Student’s Handbook

Didactics and EFL

Hermilo Gómez Hernández

Cd. Del Carmen, Campeche

July 2007
 Table of Contents

General Introduction 3
………………………………………………………………………..
4
General Course Objective
………………………………………………………………… 5

1. Introduction to the Course 9

…………………………………………………………… 10
10
2. Didactics and the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language 10
…………. 10
2.1 Objective 11
…………………………………………………………………………………. 12
2.2 Introduction 13
……………………………………………………………………………… 13
2.3 Didactics in the EFL Classroom 13
…………………………………………………… 16
2.3.1 Study Questions 18
…………………………………………………………………….. 18
2.3.2 Defining Didactics 18
…………………………………………………………………… 21
2.3.3 Didactics in the Class Planning and Management 21
………………………. 23
2.4 The Teacher and the Learner in the EFL Classroom
……………………… 24
2.4.1 Study Questions 25
…………………………………………………………………….. 25
2.4.2 The Teacher’s Role in the EFL Class 25
…………………………………………. 26
2.4.3 The Learner 27
…………………………………………………………………………… 28
2.5 The Class 28
…………………………………………………………………………………. 29
2.5.1 Study Questions
……………………………………………………………………..
2.5.2 Class Planning
……………………………………………………………………….
2.6 Conclusion
………………………………………………………………………………..
2.7 Exercises
…………………………………………………………………………………..
2.8 References
………………………………………………………………………………..
3. The Selection and Use of Supplementary Materials and
Teaching Aids
3.1 Objective
………………………………………………………………………………….
3.2 Introduction
………………………………………………………………………………
3.2. Study Questions
……………………………………………………………………….
3.4 Supplementary Materials
…………………………………………………………….
3.5 The Selection and Use of Teaching Aids
……………………………………….
3.6 Conclusion
…………………………………………………………………………………
3.7 Exercises
……………………………………………………………………………………
3.8 References
………………………………………………………………………………..

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 General Introduction

Language teachers are always looking for opportunities to better their

teaching practice, to be updated in their field of study and work, and to
learn from others by sharing experiences gathered through practice.
Then, participation in continuing education workshops, courses or
programmes are an exceptional option to match theirs needs and
interests.

Welcome to this course! The way this course was design has the purpose
of creating a community in which sharing experience, talking to each
other, discussing and communicating favour the participant learning
process. These experiences are thought to have a positive impact on the
participant personal interest and wish for learning.

The goal of this course is that the participants reflect about the English
as a Foreign Language teaching and learning process by analysing the
methodological and theoretical principles established by the foreign
language didactics. This course will provide you with the insights enough
to explain what is going in your classroom. So you will be able to make
proper decision about your teaching practice. These decisions will be the
product of a reflection process supported by a theoretical background.

This course addresses mainly two themes. The first one is related to
didactics and the elements implicated in the teaching and learning
process: the teacher, the learner, and the class planning. The second
section has to do with the selection and use of materials and teaching
aids. These two topics will provide you with an ample panorama about
the practice of the profession.

The knowledge will be constructed by means of reading, discussing,

sharing experience and reflecting about our own life. That is why active
participation is a crucial element in the development of this course.
Respect for other opinions is also vital because it is expected to
construct an environment of confidence, and effective communication.

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 General Course Objective:

Learners will reflect about the English as a Foreign Language

teaching and learning process by analysing the
methodological and theoretical principles established by the
foreign language didactics with 70% of accuracy.

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 Section 1

Introduct
ion
To the
Course
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 1. Introduction to the course
Learning Objectives
a) General objectives:

Learners will reflect about the English as a Foreign Language

teaching and learning process by analysing the methodological and
theoretical principles established by the foreign language didactics

b) Specific objectives:
a. Learners will analyse the principles that describes the
interaction among the different elements that intervene in
the process of teaching and learning.
b. Learners will identify and reflect about the characteristics
that define a foreign language learner and teacher, and their
impact in the class planning.
c. Learners will plan a class that covers with the elements that
respond to their teaching context and needs.
d. Learners will evaluate the relevance of the selection and use
of supplementary materials and teaching aids in the EFL
Classroom.

Introduction to the course

Continuing education is one of the alternatives for professionals
interested in their professional development. Continuing education
programmes offer a set of workshops, seminars or courses to cover with
the demands of the target communities. In this sense, the course of EFL
and Didactics tries to fulfil one of those blanks in the EFL teachers
training programmes.

