Authentic Materials Review

Authentic Materials Review

Danica Finlay (200402114)

Faculty of Education University of Regina

ELNG 326

Professor: Dr. Rubina Khanam

Due Date: February 7th, 2021

Google document with proper format, double spaced and indentation: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ip6QUEMiArLiVK4FjoMyQIM6NUtqoW-v-trzXTXzkLo/edit?usp=sharing

The authentic material that I chose for this assignment is a kid’s television show titled Martha Speaks from the company production PBS. I remember watching this show with my little cousin and realizing what an amazing educational show it was to teach children new words. After doing some research on this cartoon show I found no evidence of this specific material being used in a classroom activity. As of right now I am working towards becoming an elementary school teacher and I would love to use this cartoon show as a resource when teaching ESL/EAL/EFL students. I find this show to be engaging and entertaining all while being very informative. The show is about a dog named Martha who eats alphabet soup, and instead of the alphabets going to her tummy it went to her brain. As a result of the letters going to her brain the dog can speak and she talks a lot. Together the dog and her owners live their everyday life talking about new words they come across and their meanings.

   My concern about this material initially was how I was going to be able to access the show, but after a simple google search I found many of the episodes on YouTube for free viewing! Many of the episodes are around 24 minutes in length but I was able to find episodes that were only 12 minutes long. The specific episode that I chose to be my material for this review is called Martha’s Market. This episode is 12 minutes and 47 seconds in length discussing the topic of what a market is, how to use one and its characteristics. I believe this is the perfect episode for kids to watch so they understand common terms when going to the market (Grocery store).

Episode original resource:

Scarborough, K. (Writer) & Parker, D. Holub, C. (Directors). (2013, April 5). Martha’s

Market (Season 4, Episode 80) [Television series episode]. In C. Greenwald, C.

Bartlerman, B. Peters (Executive producers), Martha Speaks. PBS.

Episode Online access resource:

Martha Speaks- WildBrain. (2017, December 14). Martha Speaks 307- Martha’s Market |

Videos For Kids [Video file]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/bQRZu4D0Wc8

YouTube is a great resource for watching videos as it has options for subtitles in most languages making the video accessible and inclusive. Another feature YouTube has that I will most definitely use with my future students one day is the custom playback speed option. Using this option, you can adjust the speed of the video, slowing it down so students can understand what is being said and have time to think about the words that they last finished hearing. In order to access YouTube, one will need an electronic device such as a computer, cell phone, ipod, tablet or ipad as well as access to the internet.

         The level that this material would be used for is the elementary school years. To be more specific, as a teacher I would use this cartoon show for elementary students at a B1.1 proficiency level. I think this would be the best proficiency level based off of the CFR charts for the elementary school level posted on the government of Saskatchewan website. At the elementary B1.1 listening level, students are able to understand familiar topics when spoken at a normal pace. Students are also able to follow along with audio recording if it is able to be slowed down or replayed. This is the perfect level for watching the television show as students should feel comfortable watching the show but also have a little bit of challenge while learning some new words for the first time. The age level of this show I think would be between the ages of five to twelve. This is a very engaging show therefore I do not think many would dislike the show during their elementary school years. The skills I would be targeting are listening and speaking skills. As students watch the cartoon show they are practicing their listening skills. Activities that students will take part in after viewing the show will target speaking skills.    

This Material is perfect to use in ESL/EAL/EFL classrooms as it targets certain vocabulary words throughout the episodes. The episode that I have chosen targets five words; Stock, order, market, display and inventory. The five words are emphasized and defined throughout the show teaching children the characteristics of a market and important words people should know when visiting a market in real life. When talking about the language teaching methods I believe that this material falls under the Audiolingual Method. Students are listening to the pronunciation of specific words and learning the introduction of vocabulary.  This show specifically works well with people who’s L1 is Spanish and L2 is English. Within the show the dog Martha’s homeowners mom knows Spanish as her first language making her bilingual. At times the mom uses her L1 language periodically throughout this show. Because more than one language is being spoken it acknowledges the linguacultural principle. All of the previously mentioned factors about this episode of Martha Speaks helps students with agency. Students will feel more confident learning English from this television show because it acknowledges their language and culture. No one is looking down on any students and everyone should feel equal. Because the show is able to be slowed down, students will be able to gain confidence with their learnings as they take the time to understand new words.

Activity #1: Class story time, Listening and speaking

As a class student will watch the show Martha Speaks: Martha’s Market on YouTube after the viewing, the class will begin creating a story time all together. The teacher will start off the story by saying a sentence that involves the market. After the teacher has completed the sentence, they will then pass the story along to a student in the class who will add on to the teacher’s story about the market by adding words or sentences of their choice following along the theme of the market. After the student has finished, the next student will continue on with the story until the whole class has had the opportunity to participate. The objective of this activity is to allow students to talk about what they had heard from the cartoon show in a creative and interactive way. This is an activity that can be easily adaptable. If the activity is done in person, the teacher and students can all sit in a circle and create the story working clockwise around the circle until every student has had their turn and the story has been complete. If this activity were to be done online, the class could be held on zoom. The teacher will share her screen with the class so that everyone can watch the cartoon show together. After completion of the show the teacher will end the screenshare and the activity of story time will begin. After the teacher has begun the story, she will call on the next student to participate.

Activity #2: Favourite events, Listening and speaking

In groups of two each student will take turns describing to their partner one of their favourite events that happened within the show. After one partner speaks the other partner will take what they have heard and repeat back a summary of that event. After completion of the activity the partners will switch roles. If this activity is done within a classroom, the teacher can begin providing verbal instructions to the students. After the instructions have been given students can be paired with the person next to them. If students have individual desks, they can push them together to make it easier for them to communicate amongst one another. If the activity is done through online learning, the teacher will take time to explain the activity to the students and then send groups of two to break out rooms. While students are working in break out rooms, the teacher will visit each room to check in and see if anyone is having any difficulties explaining their events that they enjoyed from the show. After each person has shared their events and summarized their partners, the teacher will call them back to the main meeting area. Once back in the main meeting room students can ask any questions they may have about words they are unfamiliar with and the teacher will go over them with the class. 

Resources

Government of Saskatchewan Ministry of Education. (2013, September). Appendix B: CFR

Charts for the Elementary Level. A Guide to Using the Common Framework of

Reference. https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/#/products/74029

Martha Speaks- WildBrain. (2017, December 14). Martha Speaks 307- Martha’s Market |

Videos For Kids [Video file]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/bQRZu4D0Wc8