Advantages and disadvantages of using authentic materials in enhancing students' reading skill

Abstract

This work attempts to conduct a research on the advantages and disadvantages of using authentic materials in enhancing students’ reading skill. That is, how teachers might use other kinds of materials rather than the course book to improve their students reading skill, with taking into consideration to the difficulties of these materials which may face the teachers and learners in teaching reading. This research consists of four chapters. The first chapter provides the learners with general idea about reading. It offers them a brief definition of this skill, and introduces to them the sub skills they should learn from it as well as the main purposes for which one might read. It also states the reading principles which help the students to be more engaged readers. On the other hand, the second chapter aims at giving an overview about authentic materials. It identifies authenticity, defines authentic materials, and moves to illustrate the main types of authentic materials which the teacher can use for teaching reading. However, the third chapter attempts to make a link between the two previous chapters under the title of the pros and the cons of authentic materials in teaching reading. Then it sets some criteria according to which teachers might select texts. It also makes a comparison between authentic and simplified materials. Moreover it demonstrates the importance of using authentic texts as well as the obstacles such materials might cause to language learners . The main objective of this research is to clarify the importance and difficulties of using authentic materials in teaching reading. Lastly, the fourth chapter is the practical part where the teachers’ and students’ attitudes toward using authentic materials are analyzed.