, real magazine articles, real advertisments, cooking recipes, horoscopes.” 31 Futhermore, He cites in Rogers about the definition of authentic text, it is as “appropiate” and “quality” in the term of goals, objectives, learners’ needs and interest and “natural” in the terms of real life and ,meaningful communication. While Harmer cites in Matsuta, defi nes that “authentic text as materials which are designed for native speakers of the language.” In addition Jordan mentions that “authentic texts as text that are not written for teaching purposes.” 32 It means that, authentic text is different from the textbook because it materials are designed only for native speakers or in other word, authentic text is written for them and it does not written for teaching purpose. 31 Ferit Kilickaya, Authentic Materials and Cultural content in EFL classroom, retrieved on 5 th April 2007 from http: www.metu.edu.tr-kilickaya, .p.1 32 Ferit Kilickaya, Authentic Materials and Cultural..., p. 2 The description of authentic texts could be defined as “materials that what students will need and what to be able to read when traveling, studying abroad, or using the language as it is used out side the classroom. The aim of authentic text is not on literary form or stylistic but it should be to understand the meaning and to emphasis on what is being said.” 33 It can be said that, authentic text is a useful thing for students when they are going on traveling, studying abroad or using the language as it is used out side the classroom. From the discussions above, the term of authentic texts or materials are closely to real-life and meaning for communication. This also in line with the principles of CLT, “when where the language techniques are designed to engage learners in the pragmatic, authentic, functional use of language for meaningful purposes.” 34 It can be concluded that, authentic texts or materials are closely similar with the principles of CLT which designed to engage learners in the pragmatic, authentic, functional use of language for meaningful purposes. Berardo writes in more detail that “the sourcec of authentic materials that can be used in the classroom are infinite, but the most common are news papers, magazines, TV programs, movies, songs and literatures.” 35 The writer assumes that, the sources of authentic materials are infinite, but the most common are newspapers, magazines, TV programs, movies, songs and literatures. It is in line with what Jeremy Harmer states about the definition of authentic text “which is designed for native speakers, it is a real text not designed for language students but for the speakers of the language in question. Thus English-language newspaper are composed of what we 33 Sacha Anthony Berardo, The Use of Authentic Materials in the Teaching Reading, The Reading Matrix: vol. 6, No. 2, September 2006, p. 62 34 H. Douglas Brown, Principles of Language Learning and Teaching, 4 th ed. New York: Longman, 2000, p. 266 35 Sacha Anthony Berardo, The Use of Authentic Materials..., p. 62 would call authentic English and so are radio programs of English speakers. A British advertisment is an example of authentic English. So is a chapter from a novel written for an English- speaking audience.” 36 From the definitions of the understanding of authentic texts above, the writer infers that the authentic text is the text that is designed for native speakers and not for language teaching purposes, it is a useful thing for students when they are going on traveling, studying abroad or using the language as it is used out side the classroom and the sources of authentic materials are infinite.

D. HYPOTHESES