The goal for this course is to make the learner reflect about the English
as a Foreign Language teaching and learning process by analysing the
methodological and theoretical principles established by the foreign
language didactics. Learners will be benefited with this course because
they will have the opportunity to analyse their own teaching practice.
They are going to construct their knowledge by sharing experiences and
communicating with other colleagues. This will make the revision of the
content of this course be meaningful for the participants.

As you can see, this course starts by discussing the importance of the
Didactics and TEFL. This section shows how elements such as the

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teacher, the learner and the class planning works in the EFL classroom,
and how each of them may affect the language teaching and learning.

The second part of this course is dedicated to the Selection and Use of
Suplementary Materials and Teaching Aids. In this section, a refelection
is arisen about the relevance of these resources in the EFL classroom.

Therefore, active participation is key in the development of this course.

Participation will be a useful tool to generate discussion and share
knowledge and teaching experiencies that will lead us understand the
concepts revised in the literature. Respect for peers’ opinion is a must.
One way for building effective communication is to know how to listen
and respond withoun being rude. If all we observe this policy, we are
going to make the most from this course.

Session development
This is the beginning of a new experience; for this reason, the first
sesion will be dedicate to introduce students to the course. In this
session diferent activities will be carried out so that both teachers and
students create an atmosphere of conficende and comfort.

The first activity to be perform has to do with the presentation of the

participants. In this activity, students will say their names and
nicknames. This is significant because it leads us to know each other.
During the development of the course we are going to be demanded to
work in groups, either for presentation or project development.

The second activity is concerned with the course expectations. At this

point of the class both the instructor and the students will have a chance
to learn more about each other and express what they expect from the
course and themselves.

The following activity is related to the content presentation. In this

point of this session, students are presented the topics they are going to
revise and talk about.

Another essential part in the course develeopment is the evaluation

mechanisms. The instructor will explain the participants all the ins and
outs they have to cover so that they obtain the course passing grade.

In the last minutes of the sesion, participants will be handed out a

diagnostic quiz. The purpose of the quiz is to provide the teacher with
an idea about the participant familiarity with the course content.

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Conclusion
This session is especially designed to introduce the participants to the
course. This session is also a good opportunity to explain what the
course is about and how it will work. This is also a good moment for
discussing, negotiating and agreeing some basic rules for the course
management.

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 Section 2

Didactics
and the
Teaching
of English
as a
Students’ 1
 Foreign
Language

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 2. Didactics and Teaching English as a
Foreign Language

2.1 Objective
Learners analyse the principles which describe the interaction of the
different elements in the teaching and learning process in a foreign
language classroom with 70% of accuracy.

2.2 Introduction
Language teachers are always concerned with their practices in the
classroom. This is why practitioners are looking for opportunities to talk,
discuss and share experiences about their beliefs.

The goal for this section is to make participant analyse the principles
that describes the roles of teachers, the characteristics of learners, and
the class planning. A reflection about how the teacher and the learner
behave in the classroom will lead practitioners to make better decisions
about the class planning and management. Therefore, the actions
performed in class should help students be successful in the learning
process.

In order to reach the section goal, it will be firstly talked about the
didactics and its impact in the classroom interaction. Then, the teacher’s
role in the class room will be discussed. Later, the student’s
characteristics will be described. Finally, class planning is the last
element addressed.

In the development of this section, it is expected your active

participation when performing the activities proposed. Your participation
is important because sharing experience will make this course very
enriching.

2.3 Didactics in the EFL Classroom

2.3.1 Study Questions

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What is didactics? How is didactics linked to the teaching and learning
process? How is didactics linked to the class planning and management?
2.3.2 Defining Didactics

Teaching and learning are processes which have happened from ancient
times. One of the disciplines in charged of the description of these
processes, and the relation of them to different elements in the
classroom is didactics.

According to Gutiérrez (2001), didactics is a discipline which studies the

relationship between teaching and learning. Pansza (1986) also
comments that didactics approaches differently to the classroom work.
In the following chart, it is possible to look at it clearly.

