An Investigation Of English Language Teachers’ Perception Of Authentic Materials In English Instruction Of Junior High Schools

With the development of diversified teaching materials,the use of authentic materials in teaching English has become a hot topic in the research of English language teaching.English teachers play an important role in preparing and using authentic materials.Therefore,it is significant to explore English teachers’ perception toward authentic materials and their use in classrooms.English education in junior high school has profound implications on the whole stage of English education,so exploring junior high school English teachers’ perception toward authentic materials and the use of authentic materials is not only help to promote students’ English learning,but also beneficial to the implementation of English curriculum reform for compulsory education in China.Based on the framework of Input Hypothesis,Constructivist Learning Approach and Social Cognition Theory,this study aims to explore junior high school English teachers’ perception toward authentic materials and their use in classroom,and put forward the following research questions.(1)Do the teachers prefer to use authentic materials in English language instruction of junior high schools? Why?(2)What are the teachers’ perceptions towards authentic materials in English language instruction?(3)What are the gaps between English language teachers’ perception of authentic materials and their actual use in classroom?In order to explore teachers’ perception towards authentic materials,this study took327 English teachers from thirteen junior high schools in Qingdao,Shandong province,as the research participants by use of questionnaires.The questionnaire was designed to explore English teachers’ perception toward authentic materials from three dimensions:preparing authentic materials,the process of using authentic materials,and evaluation of using authentic materials.At the same time,the interview was conducted with 4junior high school English teachers to deepen understanding of their perception on authentic materials and the difficulties they encountered in preparing and using authentic materials.In addition,the 12 times classroom observation in two junior high schools in Qingdao were employed to observe the use of authentic materials in English classrooms and the results were recorded in the scales.Finally,statistical analysis was conducted on the data from questionnaires and classroom observation to explore the gaps between teachers’ perception towards authentic materials and their use in classroom.The results are as follows.First,most junior high school English teachers prefer to use authentic materials in language instruction.They are willing to present authentic materials in the lead-in stage for creating authentic contexts and guiding students to learn in authentic and meaningful language applications.At the same time,teachers believe that they have the following difficulties: teachers need to select authentic materials based on student characteristics,language proficiency,and teaching objectives,which is time-consuming and laborious.Teachers are not good at integrating authentic materials into English teaching.Second,junior high school English teachers believe that textbooks,internet materials,audio and video,and realia are important authentic materials.Teachers believe that using authentic materials in reading classes is the best way to promote students’ English learning,followed by listening,vocabulary,speaking,and writing class.Third,there are gaps between junior high school English teachers’ perception toward authentic materials and their use in classroom.From the aspect of authentic materials selection,teachers believe that internet materials are the most convenient and useful authentic materials.In contrast,teachers rarely use internet materials in the classroom,for there are various types of internet materials that cannot be directly used,which requires teachers to have high identification skills.From the aspect of teaching content,teachers believe that presenting authentic materials in teaching oral English is unnecessary.While teachers attach great importance to using authentic materials in creating authentic situations for students to learn and practice oral English,so the frequency of using authentic materials in teaching speaking is relatively high.From the aspect of teaching stages,teachers utilize much more authentic materials to assign homework in language instruction,which is closely related to the requirement in English curriculum reform that homework should be fresh,interesting,and situational.This investigation is helpful for English teachers and researchers to understand the teachers’ perception of authentic materials,the actual situation of using them,and their challenges encountered.Besides,it provides enlightenment and suggestions to English teachers for using authentic materials in language instruction,and develops the English curriculum reform of elementary education in China.