Contemporary ELT learning materials are routinely advertised as engaging and motivating. Underlying these claims are the promises of meaningful, communicative practice of authentic language in real-world situations that are connected to students’ lives. This talk will look at a selection of up-to-date ELT materials and consider (1) the extent to which they are actually meaningful, communicative, authentic, real-world or connected to students’ lives, and (2) the extent to which these attributes are actually desirable. 

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About Philip Kerr

Philip Kerr is a teacher trainer and materials writer who lives in Vienna. He has written or co-written a number of coursebooks, including the recent Evolve (CUP), Studio (Helbling), Straightforward and Inside Out (Macmillan). He is also the author of the award-winning Translation and Own-Language Activities (CUP). He has been involved in the development of a number of language learning (vocabulary) apps, and he blogs about technology and language learning at  https://adaptivelearninginelt.wordpress.com/ .