the computers can determi ne whether students‟ answers are right or wrong after
each test. It is believed that computers could provide lectures and tutorials a lot better than teachers in four major areas including phonology and phonetics. Susan
Cornish 1994: 25, a curriculum officer, supports Hanson- Smith‟s opinion. She
tought thereare great advantages of video use in class activities. She implied videos could model spoken language as well as developing listening skills without
making demand on reading skills. Students could hear crucial information, pauses and even understand emotions by watching.
Larimer and Schleicher 1999: 21 experience that students need exposure to samples of everyday authentic culture presented on television. Therefore, both
authors believe that television commercials are excellent sources because they are short, focusing on music, family relationships and colloquial English. The
authors‟ second observation is about newspapers and magazines. As they explain, these materials are ideal sources for students to discuss current issues while
broadening their vocabulary limits. Other documents such as maps, mail and brochures can be used as authentic materials in the classroom. These materials let
students understand the language of materials written for tourists.
b. Disadvantages of Authentic Materials
On the one hand, authentic materials proposed some advantages to be used in teaching foreign language. On the other hand, there are some significant
disadvantages of using authentic materials in comparison with textbooks. The main criticism made to these materials is that they are sometimes too difficult for
learners of a foreign language whose ears have been accustomed to an perpustakaan.uns.ac.id
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oversimplified and enunciated language. A mismatch between the material being presented and the
learners‟ learning styles results in a complete loss of interest and motivation. This is mainly due to the fact that authentic materials contain less
guidance, an infinite variety of new terminology and structures. Moreover, learners whose level of proficiency is low or who favour more traditional
methodologies may find authentic materials difficult, and irrelevant for their needs and motivations.
The other disadvantages of authentic materials are some authentic materials reflected certain cultur
al aspects which constitute taboos in the learners‟ culture. This too culturally biased situation might lead to a feeling of hatred or
repulsion towards the target language It is also true that some teachers are reluctant to exploit authentic materials. The main reason they give for not using
them is that such materials are too difficult to be graded and adapted to the learners‟levels or needs. In spite of this, teachers can achieve a certain grading by
using criteria such as topic, number of speakers, accent, etc. Underwood 1997:100 as he posited that teachers might find the text
with suitable language but spoken in a way which is difficult to follow, or they may have tapes on which the delivery is good, but the language is far too
difficult. Guariento and Morley 2001: 348-351 remind us that the use of authentic materials make especially lower level students confused and
demotivated by the complexity of language and performance conditions unless the simplest authentic texts are carefully selected by the teachers. Hence, the selected
material should maintain sense of learner‟s response and it should engage the perpustakaan.uns.ac.id
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learner‟s interest. As mentioned by both authors, it appears to be hard while simplification of any text is justified. It is also believed that while some texts lend
themselves to competence training, all textual inputs needed to be successfully done by teachers because it might
reduce opportunities for students‟ comprehensible input and cause frustration between lower level learners. So, the
preparation stage often demanded time consumption for instructors Martinez, A.. Ruddock 2000: 1-2 gives an example about when to use authentic texts in
teaching the grammatical structure of Japanese. The author said authentic texts are only used when students reach intermediate level in the teaching of grammar.
Because it is considered that authentic texts are difficult for beginners. To sum up, using authentic material in the classroom might have time
consuming since it needs time to prepare and select the material. Moreover, the language used in the material might be very difficult to understand by beginners.
This difficulty lead students to be demotivated and frustrated during the learning process. However, techers‟ role in selecting suitable authentic material is very
important. It must meet the learners‟ need and situation.
C. Listening Skill 1. Definition of Listening
