Authentic Materials in EFL Teaching - PDF

Chapter One Introduction 1.0 Background Recently, teaching English language has gained increasing popularity among Arab countries, because English has become a lingua franca, so everyone needs English language to communicate with others around the world. There is a nee...

Chapter One Introduction 1.0 Background Recently, teaching English language has gained increasing popularity among Arab countries, because English has become a lingua franca, so everyone needs English language to communicate with others around the world. There is a need for students to learn English Language for studies and excel at it. People need English for travel and for business matters. At this point by looking at the amount of the texts that teachers use to teach students, the effective of teaching techniques and the materials used in classrooms, they have become great issues in teaching and learning context. In addition, in the recent years the use of authentic materials has become increasingly popular in language instructions. English as a Foreign Language, (EFL) students have difficulties in learning it. One of the reasons might be the lack of using appropriate learning materials. Lin (2004) mentioned that without interest and motivation, EFL learners may spend long hours in the classroom with poor achievement. Interest in the materials and learning tasks, as indicated by levels of involvement and enjoyment, may affect learners’ achievement. Therefore, it is essential for EFL teachers to use more interesting and effective materials to enhance learners’ learning and develop positive attitudes towards learning English. Many experts have written on how to choose materials, which are relevant to learners, so that materials can support learners in learning languages. One important suggestion is to use authentic materials because they can provide students with up to date knowledge, expose them to the world of authentic target language. The notion of authentic is originally based on to distinguish between artificial simplified texts and unmodified real texts. Material is authentic if the language data are unaltered and produced by and for 1 native speaker. They can be written or spoken. They were produced originally for non-teaching purposes conveying a real massage, they contain authentic language and reflected real world of language use. Martinez (2002), defined authentic materials as ones prepared for native speakers and not designed for teaching purposes. Kilickaya (2004) had another definition for authentic materials, which is "exposure to real language and use in its own community." Nowadays, preparing students for real life situations is of utmost concern for English language teachers, especially in EFL classes. Therefore, like other teachers around the world, especially in places where English is a foreign language, Sudanese teachers need to adopt effective teaching materials, in order to help their students learn English better, as well as prepare them to communicate with the outside world. 1. 1 Statement of the Problem Students at basic level schools in Sudan spend many years in classrooms with poor achievement in learning English. They are unable to use English in their daily life when they leave schools although the main goal of teaching English is to enable students to use English to communicate with others. This mainly due to the materials and old methods that teachers used in their classrooms, which were traditional in nature. These materials focused on the form of the language rather than the use of the language. Therefore, the students' English language proficiency remains rather low. There is little use of English in the classroom, which clearly indicates their inability to use English language outside classroom. Thus, it is very important teachers should teach students directly the materials they need in the real life that help their learners to use English language efficiently to communicate with others. 1. 2 Significance of the Study This study will shed light on the effect of using authentic materials at the basic level schools. The study will investigate the factors that 2 enable students to use English appropriately. The study will be of great value to the teachers and students of English and the curriculum designers as well. In addition, it will help teachers to evaluate their teaching methods and suggest some ways to enrich it. Moreover, the study will enable students to identify factors that help them develop their oral communication. Furthermore, the study draws the attention to the importance of the authentic materials as a rich resource of learning and teaching materials, which help the basic school students to use the language in their daily effectively and easily. Above all, it will be useful for the other researchers to recognize the importance of authentic materials as a great source for obtaining teaching materials in classrooms. 1.3 Objectives of the Research This study intends to: 1. Investigate the effects of authentic materials on language learning and teaching. 2. Find out how teachers could teach input texts by using authentic materials. 3. Find out how students respond to the use of authentic materials in learning English language. 4. Investigate the advantage and disadvantage of using authentic materials in classrooms. 5. Seek out what criteria for selecting authentic materials those suit learners’ levels. 1.4 Research Questions This study addresses the following questions: 1. To what extent do teachers in Sudan use authentic materials in classrooms to improve students' motivation to learn English language? 2. In what ways do the students respond to the use of authentic materials in learning spoken and written texts? 3. What sources are available for EFL teachers in obtaining authentic materials? 3  4. Which level is appropriate for introducing authentic materials? 5. What are the advantages and disadvantage of using authentic materials on students’ motivation? 1.5 Hypotheses of the Study The main hypothesis of this study is that using authentic materials by teachers will increase students’ motivation to learn English better than using non-authentic materials. The study is based on the following hypotheses. 1-Teachers in Sudan use authentic materials in classroom to improve students’ level and to motivate them to learn English. 2-Students are responsive to authentic materials. 3-There are many authentic materials for teachers to use. 4-Teachers could use authentic materials for all levels. 5-Authentic materials affect students’ motivation 1.6 The limits of the Study The research would be limited on finding out the impact of using authentic materials on students’ learning process. The study was conducted at basic level schools in Khartoum locality in 2021. The study involved: 1- Students in grade 8 at basic level schools in Khartoum locality. 2-English language teachers at basic level school in the same locality. 1.7 Methodology In order to carry out this research, to achieve its objective and to answer the study questions the researcher is going to use the descriptive analytic approach to gather information needed. Two tools were used to collect data: a- A pre and post- test for students. b- A questionnaire for English language teachers. Students were given a pre-test and post-test to seek to what extent learners at basic schools were responsive to authentic materials in 4 learning English language. A questionnaire was distributed to a sample of teachers at basic schools in Khartoum locality. 5  Chapter Two Literature Review 2. 0. Introduction This chapter reviews literature related to the use of authentic materials in teaching English input skills. It first gives a brief history of teaching approaches and methods. It also reviews Sudanese English language teaching context from a historical perspective. Then it gives a few definitions of the term authentic materials. It also examines the theoretical and pedagogical rationale for the notion of authenticity in language teaching. Then, the chapter reviews the role of authentic materials and contrived materials (textbooks) in EFL learning and teaching particularly the arguments in favor of and against the using authentic materials in the language classroom. It also identifies types of authentic and non-authentic materials. Next, the chapter provides discussion on the use of authentic materials in classroom and source of authentic materials. Then it outlines criteria for selecting authentic materials for instruction. Finally, the chapter points out, which level of authentic materials should be used and how they could be used in the classroom. 2. 1. Brief History of Teaching Approaches and Methods For many centuries, people have used formal education as a way to learn new languages. Over time, the approaches that are used for teaching English as a foreign language are very numerous. Most of these approaches focus on teaching the structure and the grammar aspects of the language. In other words, there is much emphasis on teaching forms rather than using the language.In general, the goal of many language researchers is to find the right approach to support them dealing with language teaching routines and to develop materials and tasks for the use in the classroom. The Grammar - Translation Method is one of the oldest traditional methods of teaching English, is known as the classical method. As 6 Richards and Rodgers (1986.2) stated "modern languages began to enter the curriculum of European schools in the eighteenth century, they were taught using the same basic procedures that were used for teaching Latin”. The main features that distinguish this method were these: the goal of studying a foreign language is to learn a language in order to read its literature and to write, no attention is paid to listening or speaking skills, grammar is taught through presenting rules then practice is given through translation exercises. What is more clear in this method, vocabulary is the backbone of the lesson and translating words and phrases from the learner’s mother tongue are the main technique of teaching process. This method of teaching dominated the field in schools for more than a hundred of years because it is easy to tackle in the classroom and teachers do not need more skills or training for the job. Richards and Rodgers (1986: 4) stated, “Although the Grammar-Translation Method often creates frustration for students, it makes few demands on teachers”. It has been said that the Grammar-Translation Method teaches students about the target language, but not how to use it. Translation method in its modified form continues to be widely used in some parts of the world even today. In the mid-and late 19th century, opposition to it gradually developed, and because of this, it lost its hold in the domain of teaching English. The direct method, it is called the ‘reform method’ it was the outcome of the reaction against the grammar translation method. It was based on the assumption that the learners of foreign and second language should directly think in English. Richards and Rodgers (1986:9) point out “In fact at various times throughout the history of language teaching, attempts have been made to make second language learning more like first language learning”. It insists that the key to all language learning lies in association. It stresses the need for direct association between experience and expression in the foreign language. The learner should be able to grasp what he hears or reads in English and should be able to express his thoughts and wishes 7 directly and fluently. Cook (2016:4) stated, “The importance of speech has been reinforced by linguistics who claim that speech is the primary form of language and that writing depends on it”. Students should be encouraged to speak as much as possible in the target language, and the native language or the mother tongue should not be used in the classroom. So that in due course of time, they obtain a real command