Beliefs about Theoretical

Foundations
Learning
Interpersonal
Relationships
Discipline

Teaching-
Content & Learning
Methodology Process

Then, it can be said that didactics may be defined in two ways, as the
art of teaching or as the discipline about teaching. In the first
sense, the art, it is being expected that didactics explains the process as
the “practical cognitive quality, the inner skill to produce specific tasks”
(Gutiérrez, 2001:14). This is, the ability teachers show to communicate
knowledge to others, to make easier for students to understand the
content they are learning.

In the second sense, didactics as the science refers to “clear, ordered

and supported concept in theory” (Gutiérrez, 2001:15). It is also believed
that to know about the methodology is not enough to acquire the art of
teaching. But, it is a required step to reach that art, if a teacher is not a
born-gifted. From this perspective, it can be stated that this discipline
has two objects of study (Gutiérrez, 2001:15):

1. The teaching – learning process

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 2. The teaching – learning techniques and methods

Therefore, according to Gutiérrez (2001:15), didactics is the “science

which studies the teaching – learning phenomena as prescriptive
aspects of an efficient methodology.” That is to say, this discipline deals
with the formal aspects of teaching, methodology and all elements that
interact within the classroom.

2.3.3 Didactics in the Class Planning and Management

Since didactics describes the procedures to be followed in class to cause

learning in students, some areas of reflection arise as well. Didactics
concerns about objectives, teaching, motivation, discipline in class,
communication, evaluation and, methods and techniques.

Objectives

Communication
Teaching

Motivation
LEARNING Evaluation

Discipline Methods and Techniques

Objectives play a key role in the learning process because they lead
the actions and activities to be performed so that learning happens. That
is why, questions such as the followings are formulated: What is
learning? Is there anything else to learn?

Teaching is defined as the way a topic is clearly explained. It is worried

about the way students may understand the topic and how they
internalise knowledge. Didactics tries to research if teaching is reduced
to explanations, or if it goes beyond, the role of teacher in the class, as
well as the content to be addressed.

Motivation is also an affective factor that usually concerns teachers.

Teachers wonder why, if they give clear explanations, the class shows no
interest. That is what this discipline wants to explain.

Discipline in class is also an element which exerts some influence in

variables like behaviour, attention, effort, punctuality among others.

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These are some elements which should be considered when planning
the class and organising the group work.

Interpersonal communication is basic in this learning process since

human beings are the main actors in this course of action. This implies
an active interaction between them – teachers and students. Besides,
human interaction is also vital to be aware about how different elements
interact with each other and how they affect the communicative process.

Evaluation is an important part in this process because it let us know

how much the course objective was fulfilled. It describes the output
students reached. Evaluation is also used as an instrument that provides
information not only about students, but also about the course
organization itself.

The last elements concerned with didactics are the teaching –

learning methods and techniques designed. What is intended is to
explain which methods, techniques or approaches are better if students’
characteristics are taken into account.

In conclusion, it does not matter if didactics is an art or a science, but it

tries to explain the relationships hold among the different elements in
class, it does not prescribe, it rather describes procedures to approach
and understand the education phenomenon. It also sets a series of
questions with the purpose of making people grasp why these or those
results are obtained in classroom.

2.4 The Teacher and the Learner in the EFL

Classroom
2.4.1 Study Questions

What role do teachers play in the classroom? What characteristics

should a language learner have? How do learning styles and strategies
influence the learner’s performance in class?

2.4.2 The teacher’s Role in the EFL Class

Teaching and learning is a dynamic process in which many elements

interact to make this act possible and successful. One of these factors is
the role teachers play in class. As teachers of EFL, it is vital to be aware

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of attitudes shown towards the students’ performance in different
moments of the class.

A role, then, can be defined as the “actor’s part; one’s function, what
person or thing is appointed or expected to do” (Concise Oxford
Dictionary, 1982 in Wright, 1987:3). This is, teachers play different roles
depending on the class plan and the activities to carry out. Teachers
sometimes lead the class, organize students, and monitor students’ work
among others.

As it can be observed, roles are defined according to the following

characteristics (Wright, 1987:3):

a) Doing – it describes what a person does, for example,

being a pilot (occupation).
b) Talking – it describes the decisions made when
interacting with others, for example, when the teacher
becomes an organiser, a manager, or an assessor.
c) More than one role – different ‘roles’ depending on
the course of actions they have to perform.
d) Expectations – it describes how the others look at
you.

