Any content that is intended for a native speaking audience is authentic, in
my view. This can be an audio book, TV or radio program, or better still
natural conversations, interviews, podcasts etc. The choice should depend on
the tastes and interests of the learner. I have not seen any evidence that
drills are more effective in developing language skills than listening and
reading, especially if the content is engaging.

I feel that it is easier to get learners to spend time on listen to and
reading interesting content, as opposed to drills. With more "time on task",
more learning takes place. The brain learns all the time, and not
necessarily according to a schedule defined by a curriculum. The internet
and the iPod open up almost limitless potential for language learning. The
challenge for the teacher is how to coach and encourage the learners in the
use of these resources.

Steve





-- 
Steve Kaufmann
www.thelinguist.blogs.com
www.lingq.com
604-922-8514
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.nifl.gov/pipermail/englishlanguage/attachments/20090608/f73307db/attachment.html