over the language. Direct method is against the translation of written and oral text and focuses on telling the meanings of the words through action, demonstration or real objects. The oral approach was developed between 1930s and 1960s by British applied linguistics Palmer and Hornsby. Palmer points out that there are three processes in learning a language -receiving the knowledge or materials, fixing it in the memory by repetition, and using it in actual practice until it becomes a personal skill. The main difference between oral approach and the direct method was that the methods, which were developed under this approach, had theoretical principles about the selection, grading, and presentation of the content and material. This sequencing of the content would lead to better learning with a good knowledge of vocabulary and grammatical patterns. In this approach all the points of language were to be presented in situations. According to Rao (2003:102) the theory underlying this approach is that “language exists in situations; it cannot be used in vacuum. Language is used according to the needs of the situation” which led to the second name of the approach situational language teaching. Although, the teachers are not aware of this approach today but it had long lasting impact on language learning. However, its focus on oral practice, grammar and sentence patterns is still supported by teachers. Fries developed audio-lingual method in 1945 at the University of Michigan. The audio-lingual method is also known as ‘Army Method’ because after the outbreak of World War II, the army soldiers decided to be proficient in the languages of their enemies. American soldiers had an urgent need to learn languages like German, French, Chinese 8 or Japanese to communicate effectively when posted in various countries. Thus, a new learning method of foreign languages was discovered which is known as audio-lingual method. This method is based on a linguistic theory and behavioral psychology. The audio- lingual method was widely used in the 1950s and 1960s and the emphasis was not on the understanding of the words rather on acquisition of structures and patterns in common everyday dialogues. It is an oral-based approach. The objective of this program, as stated by Richards and Rodgers (1986:44) was for students “to attain conversational proficiency in variety of foreign languages”. The teaching of the oral skills with accurate pronunciation, grammar and the ability to respond quickly and accurately is the main objective of audio-lingual method. Moulton (1961:89) stated some important characteristics of this method as follows: “(i) Language is speech, not writing (ii) A Language is a set of habits.(iii) Teach the language, not about the language”. In this connection, Moulton (1961:88) said, “The real goal of instruction was an ability to talk the language and not to talk about it”. Reading and writing skills may be taught but they are dependent on the oral skills. Total physical response (TPR) is a language teaching method developed at San José State University. It is based on the coordination of language and physical movement. In TPR, instructors give commands to students in the target language with body movements, and students respond with whole-body actions. The method is an example of the comprehension approach to language teaching. The listening and responding (with actions) serves two purposes: It is a means of quickly recognizing meaning in the language being learned, and a means of passively learning the structure of the language itself. Grammar is not taught explicitly but can be learned from the language input. TPR is a valuable way to learn vocabulary. Asher developed (TPR) as a result of his experiences observing young children learning their first language. He noticed that interactions between parents and children often took the 9 form of speech from the parent followed by a physical response from the child. Asher (1977) made three hypotheses based on his observations: first, that language is learned primarily by listening; second, that language learning must engage the right hemisphere of the brain; and third, that learning language should not involve any stress. Total physical response is often used alongside other methods and techniques. It is popular with beginners and with young learners, although it can be used with students of all levels and all age group. The silent method is based on the view that the teachers should be silent in the classroom as much as possible, but the teacher must encourage the students to speak and use the language. (Larsen, et al ,2011) stated, “Silence is a tool. It helps to foster autonomy or the exercise of initiative” Silence is used as a tool to achieve this goal. Gattegno looked at language learning from the perspective of the learner by studying the way babies and young children learn. Students can learn from one another. The teacher’s silence encourages group cooperation. The method emphasizes learner autonomy and active student participation. Teachers should concentrate on how students learn, not on how to teach. The teacher works with the student; the student works on the language. The most important aspect of this method is its elements that are used for language teaching i.e. colored charts and colored rods. This method focuses on the learners to discover on their own rather than they remember or memorize something. Richards and Rodgers (2001:106) pointed, “Learners are expected to develop independence, autonomy, and responsibility”. The learners are facilitated in learning by giving them some problem to solve which involves the materials that are needed to be learnt. Communicative language teaching was developed in the era of revolutions in British language teaching traditions from late 1960s. Communicative language teaching was actually developed in the opposition of audio-lingual method, which focuses on drilling and memorization. Communicative language teaching focuses on developing the ability of communication in learners in real life 10 situations. It focuses on meaning rather than accuracy. A learner needs to understand and express in the target language. The goal is to enable students to communicate in the target language. Communicative language teaching (CLT) aims broadly to make communicative competence the goal of language teaching. It lays a great emphasis on the use of language. The goal of language teaching is to develop what Hymes (1972) referred to as communicative competence. It enables students to communicate their ideas in a better way. Nunan (2013:25) Stated, “It is not what students know about the language but what they do with language” Little (1981:1) stated "One of the most characteristic features of communicative language teaching is that it pays systematic attention to functional as well as structural aspects of language”. Therefore, what was needed in order to use language communicatively was communicative competence. The natural approach proposed in 1977. The natural approach focuses on communication as the major function of language. The Natural Approach is similar to other communicative approaches being developed today. In this approach, language is considered as the vehicle or means of conveying a message and information. Krashen (1995:5) argued, “Language is best taught when it is being used to transmit messages, not when it is explicitly taught for conscious learning”. The natural approach was actually based on the observation and understanding of the acquisition of the first and the second language in informal settings. Richards and Rodgers (2001:128) claimed that the natural approach was based on the use of language in communicative situations without recourse to the native language. “The focus is primarily on the acquisition of the ability to communicate messages using the target language”. Krashen (1995:8) stated “The goal of the Natural Approach is communication skills’’ Students should be able to make the meaning clear but not necessarily be accurate in all details of grammar. 11 Content-Based Instruction is an approach in which the teaching is organized around the content. Using content from other disciplines in language courses is not a new idea. For years, specialized language courses have treated content relevant to a particular profession or academic discipline. Content-based Instruction integrates the learning of language with the learning of some other content. Richards and Rodgers (2001:204) said, “Content-Based Instruction refers to an approach to second language teaching in which teaching is organized around the content or information that students will acquire, rather than around a linguistic or other type of syllabus”. The content can be themes, some topic such as popular music or sports in which students are interested. Often, the content is academic subject matter. Brinton (2003: 201) pointed that Content-based instruction is “the teaching of language through exposure to content that is interesting and relevant to learners”. For example, the content of a language course for airline pilots is different from one for computer technicians. Other examples of language programs that use specific content to teach language to adults to learn at their workplace to read and write about content that relates to what they need in their work environment, for example, being able to read technical manuals, filling out job applications or using the telephone. One of the main characteristics of the CBI class- room is that it is learner-centered, not teacher-centered. Students do not depend on the teacher to control the learning experience. Students play a more active role in the CBI classroom, creating and participating actively in the construction of knowledge. Nunan (1991:228) summed it nicely. As he pointed out “It has been realized that there never was and probably will be a method for all, and the focus in the recent years has been on the development of classroom tasks and activities which are consonant with what are known about second language acquisition, and which are also in keeping the dynamic of the classroom itself.’’ 12 2.2. Current Materials Used for Teaching English: Weaknesses and Strengths English language teachers usually use traditional materials like textbooks to teach EFL and ESL students. Oxford Press or Cambridge Press usually produces these books in England and that is what most Arabic countries such as Sudan depend on for teaching English. Authors of these books design them to teach all EFL/ESL learners, but without much consideration to their backgrounds or different learning needs. Some problems of these materials are that, they are used to teach students as if they have similar cultures and similar goals in learning English. Another concern, that these materials are too simplified. They focus mostly on teaching grammar and writing and neglect the importance of using the language in communication that deals with everyday life situations. 2.3. Sudanese English Language Context from a Historical Perspective In post-independence Sudan (after first, January 1956), English at first retained its status as the language of instruction, administration and business. English was the ‘language of earning a living’, as El Tigani (1966) pointed out; English was considered vital in the fields of science and technology and was viewed as the language of progress, possibility and prestige. As English was used daily, a context existed which provided a strong motivation to achieve competence in the language. Initially, the standard of English was high as the few secondary schools were well equipped with resources and teachers who were native speaker. Taha (1980) stated that the opening of educational opportunities to the masses resulted in a rapid increase in the number of students without a corresponding increase in teacher training and preparation of materials and methodology. He points in particular to the “failure’’ to assess traditional approaches to teaching during the process of expansion that must be considered primarily 13 responsible for such decline in standards, as there has actually been. Through the decades following independence, criticism of the abilities of English Language teachers and the paucity of teaching materials continued to mount. 