Based on the features described above, it is possible to distinguish three

kinds of teachers (Scrivener, 1994:6):

a) The explainer1 – [He knows] their

subject matter very well, but have
limited knowledge of teaching
methodology. This kind of teacher
relies mainly on ‘explaining’ or
‘lecturing’ as a way of conveying
information to the students. (…)
this teacher’s lessons can be very
entertaining, interesting and
informative.

b) The involver - [He] also knows the subject matter that is

being dealt with [-] (…)… essentially the English language and
how it works. However, [he] is also familiar with teaching
methodology, (…) the use of appropriate teaching and
organizational procedures and techniques to help their
students learn about the subject matter. This teacher is trying
to involve the students actively and puts a great deal of
effort into finding appropriate and interesting activities
1 The black coloured ad cursive fonts are from the author of this document

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 that will do this, while [he] is retaining clear control over the
classroom and what happens in it.

c) The enabler – [He] knows about the subject matter and

about methodology, but also has an awareness of how
individuals and groups are thinking and feeling within her
class. [He] actively responds to this in her planning and
working methods and in building affective working
relationships and a good classroom atmosphere. [His]
own personality and attitude are an active encouragement
to learning.

Therefore, it can be explained that teachers may play several roles,

depending on the different phases of the class as well as the activities
planned. Besides, their personality influence in determining the sort
of teachers and the roles played in classroom. In this sense, it is
possible to say that teachers may play the following roles:

Teachers’ Roles 2

Role The teacher

prepares and thinks through the
lesson in details before teaching it so
Planner that it has variety and there are
appropriate activities for the
different learners in the class.
gives the learners detailed
Informer information about the language or
about an activity.
organises the learning space, makes
sure everything in the classroom is
Manager
running smoothly and sets up rules
and routines.
goes around the class during
Monitor individual, pair and group work
activities, checking learning.
makes sure all the learners are
Involver
taking part in the activities.
Parent/ comforts learners when they are
Friend upset or unhappy.

2 Taken from: Spratt, et.al. (2005:145).

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 Diagnostici is able to recognise the cause of
an learners’ difficulties.
can be used by learners for help and
Resource
advice.

In the following table is possible to have a picture of the teachers’ role

during the class (Spratt, et. al. 2005: 146):

Teachers’ Role & Class Planning3

Stage Role

Before the Planner

lesson Diagnostician

Presenter
During the Informer
lesson Manager
Monitor
Resource
Parent / Friend

After the Diagnostician

lesson Planner

As it has been discussed, teachers play different roles according to the

activities they perform and the relationships they establish with the
students, the contents, the activities and materials. The roles they play
exert some influence in the classroom communication.

2.4.3 The Learner

In formal context of instruction, there are two subjects who interact in
the process of teaching and learning. The former – the teacher – was
described in the section above. The focus of this section is on the
characteristics that shape a language learner.

Language learners are not equal. So, the

learning process becomes individual, and this

3 This chart was design by Hermilo Gómez Hernández

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way to approach to this process makes the learner be successful or not
when learning a foreign language. These characteristics “are differences
between learners which influence their attitudes to learning a language
and how they learn it. These differences influence how they respond to
different teaching styles and approaches in the classroom, and how
successful they are at learning a language” (Spratt, et.al, 2005:52).
These characteristics refer to learners’ learning styles and learning
strategies. This is to say, the routes learners take to reach their
academic goals.

The learning styles can be defined as “the ways in which a learner

naturally prefers to take in, process and remember information and skill.
Our learning styles influences how we like to learn and how we learn
best” (Spratt, et.al., 2005: 52). Then, it is important that students
identify their styles because if they are aware about their learning
preferences, success will be almost for sure.

According to Spratt, et.al. (2005: 52), [learning styles] are related to the
physical sense we prefer to use to learn, our ways of interacting with
other people and our style of thinking.” Based on this, learning styles
can be classified as follow:

Learning Styles
Styles Description
Visual It involves seeing.
Auditory It involves hearing.
It involves the use of
Kinaesthetic
the body.
It involves working with
Group
others.
It involves working
Individual
alone.
It involves considering
Reflective
choices.
It involves an
Impulsive
immediate respond.

Learning styles are dynamic. This means that students may use more
than one learning style, and these may change or adequate through
time. Besides, students have an opportunity to work on those styles
identified as weak, and improve them (Spratt, 2005: 52).

