Adapting Authentic Materials for Language Teaching
by Steven Darian
Adapting original materials for language teaching is an incredibly subtle process half art, half science. Clearly, the kind and degree of adapting depends on the age and language level of the student. In an effort to simplify text, it is easy to slip into the error of talking down to the reader.
To illustrate the process of adapting, I have drawn on my experience in preparing an intermediate-level 300-page ESL text for business (Darian, in press). While such material seems far removed from the primary or secondary school classroom, the process is basically the same at all levels.
I抳e divided our discussion into four sections: (1) semantic elements, (2) lexical elements, (3) syntactic elements, and (4) discourse elements. In this short article, we can just touch on a few considerations in each area.
Semantic elements
One hidden problem in adapting materials is connotation. Native speakers don抰 usually think about the primary or secondary connotation of a word梩hey just use it. The problem arises when the language learner is confronted with a secondary connotation of a word and, at best may know that word in its primary meaning. Take this example: Do you know any jokes that illustrate other people抯 values? To the language learner, the primary connotation of illustrate would probably be "related to art and drawing." When adapting materials, ask yourself whether a word抯 primary connotation would obscure the secondary meaning. If so, substitute a clearer term. The example rewritten is: Do you know any jokes about other people抯 values?
Here is another example that illustrates the problem of primary and secondary connotation:
Original: One of the keys to total quality management (TQM) is involving the employees.
Rewrite: One of the most important factors in total quality management (TQM) is involving the employees.
Lexical elements
One of the first things that strike us as we read through authentic materials for adapting is the prevalence of difficult words or phrases. Here are several things to keep in mind when deciding which words may cause problems.
Infrequently used words
The most obvious consideration is infrequently used words. Often they are words of Latin origin. We might argue that students from Latin language backgrounds (e.g., French, Spanish, Italian) would find these items easier than Anglo-Saxon words. However, spoken English relies more on Anglo-Saxon vocabulary. This greater exposure to Anglo-Saxon words means there抯 a better chance that the learner knows the Anglo-Saxon word than its Latin counterpart in English. Here are a few examples along with proposed changes:
Original: The essence of teams is their common goal or purpose.
Rewrite: The most important element in teams is their common goal or purpose.
Original: The writer should prepare the manual in consultation with the department that needs it.
Rewrite: The writer should prepare the manual after talking with the department that needs it.
Arbitrary collocations
Collocation refers to the frequent appearance of certain words with certain other words. We can divide collocations into natural and arbitrary; that is, those that the learner can logically infer from the text (e.g., to make a decision) and those that he can抰 (e.g., to meet [someone抯] demands). The arbitrary collocations are the ones that need clarifying or changing. Notice the examples and their rewrites:
Original: What makes the difference in the quality of teams?
Rewrite: Why are some teams better than others?
Original: The government played a very strong part in guiding Singapore抯 development.
Rewrite: The government was very influential in guiding Singapore抯 development.
Idioms
Idioms are often culture bound: they refer to an element in one culture that is not necessarily universal. Often, the separate words used in the idiom don抰 provide a clue to the meaning of the whole idiom. It is better to rewrite them into something the student has a better chance of understanding. Consider this example: Zambia has put over 145 state-owned companies under the hammer. The phrase under the hammer refers to auctioning off companies. The hammer is the auctioneer抯 hammer. The process of an auction may be fairly universal, but the individual words in this expression give no help in understanding its idiomatic meaning.
Verbs
Verbs pose all kinds of problems. Two important ones are what we might call verbal complexity and verbal ambiguity.
Verbal complexity
The more auxiliary verbs attached to the main verb, the harder that verb may be to understand. Passives, since they always have an extra verb form (be), may add to that complexity. In the first example below, the tasks mentioned are related to the development of self-managing teams.
Original: These tasks are made easier by multiskilling: developing members?abilities to do more than one task.
Rewrite: One way to accomplish these tasks is by multiskilling: developing members?abilities to do more than one task.
Original: People in some cultures are naturally more group-oriented; for example Japanese, Koreans, and Mexicans. They are more used to working together.
Rewrite: In some cultures, for example, Japanese, Korean, and Mexican, people spend more time together, inside and outside the workplace.
Verbal ambiguity
Verbal ambiguity can result from the author using a verb in its secondary connotation. What, for example, is the primary connotation of the verb fall?
Original: Sometimes a job falls into two categories.
Rewrite: Sometimes a job belongs in two categories.
Another potential ambiguity arises when a word has different meanings according to its stress, as in the noun re捶cord versus the verb re穋ord?/i>:
Original: Ask workers to record their daily activities.
Rewrite: Ask workers to write down their activities every day.
Ambiguity can also occur when a verb with a positive connotation (e.g., enc
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