2.3.1. English Status Pre- Spine Sudanese textbooks that were used in the early- times at the advent of colonial education and then in national government schools were apparently dominated by materials-focused approach that embodied many language learning. Hawatt (1934) stated, first came the new method of the 1950s developed out of vocabulary and lexical principles this principle was reflected in the spate of publications of grammatical materials, dictionaries and list of words all containing limited and controlled lexical and grammatical materials. The graded reader concept began at this time, in which new words were restricted in number and introduced progressively. In addition, this approach led to much production of simplifying works of literature. These kinds of subject –matters [graded reader and simplified literature] were being ones of the most popular textbooks used in Sudanese schools. Other methods followed; the ‘Oral Method’ the ‘situational approach’ the ‘Direct Method’ and the ‘Audio-lingual’ all of which relied on careful structured materials and prescribed the classroom practices. This may be seen as the start of teaching English in Sudan schools and that still exist today. In other words, course books that use and apply the principles of old approaches of the early 1950s are still the materials of choice for the majority of schools and teachers in Sudan. Several committees made a range of suggestions but little practical action was taken. The conference titled (English in Sudan) was held in 1966.It investigated the syllabus of English for both intermediate level and Secondary level. It discovered the existence of a wide gap between the linguistic and the abilities of learners.It found that the syllabus varied “too much from one school to another’’ It described the material used for teaching English language as “ either childish or obsolete” 14 In 1967, Bright investigated the causes of the decline of the standard of English.The report stated that the teaching of English facing problems, because of the materials that were used in teaching English. A new provisional structure syllabus was adopted in 1969.The same situation continued without any significant change during 1970s. In 1975, the Report of the English Department in Bakhat-el Ruda Institute of Teacher Training said, “The syllabus of English which is operating now is the same old syllabus of English which was introduced in 1950s” According to Bates (1972), one of the Nile Course designers, the causes of the decline in the standard of English language in the Sudan after Arabicization and after the implementation of the New Educational Ladder of 1970, were as follows: 1. The incentives for learning English as a foreign language were less obvious than they were when English was the medium of instruction in the secondary level. 2. The traditional English program is inadequate and has not been revised for a long time. 3. The traditional program lacks integration and coordination. 4. The traditional program lacks grading which is an important ingredient of the course. 5. The books and materials of the traditional program are not connected to the contemporary interests and the situations of Sudanese students. 6. The material of the traditional program does not give opportunities to the students to activate the language. Hence, the motivation to design a new English program became the major concern in education. In the context of Sudan, vagueness surrounded the teaching of English in the secondary schools, as there was no immediate communicative objective for the language in everyday society. To offset the perceived decline, the Longman project was drawn up and a new integrated course was introduced in the early 1980s.The designing of the New Integrated Longman 15 English Course (NILE) for Sudan was a partial response to the declining standards of English as a new and fully integrated six- year course for the intermediate and secondary levels. The essential features of the course were that they were designed specifically for Sudan with content relevant to the lives of the students; the objective was to develop a realistic level of competence in all four skills by the end of the sixth year. Sandell (1983) referred to it as “as a coherent syllabus’’ that answers the pleas of teachers while also describing it as “a realistic course’’ but as O’Brien (2003) pointed out “It was observed that the Sudanese classroom did not provide any opportunity for interaction in English”. As the teacher had little or no exposure to the cultural and pragmatic use of English, he/she therefore was unable to demonstrate everyday English in use. In most cases, Arabic was used to give instructions and to explain and instruct on how English grammar worked. Finally, the teaching of grammar was a major concern for both teachers and students. It was followed by short training courses for teachers and supervisors. This new curriculum required a change towards a more communicative approach unlike the deductive techniques teachers were accustomed to. However, as Bedri (2020) stated that, “As with most new systematic implementations, resistance towards the new approach were apparent; resulting in the continuation of obsolete styles of teaching, notably, grammar, reading comprehension and spelling books” To conclude, the decision to switch from English to Arabic as the medium of instruction was a hasty one. English was never widely used in daily life; however, in the past, it was possible to get everyday information through the medium of English but that is no longer the case. The consensus among all concerned is that the standard of English has dropped drastically among students. However, the major blame was placed on the NILE course. Consequently, a new homegrown course was designed and developed. 16 2.3.2. The Introduction of Spine Series The SPINE (Sudan Practical Integrated National English) was also an integrated textbook with more emphasis on reading and writing though expensing oral skills and audio material. Bedri (2020) claimed that, “It was written in haste and had many faults, done to compensate the discontinued Nile Course Series due to copy rights issues.” In 1990, a new Educational Ladder with a system of 8+3 was introduced. This means that the duration of the Basic level is eight years and the secondary level is three years. In September 1990, the General Educational Conference came up with recommendations to make radical changes in English curriculum to be in conformity with the radical change in the new Educational Ladder, and the National Comprehensive Strategy recommended this for Education in 1992. Therefore, the English language syllabus was changed and hence the SPINE series came into being. It meant to help create a learner who is interactive with his environment and proud of his heritage, culture and social values. The aims of the school curricula as stated by the Conference of Educational Reform in 1991, is to make students learn one or more foreign languages that it can help them in acquiring scientific or humanistic knowledge. It is clear from the above background; the focus of ELT courses and the role of the English language in the Sudan educational system have not been adjusted according to the actual needs of the Sudanese interests. 2.3.3. Spine Objectives By the end of teaching (Spine Series), the pupils are expected to acquire the following skills: 1- Listening and speaking: (A) To enable the learners to listen and understand dialogues whether recorded or oral and to participate in similar situations as a listener or speaker; (B) To enable the learners to acquire the appropriate language functions at a reasonable degree to express him/herself in English. 17  It is clear from implementing the course; there was a lack of audio supplementary materials to be used in the classroom. Thus, students were not exposed to any listening materials whether it is authentic or non-authentic as Alfaki (2015) claimed, “Listening and speaking are the least practiced skills in the book’’ 2 – Reading: To develop the reading and strategies in the learner so that he/she can interact as a good reader with simple text such as essay, stories and selected supplementary readers. This will enable the reader to move to the horizon of “free reading” which helps the learner pursue (follow) self reading and benefits from other sources of culture. According to the study carried by Alfaki (2015), there is not sufficient variation of content. Most of the content is not interesting, not up- to date and does not suit the student's age. Alfaki (2020) also claimed, “English literature should be introduced because it reflects the culture of the foreign language and hence offers pupils a good exposure to the language” 3 – Writing: The learner should acquire the satisfactory writing skills which enable him/her to construct accurate sentences, and paragraphs which lead to write guided composition (Spine Series, Teacher Handbook). However, Writing skill is rather neglected in teaching English. Students do not find adequate information, interest purpose or aim to help them write a reasonable composition. (SPINE) has been designed to have the four skills to be taught in the Sudanese schools integrity. As the authors of the Secondary SPINE, series (Ismail and Cuther, 1997) claimed, “The SPINE series integrate the four skills so that each skill supports the others. It (the series) Creating interactive, learner-centered activities…The central aim of the SPINE series is to enable the pupils to use English freely, naturally and fluently”…SPINE aims to motivate and arouse the pupils’ interests and leads to make learning both effective and meaningful. The SPINE encourages teachers to design learning opportunities to enable their 18 pupils to become active, participants in a communication process. Furthermore, there are general indicators that students who finish the six textbooks of SPINE series can hardly write a paragraph or speak English freely, and fluently. Even the most talented students cannot speak or write English out of the need for their study. Add to that the results of English Language Exams in Sudan Secondary Certificate (S.S.C) are characterized by deterioration. Al Busiri (2008) stated, these results reflect “poor English or no English at all.” this steep decline in English language has been the concern of parents, teachers, students and experts. 