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As learning styles become an individual matter, class planning is
affected if the teaching goal is to make students learn. In other words,
when planning the course; teachers should identify and take into
account their students’ learning styles to help them grasp the concepts
taught.

Besides learning styles, learning strategies may be another variable that

affect the students’ language acquisition. As learning styles, learning
strategies are more to the actions students’ perform “to learn, process a
new language and work with other people” (Spratt, et.al., 2005:52). If
students identify their learning strategies, which match with their
learning styles; they may become successful language learners.
Learning strategies are also individual ways to intake and process
information, and these are going to be
different from student to student.
Learning strategies are not static as
well. Variation or changes in the
strategies may happen due to the
circumstances in which learning is
taking place. In the same way as
learning styles, learning strategies may
be improved; there are no best or worst strategies. The use of different
strategies may help students become “more independent and
autonomous learners” (Spratt, et. al., 2005: 53).

2.5 The Class

2.5.1 Study Questions

Why is it important planning? How can a class be planned? How many

ways can a class be prepared in?

2.5.2 Class planning

Planning is a key element in every day life. Without planning, life would
simply be chaotic. The teaching of English as a foreign language would
not be the exception. In the EFL class, planning becomes important
because it guides teachers about their performance in their professional
practice to reach their course goals.

According to Hammer (1998), planning helps teachers lead their work in

class. It serves as a remainder about the course activities and tasks

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designed to reach the intended objectives. Planning helps teachers not
to lose their teaching and learning focus during the course development.

However, it does not mean that planning

should be taken as a rule, something
inflexible. As well commented by Scrivener
(1994: 44), planning “prepare[s]
thoroughly. But in class, teach the learner –
not the plan.” What this means is that plans
are just a guide that may be modified. It
should fit with the learner’s needs and
respond to contexts. Therefore, changes during the performance of the
plan are possible to happen.

When planning a class, the following elements should be taken into

account:

- The learner
- The aims
- The teaching point
- The teaching procedures
- The materials
- The classroom management
(Scrivener, 1994:44)

Harmer (1998: 123-124) proposes teachers think about the following

questions when planning:

- Who exactly are the students for this activity?

- Why do you want to do it?
- What will it achieve?
- How long might go wrong?
- What will be needed?
- How will it fit in with what comes before and after it?

When planning a class, two moments should be considered:

a) Before the lesson – This is the familiarisation with the material

and activities.
b) In the lesson – Those aspects related to the lead-in, running and
closing of the activity.
(Scrivener, 1994: 30)

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Besides these moments in the lesson planning, Scriveners (1994: 32 –
36) identifies four types of lesson plans:

Lesson Plan Type

type Description
This sort of plan organizes a set of sequenced
Logical activities around a clear objective. Since the class is
Line organized in steps, evaluation of the plan is easy to
make.
These plans consist of series of activities around a
Topic topic. Any of the activities may be the class starter.
Umbrella There is no sequence of the class performance.
Teachers plan the class with any resource available
in the classroom. Teachers have to find activities
Jungle Path and materials that may respond to student’s
interests and needs. There is no pre-planning.
A variety of separated activities are used in this sort
Rag Bag of lesson plans. Activities do not clearly set
language objectives.

Lesson plans can be constructed by following two designs: a formal

lesson plan, or an informal lesson plan. In the table below, both plans
are compared.

Lesson Plan Design

Formal Lesson Plan Informal Lesson Plan
1. Outline of procedures 1. A list of activities
2. Description and order of 2. Notes of language prints
the activities 3. A list of materials
3. Time 4. No time consuming when
4. Background information planning
a) Aims
b) Target language
c) Materials
d) Predicted problems

Both ways of planning are valid. However, its effectiveness may depend
on the teacher’s expertise. If a new practitioner is starting to teach, a
detailed formal lesson plan would help a lot to keep focused.

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Experienced teachers, on the other hand, most of the time prefer and
informal way of putting his plan down.

2.6 Conclusion
As it has been revised through this section, there are some elements
that may have an impact in the teaching and learning process. These
elements are mainly concerned with teachers, learners and class
planning. As studied in this section, teachers play an important role
because they are the ones in charged of orienting and helping students’
learning goals. Learners, on the other hand, are responsible about their
own learning process. However, raising awareness about the students’
learning styles and strategies is also useful. If learners are aware about
their learning preferences and how they do it, learning will be
successfully. Finally, as discussed in the last section, planning exert
some influence in the class development, consequently, in the teaching
and learning process as well.

