PRINCIPLES OF MATERIALS DESIGN FROM DIFFERENT AUTHORS

1. Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State PolytechnicUniversity
SINILOAN (HOST) CAMPUS
College of Teacher Education
PRINCIPLES IN
MATERIALS DESIGN
Dr. Mercedita Alberto
M10 Professor
RONALYN MERCADO
DAPHNE LYN DELFIN
CHRISTINE JANE MARAÑA
LEVYMAR VILLAPAÑA
REANNIE AREVALO
BSED III-A

2. PRINCIPLES IN MATERIALS DESIGN
“Materials are anything which is used by teachers or learners to facilitate the learning of
a language.” (Tomlinson, 2012)
I. INTRODUCTION
How do writers write materials?
According to Tomlinson:
1. Replication and adaptation of previously successful materials played a large part in
the process of the writers he surveyed. In other instances, writers benefit from
inspiration. If none of this is very helpful to the aspiring materials writer, we can take
comfort from Tomlinson’s statement of preference for a principled approach to materials
writing – one which ‘is driven by a set of agreed principles, both universal principles
applicable to any learning context and local criteria specific to the target learning
context’.
2. As well as being of more use to the novice, who likely would not have a large
repertoire of materials of their own design to which they might make modifications, the
process of defining or agreeing upon the principles could be expected to result in more
student-centered, needs-focused materials.
Some material writers rely on their repertoire and inspiration, whereas others
establish the principles first before they start designing the materials (Tomlinson, 2011)
Tomlinson (2012) suggests material designers should follow “a set of agreed
principles”; in other words, a principled framework which should be based on both
universal principles and local criteria in the designing process. By ‘universal principles’,
Tomlinson is referring to second language acquisition (SLA) theories in language

3. learning which may be universally applicable to any learning context, while ‘local criteria’
covers more exclusive factors such as culture, geographical location, and context.
So what are these principles? Are they all created equally? How do writers
decide which ones apply to them?
II. DISCUSSION
A. David Nunan (1988) identified the Six Principles of Materials Design
1. Materials should be clearly linked to the curriculum they serve.
Materials should be chosen on the basis of their relevance to the
objective and goals of the curriculum.
2. Materials should be authentic in terms of text and task.
Text refers to the authenticity of the input data which are used as
point f departure in materials development. Task authenticity refers to
what learners actually o in relation to input data learners asked to
undertake tasks which replicate or rehearse their communicative
behaviors.
3. Materials should stimulate interaction.
Materials should stir interaction among learners. Materials must cause
the conversation among interlocutors for them to negotiate meaning,
interprets signs and symbols or understand dialogs.
4. Materials should allow learners to focus on formal aspects of the
language
There is evidence that learners can benefit from form-focused
activities that require them to solve problems, form and perform

4. hypothesis, come to conclusions and construct their own rules form
instances and examples of language use.
5. Materials should encourage learners to develop learning skills, and
skills in learning.
Learning skills refer to 4C’s: Critical thinking, creative thinking,
communication and collaborating. While, skills in learning are those
Research on learning styles and work in learner-centered
curriculum development has led to the trend of incorporating into materials
activities that teach students about learning as it is impossible to teach
everything students need to know in class. Hence, it is necessary to
provide learners with efficient learning strategies, develop skills in self-
evaluation, assist them to set their own objectives and develop skills
needed to negotiate the curriculum.
6. Materials should encourage learners to apply their developing skills to
the world beyond the classroom.
That a good language learner who always looks for opportunities to
do must be made a part of the materials. Many learners fail to make
connections between the language work done in class and the language
they encounter outside. Tasks designed to get learners to apply their skills
needed to be elaborated.
AUTHENTIC VERSUS CREATED MATERIALS
 Authentic materials:
 Nunan (1988) defines authentic materials as the materials "which have been
produced for purposes other than to teach language".

5.  Nunan (1999) defines authentic materials as spoken or written language data
that has been produced in the course of genuine communication, and not
specifically written for purposes of language teaching.
Other Definition of Authentic Material from the point of view of the following writers:
 According to Herod (2002) authentic learning 'materials and activities' are
designed to imitate the real world situations.
 Herrington and Oliver (2000) suggested a new pedagogical term, called
"authentic learning". This term is directly related to the students' real life and
prepares them to face and deal with real world situations.
 Jacobson et al (2003, p. 1) sees authentic materials as printed materials, which
are used in classrooms in the same way they would be used in real life.
 In other words, Stubbs (1996) defines authentic texts as "actual, attested, and
such that they have real authentic instances of use."
 According to Carter & Nunan (2001, p. 68) authentic materials are "ordinary texts
not produced specifically for language teaching purposes."
Types of Authentic Materials:
Teaching materials are a very essential part of teaching and learning a foreign
language. These days, the resources for teaching materials are available for everybody.
The internet is regarded as a very important and rich source for authentic materials.
Genhard (1996) classified authentic materials into three categories as follows:
1. Authentic listening materials
 Radio news, cartoons, songs, etc.
2. Authentic visual materials, such as street signs, magazines and newspapers pictures,
post cards, etc.
3. Authentic printed materials, such as sports reports, newspapers, restaurant menus,
train tickets, etc.