2.3.4. Concept of Spine The title of Sudan Practical Integrated National English series declare that the content of this book series is integrated, the concept of integrating curriculum is nothing new. It has been around, in fact, since the 1800s. According to Beane (1997), the integrated curriculum is a way to teach students to break down barriers between subjects and make learning more meaningful to students.The idea is to teach around themes or organizing centers that students can identify with, such as “The Environment”, “Life in School”, or more traditional areas like “Myths and Legends”. In addition, Humphreys (1981) defined integrated curriculum “interdisciplinary teaching, thematic teaching, synergistic teaching... An integrated study is one in which children broadly explore knowledge in various subjects related to certain aspects of their environment” Shoemaker (1989) defined an integrated curriculum as “Education that is organized in such a way that it cuts across subject-matter lines, bringing together various aspects of the curriculum into meaningful association to focus upon broad areas of study. It views learning and teaching in a holistic way and reflects the real world, which is interactive” 19 According to the previous definition and “SPINE’’ authors’ claims that mentioned before, it supposed that by learning “SPINE’’ the students would master the four skills in real life by integration of the language skills in the class room, and they will perceive the relation between the fours skills. Moreover this textbook will provide the teacher with flexibility in creating motivating lessons and make them creative and not plod alone one mode of performance’ skill, which helps the teacher and gives him or her the chance to use the appropriate approach or method to reach his or her goal. 2.3.5. Spine Content The layout of Spine books (1, 2 and 3) is very similar, though you may find some minor changes and additions. Each book is divided into six units; each unit is divided into lessons as follows: Table (2- 1) shows the spine content (Basic Level 3) unit 1 Revision unit 2 Reading /inexplicit grammar unit 3 - Reading text/comprehension - Working with Words. - Grammar. unit 4 -Reading text -grammar unit 5 -Reading text - grammar unit 6 -reading text - grammar Nevertheless, the SPINE is accused of being one of the main reasons for the decline of English language in Sudan. Initially, The Ministry of Education was reluctant to embark into the experience of writing a new curriculum for Sudanese schools. Thus, this was reconsidered 20 when the SPINE had reached more than twenty years old and it was considered obsolete. AlFaki (2015) stated “…..the content of this textbook is not suitable for Sudanese young learners of English. Most of the material in the textbook is not interesting. A lot of the content is obsolete and old. The four major language skills are not given equal emphasis. Neither the grammatical structures nor the vocabulary items are sequenced’’ It was noticed that the aims of SPINE series are not achieved, and nobody would claim that the central aims of SPINE which are indicated above are achieved. Even the most talented students cannot speak or write English out of the need for their study. SPINE 3 is not an ideal book for basic level and the book content is not motivating beside the illustrations of SPINE 3 are not relevant or attractive and the book objectives are not defined clearly. Due to SPINE 3 overloaded with local materials, students’ acquisition was very weak. The oral proficiency is affected by lack of teachers’ training.The syllabuses are not well - organized to develop the four language skills. The activities do not encourage sufficient communicative meaningful practice, moreover, English language tests are not well- prepared and schools conditions and educational environment is not ideal for teaching English language course and there is a lack of teaching aids. AlFaki (2014) reported that English Language Syllabus, (SPINE series) provides learners with a great number of reading texts. The aim is to develop learner’s ability to understand reading comprehension passages. However, they mainly ask learners to provide answers to questions that just require them to remember something they have just read or to mention a fact of knowledge that the passage has presented. Therefore, many students complain of being victims. They graduate from university with a very poor level of English language. They cannot compete in the job market and find 21 it very difficult to do higher studies or even use the internet, while the outside world demands that graduates must be fluent in English language. In conclusion, in the researcher’s point of view, the course material is poor on language items so the course is an attempt to teach students about the language rather than the meaningful use of language in communicative situations. The textbooks do not help learners communicate in English because the communicative ability needs many tasks and activities in order to be developed. There are not enough of them in the books. Thus, Learners cannot communicate in English adequately because they are not given sufficient opportunity to express themselves through speaking and writing. Learners have little or no exposure to the English language due to the lack of sufficient authentic materials. Meaningful and purposeful activities should be provided so that learners use the language in a way that makes sense to them and is relevant to their daily lives. Moreover, the course is heavily loaded with local culture. Today, English is needed as the language of science, technology, medicine and academic life. Many scholars and educationists in Sudan have consensus that the Spine series need reforming and up -dating. 2.4. Authentic Materials from a Historical Perspective The use of authentic materials in foreign language learning has a long history. Sweet is regarded as one of the first linguists. He made regular use of authentic texts in his books and was well aware of their potential advantages over contrived materials. Sweet (1899:177) pointed out “The great advantage of natural idiomatic texts over artificial methods is that, they do justice to every feature of the language”. The artificial systems tend to cause repetition of certain grammatical constructions or certain elements of the vocabulary. However, prevailing linguistic theories of the time, methods such as the new method and the audio-lingual method, which all imposed carefully materials and prescribed behaviors on teachers and learners. 22 Leading to what Howatt (1984) referred to as a cult of materials where the authority of the approach resided in the materials not in the lessons given by the teacher using them. The issue of authenticity reappeared in the 1970s as the debate between Chomsky and Hymens led to a realization that communicative competence involved much more than knowledge of language structures, and contextualized communication began to take precedence over form. With the advent of communicative language, teaching there appeared a change in focus from English as a system to be studied to English as a means of communication in syllabus design. This culminated in the approach, which, at least in EFL circles, still holds away today – Communicative Language Teaching – and paved the way for the reintroduction of authentic texts, which were valued for the ideas they were communicating rather than the linguistic forms they illustrated. Hence, content selection was done based on learners’ communicative needs. Movements in this direction have been slow. The debate over the role of authenticity, as well as what it means to be authentic, has become increasingly sophisticated and complex. Over the years and now embraces research from a wide variety of fields including discourse and conversational analysis, pragmatics, cross-cultural studies, sociolinguistics, ethnology, second language acquisition, cognitive and social psychology, learner autonomy, information and communication technology (ICT), motivation research and materials development. Unfortunately, many researchers limit their reading to their own particular area of specialization and, although this is understandable given the sheer volume of publications within each field, it can mean that insights from one area do not necessarily receive attention from others. With a concept such as authenticity, which touches on so many areas, it is important to attempt to bridge these divides and consolidate on the role that Alex Gilmore has published a number of articles on communicative competence and authenticity in language learning. His research interests include 23 discourse analysis, materials development and classroom-based research. 2.5. Defining Authenticity Authenticity is an important issue in language learning and teaching. It is also an emotive term and a controversial topic. This is especially true of recent years, in light of the growing body of research into English as an international language. Researchers decided to explore the basis for using authentic materials in the classroom, and see if this approach is better for teaching English than the traditional textbook approaches, which are used in many ESL classrooms. Therefore, a practical and usable definition of "authentic materials" needs to be pinpointed. The use of authentic materials in listening and reading instruction, give students the idea they learn real language. Morrow (1977) pointed out “An authentic text is a stretch of real language, produced by a real speaker or writer for a real audience and designed to convey a real message of some sort”. According to Widdowson (1983) “Authenticity is …a term which creates confusion because of a basic ambiguity” Rogers and Medley (1988) moved further and look at the terms authenticity and authentic as used for describing oral and written language samples that are the reflection of language forms which are used naturally and appropriately based on the cultural and situational context. Authentic materials mean different things to different people. Nunan (1989) and Jordan (1997) concentrated on the issue of purpose and state that authentic is any material, which has not been specifically produced for language teaching. For Harmer (1991) also authentic materials are the texts designed for the native speakers, which are real and not initially designed for language learners. Lee (1995) considered authenticity in texts, which are not produced for teaching purposes but for a real communicative purpose. By this, he means that the writer of a text intends to convey a message to the reader. According to Tatsuki (2006), “authenticity is taken as being synonymous with genuineness, realness, truthfulness, validity, reliability, undisputed credibility, and legitimacy of materials or 24 practices”. If there is a correspondence between the texts used in the classroom and types of texts used outside the classroom then it is possible to call such texts authentic. However, according to Kilickaya (2004) what is common in these definitions is exposure to real language and its use in its own community. As a result, the term authentic material has been defined in different ways throughout the literature. However, there is a common point in these definitions, which is exposure to real language, and its use in its own community. Peacock (1997) described it as materials that have been produced to fulfill some social purpose in the language community. Harmer (1991) also defined it as “texts which are designed for native speakers, real texts designed not for language students.’’. Furthermore, Nunan (1989) defined authentic materials as materials, which have not been specifically produced for the purpose of language teaching (pedagogical purpose). Richards (2001) referred to the use in teaching of texts, photographs, video selections, and other teaching resources that were not specially prepared for pedagogical purposes. Thus, Breen (1985:61) distinguished four types of authenticity, which must be in continual interrelation with one another during any language lesson. These are... 1. Authenticity of the texts, which we may use as input data. 2. Authenticity of the learners’ own interpretations of such texts. 3. Authenticity of tasks conductive to language learning. 4. Authenticity of the actual social situation of the language classroom. Different scholars understand authentic materials differently. For instance, Tomlinson (2012:163)) asserted, “An authentic text is one that is produced in order to communicate rather than to teach. And an authentic task is one which involves the learners in communication in order to achieve an outcome, rather than practice the language”. Authentic instructional materials are such materials that may not have been specifically designed for classroom use, but for use in real-life 25 situation outlines. It is clear that the concept of authenticity can be situated in either the text itself, in the participants, in the social or cultural situation and purposes of the communicative act, or some combination of these. From the above scholars viewpoints, it be can understood, that the use of authentic materials in English as a foreign language classroom is very essential to expose the learners to the target language as how it is used outside the classroom. Concerning this, most language teachers recognize the value of using authentic materials for teaching and learning purposes. Therefore, we should provide our students with authentic materials in the classroom to help them interact with the real language and feel that they are learning a target language as how it is used outside the classroom. 