2.7 Exercises

Exercise 14
Look at these descriptions of three learners. How might their learning
characteristics influence how they like to learn and how successful they
are at learning English.

Information Subject A Subject B Subject C

Name: Pablo
Pelin Chen
Nationality: Mexican
Turkish Chinese
Age: 118 19
Personality: Quiet, thinker.
Sociable, risk- Confident,
taking. social.
Learning styles: Reflective Usual Individual
Motivation for Loves English Not interested Wants and
learning cartoons, wants in English, likes needs English
English: to travel to history and for his future
USA. biology. teaching job.
Past experience Non 4 years primary 14 years at
of learning school, school, learnt
English listening to lots of
stories and grammar.
4 Taken from: Spratt, et.al. (2005).

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 playing games.

Exercise 25

The purpose of the task is to identify the roles teachers play in

class. In the links below, you will have access two microteaching
sessions. Use the observation sheet to gather information about the
teachers’ role at the different stages of a lesson in the videos
provided.

Links:
Class 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8W1nvy6yMw
Class 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUEhVeXNS9c
Observation Sheet

Course: (Name of the course)

Class number: (1, 2,3,….)
Teacher: (Name of the professor in charge of the class)
Time: (Class schedule)
Number of students:
Date:
Observer’s name: (Write your name here)
LESSON STAGE TEACHER’S ROLE COMMENTS

WARM UP

PRESENTATIO
N

PRACTICE

PRODUCTION

5 Taken from: Spratt, et.al. (2005).

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Exercise 3
Look at the teacher’s edition of the coursebook you are using. Does it
describe the aims of units and /or lessons? If so, do you think they are
appropriate for your learners? Write your reflection in no more than one
single-spaced, 12-arial- fonted page.

2.8 References
Gutiérrez Sáenz, Raúl (2001) Introducción a la didáctica México: Editorial
Esfinge.

Harmer, Jeremy (1994) How to teach English Madrid: Longman

Pansza, Margarita y otros (1986) Fudamentos de la didáctica Volumen I

México: Gernika

Scrivener, Jim (1994) Learning teaching Oxford: OUP

Spratt, Mary; Pulverness, Alan William, Melany (2005) The TKT Course
Cambridge: CUP

Section 3

Students’ 2
 The
Selection
and Use of
Supplement
ary
Materials
and
Students’ 2
 Teaching
Aids

Students’ 2
 3. The Selection and Use of
Supplementary Materials and Teaching
Aids
3.1 Objectives

Learners will evaluate supplementary materials and aids within the

teaching and learning process in an EFL classroom with 70% of
accuracy.

3.2 Introduction
Two areas concerned with language teaching have to do with the
selection and use of supplementary materials, and the selection and use
of aids. These areas are important to be considered because both of
them may affect the effectiveness of the teaching and learning process.
As language teachers, these two areas arose some interest so that
decisions should be made properly.

In this section, it is expected that participants be able to evaluate the

use of supplementary materials and teaching aids within the teaching
and learning process in an EFL class. At the end of this section, the
participants of this course will have a wider scope about the use of
supplementary and teaching aids in class. So they would make better
decisions when improving their teaching practice.

In this section of the course, two topics will be discussed. The first one is
related to supplementary materials, what they are and how they impact
the teaching and learning process. The second one has to do with the
selection and use of the teaching aids. It is expected to provide the
participants with a panorama about the implications of these resources
in the EFL classroom.

For the development of this section, it is expected your active

participation during the performance of the activities. Your participation
is important because sharing experience will make this course very
enriching.

3.3 Study Questions

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How can supplementary resources be classified? Why should
supplementary materials be considered in the teaching and learning
process? What criteria should be followed to select aids? How should
aids be potentially be used to benefit learners?
3.4 Supplementary Materials
Teachers do not make their work by themselves. Most of the times,
teachers follow some methodological approaches to create effective
learning environments, or they may follow coursebooks designed by
publishing houses to cover with their teaching needs. However, those
coursebooks do not always fulfill their syllabi thoroughly. So, teachers
start looking for other sources to accomplish their tasks. It is at this point
when supplementary materials appear in the teaching and learning
interaction.

