How do you use authentic materials and real-world contexts to teach esl vocabulary?

The biggest thing to keep in mind with your students, they will have a different world perspective. Native speakers tend to think big picture objectives while learners tend to deal with here and now. Complex ideas have to be scaffold in a way that uses level appropriate materials. Whether academic or general skill, we can use any number of resources, including students' own writings, signs in public spaces, pamphlets, a children's picture book, etc. The key is using it as a tool to build confindence, understanding, and allowing them to trust themselves in this process.

...and texts, audio, video, or images that are produced by non-native speakers for the same range of purposes. . .

Authentic texts do not have to be produced by native speakers, nor do they have to have perfect grammar. Think about colleagues you communicate with every day whose first language is not English. I’m sure you find their emails, reports and presentations authentic! Some of your native speaking colleagues may write an email or report with a typo or grammar error and that doesn’t make the text less authentic. The key to developing communication in another language is having the skills to decode and interpret texts.

I always use the 'real world' as a resource. But I never refer to 'hot topics'; Ukraine, Gaza, sex and religion are taboo. Subjects like population increase, the economic situation, digital currencies (CBDCs) are 'kosher'. From reading the text and eliciting opinions in English, to gap-fills, grammar and conditionals, as well as question forms, a 'real world' text provides everything! Plundering a text for every imaginable type of English language exercise means useful recycling. Each time the students return to the text, they become ever more familiar with the content and English language structures. Reusing the text with new language goals keeps it 'fresh'. Teachers can get free real-world materials from my Newsletters on Linkedin.

From my own perspective, real-life contexts have a paramount importance in the engagement of students. By using these contexts in English language teaching, instructors can help students connect their learning to their own lives and make it more relevant and engaging. This also fosters autonomy, students become more connected with the environment and materials, this provides better and more flourishing learning outcomes. These contexts can also help students develop critical thinking skills, intercultural awareness, and communicative competence.

Real-life contexts help to create the content a teacher needs for using language, for example, for writing stories, essays, discussions and presentations. It is often the case that students claim they have nothing to say on the topic discussed in class, or there is very limited context they can use, which is not enough. To provide them with specific knowledge of the subject or creative inspiration, this is when real- life context is very useful.

Often, authentic materials already exist in the lives of the students you are working with. Asking them to bring samples of English from their real life is a great way to obtain such texts, especially for writing. For listening, teachers may have to be more creative or do more digging to find something appropriate, but it's best to prioritize topics that are familiar and of interest. Given the number of influencers and business accounts now present on various social media, it should not be too difficult to find someone speaking about the chosen topic. Having real discussions about these topics can also qualify as they do contain a heavy listening component.

Using authentic materials and real-world contexts is a highly effective method for teaching ESL vocabulary because it connects language learning directly to the situations where it will be used.

Real-life contexts help teachers create language content for students. Students often lack specific knowledge or inspiration for topics discussed in class. Real-life context provides both.

One of the best ways to select authentic materials is to simply get out of the classroom. Go to the grocery store. Go to the library. Go to the gym or even a restaurant. By simply asking two questions: a) What is this? and b) What am I doing? Learners can pick up an abundance of vocabulary. Creating tasks for learners to complete within these contexts (creating a workout plan with a trainer, buying grocery items for a particular recipe, ordering & paying for meals at a restaurant, etc.) is about as authentic as it gets. The real language lab is out on the streets interacting with the people.

Selecting authentic materials based on my experiences as an EFL teacher: 1. Find out about your students' interest in life (what is trending, what is controversial, what matters to the students, etc.). This is really important because if it's not attractive or important to them in their daily life, they wouldn't care. You want a lesson that they will last in their mind. 2. Seek for the material related to the topic of that choice in common places visited often by students like social media, blogs, etc. 3. Choose the materials that suit your students' language level. 4. Check the quality of the material (You don't want the students get confused and the focus of learning get distracted) 5. Immediately use the vocabulary found in exercises .

In my experience even just getting out of the classroom and having a conversation in a 'normal' setting does wonders for conversation skills. Ordering a drink or something to eat, asking for the bill in a real scenario has greatly boosted the confidence and enthusiasm of my beginner students. As a language learner myself I used to translate take-out pizza menus to help learn vocabulary. When I was able to order a pizza in Italian in Italy it was a huge victory. Authentic materials are everywhere and interacting with them boosts students' confidence and enthusiasm. It can be as simple as ordering a coffee, or translating a menu.

The selection of authentic materials, including newspapers, magazines, websites, advertisements, menus, maps, brochures, videos, podcasts, songs, and social media posts, is crucial. These materials reflect real-world contexts and are directly relevant to students' lives and interests. To select appropriate authentic material, I think it's essential to be familiar with students' levels, needs, and learning styles. Additionally, for me, knowing the topic enables you to set impactful learning objectives for integrating authentic materials into real-world contexts.

As an EFL teacher, selecting authentic materials for your students is crucial. To do this, you should find out about your student's interests and what matters to them in their daily life. This will help you choose a topic that they will find attractive and important. It's also a good idea to seek out materials related to the topic in places that students frequently visit, such as social media and blogs. When choosing the materials, make sure they are suitable for your student's language level and that the quality is high. This will ensure that the students don't get confused and the focus of learning isn't distracted. Finally, it's a good practice to immediately use the vocabulary found in the exercises.

Essentially, there are two ways to use authentic materials: (1) as a store of meaning, and (2) as a store of language. Digging into meanings could involve high-level questions like "To what extent do you agree?", or "How would you react if this happened to you?". Discussions and debates are also focused more on meanings. Ways to utilise the material as a store of language include questions or exercises focusing on vocabulary, grammar, or speaking/ writing strategies within the authentic material. These are best followed up by getting learners to apply these to their own context.

Authentic materials can come from your students. When I teach professional communication to students taking part-time master's degree, I ask them to bring sharable materials from their work to analyze together. This is meaningful not only to the particular students who contribute the materials, but also to the others as the material helps them imagine what they are doing in class are "for real", there is a real situation out there from a classmate's workplace that they are analyzing, aka contextualizing their learning. Students can also make use of their workplace knowledge to enrich the learning experience. The same can be applied to full-time students by asking them to bring sharable materials from their lives to make learning relevant.