2.6. 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. There are different kinds of authentic materials: realia (objects), printed texts (books, newspapers), different kinds of images (photographs, posters), and multimedia materials (audio tapes, video tapes, CDs, DVDs, computer-based programs). For authentic materials to be effective, teachers must learn how to choose them, how to adapt them as needed, and then how to use them for authentic-like activities in the classroom. Internet is regarded as a very important and rich source for authentic materials. Gebhard (1996) classified authentic materials into three categories as follows: 1. Authentic listening materials, such as radio news, cartoons, songs, films, phone messages, TV programmers, etc. 2. Authentic visual materials, such as street signs, magazines and newspapers pictures, post cards, graffiti, etc. 3. Authentic printed materials, such as sports reports, newspapers, restaurant menus, train tickets, etc. 26 2.7. Authentic Text via Textbook The term authentic has been used as a reaction against the prefabricated patterns of the textbooks while authentic texts were the non-pedagogical texts used to help learners improve their communicative competences. Therefore, there is a consensus in language teaching that the use of authentic materials in the classroom is beneficial to the learning process. 2.7.1. Textbook Textbooks are powerful teaching tools that provide many benefits to teachers and learners. They are still seen as central to teaching and learning by the majority of teachers in the most if not all educational systems. An example of a textbook material can be dictionaries, grammar books, workbooks, or photocopies. In other words, textbook materials are those that have been designed especially for language students, and for pedagogical purposes. O’Neill (1990) stated that textbooks make it possible for students to review and prepare their lessons. Textbooks are also efficient in term of time and money, and they can allow adaption and improvisations. Textbook materials are most helpful for controlled or guided practice activities, where learners work alone or the entire group remains together with the teacher leading the activities. Learners used textbook materials extensively as a common point of reference of activities. For students textbooks can make sense of the book content while authentic materials attend to present more linguistic difficulties. Furthermore, the instructor’s Edition of a textbook offers concrete ideas for how to use materials in the FL classroom. Nonetheless, researchers have different opinions about the use of textbooks. Widdowson (1979) suggested that the proponents of simplified texts assume that these texts benefit second language learners because they exclude unnecessary vocabulary and avoid difficulties in sentence structure without suffering a loss of the valuable communication features and 27 concepts that are found in real texts. Ellis (1994) pointed out that it is doubtful whether simplification actually eases the burden on the learner in comprehending or acquiring language skills because research findings appear to be divided over the positive or negative effects of simplification. Ellis (1993) had noted earlier that no studies clearly supported the notion that pedagogically or naturally simplified input facilitates language acquisition. Gilmore (2007) argued that the prime teaching content of textbooks does not fulfill the learners’ needs for communication skills. He thinks using authentic materials are more effective than textbooks. He also mentions that textbooks do not present real language but authentic texts do, because they reflect the natural language as it is spoken. Willis (2008) claimed that textbook was considered less valuable for student-to-student oral activities and for teaching culture. Weaknesses that persist in current FL textbooks relate to content and form. Willis (2008:6) pointed out “…textbooks are written for everyone and no one…” Al-Rashdi (2014) mentioned that textbooks do not provide the learners with real life language because they are designed for teaching rather than learning. Willis (2008:7) said “...so the most pertinent question may not be what is included (or not) in a particular textbook package but how instructors are using it (or not) in their teaching practices and why’’ 2.7. 2.Authentic Materials as Input Most researchers realize the role of authentic materials in language teaching. They believe that authentic materials had a positive effect on learners' achievement. Therefore, authentic materials provide genuine language, which is typically used in the target community where the language is spoken, as stated by Morrow (1977:13) “An authentic text is a stretch of real language produced by a real speaker or writer for a real audience and designed to convey a real message of some sort.” further explained: Morrow (1977:13( 28  “…..If you are going to teach real English as it functions in contextually appropriate ways, rather than a collection of linguistic forms in contrived classroom situations, then you need to refer to, and defer to, how people who have the language as an L1 actually put it to communicative use.” Breen (1985) indicated that learners would be able to cope with the cognitive and effective demands of academic life only by exposure to a sufficient amount of authentic input. Using authentic texts in the classroom allows students to have immediate and direct contact with input data, which reflect genuine communication in the target language. He further argues that authentic materials provide exposure to real language and relate more closely to learners’ needs and interests, and support a more creative approach to teaching. One of the biggest arguments for teaching by using authentic materials is that it prepares the students for real-world communication. They learn the language with a goal in mind. They are learning a language in order to use it. Wilkins (1976) pointed out “Using authentic materials and activities bridge the gap between classroom knowledge and the capacity to participate in real world events”. So students have the feeling they are learning a real language, and they are in touch with a living entity. Although many researchers argue that authentic materials have made a noticeable contribution in foreign language teaching and learning, some scholars are against the use of this kind of materials claiming that they have no value. For instance, Kilickaya (2004) claimed that authentic materials add a burden on teachers, as they may contain difficult vocabulary and structures, which need more effort to be simplified and explained, in order to make them appropriate for their learners. Furthermore, it is a challenging issue for teachers to search for suitable authentic materials to design tasks for their learners. Miller (2005:3) also stated that authentic materials are "too difficult 29 and time consuming to select, edit and prepare." Guariento and Morley (2001) asserted "At lower levels… the use of authentic texts may not only prevent learners from responding in meaningful ways, but can also lead them to feel frustrated, confused and… de- motivated" Mihwa (1994) found that the level of reading comprehension of weak ESL learners was not affected by the text, regardless of its type, authentic or non-authentic. In conclusion and after having revised the related literature, it is claimed that the advantages of using authentic materials in teaching learners in ESL classrooms outweigh the disadvantages. Therefore, teachers should consider them seriously as a successful aid in teaching a foreign language. 2.8. Concept of Authenticity Authenticity is an important issue in language learning and teaching. It is also an emotive term and a controversial topic. Because of this fluid nature of authentic text, the notion of authenticity has branched out to accommodate different types of authenticity. Breen (1985) proposed three authenticity types, such that of task, language and situation. Guariento and Morley (2001) identified four types of authenticity, which depends on a genuine purpose, real world purpose, and classroom interaction and learner engagement. Based on these classifications, four types of authenticity have been appeared within language teaching. Each of these types is in continual interrelationship with one another during any language lesson. These types include input data, learners’ own interpretation, and tasks of language learning and actual social situation of the language classroom. From these brief outlines, the concept of authenticity can be situated in either the text itself, in the participants, in the social or cultural situation and purposes of the communicative act, or some 30 combination of these. Each of these types will be discussed below in detail. 2.9. Authenticity of the Texts Used as Input The word text here refers to any printed or recorded, written or spoken data. Hallday (198:10) defined texts as “Language that functional… Language that is doing some job in some context" In Wilkins words a text is authentic when it is originally directed to native speaker, audience and when it is not produced for language teaching purposes. Kramsch (1993:177) the term authentic text [...] refers to the way language is used in non-pedagogic, natural communication. Marrow (1977:13) described authentic text as “real’’ language samples provided and used by “real’’ users to convey “real’’ message. It is important that Morrow was here using real as an antonym of imaginary, in other words, an authentic text is one written for communicating information. This means that a text can be considered as authentic if people in the world outside use it. Morrow’s definition turned on the concept of purpose. According, to Krashen the most important element of any language-teaching program is the input. Krashen (1995) pointed out “language acquisition can only take place when a message, which is being taught transmitted is understood" Also Krashen stated the classroom might be a very good place for second language acquisition where learners can obtain comprehensible input for language acquisition. If interaction was to have purpose and be meaningful, it followed that the input and context had to be ‘real’ or ‘authentic’. Therefore, authentic texts for language learning are any sources of data, which serves as a means to help the learner to develop an authentic interpretation. 2.10. Authenticity of the Learners’ Own Interpretation According to Widdowson (1980), proper interaction between learners and materials will not occur unless the learner can respond to the materials appropriately. This suggests that authenticity can only be 31 achieved when there is agreement between the materials writers and speakers’ intention and the learners’ interpretation. In other words, authenticity may be something that is realized in the act of interpretation, and may be judged in terms of the degree of participation of the learner. Lier (1996: 128) pointed out “….Authenticity is not brought into the classroom with the materials or the lesson plan, rather, it is a goal that teacher and students have to work towards, consciously and constantly [...] authenticity is the result of acts of authentication, by students and their teacher, of the learning process and the language used in it" Therefore, the learner must discover the conventions of communication in the target language, which will enable him/her to interpret the meaning gradually within the text in ways, which are likely to be shared with users of the language. In other words, authenticity may be something that is realized in the act of interpretation, and may be judged in terms of the degree of participation of the learner. As the proponents of (CLT) have pointed it out, there are instances of real authentic communication in the classroom: they refer to the teacher- learner exchanges about everyday organizational matters. 