Adapting materials in the 21st century classroom
ZAHARAH, an English teacher at a rural secondary school, is preparing a 60-minute lesson plan for her Form One students. She had been advised by her School Improvement Specialist Coach (SSIC+) to increase communicative opportunities in her classroom to encourage learners to speak and use the language more fluently.
With this in mind, Zaharah browses through the recommended English Language textbook and finds that not only are the language activities far too difficult for her students, but the communicative contexts used are also culturally unfamiliar to them.
To make the content applicable and teachable, Zaharah decides that she has to add, change and modify tasks, and infuse Information and Communication Technology (ICT) elements that will provide differentiated opportunities of learning to meet the varying language proficiency needs of her class.
By the end of this adaptation process, Zaharah manages to develop a lesson that is challenging but not frustrating, and meaningful but not irrelevant for her students.
Like Zaharah, many teachers typically have to make competent and thoughtful decisions to adapt their teaching materials, which are an essential and major source of learning content. This is because, while most teachers find the prescribed textbooks useful, the materials need to be adapted or supplemented to match the realities of their teaching situation and their students’ learning needs.
This ability to be flexible in their teaching preparation is crucial in ensuring successful lessons and impactful learning. It is also in line with the reforms envisioned in the Malaysian Education Blueprint (MEB) 2013-2025, where the concept of flexibility is a pedagogical skill that is valued and encouraged among teachers.
Ideally, in the 21st-century classroom, textbooks are no longer the major source of information. Instead, learning experience should be supplemented with multiple sources of information assisted by technology tools.
Teachers can assign films, games, selected readings, short videos and web links as source materials. The aim is to develop globallycompetent students equipped with knowledge and skills to investigate the world.
However, in spite of the many initiatives to introduce multimodal non-textbook learning materials, Malaysian teachers still depend on textbooks.
This may well be because textbooks typically provide explicit framework of the written curriculum and help in standardising instruction. Even so, it is generally accepted that no textbook can meet the needs and wants of every learner or class.
For the English subject, for example, textbooks with quality language input is not only necessary, but also indispensable for teachers who themselves are non-native speakers and are teaching where the language is foreign in the lived experiences of the students.
The implementation of the Roadmap for English Language Education in Malaysia (20152025) has seen the introduction of the Common European Framework of Reference-aligned English Language curriculum, which will be rolled out next year.
This exercise predictably will require nonCEFR-aligned textbooks to be adapted to match the targeted global language competencies. As a consequence, teachers will inevitably have to bridge this gap by adapting and supplementing materials to make the content applicable.
Materials that are well-adapted will meet the needs of diverse learners in a 21stcentury classroom. They stimulate creativity and improve understanding. Students will be engaged and motivated to learn more effectively. They also allow students to work at different pace and achieve the best possible academic outcomes.
Teachers know their students best. They have to use their creativity and the many resources available to make learning fun, meaningful and enjoyable. “Chalk and talk” and teaching directly from the textbook are not applicable anymore in this era.
The decision to adapt and the choice to supplement these textbooks with more appropriate materials are mainly guided by the teacher’s awareness of her students’ actual language learning needs, their linguistic-cultural background and classroom circumstances.
This knowledge necessitates differentiated instruction to cater for varying learning needs, and multimodality, to address preferred learning styles. Thus, teachers nowadays are expected to be competent learning material developers as they need to constantly evaluate available materials, adapt, modify and simplify them, and find effective ways to implement the materials chosen for classroom use.
It is also important to be aware that while it is ideal for teachers to be able to prepare differentiated learning materials for every lesson, the reality is that the process is time consuming and requires a lot of effort.
These two factors have been identified as deterrents to teachers’ efforts to be flexible and differentiated in their instructional approaches. Perhaps the Education Ministry’s recent move to allow students to bring ICT gadgets to school beginning next year is a way forward. It will help teachers employ the use of available digital learning materials which can be accessed through their gadgets. Additionally, this allows for the concept of flexibility in learning to be extended to the students as they can participate in the materials adaptation themselves.
It is also recommended that space and time be allocated for materials adaptation and development within school hours so that it is ingrained in the school culture. At the same time, teachers have to work smart to reduce their workload.
One effective way is through the Professional Learning Community (PLC) where teachers can discuss and collaborate to produce materials for different levels of students. Teachers in the same district can also pool their resources and share their materials with the help of SISC+. This will reduce preparation time and help save resources.
Undeniably, teachers face a lot of challenges when preparing learning materials for the 21st-century classroom. However, with a more conducive and supportive school-work culture, it is hoped that learning materials adaptation will become a valued practice among teachers.
Dr Hazita Azman is a Professor of Applied Linguistics and Multiliteracies at the Research Centre for Sustainability of Language Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. She is also serves in the Panel of Experts for the English Language Standards and Quality Council.
Dr Looi Lin Eng is the Secretariat Officer for the ELSQC at English Language Teaching Centre (ELTC) in the Education Ministry.
This ability to be flexible in their teaching preparation is crucial in ensuring successful lessons and impactful learning.