6.  Created materials:
 Created materials refer to textbook and other specially developed
instructional materials. (Nunan, 1988)
 Materials expressly created for the foreign language learner (Gallien,
Hotho & Staines, 2000; Kmiecik & Barkhuizen, 2006).
 Those that are specifically designed for the language learners. They are
either adapted or simplified or written keeping in mind the language
proficiency of the learners in question. (Awasthi, 2006)
B. Principles In Materials Design Presented By Hutchinson And Waters
(1987)
1. Good materials provide stimulus to learning and encourage students to
learn.
They should contain interesting texts, enjoyable activities,
opportunities for learners to us their existing knowledge and skills, and
content that is suitable for the teacher and the learners.
2. Good materials should help the teaching-learning process.
They should provide a clear and coherent unit structure which will
guide teacher ad learner through various activities in such a way as to
maximize the chances of learning. The materials must clear and
systematic, but flexible enough to allow for creativity an variety.
3. Materials embody a view of the nature of the language learning.
They reflect the writer’s thinking and feeling about the learning
process.

7. 4. Materials reflect the nature of the learning task.
Language learning is a complex process involving different kinds
and level of knowledge. The materials should create “a balanced outlook”
which reflects the complexity of the task and make it appear manageable.
5. Materials function to broaden the basis of teacher training by
introducing teachers to new techniques
6. Materials provide correct models of appropriate language use.
C. Principles in Materials Design Set by Tomlinson
Tomlinson set 16 principles based on second language in general
and is not context-specific, which suggests that they are universally
transferable and applicable to all material design. How they are applied,
however, is another issue i.e. to each individual activity in a course book,
to each chapter or the holistic approach to the whole course book. In any
case, the principles suggested by Tomlinson are all encouraging and
having a course material that reflects and adheres to these principles is
surely a good framework for producing pedagogically successful
materials.
Tomlinson’s 16 principles of material design are:
1. Materials should achieve impact.
Impact is achieved when materials have a noticeable effect on
learners, that is when the learners curiosity, interest, and attention are
attracted. If this is achieved there is a better chance that some of the
language in the materials will be taken for processing . Further, it is said

8. that materials can achieve impact when they are new, varied, presented
attractively, and appealing content.
2. Materials should help learners to feel at ease.
Materials can help learners to feel at ease in many ways, for example,
texts and illustrations rather than just texts, texts that the learners can
relate with their own culture than those that are culturally bound, materials
that include examples rather than without, and many others.
3. Materials should help learners to develop confidence.
Quoting Dulay, Burt, and Krashen 1982, Tomlinson (1998:9) said that
Relaxed and selfconfident learners learn faster .Many learners feel
relaxed and self-confident if they think that the materials they learn are not
too difficult but just one step further or more difficult than they master.
4. What is being taught should be perceived by learners as relevant and
useful.
In ESP, teachers of English can easily select materials that are
relevant to the specific choice of topics and tasks that the learners are
also learning in their field of study, therefore, the materials they learn must
be relevant and useful.
5. Materials should require and facilitate learner self-investment.
Materials that enable the learners to be interested in them, that can
draw their attention, and that can attract them to learn the materials will
facilitate them to learn the materials by themselves.
6. Learners must be ready to acquire the points being taught.
To acquire the points being taught, the materials learned should be i +
1 in which i represents what has already been learned and 1 represents

9. what is available for learning. According to Krashen (1985), each learner
will only learn from the new input what he or she is ready to learn.
7. Materials should expose the learners to language in authentic use.
A lot of teaching/learning materials can provide exposure to
authentic input through the instructions, advice they give for the activities
and the spoken and the written texts included in the materials. The
learners attention should be drawn to linguistic features of the input.
These linguistic features should not become the main focus in the
materials but the learners should be made aware that linguistic features
are needed to locate and to make a generalization about the function of
the linguistic features in the main materials.
8. The learners’ attention should be drawn to linguistic features of the
input.
These linguistic features should not become the main focus in the
materials but the learners should be made aware that linguistic features
are needed to locate and to make a generalization about the function of
the linguistic features in the main materials.
9. Materials should provide learners with opportunities to use the target
language to achieve communicative purposes.
After learning the materials, learners should be given opportunities to
practice the language they have learned for communication in real life
situation not just practicing it in the classroom controlled by the teacher.
10. Materials should take into account that the positive effects of
instruction are usually delayed.
As it can be observed in our daily teaching, learners learning a
language is not an instantaneous process but a gradual one. In order to
facilitate the gradual process of learning or acquiring a language, it is

10. important to give frequent and ample exposure to the instructed language
features in communicative use.
11. Materials should take into account that learners differ in learning
styles.
Not all learners have the same learning styles. Language learning
styles include visual, auditory, kinaesthetic (e.g. the learner prefers to do
something physical, such as following instructions), studial (e.g. the
learner likes to pay conscious attention to the linguistic features of the
language and wants to be correct), experiential, analytic, global,
dependent and independent.
12. Materials should take into account that learners differ in affective
attitudes.
Learners attitudes vary in types and times. Ideal learners will need
strong and consistent motivation, positive feelings towards the target
language, their teachers, their fellow learners, and the materials they are
learning. Realizing this fact, materials should provide choices of different
types of texts and types of activities.
13.Materials should permit a silent period at the beginning of instruction.
The silent period is used to facilitate the development of an effective
internalized grammar and other language elements which can help
learners to achieve proficiency. The other possible extension of the
principle of permitting silence is to introduce most new language points
through activities which initially require comprehension before production..
14. Materials should maximize learning potential by encouraging
intellectual, aesthetic and emotional involvement, which stimulates
both right – and left-brain activities.

