Materials in the Language Classroom

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TESL 0150                                                                                                                                                               Resources Development and Integration
One of the topics we delved into in Unit 1 was the development and use of teaching materials. We were asked to consider the following questions:
What materials have you used or would you use in a language classroom? Who should develop the materials? What would you like to see as the future of materials development?
I believe that having a curriculum, syllabus, or some other form of long-term plan is the foundation of a class, and then materials can be found, adapted or created to suit the needs of the class and learners. I don't necessarily think that it is necessary to have a coursebook for a language class, but it can provide a basic framework for some types of classes. I would supplement the coursebook as needed. 
I like the idea of using a wide variety of materials in the classroom and have done so in the past. This way learners from different contexts and with different learning styles can all benefit. Plus, I think it is good for students to be exposed to different types of materials as they may encounter them in their future endeavors. The materials that I use would depend on the topic, theme, type and level of class, learners, skill/activity, and many other factors. I have used just about every type of material out there, from textbooks and paper-based materials to audio and video resources. I love using realia and find that students are extremely engaged and motivated when they can interact with real-life objects and make, build or create something. Technology is an area that I would like to explore further; I am familiar with some technological tools but would definitely be interested in learning and trying out more. If they are available to use in the classroom then I would definitely try to put them to use. 
In terms of who should develop materials, and what I would like to see in the future, I am not sure. I have used materials from various resource books and websites, but it is often quite time-consuming to find quality material. I bookmark sites that are useful, but even going through them takes a while. Having one central location to find quality materials would be great, but that would be challenging to create and may be a long time coming. I often find things that have some of what I am looking for and then tweak them to fit my needs, or if all else fails, I just create something myself. That way I know it will fit! Again, that is a very time-consuming task. It would be hard for anyone to create a "master" set of materials that could be used by all/most teachers because there are so many different kinds of classes out there, and even if there are multiple classes that are the same type/level, the learners within each class are unique and have different needs. I think I will get better and faster at finding and modifying useful materials as time goes on and as I learn about other resources.
My classmate Jenny summed up what I was thinking quite well when she said, "It's inevitable that evaluating, choosing, modifying, creating, inventing or tweaking learning materials will always be part of the teacher's job. After all, it's for the students' benefit and not the teacher's."  Our purpose as teachers is to meet the needs of our students, so that they can reach their learning goals. The development of materials is part of that process; we need to be able to access, modify or create quality materials in order to increase our students' learning. Such is the life of a teacher! In Developing Materials for Language Teaching, Tomlinson states that teachers need "to be able to evaluate, adapt and produce materials so as to ensure a match between their learners and the materials they use." (p.1-2) By the end of this course we will be one step closer to understanding just how to do so. It is true that finding, tweaking and making materials can definitely be overwhelming and frustrating at times, but the reward of students' understanding at the end of an effective lesson (taught with quality materials) are worth the time and energy. 

In Unit 1 we also learned about the application of fair dealing to copyrighted resources. We were asked to find a resource that we may consider using in our class and determine whether it is fair to use it for educational purposes. What follows is a description of the material I selected and my analysis of it.
When I was in high school my English Literature teacher had several quotes from the movie, Dead Poets Society posted in the classroom. They were all quotes from the character John Keating (played by Robin Williams). In the movie he played an English teacher at an all boys school. If you haven't seen the movie, I highly recommend it. It is one of my favorites and I have seen it several times. Recently, when I was subbing in a high school drama class, I saw several of the same quotes posted in the teacher's classroom. Attached below are similar images/quotes to the ones my teacher had posted. I would consider posting these or other meaningful quotes in my own classroom.
Images from: https://www.scoopwhoop.com/dead-poets-society-quotes/#.yc0rocaj0
Nature of use: The intended use is different from the author's use. The quotes are being used for educational purposes, or to inspire students. 
Type of work: Quotes and images from the movie are being used as inspirational posters. They have been transformed from their original format and use. 
Amount used: A very small amount of lines from the movie are being used, much less than 10%. 
Commercial impact: Use of the material does not negatively impact the author's ability to profit. In fact, it may even encourage students to see the movie if they haven't seen it yet.
Based on the guiding principles of fair use described by Kimmons and the Canadian Copyright Act, the use of these images and quotes from Dead Poets Society is acceptable for educational purposes. 
References:
Canadian Copyright Act. Government of Canada. Retrieved from Justice Laws Website, http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-42/FullText.html
  • Haft, S., Weir, P., Witt, P. J., Thomas, T., Schulman, T., Williams, R., Leonard, R. S., ... Buena Vista Home Entertainment (Firm). (2006). Dead Poets Society. Burbank, Calif: Touchstone Home Entertainment.
Kimmons, R. (2016, May 11). Copyright Basics for Teachers [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9H6Ksp36q0
Kimmons, R. "Copyright and Open Licensing." K-12 Technology Integration. Retrieved fromhttps://k12techintegration.pressbooks.com/chapter/copyright
Noel, W., & Snel, J. (2016). Copyright Matters!: Some Key Issues Questions & Answers for Teachers. Council of Ministers of Education, Canada. Retrieved fromhttp://cmec.ca/Publications/Lists/Publications/Attachments/291/Copyright_Matters.pdf
The Copyright Decision Tool. The Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC). Retrieved from http://copyrightdecisiontool.ca/DecisionTool/
Tomlinson, B. (Ed.). (2014). Developing materials for language teaching. United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Academic.

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