Authentic Materials and Cultural Content in EFL Classrooms

By Licda. Belinda Davis  

Do you use real newspaper reports, magazines articles or cooking recipes in your classroom? If so you are using materials which involve language naturally occuring as communication in native-speaker contexts of use: Authentic Materials.
But, what are authentic materials? a common definition stated by the author of this article Ferit Kilickaya, says exposure to real language and its use in its own community, real life and meaningful communication.
Some of the main advantages of using authentic materials are:

* They have a positive effect on learner motivation.
* They provide authentic cultural information.
* They provide exposure to real language.
* They relate more closely to learners' needs.

* They support a more creative approach to teaching.                       

Disadvantages of Using Authentic Materials

They often contain difficult language, unneeded vocabulary items and complex language structures, which causes a burden for the teacher in lower-level classes. Also sometimes the materials may be too culturally biased.

Using Authentic Materials: At Which Level?

The use at lower levels may cause students o feel de-motivated and frustrated since they lack many lexical items and structures used in the target language. A Survey carried out by Chavez (1998), shows that learners enjoy dealing with authentic materials since they interact with the real language and its use. However, learners need lots of support, guidance and cues.
To help learners with the difficulties dealing of authentic materials we can use audio-visual materials aiding students' comprehension. As teachers we need to provide constant pedagogical support. 

Cultural Content

The reason for the use of cultural content in classroom is for the supposition that it will foster learner motivation. Successful language learning requires language users to know that culture underlying language in order to get the meaning across.
Shanahan(1997) states that cultural content provides exposure to living language that a foreign language student lacks. So, culture is not something consisting of facts to be learnt, but a helpful tool to make learners feel the need to speak and use the target language.

How Can We Introduce Cultural Content in Our Classrooms?

We should create a relaxing environment where students can discuss their own culture together with the target culture in meaningful and communicative tasks and activities.
Some sources of cultural information are: Newspapers, video, talks/discussions, role paly/dramatizations and culture quizzes. The internet is also a valuable source of information.
Remember there should be a variety of culture in the materials, not a specific one. Authentic materials are important to complete the gap between the competency and performance of the language learners. As teachers we need to keep trying new materials and techniques to best achieve our goals, so be creative and don't be afraid to use authentic materials.