The Complete Guide to the Theory and Practice of Materials Development for Language Learning

This is a book which provides post–graduate students, researchers, materials developers and teachers with everything they need to know about materials development for language learning, both for the development of paper and of digital materials. It refers them to the literature on all aspects of materials development both theoretical and practical, it discusses the issues which provoke debate in the field and the authors make use of their many years as materials developers and researchers to offer principled approaches to materials evaluation, adaptation, development and use. It also provides think questions and tasks for the reader and a list of resources freely available to the materials developer.

The book has been written so as to be academically rigorous and yet easily accessible to newcomers to materials development and/or applied linguistics. The style and the content are both academic and personal and, as one reviewer said, it chats to the reader.

Preface

Chapter 1 – Materials Development So Far

Chapter 2 – Issues in Materials Development

Chapter 3 – Materials Evaluation

Chapter 4 – Materials Adaptation

Chapter 5 – The Development of Materials

Chapter 6 The Process of Publishing Coursebooks

Chapter 7 – Developing Digital Materials

Chapter 8 – Developing Materials for the Acquisition of Language

Chapter 9 – Developing Materials for the Development of Skills

Chapter 10 – Developing Materials for Young Learners

Chapter 11 – Developing Materials for Teenagers and Adults

Chapter 12 – Developing Materials for Different Levels, Users and Purposes

Chapter 13 – Visuals, Layout and Design

Chapter 14 – Writing Instructions for Language Learning Activities

Chapter 15 – Materials Development Research

Conclusion

Resources Useful for Materials Developers

Index

Brian Tomlinson has worked as a teacher, teacher trainer, curriculum developer, film extra, football coach and university academic in Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, UK, Vanuatu and Zambia, as well as giving presentations in over seventy countries. He is President of MATSDA, a Visiting Professor at the University of Liverpool and a TESOL Professor at Anaheim University. He has over one hundred publications, including Discover English (with Rod Bolitho), Openings, Materials Development in Language Teaching, Developing Materials for Language Teaching, Research for Materials Development in Language Learning (with Hitomi Masuhara), Applied Linguistics and Materials Development and SLA Theory and Materials Development for Language Learning.

Hitomi Masuhara is Lecturer in Applied Linguistics and works on the MA in Applied Linguistics and the MA in TESOL at the University of Liverpool and is also the Secretary of MATSDA. She has co–authored a number of books on materials development and language teaching methodology (e.g. McDonough, J., Shaw, C. and Masuhara, H. (2013). Materials and methods in ELT: A teacher s guide (3 rd ed.) . Chichester: Wiley–Blackwell), and she has published many chapters and articles (see CV). Her current research interest is the application of the findings of current brain studies to the teaching of languages (e.g. Masuhara, H. (2016). Brain studies and materials for language learning. In B. Tomlinson (Ed.) Second language acquisition research and materials development for language learning (pp. 23–32). New York: Routledge).