Authentic Materials: Why and How to Use Them

By TalkEn.Cloud Author Team

Imagine a lesson in which students don’t just do an exercise from the textbook but try to decode an airport announcement or discuss a cooking video from YouTube. That is the moment when language stops being abstract and starts to “work” the way it does in real life.

Authentic materials help bring students’ speech to life and make lessons more practical. Train tickets, social media posts, podcasts, video recipes or advertisements are all resources created for real use by native speakers. They immerse students in context and boost motivation.

But how do you choose suitable materials for a particular group? And at what stage of learning should you use them? Let’s work out what authentic materials are and how they differ from traditional teaching resources.

The difference between teaching materials and authentic materials

Teaching materials and resources are designed specifically for language learning.

That is, they:

• are adapted to the students’ level;
• contain key language structures;
• often use imaginary situations;
• help achieve specific learning goals;
• mostly use formal or neutral vocabulary.

♥ Examples: textbooks, workbooks, grammar references, flashcards, worksheets and so on.

Authentic materials are created for native speakers and are used in real-life situations.

In turn, they:

• reflect natural language use;
• are created to meet the varied needs of native speakers;
• contain unfiltered content;
• provide real context without adapting to level;
• may contain slang, idioms and cultural jokes.

♥ Examples: TV shows, podcasts, newspapers, brochures, blogs and so on.

Authentic materials can be divided into several categories:

• Printed materials: newspapers, magazines, brochures, technical reports, instructions, academic articles and papers, books, comics.
• Audio materials: radio shows, podcasts, interviews, songs.
• Visual materials: diagrams, charts, schemes, infographics, road signs, posters and advertisements, tickets, maps.
• Audiovisual materials: films, TV shows, videos, music videos.
• Interactive and digital materials: websites, blogs, social networks, online forums.

Benefits and challenges of authentic materials

Authentic materials reflect real speech and contain content that interests students. They help students hear and recognize different accents and styles of speech.

And the thought that you can understand texts meant for native speakers boosts motivation.

Authentic materials help students better understand cultural aspects, humor, idioms and social norms that are not always present in textbooks.

But there are certain challenges too. Unlike texts created specifically for teaching, authentic materials can contain complex vocabulary, slang or idioms, which overloads students.

So here are a few tips:

• Choose materials that match your students’ level of English.
• Simplify the task, not the text itself (for example, you can ask students to find familiar words in the text or do a task on general understanding instead of a detailed analysis).
• Break the text into smaller parts that are easier for students to take in.
• Explain some words and phrases before students meet the text itself.

If students find it hard to understand humor, idioms or cultural context, you can:

• draw parallels with a cultural context students already know, to help them understand better;
• explain the cultural aspects and background information before presenting the material.

Another challenge is that authentic listening materials have the natural rhythm of speech. That means a fast pace, contracted forms (gonna, wanna) and connected speech, which can make comprehension much harder.

In that case there are these possible solutions:

• before listening, introduce the difficult words students may hear;
• give students a specific task (for example, to identify the main idea or find certain information) to direct their attention;
• adjust the speed of speech, gradually increasing the pace;
• let students listen several times, so that they first catch the general idea of the text and only then the details;
• use videos with English subtitles, or give students the transcript of the recording.

Students may also find it hard to understand different accents if they are used only to their teacher’s accent.

In that case, start with more familiar accents and gradually introduce others.

And also:

• use only video or audio with clear pronunciation; avoid rare accents in the early stages;
• choose international resources (BBC, CNN, TED Talks), which often feature speakers with a wide range of language backgrounds;
• teach students common differences in pronunciation (for example, bath: /bɑːθ/ and /bæθ/).

The content of some authentic materials may not be suitable for students. For example, discussing political, religious or other sensitive topics can cause discomfort. It is better to avoid them.

Choosing authentic materials

Authentic materials in a lesson are not just “real English” but a tool that can make learning lively and meaningful. What exactly we choose determines how interested students are and how effective the lesson is.

Materials should match students’ age, interests and goals. Teenagers are easy to engage through songs, videos or social media posts. Younger schoolchildren respond to cartoons, games and visual materials. In business courses, real emails, reports and examples of workplace communication work best. When students recognize familiar formats, they join in more actively.

It is also important to understand the learning aim clearly: a material can develop one skill or combine several at once, for example listening, speaking and writing. At the same time, the level of difficulty should be manageable: a bit of a challenge, but no overload.

