Definitions of Authentic Materials Types of Authentic Material

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3. Authentic Materials

This section is divided into four sub-sections, namely definitions of authentic materials, types of authentic materials, advantages and disadvantages of authentic materials, and material selection criteria for teaching.

a. Definitions of Authentic Materials

Authentic materials are defined by Morrow 1977: 13 as a stretch of real language, produced by a real speaker or writer for a real audience and designed to convey a real message of some sort. Rueckert 2006 in a previous study revealed authentic materials as materials that teachers can use in classroom that have not been changed in any way for ESL students. Nunan 1989:54 added authentic materials as any materials which have not been specifically produced for the purposes of language teaching. In accordance with these, the authentic materials are also not changed for the students. Peacock 1997 in Martinez‟s study 2002 defined authentic materials as materials that have been produced to fulfill some social purpose in the language community. By this definition, the use of authentic materials in this research is expected to help students to communicating in the language community, using interesting topics yet still in accordance with school target materials.

b. Types of Authentic Material

There are five types of authentic material highlighted in Goh‟s journal 2002, namely videos, radio broadcasts, songs, literary texts, interactive CD ROMS, and the World Wide Web. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 19 1 Videos Goh 2002 revealed that videos are now becoming an integral part of language teaching. Students can take the advantages of using videos with visual clues that are an important source of information in real-life communication. Videos support students to practice top-down strategies by contextualising what is heard and making inferences about things that they did not hear clearly. Videos also enabled students to combine both auditory and visual clues in parallel processing, something which they frequently do in their first language. However, there are some considerations in selecting videos for teaching, such as so urces of the materials, students‟ background knowledge, appropriate segments, length of sequences and viewing time between listening activities. The types of video that are appropriate included TV drama or sitcom, feature film, news programme, documentary, game show, advertisement, film trailer, music video, cartoon, weather forecast, interview and talk show. Feature film is also good to use in classroom. However, there are four criteria in selecting the feature film. Firstly, the film is supposed to be an enjoy watching film. Secondly, the film is supposed to have an uncomplicated plot which provided and easy context for understanding the language. Thirdly, the film should give an honest view of the world and society. Fourthly, the dialogues in the film are supposed to be simple and realistic, and are able to provide a good model for the students. 2 Radio Broadcasts According to Goh 2002, radio broadcasts provided an endless source of current and updated materials of many themes. Teachers can use recording for the PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 20 radio to keep things new and relevant for the students. Some examples of the activities related to radio broadcasts are listening to topical issues programmes, popular culture, and contemporary celebrities, which can be very motivating for students as they put the classroom in touch with the world outside. Radio broadcasts also bring the students to a wide variety of text types to choose from. Transactional and interactional talks to suit different learning objectives can also be found in this type of materials. There are six suggestions for using radio broadcasts as proposed by Goh 2002. Firstly, students are supposed to get familiarised with the programmes on local and overseas radio stations. Secondly, programmes should suit the interest and level of students. Thirdly, themes and topics in the syllabus are supposed to give supplement by radio programmes. Fourthly, it is better for teachers to make a checklist of the types of text that are appropriate for the lessons. Fifthly, transcribing in post-listening activities should be done in relevant segments after the teachers have made the recording. Sixthly, recording should be labelled clearly with the name of the programme, the date of broadcasts, the radio station and the target group of students. 3 Songs Goh 2002 found that songs provided a wide range of comprehension tasks because they are normally short and in general use simple language and contains repetitions. Longer songs often contain stories that will capture students‟ attention. It is also good for teachers to use songs to explain about recount and PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 21 narrative texts. In some cases, pop songs may also deal with social issues, which allow students to apply their background knowledge and make personal responses. Nevertheless, there are eight suggestions for using songs in classroom as proposed by Goh 2002. Firstly, singers should have clear diction. Secondly, familiar songs for tasks that involve higher order listening are recommended. Thirdly, for text-based tasks, such as listening for details and or gist, it is good for teachers to choose unfamiliar songs. Fourthly, inappropriate language and unsuitable content should be avoided. Fifthly, teachers may invite students to suggest the types of song they would like to work with. Sixthly, students can get more involved by contributing lyrics of their favourite songs. Seventhly, songs should support or complement the topics or themes of the syllabus. Eighthly, setting up a song bank is recommended for teachers. 4 Literary Texts Literary texts, such as poems and short stories, are suitable for listening class after some modifications. Most poems and short stories are usually short and self-contained and can be used the entirety in a listening lesson, whereas novels and plays will have to be sampled and adapted. Literary works are essentially created to move heart and mind, so they have great potential for creative and critical thinking development through listening tasks. They also represent many text types and are useful for developing different types of listening. For instance, a novel or a play may contain narratives, recounts, expositions, or even procedural texts. A range of responses can be elicited from the use of literary texts, from simple listening outcomes such as matching and reconstructing to creating PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 22 empathy and considering different viewpoints. There are three considerations in selecting texts. Firstly, t exts should be targeted at students‟ age group as these will have themes which they can identify with. Secondly, texts should be stylistically simple and are aiming to use the texts for listening tasks, not for reading comprehension or language analysis. Thirdly, cultural factors should be considered whether it is suit students‟ background knowledge or not. 5 Interactive CD ROMs CD-ROMs provided a multi-media experience by combining video, images, sound, animation and text. Moreover, CD-ROMS gave a special advantage: precise replay of textual-audio-visual sequences of information. It can be a powerful tool for controlling language input of the students. On the other hand, not all aspects of listening can be practised and developed with CD-ROMs. Most of CD-ROMs contain transactional texts, which are good for listening for gist and details. Here are four considerations when using CD-ROMs. Firstly, titles should be chosen according to the themes or topics in the syllabus, or that provide a rich source of edutainment and useful information. Secondly, text types and relevant tasks should be identified and be considered. Thirdly, listening skills and or strategies for students to practise should be determined. Fourthly, teachers should check the amount of recording time on the packaging to ensure a reasonably substantial amount of listening input. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 23 6 The World Wide Web The latest source of authentic materials that can be used for helping students develop their listening comprehension is the internet or the World Wide Web. Websites now provide both audio and video clips which contain current and interesting listening materials. BBC World Service is an example of websites which contains wide variety of programmes transmitted in both written text and real audio. To provide these audio clips into classroom, teacher should ensure that computers and modems have the required speeds and that you have the right kind of software, which is free and easily downloaded.

c. Advantages and Disadvantages of Authentic Materials