MaWSIG webinar: What about principles for materials development?’

A MaWSIG recorded webinar presented by Brian Tomlinson (recorded September 2018)

Should language learning materials be written in response to what we think that administrators, teachers and learners want? Should they be written as imitations of what is known to sell? Should they be written according to what the writers think is likely to work? Or should they be written to match principles of language acquisition established from research and observation?

In this recorded webinar, Brian advocates the principled design, evaluation and use of materials, not in order to achieve academic respectability but in order to maximise the value of the materials for the learners. In doing so, he focuses on what he considers to be the five main principles for the design, evaluation and use of materials. These are principles based on his reading and research,  his experience as a teacher, teacher trainer and materials developer in China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Namibia, Singapore, the UK, Vanuatu and Zambia and his observation of classes all over the world. For each principle he provides a theoretical and practical justification, referring to and/or demonstrating materials from different countries which exemplify the application of the principle.

The five principles outlined are:

1. Rich exposure to the language in use.
2. Affective engagement.
3. Cognitive engagement.
4. Learner discovery.
5. Opportunities for communicative use of the language.

Brian Tomlinson has worked as a teacher, teacher trainer, curriculum developer, film extra, football coach and university academic in Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, UK, Vanuatu and Zambia, as well as giving presentations in over seventy countries. He is Founder and President of MATSDA (the international Materials Development Association), an Honorary Visiting Professor at the University of Liverpool, a Professor at the Shanghai International Studies University and a TESOL Professor at Anaheim University. He has over one hundred publications on materials development, language through literature, the teaching of reading, language awareness and teacher development, including Applied Linguistics and Materials Development, SLA Theory and Materials Development for Language Learning and The Complete Guide to the Theory and Practice of Materials Development for Language Learning (with Hitomi Masuhara).