TSL 3111 – Topic 4Selection and

Adaptation

Factors for SelectionLevel

Content

Clarity

Accessibility

Practicality

Versatility

Cost Effectiven

ess

Durability Impact

Authenticity

Factors for AdaptationThe need to:

PERSONALISE

• Personalising refer to increasing the relevance of content in relation to learner’s interests and their academic, educational or professional needs.

INDIVIDUALISE

• Individualising will address the learning styles both of individuals and of the members of a class working closely together.

LOCALISE

• Localising takes into account the international geography of English language teaching and recognises that what may work well in overseas may not do so in Malaysia.

Principles of Adaptation

Techniques are selected according to the aspect of the materials that need alteration.

Content can be adapted using a range of techniques or a single technique can be applied to different content areas.

Adaptation can have both quantitative and qualitative effects.

Techniques can be used individually or in combination with others.

- We can change the amount of material or its methodological nature.

- Scale of possibilities clearly ranges from straightforward to rather complex.

- Reading passage can be grammatically simplifies or its subject matter modified, or it can be made shorter or broken into smaller parts.

- Adding, deleting, modifying, simplifying and reordering.

Ideas for AdaptationChoose some materials with which you are familiar, or any others you would like to work with.

Decide on any features of the material you would like to change because it is not entirely suitable for your own teaching situation.

Referring as much as possible to the techniques we have been discussing, draw up some suggestions for how to adapt the materials to achieve greater ‘congruence’.

If possible, discuss with other colleagues the reasons for your decisions.

Techniques of Selection and Adaptation

Adding (expandin

g / extending)

Deleting(subtractin

g / abridging)

Modifying(rewriting / restructuri

ng)

Simplifying

Reordering

Adding• Materials are supplemented by putting more

into them.

• We can add in this simple, quantitative way by the technique of extending, – The materials contain practice in the pronunciation

of minimal pairs (bit/bet, hat/hate, ship/chip) but not enough examples of the difficulties for learners with a particular L1. Chinese speakers may need more l/r practice, Arabic speakers more p/b, Spanish speakers more b/v and so on.

Deleting or Omitting• Material is taken out rather than supplemented.

• The following kinds of requirement, might apply:

– Our pronunciation exercises on minimal pairs contain too much general material. Since our students all have the same mother tongue and do not make certain errors, many of the exercises are inappropriate. Arabic speakers, for example, will be unlikely to have much difficulty with the l/r distinction.

Modifying

• It can be subdivided under two related headings.

• The first of these is rewriting, when some of the linguistic content needs modification;

• The second is restructuring, which applies to classroom management.

Rewriting• May relate activities more closely to

learners' own backgrounds and interests, introduce models of authentic language, or set more purposeful, problem-solving tasks where the answers are not always known before the teacher asks the question.

• It is quite common for coursebooks to place insufficient emphasis on listening comprehension, and for teachers to feel that more material is required.

• For example, a story about an English family with English names, living in an English town, eating English food and enjoying English hobbies can in fact be modified quite easily by making a number of straightforward surface changes.

Restructuring• It refers essentially to a 'modality change',

to a change in the nature or focus of an exercise, or text or classroom activity.

• For many teachers who are required to follow a coursebook, changes in the structuring of the class are sometimes the only kind of adaptation possible.

• Sometimes a written language explanation designed to be read and studied can be made more meaningful if it is turned into an interactive exercise where all students participate.

• For instance, it is a straightforward manner to ask learners to practice certain verb structures in pairs (say the present perfect: 'Have you been to/done X?'; or a conditional: 'What would you do if . . . ?'), and it can be made more authentic by inviting students to refer to topics of direct interest to themselves

Simplifying• The technique of simplification is one type of

modification, namely a 'rewriting' activity.

• Many elements of a language course can be simplified, including the instructions and explanations that accompany exercises and activities, and even the visual layout of material so that it becomes easier to see how different parts fit together.

• It is worth noting in passing that teachers are sometimes on rather dangerous ground, if a wish to 'simplify' grammar or speech in the classroom leads to a distortion of natural language.

– For example, oversimplification of a grammatical explanation can be misleadingly one-sided or partial: to tell learners that adverbs are always formed by adding'-ly' does not help them when they come across 'friendly' or 'brotherly', nor does it explain why ,hardly, cannot be formed from 'hard'.

• However, the main application of this technique has been to texts, most often to reading passages.

• Thus, for instance, we can simplify according to:– Sentence structure– Lexical content– Grammatical structures

Reordering• Refers to the possibility of putting the parts

of a coursebook in a different order. This may mean adjusting the sequence of presentation within a unit, or taking units in a different sequence from that originally intended.

• Can include separating items of content from each other as well as regrouping them and putting them together.

Match or congruence

‘External’ criteria ‘Internal’ criteria

Localize Personalize Individualize Etc.

Techniques

Adding Deleting Modifying Simplifying Reordering

Content areas

Language practice Texts Skills Classroom

management Etc.

Framework for Adaptation

Need to

By means of

Applies to

Example 1 (Deleting)• Target Learner : Year 3 • Topic : Pet’s World• Resources : Audio and

Visual• Materials :– Video Song of ‘My Dog Ben’ (LCD and

Speaker)– PPT slides with song’s Lyric–Manila Card with song’s Lyric

Video Song of ‘My Dog Ben’

(Original)Video Song of ‘My Dog

Ben’(Adapted)

My Dog Ben (Original Lyrics)I have a dog; his name is Ben

He is my pet and my best friend. He is large, furry and very white

With brown patches on the both his sides

He has big eyes, soft and round His floppy ears are silky and brown

I have a dog; his name is Ben He is my pet and my best friend. Everyday he eats eggs and rice

But what he loves the most r blueberry pies!

