The Role of Authentic Materials and Activities in Language Learning

This essay examines the critical role of authentic materials and activities in language education, particularly within the context of English language learning in Saudi Arabia. It delves into the limitations of traditional textbooks and emphasizes the benefits of using real-world texts and tasks to enhance ...Read More

Running head: ROLE OF AUTHENTICITY OF MATERIALS AND ACTIVITIES
ROLE OF AUTHENTICITY OF MATERIALS AND ACTIVITIES
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Literature Review............................................................................................................................3
Authenticity of Texts and Tasks..................................................................................................3
Significance of textbooks............................................................................................................5
Authentic materials vs Text-based material................................................................................5
Materials Authenticity issues at Preparatory year at University.....................................................8
Practical Implications......................................................................................................................9
Recommendation...........................................................................................................................11
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................12
References......................................................................................................................................13

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Introduction
The teaching of multiple foreign languages helps in the cognitive and the overall
development of the student. The teaching of a subject not only deals with the overall acceptance
of the subject by the student but also the process by which the teacher can impart the education
in the class. The education system is very dependent on the abilities of the teacher, so the teacher
has to involve a number of measures for the proper education of the children. English in Saudi
Arabia is a foreign language, but is a very important language for the overall educational
development and adapting to the demands of the international education (Liton, 2012). The
students in the class do not have the same concentration level, aptitude, knack of learning
languages or the simple cognitive ability to learn a language. In such cases the teacher needs to
address the needs of each and every student in the class. The usage of different authentic
materials and activities in the classroom helps in the better cognitive and the lingual
development of the children in the classroom. The authentic materials and the activities in this
context includes texts and activities to be used in the classroom which are more goal oriented
(Shah, Hussain & Nasseef, 2013).
The authenticity of the activity and the materials makes the language more interesting for
the learners in the class. Using the different activities in the learning process in the classroom
helps the students in developing their abilities of the usage of the language making them more
proficient in it. The language being a secondary language in Saudi Arabia the students need to be
given a better access and opportunity for learning the language by having better programs for
them. The English class for the native students in Saudi Arabia aims towards the practice and the
development of the proficiency of the students as it is a secondary language and its usage is

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limited to the class rooms in the Arabian society (Al Asmari, 2013). The authentic materials in
the Course Headway book used in the intermediate level in Saudi Arabia lacks a number of
authentic materials which should be of the Saudi Arabian Context so that the students can relate
to it.
Literature Review
In Saudi Arabia the treatment of the English language as the secondary language greatly
hindered its growth and development in the society. the students often due to a number of factors
affecting their linguistic abilities are left lacking in the proficient knowledge of English. There
are a number of studies which suggest that the usage of the different authentic texts may improve
the English teaching in the classrooms. The different activities that paly an important role in the
learning process among the students of the different classes.
Authenticity of Texts and Tasks
According to Al Azri & Al-Rashdi (2014), the use of authentic teaching materials is an
important tool that are to be used in the Saudi classrooms for the better imparting of the English
knowledge to the students. The different types of activities related to a language need different
kinds of skill set to use in the daily life and the learning materials of the course should focus on
developing these individual skills among the different students. The different behavioral patterns
of the students regarding the learning abilities in the classroom tends to vary with their interest in
the subject and the authentic text and the activities can be designed and devised to suit the
individual skillsets and the choice of the student. The research text not only takes into account
the importance of the different aspects of the usage of different aspects of learning and
development in the classroom but the usage of different authentic textual works to maintain the