2.11. Authenticity of Tasks Conducive to Language Learning Definitions of tasks have been rather programmatic. Long (1985) suggested that a task is nothing more or less than the things people do everyday life. He cites as examples making reservations, finding destinations and writing job forms. Longman Dictionary provides a pedagogical term. It suggests that a task is any activity or action is carried out as a result of processing or understanding language as a response. Prabhu (1987:24) defined task as follows ‘‘an activity which required learners to arrive at an outcome from given information through some process of thought and which allowed teachers to control and regulate that process”. Therefore, the notion of 32 task authenticity is related to the relationship between the learners and the input text and the learners’ response to it. Mishan (2005) explained, “Task authenticity is the factor of the learner’s involvement in with the task” He also stated, “We must recognize that the classroom has its own reality and naturalness [...] participants in the language classroom create their own authenticity there as they do elsewhere”. As Widdowson (2001: 8) put it: “There is a widespread assumption that the classroom is of its nature an unreal place [...] but there seems no good reason why the classroom cannot be a place of created context. Like a theatre, where the community of learners live and move and have their being in imagined worlds, purposeful and real for them” The learners in the language classroom can create their own authenticity as they do elsewhere using the facilities available in the classroom. Therefore, teachers are responsible in creating authentic setting by presenting materials with real communicative use through created tasks and activities. Tasks, as established by a task needs analysis. The texts employed arise naturally from those tasks in two ways. First, teachers and learners create some as they work on the tasks, and so they are authentic where communication is the target. 2.12. Authenticity of the Actual Social Situation of the Language Classroom Either authenticity may refer to the texts or materials being used for learning, the tasks set by the teacher to facilitate interactions, or the language used by the actual target language (TL) community. The term ‘authentic’ is often used to describe language-learning materials, which were not originally designed for that. Therefore, authentic materials were usually thought to be texts or samples of language from the target culture, which were not designed for learning purposes. This definition is problematic because it depends to some extent on preconceived notions of culture. Mishan (2005) pointed the learner’s 33 attitude towards the language itself, to its native speaker and to the target language culture is a complex factor influencing language learning with respect to use of authentic texts, it is the socio cultural attitudes which interest us more. Therefore, authenticity of situation refers to non-classroom context. The word content in content language integrated learning (CLIL) is almost synonymous with authenticity. Coyle (2010:17) put forward the phrase ‘authentic texts’ as part of the definition of content in CLIL. The term authentic also appears in the definition of the term communication, where “language is learned through using it in authentic and unrehearsed yet scaffold situations’’ Coyle (2010:13) stated “It is challenging language teachers to achieve appropriate levels of authenticity in the classroom. For example, even if ‘authentic’ texts are used, and the subject matter is highly relevant to the lives of the learners, the predominant reasons for these texts being in the lesson remains language learning." For CLIL [Content Language Integrated Learning] practitioners [teachers] and students, it seems that the nature of authenticity does not predominately lie in the source of the text or in the richness of the language. Authenticity within CLIL is more directly associated with purpose, with reasons for engagement. The authentic texts used in a CLIL classroom are not merely collections of vocabulary and grammar from the TL [Target Language] culture, taken out of one context and placed into another for language learning. Authenticity is directly related with the student and his or her immediate learning goals. That means, learning takes place in content and evolves through the interaction and participation of the participants of the content and engaged in particular activities. It argued by some scholars that the most authentic activities exploit the potential authenticity of the learning situation, by presenting materials with real communicative use through created tasks and activities. 34 2.13. The Theoretical and Pedagogical Notion of Authenticity Most students enter the world of work hardly able to transfer learning to real life situations. This failure to transfer learning has been largely attributed to the traditional pedagogy that encourages passive learning. On the contrary, Piaget (1974) and Bruner (1972) suggested that the learner should be proactive in learning. Some Educationists propagate a paradigm shift from the traditional approach, which separates knowing from doing to authentic pedagogy, which encourages real life learning. According to (Donavan, et al, 1999) authentic learning is a pedagogical approach that allows students to explore, discuss, and meaningfully construct concepts and relationships in contexts that involve real-world problems and projects that are relevant to the learner. The approach enables learners to think critically, develop problem-solving skills and connect learning in the classroom with the real world. Authentic pedagogy places emphasis on learning tasks that relate to real life situations. Some researchers claim that authentic learning could lead to meaningful learning: learning that immerses the learner into real life problems. Herrington (2005) claimed that in order to provide opportunities for students to reflect on their learning, the learning environment needs to provide an authentic content. It is argued that authentic learning could bridge the gap between learning experience and the complexity of the real world. Hui and Koplin (2011) claimed that, authentic learning makes information for students meaningful. For authentic learning to take place, teachers should establish an authentic learning environment. Newmann and Wehlage (1993) said that the more there is connection to the real world student live in, the more the lesson gain authenticity. According to constructivists approach, the learner constructs learning in an active, meaningful, 35 cooperative and authentic way. The student is not responsible for storing the presented information in his/her memory, but by unifying information with his/her background knowledge meaningfully therefore; teaching is viewed as either knowledge transmission or assisting the student to discover knowledge and facilitating the discovery. In constructivist learning environment, knowledge is not learned via the transfer from the teacher and the teacher’s aim is not to cover the material, but to help the students to make sense out of the presented material by giving them some tasks that facilitate this process. Thus, each individual constructs information rather than waiting passively for it to be transmitted to him from the book or the teacher. Therefore, as Isman et al (2005) said emphasis is not on the teacher, but on the student. Students in authentic learning process can carry out the real – life activities. Taylor et al (2004) defined authentic learning as "The activities, which are usual practice of a culture, which are alike what actual practitioners of that culture do authentic activities". Herrinton (2006:7) stated that “Yet we learn what we live”. Then, the goal of authentic learning is to help learners relate and apply theirs in class learning to what they have learned in the real world. 2.14. Teacher’s Role in Authentic Pedagogy Teaching is not an easy job, but it is a necessary one, and can be very rewarding when we see our students’ progress and know that we have helped to make it happen. In traditional classrooms teachers are regarded as authority figures while the learner is viewed as a passive recipient of knowledge, to the contrary in authentic pedagogy prominence is given to the learner. In fact, learning is a shared responsibility: emphasis is on learning not teaching. In Authentic Pedagogy, the teacher assumes the role of the facilitator to enable the learners to take responsibilities for their own learning. Breen and Candlin identify three key roles for the CLT. Teacher - facilitator of the communication process, a participant with the learning- teaching 36 group and researcher-learner. Breen and Candlin (1980) stated the teacher as a facilitator interacts with learners in ways, which mirror interaction outside the classroom; they need to understand the background, experience and interests of the learners thus understanding the learner more deeply.The teacher simply acts as a guide without imposing any restrictions. He should make effort to provide students with meaningful real-life learning experience. The teacher should provide students with authentic experience- experiences that reflect the real world ways of knowing and doing. This enables learners to transfer knowledge from formal education to practice and to provide opportunities for meaningful learning. Furthermore, Acikgo((2002) stated "one of the most principle that the teacher should consider when planning authentic tasks is to give real place to real situations and real objects as much as possible”. The teacher can help by directing the students to information, which will answer their questions. Furthermore, the teacher has to learn to wait and help students only when help is needed. Students must regard the teacher as a guide so the teacher should not try to control everything and must leave some autonomy to them. In autonomous learning environments, the role of the teacher shifts dramatically. The teacher is no longer the traditional authority of information, but rather, a counselor, facilitator and resource (Little, 1991 and Benson 2001).These roles demand boarder knowledge, expertise and initiative than does the expository model of teaching. According to Little (1991), they require even greater confidence than does center- stage in the classroom. To stop talking countering the belief, to be inferred from some teachers practices, that if s/he is not talking, the learners cannot be learning. Humanistic approaches place great emphasis on individualism of the learner, which change the role of the teacher. Therefore, there has been a gradually shift in the field of teaching from teaching to learning. Thus, one can be a good teacher with being fluent in the language: by inviting students to exercise their maximum potential and by using different types of resources available to him. 37 The primary function of the language of the classroom as implied by SLA research is that the learner by being placed in the classroom can be exposed to certain kind of linguistic input where learners interact with using the target language. It is crucial part of the teacher’s job to create authentic tasks and supportive atmosphere for learners. 