'authenticity' article
Authenticity | Jonathan Clifton | November 12th, 2000
Pinkie,
Am working on my MAP assignment and am looking at the concept of authenticity. I can recommend the following article:
Authenticity in the Language Classroom Michael Breen, in Applied Linguistic vol. 6/1, 1985.
The article basically looks at text, task and learner authenticity and authenticity of the interaction generated. Breen makes the point that a non-authentic text may have an authentic learning purpose and may well be authentic from the students point of view and that an authentic/genuine text doesn't always have authenticity in the classroom. It is a little difficult to give a resume of the article in 100 words or so and would not really do Breen justice so I'll just give a couple of quotes that I though particularly relevant. Anyway here are a couple of quotes:
"Perhaps the criteria to guide the teachers selection and use of texts (...) reside initially not in the text themselves but in the learners."
"If we are aware of the learners frames of reference, then considerations of a texts authenticity become a relatively misty matter."
"Inauthentic language-using behavior might be authentic language learning behavior."
"Perhaps the most socially appropriate and authentic role of the classroom situation is to provide the opportunity for public and interpersonal sharing of the content of language learning, the sharing of problems within such content and the revealing of the most effective means and strategies to overcome such problems."
Hope the quotes give you some help. I can thoroughly recommend the article if you haven't already come across it.
Best,
Jonathan Clifton
PS: I can also recommend "Self instruction in language learning" by Leslie Dickinson, CUP 1987.
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