Chapter 8: The role and design of instructional materials

Chapter 8: The role and design of instructional materials

This chapter covered different types of material used in the classroom.
It is all up to me, as a classroom educator, to use, adapt material for my language learners. I don’t use textbooks. What I usually do is adapt the material to my students’ needs. I translate material and seek material that would fit the students’ needs for my Yugtun language learners.

Most of the materials we use in the classroom are written in English. Teachers, district office personnel, or we have to translate the material we choose to use in teaching to our language learners.

When I translate material, I usually ask local “Yugtun” speakers, when I can’t find the correct translation word. The Yup’ik Dictionary usually helps. My aid is younger than I am. When I’m translating material, I usually ask her for the “correct” Yup’ik word. At least half the time, she does not know the exact translation Yup’ik word, so I usually go around (in the school) and ask other Yup’ik speakers for their help.

After eight years of teaching Yugtun, you’d think that I would become an expert in Yugtun translations. Wrong! I’m always learning. There’s no end to learning new Yugtun words. It’s a never-ending process of learning Yugtun, even at my adult age. So, when we teach Yugtun to our children, they will most likely be in the same boat as myself – it’s a never-ending language learning process. The cycle will keep on going. With the cycle that will keep on going, the materials development will be the same. The materials development will keep on going, even after we’ve all retired. This is what I just realized as I was typing about “my experience” as a Yugtun teacher.