No More Textbooks: 5 Authentic Resources for Your Language Lessons

When it comes to learning languages, the distinction between authentic and non-authentic resources is crucial. But what is this “authenticity” all about?

Authentic materials are those created for native speakers in real-life contexts, and they range from news articles, songs, podcasts, and even social media posts. These are the types of text that offer learners a genuine glimpse into the language as it is used day-to-day. While they haven’t been created specifically for language learning, they definitely teach us a lot about what actual language in use reads and sounds like. Non-authentic materials, on the other hand, are tailor-made for educational purposes. These often include textbooks, language activities, and dialogues scripted and recorded specifically for language learning. Non-authentic resources featuring clear, graded samples tailored to the learner’s level.

→Join our Tutors’ Bank and Start Teaching a Language Now←

In today’s blog, we’ll tell you why a combination of both types of resources is the perfect balance for your language lessons.

Why Use Authentic Materials in Your Language Lessons

Learning a language with scripted dialogues is like swimming in a pool: it’s safe but doesn’t fully prepare you for the ocean’s unpredictability. Songs, movies, and news articles, on the other hand, plunge learners into the language’s true flow, packed with slang, idioms, and cultural meaning. In a word, authentic materials make lessons more engaging and realistic, showing the language in action. That’s why it’s vital for language tutors to mix these authentic experiences with traditional lessons.

By blending structured learning with the spontaneity of the language in use, we create well-rounded learners ready to tackle any conversation or media in their new language. This approach doesn’t just teach a language; it brings it to life, equipping students to navigate both casual chats and complex discussions.

Below, you’ll find a list of authentic materials that, while not originally created with the purpose of teaching a language, can significantly enrich your lessons, making them more dynamic, interesting, and reflective of actual language use.

1.  Songs – Ideal for Beginner Learners

Using songs in language learning offers significant benefits for students, making new vocabulary more memorable. Unlike the dry text in textbooks, music sticks in our minds and brings language to life. By choosing a good song (one that’s both linguistically rich and enjoyable) tutors can make their teaching more fun and make sure learners will remember at least a few phrases.

For the best results, it’s key to dive into songs actively. Listening to parts repeatedly helps learners get used to the language’s sounds and rhythms. By breaking the song into small chunks, you will make sure both the melody and the words in the song stick in your students’ mind.

Tip: For better results, choose songs that match your students’ tastes. When learners enjoy the music, the language learning feels more like fun and less like work, increasing their motivation and interest.

Activity Suggestions for Using Songs in Language Learning

To transform songs into dynamic language learning tools, consider the following activity ideas:

• Misheard Lyrics: Play the first part of the song and challenge students to listen closely for lyrics that are commonly misheard. They should cross out the incorrect words they think they hear and replace them with the correct ones. This activity sharpens listening skills and familiarizes students with common phonetic pitfalls of the language.
• Fill-in-the-Blanks: Remove certain words from the song’s lyrics and have students fill in the blanks as they listen. This can be tailored to focus on specific vocabulary or grammatical structures you’re teaching.
• Lyric Reconstruction: Give students the lyrics to a song, but with the lines jumbled. As they listen, they must rearrange the lyrics in the correct order. This challenges their understanding of narrative flow and coherence in the language.
• Cultural Exploration: After listening to the song, discuss its cultural context, themes, and any idiomatic expressions it contains. This can lead to a broader discussion about the culture of the language being studied.

2.  Scenes from TV Shows and Movies – Ideal for Intermediate Students

Films and shows often feature characters from diverse backgrounds, providing learners with exposure to a wide range of accents and dialects within the target language. This diversity prepares students for real-life interactions, where they will encounter a variety of speech patterns.

Plus, watching a movie or television show on a streaming platform means you can resort to subtitles if necessary. Leveraging subtitles will greatly aid language learning. Initially, subtitles in the student’s native language can help with comprehension. As proficiency improves, switching to subtitles in the target language can reinforce reading skills, vocabulary, and grammar. It’s a progressive strategy that aligns with the learner’s growing capabilities.

