USING MATERIAL
Teachers and students recognize the importance of using materials , since the teaching process is made easier and materials may be used to explain , exemplify or practice the content presented to students . Materials can represent a source of motivation for students when these materials change the dynamics of the class routines through the possibility of manipulating objects , accessing audiovisual material or promoting interaction with others . Materials , if chosen adequately , can promote the integration of language skills by addressing language and content in a holistic way ( Hinkel , 2006 ). In terms of learning styles ( Reid , 1995 ) and intelligences ( Gardner , 1993 ; Armstrong , 1994 ), materials can also help the teacher address the individual differences of students . Additionally , the use of materials helps teachers motivate students by “ bringing a slice of real life into the classroom and presenting language in its more complete communicative situation ” ( Brinton , 1991 ).
Presently , the rapid growth of technology offers many more options than those proposed by Allwright in the 1980s or by Brinton , McDonough and Shaw in the 1990s . Supyan ( 2004 ), Tomlinson ( 2005 ), Harmer ( 2001 ), Kitao and Kitao ( 1995 ), among others , report on the benefits of various options provided by CALL , especially concerning the possibility of responding to students ’ needs in a more individualized way . As a part of the new materials available now for language teaching , we can find an overwhelming amount of papers reporting on the advantages and disadvantages of the use of the new technologies in language teaching .
Materials are considered a key element in language teaching and may have the same status in language instruction as students , teachers , teaching methods and evaluation . These five elements are interrelated . Thus any change introduced to any of these elements will affect the others . Defining a closer relationship between materials and students ’ motivation , Peacock ( 1998 ) found that materials considered “ enjoyable ” and “ useful ” increased the on-task behavior in English classes . Consequently , students became more involved in the learning tasks .
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