2.15. Student’s Role in Authentic Pedagogy A second language learner is one who embarks on the learning of an additional language, at least some years after s/he has started to acquire her/his first language. This learning may take place formally and systematically in classrooms settings [consciously- pedagogically] or take place through informal social contact [unconsciously] through work, through migration or through other social forces. Such a conception clearly reveals that the primary function of language is communication. This need for the use of language for communication led in the 1970s to the emergence of Communicative Language Teaching. The approach in CLT is learner- centered. This learner-centered approach gives students a sense of “ownership” of their learning and enhances their motivation Brown (1994) claimed "Learners are actively engaged in negotiating meaning by trying to make them understood and in understanding others within the classroom procedures and activities" (Richards & Rodgers, 1986). Communicative Language Teaching [CLT], as they provide teachers and learners with a means of exploring language use within a framework of cultural and social purposes. Therefore, Widdowson (1978) claimed, "That language should be taught not just for the purpose of knowing how language as a system is internally organized, but also as acquiring the ability to use language to communicate in concrete situations". Krashen (2005) pointed out “We do not only learn how to compose and comprehend correct sentences as isolated linguistic units of random occurrence; but also how to use sentences appropriately to achieve communicative purposes" The learner in authentic learning is always active and evolved in the learning 38 process, engagement is an essential factor to successful learning. By evolving and engaging, the learner in a text and/or activity distracts the learner from basic objective (language acquisition) thereby, reducing anxiety and allowing acquisition to take place. Little et al. claims, in fact, that engagement and empathy with the learning text actually have a direct effect on the language learning process: Little et al (1989) ‘The more texts are related to learners’ personal concerns and interests the deeper and more rapid the processing will be’. Another factor that influenced the second language acquisition is the learner’s attitude to the target language. Ellis et al (1994) the positive learner’s attitude towards the target language, the native speaker and to the TL culture helps promoting language learning through authentic texts. Larsen et al (1991) on the other hand, it can raise confidence and enhance learning where students consider they are being treated as native speakers. Further elaboration on the critical role of the participants comes from Lee (1995) who added learner authenticity to the discussion. For Lee, learner authenticity is possible only if learners feel positive about materials and react to them as pedagogically intended. 2.16. Authenticity and Students’ Motivation One of the most challenging issues language teacher encounters is about how to motivate the students to learn, stimulate their imagination, capture, and maintain interest. As is mentioned in Lin (2004) different researchers such as Lee et al (1995) claimed that authentic materials have a motivating effect. This according to Lin is because they see authentic materials as being only more interesting and stimulating. One way of accomplishing this can be supplementing the course book with authentic materials. Many authors have asserted that authentic materials have a positive effect on learners’ motivation in the foreign language classroom. Traditionally, motivation is distinguished as stemming from the desire either to integrate with target language community or to achieve practical goals. This desire 39 to achieve some goals is the bedrock of motivation and, if it is strong enough, it provokes a decision to act. Therefore, motivation is a complex construct. Gardner (1993:2) defined three main components of motivation: “desire to achieve a goal, effort extended in this direction and satisfaction in the task” the motivation that students bring into the classroom from outside is often referred to as extrinsic motivation. On the other hand, intrinsic motivation is the kind of motivation that is generated by what happens inside the classroom; this could be the teacher’s methods, the activities that students take part in, or their perception of their success or failure. Pedagogical motivation as Peacock defined (1997:145) “An interest and an enthusiasm for the materials used in class; persistence with the learning task, as indicated by levels of attention or action for an extended duration; and level of concentration and enjoyment”.Thus, many writers claim that authentic materials motivate learners because they are intrinsically more interesting or stimulating than non- authentic materials. Proponents of this view include Wright (1979:179); Freeman and Holden (1986) who referred to this as the 'classic argument'; Little (1989) who added that authentic texts bring learners closer to the target language culture, making learning more enjoyable and therefore move motivating. Various researches have presented some reasons for teachers to use authentic materials in their classrooms: 1. Peacock (1997) stated that “Authentic materials increase learners’ motivation and create an enjoyable teaching learning environment” 2. Martinez, (2002) pointed out “Authentic materials provide a bridge between the classroom and the real world, so language learners are closely exposed to the target language and the target community” 40  3. Peacock (1997) pointed out “Authentic materials contain various text types and language styles” 4. Chavez (1994) claimed, “Authentic materials lowered the degree of anxiety when students faced new situations in the target language”. Therefore, through authentic materials, learners get exposure to “real’’ English, not an artificial one. In addition, it is believed that this will increase students’ motivation in learning the target language. Others reject this position. According to Williams (1983) and Widdowson (1996) the difficulties associated with authentic texts (because of the vocabulary used or the cultural knowledge presumed) de- motivate learners. Martinez et al (2002) claimed students might be less motivated. Authentic materials often contained difficult language, unneeded vocabulary, grammar, and too many structures, so the lower level students might have a hard time decoding the texts. Furthermore, Guariento and Morley (2001) have argued that authentic materials are not suitable for all language learners, particularly for students in lower levels, as they may create de-motivation, confusion and frustration. Guariento and Morley (2001:347) claimed “At lower levels, the use of authentic texts may not only prevent the learners from responding in meaningful ways but can also lead them to feel de-motivated” Moreover, Schmidt (1994) argued that authentic discourse may panic learners who find themselves faced with a mixture of known and unknown vocabulary and structures. To conclude, the idea of authenticity in language teaching has been debated over the past three decades. However, the benefits that authentic materials bring to the FL classroom may be greatly outweighing the use of non-authentic materials. Bacon and Finnemann (1990: 459), stated that teachers need to "find ways and means of exploiting authentic materials in classroom instructions" 41 Many researchers state that if students are willing to use English language sufficiently, they must be exposed to the language, exactly as native speakers use it in real life situations. The classroom should give the students the curiosity and the sort of puzzlement to work with the language in their heads and to notice the language outside the classroom wherever they see it or wherever they find it. It is foolish to say that learning can be limited between the beginning and the end of the lesson. It is important to use the lesson as motivation, to motivate the students to be busy with language when they are not in the classroom. Otherwise, we could not expect it to be successful. 2.17. Source of Authentic Materials There are many sources available to English language teachers today: from textbook to online teaching tools, they can all aid and enrich English lessons. Many English language teachers introduce authentic materials into their classrooms to expose learners to the target language. Authentic materials as defined by many scholars are any texts [written or spoken] in English that are not created for the sake of teaching in classrooms. The great thing about authentic sources is that, it is everywhere, which makes it easy to find and easy for learners to practice. According Gebhard (1996) authentic material sources can be divided into four categories; authentic listening materials, visual materials, printed materials and realia (real world objects).So authentic sources can be put into two main groups; authentic printed sources and auditory/visual sources. A detailed review discussion has been made on each source of authentic materials. Television has given considerable importance in many countries as a source and a tool of instructions. It is used for formal and informal education. It is the most popular media and has the greatest potential. Television represents the content of the language culture in a linguistic aspect. Mishan (2005) claimed, “Such important indicators 42 as cultural differences in non-verbal communication can be seen in the real life situations”. Such situations as an accused going into the court, a casual interview running on the street, people on the news or current affair programs. What is important in the context of language learning is that learners be made aware of the socio-cultural, and often media-specific, contexts for which they are appropriate. The most interesting thing that learners can get from a television lesson is that; gesture, signaling and unconscious facial expressions. Such words like yes, no, here and there and body positions that accompany greeting, agreeing and disagreeing in many cultures. Television as a media of instruction can be used to achieve many objectives as; reinforcement and expanding on content being taught, to respond to different learning styles and to increase students’ motivation. As Tomalin (1986: 65) pointed out children perceive all audio and audio- visual input as ‘stories’, they prefer to hear/see the chosen piece in its entirety content to make the most of what they see and hear. Once they ‘know’ the story, as they see it, children are then happy for the teacher to go back over material to check comprehension or to do extension activities; children love nothing better than repetition. This is because television is able to attract the audience of all age groups. Internet and computing are two sides of one coin information technology (IT).Today’s students are a lot more used computer technology than any previous generation in the history of mankind. Playing, communicating and socializing using various software applications have in common greater levels of interactivity. Horn (2010) claimed that, the potential for increased interactivity and enhanced affordable learning opportunities for all students supports the designation of online learning as disruptive innovation Internet has a great impact on language pedagogy. Benson (2001:136) pointed Internet stimulates students and reassesses the teacher- learner relation. It has an overt shifting of responsibility for learning, from the teacher to learner and thereby reaffirming the long association 43 between technology and autonomy Internet revolutionized language learning materials.As Mishan (2005) claimed that technology has added a new repertoire of skills. In other words, technology has made new terms of language. “These are known as electronic literacy- the ability to find, select, organize and make use of information" not only the aim of using the internet but also students get skilled on how to operate and use the technology which make them free from the traditional relationship between the learner – to the teacher concept. Internet is one of the most effective technological media that uses pedagogical language for