11. This principle means that materials which encourage the learners to
learn the same lesson involving different cerebral processes and different
states of consciousness in many different parts of the brain will maximize
recall.
15.Materials should not rely too much on controlled practice.
This principle is intended to state that it is still controversial to say
that controlled practice activities are valuable. The statements which state
that most spontaneous performance is attained by dint of practice
(Sharwood-Smith, 1981) and automaticity is achieved through practice
(Bialystok, 1988) have no evidence. However, many researchers agree
with Ellis saying that controlled practice appears to have little long term
effect on the accuracy with which new structures are performed (Ellis,
1990:192) and has little effect on fluency (Ellis and Rathbone, 1987). Yet,
controlled grammar practice activities still feature significantly in popular
coursebooks and are considered useful by many teachers and by many
learners.
16.Materials should provide opportunities for outcome feedback.
Feedback which is focused on the effectiveness of the outcome rather
than just on the accuracy of the output can lead to output becoming a
profitable source of input. Therefore, a learner who is successful to
achieve a particular communicative purpose will gain positive feedback on
the effectiveness of the use of the language for further language outcome.
In relation to this, materials developer has to be sure that language
production activities have intended outcomes other than just practicing
language.

12. III. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Materials should be clearly linked to the curriculum they serve (Nunan,
1988). The curriculum cycle below illustrates the three phases of the
curriculum development.
IV. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Hutchinson and Waters (1987) present a model for writing materials.
The model provides “a coherent framework of integration of various aspects of
learning” and, at the same time, allows “creativity and variety” to develop.
Curriculum Planning
 Identify learner
needs
 Set goals and
objectives
 Write materials
 Write tests.
Curriculum
Implementation
 Instruct learners
 Monitor and
adapt instruction
 Write
supplementary
materials
Curriculum Evaluation
 Test learners
 Evaluate
curriculum
 Plan changes in
the curriculum
PHASE 1 PHASE 2 PHASE 3

13. The model consists of four elements. They are:
1) Input
It can be in the form of text, dialogue, video-recording, diagram or any piece
of communication data. It depends on the needs the writer has defined in the
analysis. The input provides:
a) Stimulus materials for activities b)
b) New language items 17
c) Correct models of language use
d) Topic for communication
e) Opportunities for learners to use their information processing skill
f) Opportunities for learners to use their existing knowledge of the language
and the subject matter.
2) Content focus
The content focus means that language is a means of conveying information
and feelings about something. Therefore, it generates meaningful
communication in the classroom.
3). Language focus
It gives the learners the chance to take the language into pieces, study
how it works and practice putting it back together again.
4) Task
Materials should be designed to lead towards a ‘communicative task’ in
which learners use the content and language knowledge they have built up
through the unit.

14. A Material Design Model shows the relation between input, content focus,
language focus and task.
Figure 1: A Material Design Model (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987)
Further, Hutchinson and Waters present the process of designing learning
materials as follows:
1) Conducting needs analysis
2) Writing syllabus
3) Developing the materials
4) Developing teaching methodology
5) Trying out the materials
6) Evaluating the materials
7) Revising the materials

15. SUMMARY
There is no published, universal set of principles for materials design and in fact
commercial material writers claim to be whimsical in their approach and “follow their
intuitions rather than an overt specification of objectives, principles and procedures”
(Tomlinson, 2011) and “replicating previous materials, adapting activity types that have
worked for them before and relying upon creative inspiration” (Tomlinson, 2012).
There are some areas of clear agreement between these authors. For instance,
the need for relevance was mentioned by most. Tomlinson makes the point that it is the
perception of relevance on the part of the learners that is important; He values materials
which require an investment from and devolve responsibility to the learners. Nunan
focuses for materials that facilitate links between the learners’ developing skills and the
wider world; He refers to developing ‘learning skills and skills in learning. He also
extends authenticity of tasks as well as texts. Hutchinson & Waters require materials to
be equal to the complexity of the task of learning a language and give the learners the
necessary tools to succeed. The terminology used amongst authors and their phrasing
could be seen as clues to their views on how languages are learned.
For Tomlinson and Nunan, materials which promote noticing are to be valued –
they speak of attention being drawn and allowing a focus on language patterns. For
Hutchinson & Waters, the models provided are important but also the way these models
are delivered – ‘not simply … statements of language use’.

16. REFERENCES:
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http://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/materialsdesign/2016/02/21/whose-principles/#fnref-22-4
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