Supplementary materials can be defined as

“books and other materials used in addition to the
coursebook” (Spratt, et.al. 2005: 115). This is,
supplementary materials are any resource (no
matter the format) that complements the teachers’
work. According to Spratt, et.al. (2005: 106),
supplementary materials include reference
resources. These resources are those sources which
provide information concerned with the language
and teaching process. Within these resources there
is one specific type called reference materials, whose main objective is
to serve as reference and provide with help about the language, for
example, dictionaries, grammar books, etc; and those which provide
with ideas to understand the process of teaching and learning.

According to Spratt, et.al. (2005: 106-107), reference resources are used

for:

- checking the form and use of grammatical structures.

- checking the spelling, pronunciation and use od lexical
items.
- anticipating learners’ difficulties.
- looking for new approaches to teaching lessons and new
classroom activities.
- developing your own understanding of language.
- finding out how to use the material in your coursebook.
- getting advice about particular lessons or teaching materials

Supplementary materials try to cover these lacks that coursebooks

cannot. Besides, publishing houses try to facilitate teachers’ work by
creating and selling this sort of materials in the market. Then, teachers

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should be careful when buying this sort of resources; otherwise, those
materials may not be convenient.

3.5 Selection and Use of Teaching Aids

As mentioned in some above, teachers are not alone in the performance
of their work. Teachers make use of a number of materials and teaching
aids to create effective learning environments. In this section, the
emphasis will be placed in the teaching aids.

Teaching aids can be defined as any “resource and equipment

available in the classroom” (Spratt, et.al., 2005:119). Examples of these
aids are cassettes recorders, CD players, video recorders, visual aids,
realia, etc. However, the use of aids is conditioned by the circumstances
in which the teaching and learning process is
happening.

Teachers should make decisions about the aids based

on a previous analysis of their teaching situation.
Therefore, according to Spratt et.al. (2005:119), the
“main aims and subsidiary aims of a lesson” will exert
some influence in the teachers’ decisions.

In the table6 below, some of the most common aims are described:

Teaching Aims
Classroom
Main teaching purpose
equipment
Blackboard / writing up planned vocabulary, grammar
whiteboard examples and explanations.
Overhead projector displaying prepared exercises on
transparencies.
Cassette recorder / listening practice.
CD player
Video recorder listening practice added visual information.
Computer grammar exercises.
Language grammar drills.
laboratory

6 This table was taken from Spratt, et.al. (2005: 119).

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Teaching aids are important but no learning should be relied on them.
Teaching aids are just that, a resource to facilitate teacher their work in
class. However, teachers should find a balance in the use of these
resources because if they are overused, the learning process may be
lowered. Besides, its selection and use will depend on the teachers’
needs and teaching conditions.

3.6 Conclusion
Complements to language teaching are useful resources to facilitate
teachers work. As commented previously, both supplementary materials
and teaching aids are just resources, no teaching or learning should only
depend on them.

Concerning with the supplementary materials, teachers play a key role

in selecting them. Since coursebooks do not always covers with all the
syllabus requirements, teachers need to look for supplementary material
to reach their learning goals.

The use of aids is the other element that may benefit the teaching and
learning process. EFL teachers should consider how the aids and
equipments they have access to may benefit their professional practice.
Nonetheless, not all schools are technologically speaking well equipped,
so teachers should be able to make the most with the resources and
equipments which are available.

Finally, it is important to remark that all teaching and learning rely on a

balanced interaction among teachers, learners and resources in class. If
all of them are considered during the planning stage, effective teaching
and learning is expected.

3.7 Exercises
Exercise 1
Keep a record of the supplementary materials you use during one
week’s teaching. Make notes on the reasons for using the material, how
it worked and what changes you would make if you used it again. Write
your reflection in no more than one single-spaced, 12-arial- fonted page.

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Exercise 27
Keep a record of the aids that you use. Make notes in the grid like the
one below of the aids you use, the lesson aims, comments on how
successful that have been and any changes you might need to make in
future.

Aid used Lesson aim(s) Comments Changes for

future lessons

3.8 Reference
Spratt, Mary; Pulverness, Alan William, Melany (2005) The TKT Course
Cambridge: CUP

7 Taken from: Spratt, et.al. (2005).

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