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interests of the students in the subject. The usage of the authentic texts also helps in mixed ability
teaching as the different coursework can be devised for the different students based on their
needs and overall cognitive development. The authentic approach also changes the point of view
of learning towards a subject from a general subject in a classroom to a major communication
tool and a universal language. The supporters of the authentic material usage in the teaching of
English argue that it gives a more practical knowledge to the student thereby exposing the
students to a more lucid use of the language than used is normal texts.
As pointed out by Akbari & Razavi (2016), the usage of the authentic texts in the course
helps the student to bridge the gap between the language they have learned as a course and its
practical use in their daily life for better success and achievement. The research shows that the
teachers have a positive attitude towards the usage of the authentic materials in learning. It is
important to note that the narrative structure used in textbooks to portray a certain form of
literature is very different from the colloquial language that is used during the daily speech. The
students must learn this difference of approach and this can be best achieved by using the
different methods of authentic texts and tools. The different words their usage and the
pronunciation can only be taught to the student if they are made to use the listening tools in the
classrooms. English being a secondary language in Saudi Arabia needs much more
reinforcement to be better accepted and learnt by the students. The authentic texts and tools not
only teach the student the real-life usage of the language but also make the coursework
interesting for the students. The interest that arises due the alternative methods of learning in the
classroom, the students can be made more curious and confident about the usage of the English
language in daily life. The teachers greatly support the application of the usage of authentic tools
as they believe the students need and interests can be better addressed using the authentic

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methods of teaching. The research shows that the teachers from every background have a more
open approach towards using the authentic tools in the classroom. They believe that they will
have a more open attitude in the class and the students will grasp the subjects better with the
usage of different authentic materials.
Significance of textbooks
According to Chung (2017), the communicative English is not taught in the text books
and it can be best taught with the different alternative methods such as using the authentic texts
and tools in the classroom. The usage of these techniques also helps in the understanding and
application of the language in a number of scenarios. The understanding of the language can be
improved by the usage of the authentic texts as they help the students to understand the
comprehension of the same word in different situations. The use of the authentic tools also
makes the class more interactive and encourages the children to involve in the usage of the
language among themselves. It is also seen that the usage of these tools and techniques also helps
in the growth and development of the communicative abilities of the student. It is a very
important strategy to make the student confident about their approach of the language in the class
with the help of the teacher in a country like Saudi Arabia where many people do not use the
English language confidently. The usage of these resources moreover improves the vocabulary
of the student acquainting them with the words which are more needed of the day to day
communication in the society. the study also suggests that the usage of the tools helps in the
differentiated teaching in the class. The usage of the authentic tools will help the teachers to
device learning techniques for the individual development of the student rather than teaching
then through the same text and curriculum irrespective of their abilities.

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Authentic materials vs Text-based material
According to Al-Seghayer (2014), the different aspects of the Saudi Arabian society
affects the English education and knowledge among the students in the country. the research
points out the different aspects that affect the English knowledge and the usage of English
among the students for regular communication in the society. According to the research the
constraints of the society and the teaching methods work in tandem to obstruct the overall
development of the linguistic ability of the children in the society. the students have different
kinds of difficulties in learning a new foreign language like English, like inability to construct
meaningful sentences, the different hinderances and under confidence in using the language
publicly hinders a students’ ability to use the language. This kills the student’s enthusiasm for
learning the language and thus creates a personal bias in their mind against the language which
affects their learning abilities. The research also shows that the coursework constraints play a
major role in the learning abilities of the children and the course work helps in the overall
understanding of the subject. The usage of the authentic materials and activities greatly helps in
overcoming the constraints as they can be developed according to the individual needs of the
children. The authentic materials and the text helps in approaching the different problems and
when the students start learning the language they themselves overcome their personal barriers to
use the language effectively to express their ideas.
According to Allehyani, Burnapp & Wilson (2017), the different types of the books are
used in the classes by the teachers to educate the children about the English language. The
classroom education strategies need to focus on the overall development of the English language
usage capabilities based on the different methods of the teachings in the classroom. The research
shows that the communicative competence of the child develops with the inclusion of the new

