Authenticity in the classroom

Written by Magda Kociołek

Tuesday, 23 May 2006

The concept of authenticity in the language learning has been repeatedly interpreted since it was first introduced. Nunan proposes following definition: ‘Authentic’ materials are usually defined as those, which have been produced for purposes other than to teach language. They can be culled from many different sources: video clips, recordings of authentic interactions, extracts from television, radio and newspapers, signs, maps, charts, photographs, and pictures, timetables and schedules. These are just a few of the sources, which have been trapped (Nunan 1988:99) The proponents of authenticity maintain that materials should not be edited in any way. In other words, as a rule it can be said that authentic data are samples of spoken and written language that have not been specifically written for the purpose of teaching language. The question of authenticity in the language classroom is much discussed, but even reading of the relevant literature in depth will bring to light a confused and contradictory picture. In part this is because there are different types of authenticity, and these are not clearly distinguished. A crucial point that should as well be overlooked is that authentic materials have both, drawbacks and advantages. In many discussions it is not clear whether we author deals with authenticity of language, task or situation. In general, to define authenticity three factors need to be taken into consideration: authenticity of the text which may be used as input for learners, authenticity of the learners’ own interpretation of such texts and finally authenticity of the task conductive to language learning. Complains about inauthenticity or artificiality often seem to ignore all these different types of authenticity, assuming that there is some absolute notion of authenticity which can only exist if all the above types of are simultaneously present. Nevertheless, authenticity is clearly a relative matter and different aspects of it can be present in different degrees. Exposing learners to authentic texts is important for two reasons. Firstly, non-authentic listening texts differ in certain ways from authentic one. They usually contain linguistic features more usually found in written rather than spoken language. There are few of the overlaps, hesitations and false starts found in authentic texts, and there is very little negotiation of meaning. (Nunan.........). These differences do not always adequately prepare learners for dealing with real communication either inside or outside the classroom for, some features such as repetition or requests of clarification rarely appear in non-authentic texts. Cunningsworth (1984:72) also supports exposing the learner to the authentic language, and mentions its advantageous impact on the student, who develops into a more confident learner that is motivated and able to cope with the limited amount of authentic language. Gairns and Redman (1986:115) state that since written texts offer the wide variety of new vocabulary, the students should be given them as often as possible. Apart from the fact that texts provide a context for the new lexical items, they are also helpful in memorising in the case of interesting topic. Coursbooks often contain artificial texts, which allow the student to concentrate on the aspect being thought. However, such texts are thought to over-protect the student and not to prepare them to real language use. Authentic texts, on the contrary, both provide the students with real language use context and are as well motivating (Tomlinson in Carter and Nunan eds 2001:69). Furthermore, above all authentic texts are up to date and thus interesting for learners. Moreover, if learners only ever encounter specially written dialogues and listening texts, the language learning exchange will be made more difficult. The advantage of using authentic date is also that learners encounter target language items in the kinds of contexts that they naturally occur. This will allow learners to experience the language item in interaction with other closely related elements. Finally, the use of authentic sources leads to greater variety and accordingly interest in the material that learners deal with in the classroom. Authentic texts have also drawbacks, to illustrate they are often too long for intensive study, they may lead to vocabulary overloading, and the teacher has little control of the new lexis selection. To add, language is often complex and can not be graded. Further, the fact that language in such texts is unpredictable and thus can not be pre-taught provides teachers with additional difficulty. Finally, authentic texts are unsimplified, for as soon as one extracts a piece of language from the communicative context in which it occurred and takes it into the classroom, the text is de-authenticed to a degree. As a result once authentic materials are chosen, teacher may well be tempted to modify texts to suit the level of learners although, it can do more harm than good. As opposed to the texts created only for the purpose of language learning, authentic texts present non-linguistic clues to meaning such as layout and symbols, which students need to learn in order to use in the future for comprehension. In short, it can be easily noticed that authenticity is much matter of interpretation although many definitions and divisions exist. On one hand, there is a great need for authentic materials, as it is integral part of teaching culture. On the other hand, as soon as low frequency vocabulary and grammar structures are removed to make it easier for learners to process, the language is no longer authentic. Lewis (1993:186) focuses the attention on the fact that in the case of partial understanding of the material long-term acquisition is facilitated. Carefully organized supplementary materials and tasks, as well as the properly prepared students will aid efficient learning. To quote Lewis: Careful selection, authenticity, brevity, and above all adequate printed support material, should ensure that real materials, with their natural emphasis on context and communication form an effective part of a lexical approach. (Lewis 1993:186)

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