This week, I’ve outsourced the discussion question from my Materials Development course. I asked my teacher friends and colleagues:
Which ONE piece of advice would you give to a teacher who wanted to create their own classroom materials?
My top tip is: First plan the aims you want to achieve with the materials, and use them to guide everything you create!
Here’s what the others said…
Daniela (post-doc researcher & university tutor): Don’t bother unless you’re 200% sure that it’s going to be better than what’s out there already – so that your time is really worth it!
Carol (EAP tutor): Make the content relevant to your students and their learning needs.
Dan (FE Teacher Trainer): Ensure that the learner will think about the content, and not the materials.
Jessica (secondary-school MFL teacher): Make sure anything you create allows you to play to your strengths and show off the learners’ ability.
James (graduate student, ESL teacher): Pay attention to the level of language you’re using, as well as teaching, so that students can understand the materials completely.
Chris (English teacher): Be consistent with formatting: page numbers, topic title, date, class, etc. and staple together so it’s not lots of loose sheets.
Jenny (university EFL teacher): Base the materials on topics that the students can relate to, whether this topic has been encountered inside or outside the learning environment, first-hand or through the media.
Joanna (online Business English teacher): Start with needs analysis – learn about your learner.
Marc (ESOL teacher): Leave plenty of white space for writing notes and annotations.
Karen (freelance editor & project manager): Make sure you write clear teaching notes and keys so others can use the materials too.
Sandy (ELT manager & CELTA tutor): Just start doing it and testing them out! Then reflect on what did and didn’t work.
Jasmine (ESL teacher): My advice would be to be a student. Take a class or try out your own lessons using another language register in English. You will be able to critique your own stuff more objectively.
Clare's ELT Compendium 
Hi Clare, You and your colleagues said almost everything. I may just add ” Think about the level of your students and make sure what you are producing is appealing to them and motivating. As Maria Montessory said: “Students learn better when they are enjoying what they are doing”.
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Yes, the level is really important! And making sure the students will be properly engaged! Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Besma!
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It’s hard to choose only one, but a practical one would be to make sure you use spell check or ask a colleague to proofread it.
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Absolutely! It’s important not to forget these detailed points!
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For me, I’d say make materials flexible – part plan but leave space for spontanaety.
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That’s a great tip, thanks Peter!
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Be comprehensive. Think about where your students are, where you want them to be, and everything they will need to bridge that gap. If you’re teaching how to write a short joke or story and your students don’t know how to use the past tense, you need to include a lesson on the past, for example.
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