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and better strategies in the authentic learning methodologies of teaching. The competence of
communication in English focusses mostly on the usage of grammar and vocabulary in the
communication process. The user should know the proper usage of the grammar and the different
words and their proper usage to communicate their ideas for an effective communication to take
place. The usual textbooks used to teach English lack the cultural contexts of the society and the
students may find it unrelatable to understand. The dissociation of the student from the text is
one of the major reasons that the subject is not reaching out to the students and they cannot use it
in their daily life. Since English is not just a subject but a mode of communication the local and
the native context of narrative using the language will help the student to identify with the
language in a better way and therefore improve their language usage abilities. The main
objective of the teaching is to use the language as the mode of communication but the
westernized texts makes it extensively difficult for the students to identify with the subject. The
use of authentic materials will help the teachers to device methods of learning and the texts using
the local context so that the students understand the language better and use it for
communication.
As pointed out by Alshumaimeri & Alzyadi (2015), the use of text books in the
classroom helps the students in developing the knowledge about than language and understand
its implication in the daily life but the linguistic and communicative competence cannot be
achieved by the usage of the text books. The linguistic and the communicative abilities of a
language needs the help of practice to be perfected and used in the daily life by the students. In
this research it is pointed out that the lack of the authentic text materials focusing of the
development and the vocabulary of the students is a major hinderance in the growth and
development of the English language in the Saudi society. The study says that the use of the

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language and the different aspects of the communicative use can be learnt through the authentic
texts if they are merged in the regular coursework in the classroom. Introducing the students to
the new changes in the language helps them to grasp the usage of the words and language and
further helps in the overall communicative development of the student. It is also important to
notice that the authenticity of a text is culturally variable in the society what can be considered as
a native text in one society may not interest the students of another. The research shows that both
the simplified text materials and the authentic materials should be used in the society for the
overall development of it. The simplifies text materials helps in the development of vocabulary
and language while the authentic texts helps in its implication in the daily life.
Materials Authenticity issues at Preparatory year at University
This method is one of the most important methods used all over the world for decades to
improve the English proficiency among the multilingual societies around the world. Teachers
face a tough challenge in developing communication abilities of English among the children of
the countries where English is the secondary language (Mahboob & Elyas, 2014). Since it is not
the primary language its usage is mostly limited to the English classes and the official circle. The
teachers in Saudi therefore face a tough challenge in developing the communicative and
linguistic abilities of English among the native speakers. The course book used in the Saudi
schools lack the authentic texts which are important to inculcate the habit of daily English usage
among the students. The content in the text book are articles and news but they are borrowed
from the foreign sources which make it tough for the students to relate to in the general terms
(Ahmed, 2016). The main aim of the English text books is to make the English language easier
and student friendly but the course headway book fails to do so in the context of the Saudi
Arabian students as they lack the authentic materials to do so. Most of the students refrain from

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using the language in their daily life not because of the lack of knowledge but because they feel
uncomfortable using the language thinking that they will make mistakes in its usage. This can
only be overcome it the students learn the English word to express their cultural aspects
(Choudhury, 2014). The exploration of the cultural aspects can be done by using authentic text
material and resources which greatly lacks in the course book used in the intermediate studies in
Saudi Arabia.
The text used as a course work to teach English to the students alienates them from their
own cultural aspects making it increasingly tough for them to use the language among
themselves. The majority of the issues in the textbook is because the coursework focusses on the
development of the grammatical skills and vocabulary of the student. The new text book has a
major drawback as it is more focused on involving practical exercises rather than including
proper authentic texts for the student to understand. The alienation from the text is major
hinderance for the imparting of the English language in the Saudi society (Sreehari, 2012). The
usage of the authentic texts and tools will connect the student better to the language and they will
have more acceptance and open-minded attitude towards the subject.
The colloquial use of the language is one the important aspects of teaching any language
as it is known fact that the language is learnt to communicate and not to read a text or narrative.
The course work uses a general text to explain the forms of communication which is not ideal
since different students relate to the text differently. The teacher can give each student a different
text based on their development abilities and their interest in the subject, which will help in the
overall development of the language that is to be taught to the students (Alhmadi, 2014). The
teacher can therefore use the authentic texts and tools to device methods of learning for the
overall development of the language in the country.

