Teaching materials

When selecting or adapting teaching materials for my future classes, I want to make sure they are meaningful, engaging, and appropriate for my learners' level and needs. From the session on teaching materials, I realised how important it is to choose resources that truly support learning goals instead of using something just because it "looks fun." The material must be clear, visually appealing, and easy for students to understand without feeling overwhelmed.

My experience from online tutoring and Maple Bear showed me that students learn best when the materials match their age, interests, and learning styles. Young learners respond well to colourful visuals, games, and hands-on tasks, while older learners benefit more from worksheets that include real contexts, short texts, and opportunities for communication.

I often use AI tools to help me generate ideas or adjust texts to different levels, but I never use them without adapting the material to my learners' needs. DIY materials or resources from Pinterest are useful as inspiration, but I always check whether they fit my lesson aims, language focus, and timing.

When adapting materials, I consider the level of difficulty, clarity of instructions, cultural appropriateness, and opportunities for interaction. My goal is to choose or create materials that support active learning, make lessons more enjoyable, and help students use the language in a real and meaningful way.