reflective essay

My Own Experience After Known EIT

I have been a student at Tridinanti University of Palembang  for 5 semesters, and over the course of my stay I have grown and learned more that I thought possible. I had taken numerous English courses and though I knew exactly what I was headed for-was I ever wrong. Going through the English program has taught me so much more than stuff about literature and language, it has taught me how to be me. I have learned here how to write and express Technology , how to think for Technology , and how to find the answers to the things that I don't know. Most importantly I have learned how important literature and language are.

According  to my own experience ,from first semester until four semester I din’t know anything about how to make Email, Blog, Internet , and etc. Then using E-tools. I always get someone else to make me something related to Electronic. I feel so stupid when I have to rely on other people to make me Emails, but after I learned EIT , I feel a lot of things that I get and progress towards myself what I get I have been able to create an Email, Blog and using E-tools. EIT make me more creative and able to channel my talent to design something. Using  E-tools that could be a good lesson for me that when I teach later I could use E-tools in the teaching and learning process.

               Indeed , I know that my ability to write and express my ideas, thoughts and knowledge has grown stronger each semester.  The papers I wrote when I first started learn  EIT were bland and short. On the other hand I had been can be using E-tool in my own way. Thank you for my lecturer and my friend which has helped me in learning EIT. English Instructional Technology has changed a novice teachers’ thought that it gave some mode to teach in different way.

final writting

The Importance of Using Authentic Materials in TEFL

       The importance of  using  authentic materials in an EFL classroom is what many teachers involved in foreign language teaching have discussed in recent years. We have heard persuasive voices insisting that the English presented in the classroom should be authentic, not produced for instructional purposes. Generally, what this means is materials which involve language naturally occurring as communication in native-speaker contexts of use, or rather those selected contexts where standard English is the norm: real newspaper reports, for example, real magazine articles, real advertisements, cooking recipes, horoscopes, etc. Most of the teachers throughout the world agree that authentic texts or materials are beneficial to the language learning process, but what is less agreed is when authentic materials should be introduced and how they should be used in an EFL classroom.

       Then, The definitions of authentic materials are slightly different in literature. What is common in these definitions is 'exposure to real language and its use in its own community'. Rogers (1988) defines it as 'appropriate' and 'quality' in terms of goals, objectives, learner needs and interest and 'natural' in terms of real life and meaningful communication (p. 467). Harmer (1991), cited in Matsuta (n.d., para. 1) defines authentic texts as materials which are designed for native speakers; they are real text; designed not for language students, but for the speakers of the language. Jordan (1997, p. 113) refers to authentic texts as texts that are not written for language teaching purposes. Authentic materials is significant since it increases students' motivation for learning, makes the learner be exposed to the 'real' language as discussed by Guariento & Morley (2001, p. 347).

    In addition,  the main advantages of using authentic materials are (Philips and Shettlesworth 1978; Clarke 1989; Peacock 1997, cited in Richards, 2001): (1).they have a positive effect on learner motivation. (2).they provide authentic cultural information. (3).they provide exposure to real language. (4).they relate more closely to learners ' needs. (5).they support a more creative approach to teaching. We can claim that learners are being exposed to real language and they feel that they are learning the 'real' language. These are what make us excited and willing to use authentic materials in our classrooms, but while using them, it is inevitable that we face some problems.

        Next , disadvantages of using authentic materials are Richards (2001, p. 253) points out that alongside with these advantages, authentic materials often contain difficult language, unneeded vocabulary items and complex language structures, which causes a burden for the teacher in lower-level classes. Martinez (2002) mentions that authentic materials may be too culturally biased and too many structures are mixed, causing lower levels have a hard time decoding the texts. There comes the question of when authentic materials should be introduced and used in a classroom; in other words, can we use authentic materials regardless of our students' level?

      When using authentic materials at which level  Guariento & Morley (2001) claim that at post-intermediate level, the use of authentic materials is available for use in classroom. This might be attributed to the fact that at this level, most students master a wide range of vocabulary in the target language and all of the structures. They also note that at lower levels, the use of authentic materials may cause students to feel de-motivated and frustrated since they lack many lexical items and structures used in the target language. Matsuata (n.d.) states that the use of authentic materials is a burden for the instructors teaching beginning students as they have to spend a lot of time to prepare for authentic materials regarding the ability level of the students.

In conclusion  that learners feel better with authentic materials helping them involve in the 'real' language as long as we, as teachers, provide them with pedagogical support. In order to achieve this, we have a wide range of choices. Martinez (2002) suggests that teachers may use authentic materials for the learners to listen for the gist of the information presented and also he adds that by using authentic materials teachers will have the opportunity to encourage students to read for pleasure especially certain topics of their interest. Matsuta (n.d.) claims that using audio-visual materials aiding students' comprehension is beneficial since it will prevent students especially beginning ones from being frustrated about authentic materials. Materials such as popular and traditional songs will help us to create a non-threatening environment. Guariento & Moley (2001) suggest that authentic materials should be used in accordance with students' ability and adds that suitable tasks can be given to learners in which total understanding is not important. According to Jordan (1997), in the earlier stages, non-authentic materials can be used, but stresses that upon students' dealing with materials from their own subject area, authentic materials should be introduced.

I.                 Introductory Paragraph

              Ø  Topic                     : The importance of using Authentic Materials in TEFL.

              Ø  Main idea              : The importance of using authentic materials in a EFL 

                                                  classroom is what many teachers involved in foreign 

                                                  language.

              Ø  Thesis Statement  : Most of the teachers throughout the world agree that 

                                                  authentic texts or material are beneficial to the 

                                                  language learning process but what is less agreed is 

                                                  when authentics materials should be introduced.

II.               Body Paragraph

        a)     Definitions of the authentic materials

                Ø  According to Roger  (1988)

                Ø  According to Harmer (1991)

                Ø  According to Jordan (1997)

       b)     The Advantages of authentics material

               Ø  Have a possitive effect

               Ø  Provide authentic cultural information

               Ø  Provide exposure to real language

               Ø  Relate more closely to learner’ needs

               Ø  Support a more creative approach to teaching

       

        c)     The Disadvantages of authentic material

               Ø  Contain difficult language

               Ø  Unneeded vocabulary items

                Ø  Lower –level classes

III.             Concluding Paragraph

    In conclusion, that learners feel better with with authentic materials helping them involved in the real language as long as we as teachers provide them with pedagogical support.

                                             

References

Chavez, M. (1988). Learner's perspectives on authenticity. International Review of  Applied  

             Linguistics in Language Teaching, 36(4), 277ff.

Guariento, W. & Morley, J. (2001).Text and task authenticity in the EFL classroom. ELT  

             Journal 55(4), 347-353.