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Practical Implications
The usage if the authentic tools and texts in the learning and teaching has a large number
of practical implications in the imparting the knowledge about the English language. It also has a
n important part to play in the teaching process of the proper use of the language situationally.
By assessing textbooks, the teacher and the student are bound to use the narrative structure of the
texts but that that distorts the cause of the communicative language and learning in the
classrooms (Alderman, 2013). Simply teaching the children about the simplified grammar and its
usage would not suffice as the student’s need to learn to communicate using the language in their
daily life and this is where the Course Headway textbook loses its course (Alghamdi, 2017). The
use of the different native texts in English helps the student to learn the English translations of
the expressions they express in their mother tongue. The usage of the language will become more
frequent if the student understands the language in their native context and the pre-intermediate
course headway book does not have authentic articles despite having a good approach of
teaching English using easy explanation and examples (Sulaimani & Elyas, 2018). The use of the
language is for the optimum expression of the emotions and ideas of an individual and this can
only be achieved when the individual can relate to the language as their own. The constant
practice of the student by the usage of various teaching and learning tools using the authentic
materials helps in the development of learning and the vocabulary of the student (Alhaisoni,
2012).
The teacher plays a very important part in the practical implication of the usage of the
authentic texts in the classroom. It is on the teacher to decide the usage of the type of authentic
literature in the classroom and they can use local alternatives of the English articles used the
course book. The teacher to can take liberties and plan the course structure based on the needs of

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the student (Farooq, 2015). The use of the authentic materials in the textbook is necessary to
ascertain that the pedagogic purposes of the book cannot be fulfilled. The current textbook
course headway textbook does not have the necessary authentic materials to fulfill the purposes
of the communicative strategies that are to be implemented in daily classroom course of the
university. The teachers can use more of the local authentic texts and literature to explain the
ideas in the usage of language more colloquially to the students (AL-Murabit, 2012). The
learning process in this case in not bound by the textual knowledge but the practical language
practice. This not only makes the students more curious about learning the subject but also
makes them more confident in the usage of the language. The lack of the authentic approach in
the native context greatly deteriorates the otherwise good approach of teaching English as a
language. The knowledge and the confidence gained by the students by using these materials and
tools will help them use English as a communication tool rather than a subject.
Recommendation
For the effective teaching and the proper usage if the different authentic materials and
tools in the classroom in Saudi Arabia the teacher should follow certain recommendations:
 The course work can be redesigned to use the English articles related to the daily life and
happenings in Saudi Arabia for the students to relate to the texts in a better way.
 The different incidents can be translated from the local newspapers or an exercise can be
given to the students to translate the local articles into English language making the class
more proactive and improve the language use.
 The teacher needs to keep in mind the ethical considerations and the bias about the
language while including the authentic texts other than the ones used in the text book.

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 The text used in the course book should be in the context of the age of student for their
better understanding.
 The teacher should encourage the students to actively use English as a mode of
communication and expression even outside the classroom.
 The teacher should use real life scenarios for the proper evaluation and the understanding
of the texts.
The recommendations when effectively followed by the teachers and students will help in the
proper usage of communicative English among Saudi students.
Conclusion
Therefore, in the essay it is seen that the usage of the authentic materials and tools are
very necessary for the proper imparting of the English language along with its effective usage
among the Saudi students. The process of giving the information about the different parts of the
communicative language using he native context will help the students co relate to the language
in a better way and improve the effectiveness of the knowledge that is to be given to the students.
The use of the tools and the different authentic materials also helps the teacher a great
deal as they can make the student learn the colloquial language necessary for the day to day
English conversation rather than the textbook English. The textbook used to teach the daily
communicative English language to the students is good for the teaching of English but lacks the
native authentic texts to which the students can relate.
Thus, it can be said that the usage of the authentic tools will not only make the
language easy for the student to understand but will also make it interesting for them so that they
use it actively. The authentic materials and learning also has an important role to play in

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acculturing the youth about their own culture using a different language and perspective. The
teachers should actively encourage students to use native authentic texts to improve their grasp
of language.

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