Abstract
The popularity of English around the world, including Indonesia results to the increasing demand of learning this language as a means of communication. Unfortunately, there has been a gap between the language taught in the classroom and the language used in the real life. In fact, many university students in Indonesia are still reluctant to speak in English. Thus, it is suggested that the language taught in the classroom should reflect how it is used by the native speakers. Consequently, authentic materials become popular. Klickaya (2004) characterises authentic materials as materials which expose the real life and how it is used in the target language. Similarly, Little, Devitt, and Singleton (1989) as cited in Peacock (1997) identify authentic materials as materials which are created and used for social purpose of the native speakers. Some examples of authentic materials are magazine, map, news, TV show, newspaper, and poster. Authentic materials are regarded as beneficial tools in teaching English in EFL countries since they reflect the naturalness of the language, trigger learners' motivation, contain cultural content and improve the communicative competence. However, the complexity of authentic materials make the learning becomes more complicated (Guariento & Morley, 2001). Thus, it is believed that non-authentic materials are more relevant to be implemented as the materials are more simple and suitable for EFL context. Hence, using authentic materials in teaching English in tertiary level should take some considerations into account to minimise the risk and maximise their use in the classroom.
Author Information
Widya Febrina, Monash University, Australia
Paper Information
Conference: ACE2017
Stream: Foreign Languages Education & Applied Linguistics (including ESL/TESL/TEFL)
This paper is part of the ACE2017 Conference Proceedings (View)
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