Can We Use The Same Real Text For Students of Different Proficiency Levels Without Adaptation?

What does it mean by “grading the text” and “grading the task”?
Authentic materials are introduced into language classrooms generally to help bridge the gap
between real life and language classroom. However, while using authentic materials is one of
the mainstays of an imaginative and motivating higher level language course, it rarely features
at levels lower than intermediate. There are several reasons for this, primarily a kind of fear that
students will panic when faced with language that is largely unfamiliar, and a feeling that to
prevent this the language should be edited to the students' level. This is an unnecessary fear, as
using authentic materials can be rewarding and stimulating for both teacher and students.
Sources
When people first think of authentic materials they usually assume that we are talking about
newspaper and magazine articles. However, the term can also encompass such things as songs,
web pages, radio & TV broadcasts, films, leaflets, flyers, posters, indeed anything written in the
target language and used unedited in the classroom. The materials used, will of course, depend
on the 'usual' factors: topic and the target language. It's no good trying to get your students
fascinated by a text on the latest art movie if they are all fans of action films.
Can we use the same real text for students of different proficiency levels without adaptation?
Yes, we can. The trick sometimes is not to edit and grade the text, but to grade the task
according to your students' abilities. Let us take a tourist information leaflet as an example.
With a little pre-teaching a low level class can use the leaflet to find out key information, 'What
is the telephone number for..?' or 'When is..?' and so on. At higher levels the same text could be
used together with similar or related texts to form part of a research project (in this case, web
sites, posters and similar leaflets spring to mind). Bear in mind that simple tasks might not be
any less authentic than more difficult tasks.
The question of levels
Naturally certain texts will lend themselves more easily to certain levels.
At lower levels some possibilities include leaflets, timetables, menus, short headline type
reports, audio and video advertising, or short news broadcasts. The task should be simple and
relatively undemanding, and it is important to pre-teach key vocabulary so as to prevent panic.
At more intermediate levels this list could be expanded to include longer articles, four or five
minutes TV or radio news reports, a higher quantity of shorter items, or even whole TV
programs. Again pre-teaching is important, although your students should be able to deal with
unknown vocabulary to some extent.
At higher levels it's a case of anything goes. At an advanced level students should have some
tactics for dealing with new vocabulary without panicking, but it's still useful to have a few
quick definitions to hand for some of the trickier stuff!
Dealing with unknown language
As can be seen, a key skill here is dealing with unknown language, particularly vocabulary.
Probably one which seems immediately appropriate is the skill of ignoring it, if they can
complete the task without it. Especially with lower levels, it needs to be emphasized that
students do not have to understand everything. But students may not believe you until you go
through a few tasks with them. Teaching them this skill and developing their confidence at
coping with the unknown is an important element in their development as independent learners.
A word of caution
Authentic materials per se if they are not used in a way that is relevant, meaningful, and
appropriate to learners. So besides the question of authenticity of texts, we should also consider
the question of authenticity of task. That is world needs, whether the task involves negotiation
of meaning, and whether it can engage learners. And although examples were given of how
certain real texts can be used with low level learners, the authenticity of texts may still need to
be compromised where this serves students better.
What can you do?
a. Add
b. Re-order
c. Replace
d. Omit
e. Combine
Texts are of inappropriate length.
2. The item/task is not well-suited to its aim(s).
3. The item/area concerned is not a priority.
4. Tasks are badly designed.
5. Texts/pictures/tasks are not provided.
6. Texts/pictures/tasks are fewer than needed.
7. There are too many tasks on a particular area/point.
8. The tasks do not make a logical sequence.
9. The tasks are not suitable for learners’ age and experiences.
10. Learners are already familiar with a language point, or are already competent in a skill.

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What does it mean by “grading the text” and “grading the task”?

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