teachers must think about the chosen material in relation to the target skill of the lesson, the class environment and size, the language level of learners, and the ages of the learners.
teachers must look closely at the material itself in order to identify what adaptations are possible; these adaptations need to be considered in terms of the sub-skills targeted, such as vocabulary, grammatical components, structure and design, and idiomatic expressions.
LARGER CONSIDERATIONS
The majority of materials available for use in class can be easily adapted to fit a variety of teaching environments, but adaptation does require some time and forethought. Here are some key factors to consider as you adapt resources to best suit your goals and the needs and interests of your students.
The number of students in your class or your classroom context can affect a resource’s impact and usefulness for your students.
SMALLER CONSIDERATIONS
Vocabulary
For all materials used in the language classroom, the Lexile level, or the language level, of the material plays a critical role in whether the material is appropriate for learners. Lexile level is measured by vocabulary, the number of words, and sentence lengths; it indicates what level of learner would best be served by the material. For many beginning and intermediate learners, authentic materials without adaptations may have a Lexile level that is too advanced. There are a number of free online Lexile measurement tools that help teachers find out the language level of a text. Teachers can copy and paste or enter the text of a material into one of these measurement tools to find out the material’s Lexile level. Teachers can then make adaptations to the text to match the level of their students and then use the same tool to assess the revised text. Here is a link to a free online Lexile measurement tool, but there are many more available:
Structure and design can refer to the structure of the language in a material but this factor also refers to the layout and visual elements of the material. Many materials are designed with native English speakers in mind. For example, a material might use different fonts and colors and lay out the text in unfamiliar ways. Teachers may then want to consider adaptations that meet learners’ processing skills and learning styles.
