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This unit explores the various types of course books or materials and their respective advantages and disadvantages. Extracurricular materials created by the teacher fall into the categories of authentic materials, which are selections from real-life books, articles, recordings, films etc, and created materials such as crosswords, flashcards or picture stories, which are specifically designed by the teacher to replace or supplement coursework. Authentic materials help build confidence and motivation in students and can be geared towards specific interests, while created materials may be graded to the specific level of the students and thus are more personalized and level-appropriate. Either are good for supplementing and adding variation to the class, but require preparation beforehand by the teacher. Course books such as Headway, New Interchange, Let?s Go and Cambridge Kid?s Box are premade curricula normally consisting of a set of materials, including student?s books, workbooks, teacher?s books, and teaching aids etc. Course books have the advantages of being a tried and tested complete syllabus that is attractive to and often expected by students, providing well rounded content and teacher?s assistance, as well as saving the time consuming process of creating one?s own material. However, they tend to be more general and thus not fitting for every student?s need and/or interest, and can create boredom on the part of the students and laziness or overreliance on the part of the teacher. Ideally a compromise should be struck between following the coursebook and adjusting omitting, or supplementing to suit the class?s specific needs. When choosing a course book, factors to be considered are price and availability, methodology and skill balance, level of difficulty, included topics and supporting materials. This unit helped to augment my knowledge on material selection and gave me some new ideas for supplemental exercises to use in class. The example aids and activities included were beneficial as well.