When I hear a happy loud groan I know he has found a big fat bone

I have a dog; his name is Ben He is my pet and my best friend. He

loves to sniff run and barkChasing white rabbits in the Park

He loves to swim and loves to surf The beach is one of his favourite turfs

I have a dog; his name is Ben

He is my pet and my best friend.

He shakes his head and wag his tail

When he sees the postman drop the mail

He greets me with a kiss and a hug

A jig, a dance and a roll on the rug

I have a dog; his name is Ben

He is my pet and my best friend.

He curls at my feet when we sleep at night

Sometimes we cuddle and hug each other tight I love my Ben, there can be no

other We have fun together, best

friends forever I have a dog; his name is

Ben He is my pet and my best

friend.

My Dog Ben (Adapted Lyrics)Techniques : DeletingI have a dog and his name is Ben;He’s my pet and my best friend;

I have a dog and his name is Ben;He’s my pet and my best friend;He’s large, furry and very white;With brown patches on both his

sides;He has big eyes, soft and round;

His floppy ears are silky and brown;I have a dog and his name is Ben;He’s my pet and my best friend;

I have a dog and his name is Ben;He’s my pet and my best friend;

Selection :– Suitable for the

target learner (age, level of proficiency, learner’s interest, learner’s needs etc.)

–Meaningful– Enhance learning– Authentic– Related with real-

world situation

Justification

Adaptation :– Adapt according

to learner’s background (races, cultures, level of proficiency)

– Time-saving– Prevent Boredom

Example 2 (Modifying-Rewriting)

• Target Learner : Year 3 • Topic : In the Sea• Resources : Audio and

Visual• Materials :–Music of ‘I’m a Little Teapot’ (LCD and

Speaker)– PPT slides with song’s Lyric– Printed copies of song’s Lyric

I’m a Little TeapotI'm a little teapotShort and stouts

Here is my handleHere is my spout

When I get all steamed upI just shout

Tip me over and pour me out

In the sea (Adapted lyric)Technique : Modifying

(Rewriting)

Here is a turtle and a crab,Here is a seahorse and a starfish,

Here is lobster, prawn, dolphin and sharkThey all live in the blue sea.

Selection :– Suitable for the

target learner (age, level of proficiency, learner’s interest, learner’s needs etc.)

–Meaningful– Enhance learning– Activate learner’s

motivation

Justification

Adaptation :– Adapt according

to learner’s background (cultures, level of proficiency)

– Time-saving– Related to topics– Prevent Boredom

Example 3 (Adding & Deleting)

• Target Learner : Year 4 • Topic : Food• Resources : Visual• Materials :– Reading paragraph of ‘Food is Our Fuel’.• http://www.k12reader.com/reading-comprehension/Gr

2_Wk13_Food_is_Our_Fuel.pdf

Original paragraph • 1st paragraph

– Everything that is alive needs energy. All animals get the energy they need from food. People are animals. Think about the human body as an amazing machine. It can do all kinds of things for us. Food is the fuel that helps keep the amazing machine running.

• Red = deleting part

Adapted paragraph• 1st paragraph

– Everything that is alive needs energy. All animals get the energy they need from food. Think about the human body as an amazing machine like a car that has to be filled with petrol, living things have to eat again and again. Food is the fuel that helps keep the human body running.

• Green = adding part

Example 4 (Simplifying)

• A compound sentence contains two independent clauses joined by a coordinator. The coordinators are as follows: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.

• Simplify techniques:– Using acronyms (FANBOYS) 

Example 5 (Simplifying)• Original instruction:

Now in small groups, please talk about what you read in the paragraph. Gather in groups of four persons. Answer the questions at the bottom of the page together. When you are finished, you’ll report your answers to the whole class.

• Adapted:Sit in the groups of 4, discuss what you had read in the passage and answer the questions below together. Present to your class after you had finished.

Example 6 (Original text – Year 4)

Some people think you need a kitchen to cook dinner. But you can make easy, delicious meals outside over a campfire.

One easy campfire meal is a baked potato. You wrap the potato in tin foil and put it under the flames in the hot ashes. After an hour, the heat from the fire will cook the potato. Open up the tin foil package and you have a baked potato!

It is also easy to roast food over a campfire. You can put hot dogs or sausages on sticks and hold them in the fire. The flames will cook the meat. For dessert, you can roast marshmallows on sticks. Hold them near the fire until they turn golden and begin to melt. But do not leave anything in the fire too long, or it will turn completely black and taste like ashes.

There are many nice things about campfire meals. To make these meals, you do not even need to know anything about cooking. Some people also say that food tastes better when cooked and eaten outside. But the best part of these campfire meals is there are no dishes to wash afterwards.

Adapted text – ReorderingSome people think you need a kitchen to cook dinner. But you can

make easy, delicious meals outside over a campfire.

There are many nice things about campfire meals. One easy campfire meal is a baked potato. You wrap the potato in tin foil and put it under the flames in the hot ashes. After an hour, the heat from the fire will cook the potato. Open up the tin foil package and you have a baked potato!

It is also easy to roast food over a campfire. You can put hot dogs or sausages on sticks and hold them in the fire. The flames will cook the meat. For dessert, you can roast marshmallows on sticks. Hold them near the fire until they turn golden and begin to melt. But do not leave anything in the fire too long, or it will turn completely black and taste like ashes.

To make these meals, you do not even need to know anything about cooking. Some people also say that food tastes better when cooked and eaten outside. But the best part of these campfire meals is there are no dishes to wash afterwards.

Example 7 (Restructuring)

• Making short paragraph about the things students want to do during the holidays.

– Using the flannel board and let the students to cut the pictures / texts from the magazines / newspaper.

– Students represent their ideas in groups.– Students write down their ideas into the

short paragraph.

Thank you