There are many reasons why English language teachers may choose to construct their own teaching materials, despite the availability of commercially produced materials. This paper presents some of these reasons by examining advantages of teacher produced materials. It also suggests factors that teachers should take into account when designing materials for diverse learners and present a set of guidelines for designing effective materials for teaching and learning English. Effective strategies used to overcome interaction and motivation difficulties among students in the classroom are of crucial importance for second language (L2) learners. Therefore, L2 learners might benefit from instruction on how to use culturally relevant and highly visual materials in the classroom to cope such difficulties. In Colombia, much research has been conducted on use of materials in an English foreign language classroom, the means used to overcome strategies and learning styles of the students. Due to differing theoretical perspectives, researchers have disagreed about the question of whether such strategy training is beneficial. However, few studies have specifically considered cultural and visual material strategies from a pedagogical point of view. In this paper, we will first briefly present the importance of using culturally relevant and highly visual materials with EFL students, some conceptualizations, and samples of studies about cultural material. Then, we will discuss the advantages of the application and design of the material done by the facilitators to contextualize the topics, arguing in favor of it. This will be reinforced by descriptions of research projects that analyzed the use and impact of culturally relevant material in foreign classrooms. Findings suggest that culturally relevant material will provide learners the opportunity to apply their background knowledge in all four language skills (reading, writing, speaking and listening). This thesis provides evidence in favor of the success of designing, using and developing culturally relevant material for the Colombian English classroom. Finally, suggestions for materials and pedagogical implications will be discussed.
Terms of Use: This is an academic paper. Students should NOT copy our materials word to word, as we DO NOT encourage Plagiarism. Only use as a guide in developing your original research work. Thanks.
Disclaimer: All undertaking works, records, and reports posted on this website, eprojectguide.com are the property/copyright of their individual proprietors. They are for research reference/direction purposes and the works are publicly supported. Do not present another person’s work as your own to maintain a strategic distance from counterfeiting its results. Use it as a guide and not duplicate the work in exactly the same words (verbatim). eprojectguide.com is a vault of exploration works simply like academia.edu, researchgate.net, scribd.com, docsity.com, course hero, and numerous different stages where clients transfer works. The paid membership on eprojectguide.com is a method by which the site is kept up to help Open Education. In the event that you see your work posted here, and you need it to be eliminated/credited, it would be ideal if you call us on +2348064699975 or send us a mail along with the web address linked to the work, to eprojectguide@gmail.com. We will answer to and honor each solicitation. Kindly note notification it might take up to 24 – 48 hours to handle your solicitation.