Unit 25 Selection and use of supplementary materials and activities

How do we select and use supplementary material and activities? Including skills development materials, grammar, vocabulary and phonology practice materials, collection of communicative activities, teacher’s resources and web materials. Recognising that we need something different from the material in the coursebook. Knowing where to find the most appropriate kinds of material.

We use supplementary materials and activities to provide something that is missing from the coursebook, to give learners extra practice, or just to bring something different to our lessons.

Key concept There are various reasons why we might want to use supplementary materials and activities. Some of the main reasons are as follows: to replace unsuitable material in the coursebook to provide material missing from the coursebook to provide suitable material for learners’ particular needs and interests to give learners extra language or skill practice to add variety to our teaching

Supplementary materials Possible advantage Possible disadvantage Here are some of the possible advantages and disadvantages of using various kinds of supplementary materials: Supplementary materials Possible advantage Possible disadvantage DVDs • provide visual context • source of cultural information • show body language • equipment may not always be available • language may not be graded Language practice books • extra practice • learners can work alone • without teacher’s help • repetitive exercises • little or no context Games • enjoyment • language practice • may not be suitable for older leaners • preparation may take a long time Skills practice books • focus on individual skills • may not fit coursebooks/syllabus

Selection of supplementary materials and activities It’s always important to think about exactly how supplementary material will replace or improve on material in the coursebook. It is important for us to think carefully about all the skills that they require learners to use. Before deciding to use these materials, however, the first step is to consider how appropriate the level is for our learners, and to think about the language they will need to understand or to produce.

Use of supplementary materials and activities We can grade the activities by marking the learners’ tasks more or less challenging. In a mixed ability/ mixed level class, we can give different tasks to different groups, pairs or individuals which are more suited to their level. We may need to input new vocabulary or language patterns before we can use supplementary materials and activities.