learning and communication. As a source the internet (Webs) offers sites contain materials such materials as films, songs, books, poetry and so many others, which are, used for native speakers thus they are authentic materials. However, the pinpoint for the teacher is how to select and use them exploiting their potentials. Internet is a fresh and up-to-date information sources that meets personal needs and interests. It gives learners a chance to have satisfaction of doing real world tasks, which makes learners highly motivated. Furthermore, English language domains the internet as a default language or as quoted by a little boy cited by Crystal (2006:216) the need to learn English is because the computer speaks English. In other words, English language has become lingua Franca of the internet. Mishan (2005) added, “The strongest influence on the internationalization of the internet is of course, its original domination by the English language”. It also allows learners to surf in real native materials as a treasure of endless sources of authentic materials. Therefore, teachers can direct their students to sites on the internet where they can find and practice these materials. One can understand that these sources can present teachers and learners with good sample of materials, which have connection to the real world. Second language educators have been using different types of English sources to find the most appealing and effective way of learning the language. One way that has been used effectively is encouraging language learners to develop their language competencies through English 44 films. Since the 1970s, video material has made its way into the ‘ELF’ classroom, promoting authenticity and diversity for the students. According to Tafani (2009), the use of English films as an English learning tool should be encouraged and implemented by language teachers. Films provide a source of authentic and varied language. They provide examples of English used in real life situations outside the classroom, particular interactive language – the language of real life conversation. Films expose learners to natural expressions and the natural flow of speech. If not living in English speaking environment perhaps only films and televisions can provide learners with this real life language. Tafani (2009: 88) noted that “While using a film in the classroom to help our English we have paid attention to the accent, voice, body language, choosing of the words, training ear and the eye, lifestyle, plot idea, summary...” Films as motivator also make the language learning process more entertaining and enjoyable. The contextualization of the film makes it an invaluable language-teaching tool, enabling learner to understand more by interpreting the language in full visual context. As King (2002) noted, artificial situations were replaced with real life context, students were exposed to many different kinds of native speakers. Learners were generally more motivated to watch and learn; because learning was now entertaining. Herron and Tomasello (1999:481) explained, “Viewing the video would enhance students’ learning of vocabulary and idiomatic structures because of the contextualized presentation of the video”. This is perfectly true, video viewing has potential to teach learners the target culture and linguistic features. The big problem for teacher is how to address the difficulties when they use films as a source of instruction in classrooms. Firstly, how teachers overcome the disadvantages against the positive aspects of watching a film, the length and the richness of the medium poses to the teacher designing tasks to accompany films. Secondly, how learners comprehend the complex culture loaded with the implemented task. 45 According to Mishan (2005), “Songs and music are truly universal. Music is an essential part of the human experience” Songs are appreciated for their linguistic, pedagogical, cultural and entertaining features and they are precious language learning materials. They can be used to teach and develop every aspect of a language (grammar and vocabulary).As Mishan (2005:196) noted, “The link of music and song to L1 development has an obvious corollary in L2 learning” indeed, as Murphey (1992: 6-7) pointed out; it seems to be easier to sing language than to speak it. Their repetitiveness makes them a vehicle of acquiring language. They serve as an excellent memory tool. The repetition of words, language structures, and rhythm enhance learning and they stick easily in learners’ minds. Songs develop listening skills, pronunciation and rhythm, and provide a fun atmosphere. Similarly, Martin (2000: 69) pointed out that songs and rhymes represent powerful features of primary language programs. Songs, chants, poems, and rhymes play an important role in early language development. They represent a flexible source which allows teachers to use and adapt them in a variety of ways so as to suit the needs of their learners. Sevik (2011) clarified a number of remarkable characteristic of using songs with young learners. He states that: 1. Listening comprehension is best taught through songs. 2. Songs may extend young learners’ attention span. 3. Songs are great tool for language learning at an early age. 4. Songs are regarded as an excellent memory tool. 5. Songs provide a variety of comprehensible input. 6. Songs create a safe and natural classroom ethos. 7. Songs are extremely repetitive and result in language fluency. 8. Songs abound in cultural content. In addition, songs can reduce anxiety in the classroom and learners feel free using the language in a context. To sum up, songs and rhymes are essential in young learners’ classroom for a number of reasons. First, they are children’s favorite language activities which 46 contain repetitive language and set phrases. According to Green (in Nelson and Son, 1986) children who were continually exposed to songs at their early age increase their vocabulary and build their confidence in using the target language. Furthermore, they develop listening comprehension, they teach pronunciation, intonation and stress in a natural way, and teach vocabulary and language structures of the song. In addition, songs help children build their confidence by allowing them to join in no matter how good their English is. They also build group dynamics. Teachers are always concerned with the kind of materials they are going to present to their students. One of the most challenging kinds of materials for English classes is literature. Literature is the media of learning and teaching authentic language. According to Baird (1969:203) “literature is the use of language effectively in a suitable condition’’ to him literature can be used in language literary text. Literature is first humankind’s entire body of writing. Scylar (1998: 83) defined literature as “any writing on a subject: the body of published work concerned with a particular subject.” A similar definition to this scholar was coined by Pollanen (1997) which said that literature refers to published writings in a particular style on a particular subject. Scott strongly advocates the use of literature as a cultural way in. literature is one of the most obvious and valuable means of attaining cultural insights. Lazar (1993:17) explained “…reading literature in English does encourage students to become broadly aware of the social, political and historical events which form the background to a particular play or novel” That means literature exposes learners to complex themes and fresh, unexpected uses of language. Lazar (1993:19) also focused on the role of literature in developing interpretive abilities, “forming hypotheses and drawing of inferences” In other words, Literature offers a more student centered learning to literature study, the purpose is to use literature as a vehicle to educate, to promote critical awareness, and to have student assess 47 and discuss the issue within the text. As a good source of linguistic value, Duff and Maley (2007:5) claimed that literature provides “an unrivalled richness of input” to enhance “vocabulary acquisition, extending the range of syntactic patterns, developing a feel for textual cohesion and coherence and a sense of linguistic appropriateness” Good literary books give readers pleasure, enjoyment when reading them. Literary work also functions for developing imagination. Imagination is a creative and constructive power. Kelly (1996) stated that, every aspect of daily life involves imagination. People imagine as they talk and interact with others, make choice and decisions, analyze news reports, or assess advertising and entertainment Therefore, there are many good reasons for using literature in the classroom. Here are a few: 1. Literature is authentic material. It is good to expose learners to this source of unmodified language in the classroom. 2. Literature encourages interaction. Literary texts expand language awareness. 3. Literature educates the whole person. By examining values in literary texts, teachers encourage learners to develop attitudes, values and attitudes relate to the world outside the classroom. 4. Literature is motivating. Students can feel a real sense of achievement at understanding a piece of highly respected literature. To conclude, many scholars advocate that literature can increase information and knowledge. Reading enables learners to participate in experiences that go far beyond mere facts. Most present day literary texts assume that literature can provide a basis for extending language 48 usage. Povey (1972: 18) argued, "Literature will increase all language skills because literature will extend linguistic knowledge." Newspapers are the most easily available and accessible authentic news media – anyone and anywhere can buy a newspaper or access a newspaper online. This gives the newspaper the potential for multiple usages. Mishan (2005:15) pointed out “a single newspaper can offer, on one hand, a panoramic view of culture, and on the other hand can be used for language study”. Newspapers provide fresh reports and news from all over the world rapidly. Tafani pointed out (2004) Newspapers also “reflect the changes in the language as well, and in doing so, help students and teachers keep up pace with such changes. Most newspapers are linguistically up-to-date and provide valuable linguistic data”. They publish the columns about news, reviews, editorials, historical events, games and sports, movies, entertainment, education, literature and poetry, science and technology, politics, business, weather, Ads, comics and so on. With the advent of internet, readers are very fortunate to read all newspapers online. Readers benefitted in many ways by reading newspapers. Newspapers do not only develop human’s knowledge but also enhance their language skills such as reading, writing, grammar and vocabulary. Since newspapers promote learners’ skills, teacher should use English newspapers in their regular classrooms, with all levels from elementary classes to advanced ones. Harmer (1991:40) added that the texts should be in “language which the students can more or less understand even though it is above their own productive level.” In this way, learners discover the meaning of unknown elements by using syntactic, logical and cultural holds. Francoise (1981:4) claimed, “When dealing with a new text, it is better not to explain the difficult words to the learners beforehand. Students should be encouraged to make a guess at the meaning of the words they do not know rather than look them up in a dictionary” the language used in the newspapers entirely different from the language used in the textbooks. 49 They change from day to day as newspapers are published daily. Furthermore, the language used in the newspapers is also varying from day-to-day. It gives the opportunity for the English teachers to select the relevant material useful for their students. Teacher should use newspapers as authentic materials in the classroom properly.