Good authentic materials come from reliable sources, reflect real speech and introduce students to cultural context. It is just as important to consider the style of language. Informal texts are suitable for developing everyday communication, while formal ones prepare students for an academic or professional environment.

Authentic materials in the lesson

Authentic materials work best when they are built into the lesson organically rather than added just to tick a box. So preparation should start with analyzing the lesson plan and clearly understanding at which stage real language material can strengthen the learning aim.

Let’s imagine that the lesson topic is travel. Instead of a standard lead-in, you can start with a short tourism ad from YouTube: vivid shots, music, familiar city names. Students watch the video, share their impressions and are immersed in the topic straight away. If the aim of the lesson is not only to spark interest but also to develop language skills, it makes sense to use a video in which travelers talk about their own experience, difficulties or unexpected discoveries. In the same way, in a lesson about daily life you can take a short interview in which a celebrity shares their morning routine, and for a writing task, a real Instagram post or a short magazine article.

When choosing material, it is important to keep the students’ level in mind. If the content is interesting but too difficult, you don’t have to give it up completely. It is much more effective to adapt the task rather than the material. For example, instead of a whole travel commercial you can use just the first 30 seconds, where place names are mentioned. A long interview is easy to turn into a short extract about the person’s morning, and for practicing fast reading, the headline and the first paragraph of an article are enough. This way students work with living language without feeling overloaded.

For work with authentic material to succeed, it is important to set up the context. Before watching or reading, invite students to predict what it will be about. This could be a photo of a landmark with the question “What makes it special?”, a picture of a celebrity with guesses about their typical day, or just the headline of an article from which students try to guess the content and key vocabulary. This approach activates existing knowledge and makes students more engaged.

Authentic materials often contain new vocabulary, and that is normal. If some words or phrases are critical for understanding, it is worth working on them in advance. This helps students feel more confident and focus on the main content instead of “stumbling” over every unfamiliar word.

During the work with the material itself, clear instructions play a key role. Students can watch a video with a specific purpose, for example to find out what makes the place special or what plans the person has for the day. In parallel, their attention can be directed to language features: useful phrases, emotional expressions or grammar structures. When reading an article, this could be looking for adjectives or words that help create a vivid description.

After working with authentic material, it is important to consolidate the result. Here students move from taking language in to producing their own. They can record a short video about their own trip, role-play an interview in pairs where one is a journalist and the other a celebrity, or write their own descriptive text modeled on what they read. It is at this stage that authentic material starts to “work” to the full, helping students use the language naturally and confidently.

Choosing authentic materials for different purposes

When it comes to where exactly to look for authentic materials, there are many websites, apps and tools that can help you. Here is a list of useful resources:

Video

• YouTube: use real content, such as celebrity interviews, travel videos, workshops or documentaries.
• Netflix documentaries: non-educational documentaries such as Chef’s Table (food and culture) or Explained (current trends).
• Instagram Reels and TikTok: short, engaging videos related to popular topics, travel tips or personal experience.
• National Geographic Video Library: great for CLIL lessons on science, geography or ecology.

Articles and written texts

• BBC News: real news articles, lifestyle and travel stories.
• The Guardian: reviews, guides and articles about the arts.
• Time for Kids: articles for young readers about current events and global topics.
• Posts on Instagram / Threads / Twitter / Facebook.

Audio materials

• Podcasts on Spotify, iHeart or Apple Podcasts: podcasts such as The Daily, BBC Global News or Stuff You Should Know can be adapted for listening tasks.
• BBC Sounds: audio clips, podcasts and radio shows from the BBC.

Visual materials

• Instagram posts: look for visually appealing posts about travel or food, or posts with interesting captions.
• Pinterest: use images or boards related to specific topics (for example, interior design, fashion trends or travel destinations).
• Museum websites: the sites of the British Museum or the Louvre give access to art collections and exhibitions.
• Google Earth: explore real places for descriptive writing or discussions.

Reviews and descriptions

• Tripadvisor: authentic tourist reviews, photos and itineraries.
• Airbnb or Booking listings: descriptions of unique places that can be used for discussions or dialogues.
• Clothing store websites: sites such as Zara offer real descriptions of different items of clothing.
• Real estate listings: use property descriptions from sites such as Rightmove in lessons where students practice describing different types of homes.

So, authentic materials are an effective tool for improving students’ knowledge and introducing them to real-life situations. Be creative when planning your lessons and remember that there are no limits in learning.

Read also

• Teaching English with Songs
• How to Help Students Start Thinking in English
• English Lesson Design: What Modern Teachers Need to Know