Tip: Beyond language, scenes from films and TV series offer deep insights into cultures, social norms, and historical contexts of the language.  So make sure you don’t just focus on grammar and capitalize on this aspect of the material as well!

Activity Suggestions for Using Scenes from Movies and TV Shows in Language Learning

To effectively integrate movie and TV scenes into language lessons, try the following activities:

• Dialogue Recall Challenge: Choose a scene with at least two lines of dialogue. Play the scene once, allowing students to watch and listen. Then, replay only the audio of the first speaker’s part, pausing after their line. Ask students to guess or remember what the second speaker’s response was. If you’re teaching a pair or group of students, turn this into a friendly competition to see whose response is closest to the actual line. This activity sharpens listening comprehension and encourages attention to conversational dynamics.
• Identifying Weak Forms: Weak forms are instances in spoken language where words are pronounced less emphatically, often reducing vowel sounds to a schwa (/ə/) and consonants might be softened or dropped, making them crucial for understanding natural speech patterns. For example, “do you want to go?” might be pronounced as “d’you wanna go?” During a selected scene, have students listen for and write down examples of weak forms. This exercise helps students become more attuned to natural speech and improves their listening comprehension of informal and rapid dialogue.
• Gap Fill Exercises: Provide students with a transcript of the scene, but with key words or phrases deliberately omitted. As they watch the scene, students fill in the missing pieces, focusing their attention on listening closely to catch the specific words used. This exercise enhances both listening skills and contextual understanding, encouraging students to pay close attention to how words and phrases are used in real-life conversational settings.

3.  News Articles

News articles are a valuable resource for learners who are ready to dive deep into their second language through rich vocabulary and complex sentences.

What sets news apart from other authentic materials is its formal and professional tone, challenging students to elevate their language proficiency. Plus, these texts provide a snapshot of the current cultural climate, linking language learning to the pulse of the world. This connection to contemporary events adds an exciting layer to studies, making the language come alive as students tie their learning to the unfolding stories and trends around them.

Tip: News articles often deal with issues that are potentially controversial or sensitive, so bear this in mind when you pick one for your lessons!

Activity Suggestions for Using News Articles in Language Learning

Here are a few activities to help you integrate news articles into your language lessons:

• Comparative News Analysis: Select news articles on the same topic from both the target culture’s news outlets and news outlets in the student’s home country. Have students compare and contrast the coverage, noting any differences in perspective, language use, or emphasis on certain details. This activity fosters critical thinking and cross-cultural understanding, helping students to appreciate how different cultures may perceive the same events.
• Connector and Cohesion Resources: Encourage students to make a list of connectors (e.g., “however,” “therefore,” “on the other hand”) and other linguistic devices used in the articles to link ideas and information. Analyzing how writers connect information can enhance the ability of students and learners moving abroad for work to understand complex texts and improve their own writing skills.
• Vocabulary Expansion and Contextual Learning: Have students identify new vocabulary and phrases within the articles, focusing on those related to current events, politics, economics, and culture. Discuss the meaning of these words and phrases in context and encourage students to use them in sentences or a short essay related to the article’s theme. This helps to solidify their understanding of new vocabulary and phrases, making it easier to recall and use them in future conversations or writings.

Personalizing Your Lessons

As we wrap up today’s blog, it’s crucial for tutors, especially those at LovLan, to remember the cornerstone of effective language teaching: personalization. Our students come to us seeking a language-learning experience that is tailored specifically to their preferences, interests, and needs. The integration of songs, scenes from movies and TV shows, and news articles into our teaching repertoire allows us to offer just that—a customized, engaging, and deeply relevant educational journey.

→Join our Tutors’ Bank and Start Teaching a Language Now←

At LovLan, our mission is to go beyond the conventional classroom approach, offering our students a learning path that is not only educational but also enjoyable and deeply respectful of their language-learning style. By using authentic materials, we invite our students into a world where language a vibrant exploration of culture, society, and self.

As language tutors, let’s commit to continually incorporating authentic resources into our lessons. Remember, when it comes to learning a new language, relevance is key. Tailoring content to meet the individual needs and interests of our students is not just our responsibility; it’s the essence of what makes LovLan language tutors truly exceptional.