Читать книгу The Concise Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics - Carol A. Chapelle - Страница 210

One of the challenges of working with authentic materials, as mentioned above, is finding materials that are appropriate for the learners' linguistic level. Moreover, it is necessary to scaffold learning with level‐appropriate tasks. Practitioners advise that learners, especially beginners, do not need to demonstrate full comprehension of the language sample in order to benefit from authentic materials. Accordingly, a common recommendation is to “grade the task, not the text.” In other words, by manipulating the task demands, the authentic material becomes more accessible. Another challenge involves exposing learners to authentic spoken language that is unscripted. Wagner (2014) explains that most listening activities in L2 classrooms are based on scripted texts that have been written, revised, and carefully read aloud. Thus, classroom learners typically have few opportunities to hear spontaneous (i.e., unplanned) spoken discourse. Although some types of unscripted spoken language can be relatively easy to obtain, there are confidentiality issues that impede access to authentic, unscripted interactions such as doctor–patient conversations. Finally, there is the issue of balancing authentic and nonauthentic materials. Authentic materials are usually discussed in opposition to textbooks and other types of simplified texts (e.g., graded readers). However, both authentic and nonauthentic materials can be used in conjunction and for different purposes. For example, Zyzik and Polio (2017) argue that graded readers are optimal for an extensive reading program, in which the goal is to read large quantities of material independently and for the purposes of general comprehension. In contrast, authentic texts require more pedagogical support and thus are better aligned with intensive reading.

SEE ALSO: History of Language‐Teaching Methods; Materials Development; Task‐Based Language Assessment