









































Emerging Perspectives 
ep.journalhosting.ucalgary.ca 
 
 
Book Review / Recension d’ouvrage 

Issues in Materials Development 
 
by Maryam Azarnoosh, Mitra Zeraatpishe, Akram Faravani, and Hamid Reza Kargozari (Eds.) 
Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers, 2016, 225 pages 
ISBN: 978-94-6300-430-5 (paperback) 
 
Reviewed by/ Revu par 
 
Rahim Pira 
University of Calgary 

 
Pira, R. (2019). [Review of the book Issues in materials development, by Maryam 
Azarnoosh, Mitra Zeraatpishe, Akram Faravani, and Hamid Reza Kargozari (Eds.)]. 
Emerging Perspectives, 3(3), 1-4. 

 

Issues in Materials Development, edited by Maryam Azarnoosh, Mitra Zeraatpishe, Akram 
Faravani, and Hamid Reza Kargozari, is a resource for materials developers and other readers who 
are new to the field of English as a Second Language (ESL) and English as a Foreign Language 
(EFL). It offers a practical guide on how to incorporate theoretical foundations into practical 
aspects of designing materials for ESL and EFL learners. In this book, the editors introduce the 
basic principles of materials development, assert the importance of materials development, and 
show its evolution over the past years. The book also discusses the importance of considering 
learners’ needs in materials development, and designing appropriate materials for four language 
skills: reading, listening, speaking, and writing. Furthermore, the text explains the process and 
strategies for developing various types of materials for pronunciation, English for Specific 
Purposes (ESP) vocabulary, and computer assisted language learning. This resource also delves 
into some important issues in materials development: authenticity of the materials, motivating 
materials that engage language learners, and universal design in materials development. Finally, 
the authors address the current English Language Teaching (ELT) materials development and 
propose approaches for further improvement. 

Content and Structure 

Issues in Materials Development consists of sixteen chapters, and each chapter is authored 
by different contributors. The first chapter, written by Brian Tomlinson, explains the process and 
significance of materials development in general and its importance for teachers, material writers, 
researchers, and applied linguists.  

In the second chapter, Alan Malay addresses the principles and procedures in materials 
development. He lists principles proposed by applied linguists and materials writing practitioners 
and argues that these “principles need to be based on pragmatic experience, not simply on 



Pira / Emerging Perspectives (2019) 1-4  2 
 

theoretical systems” (p. 27). While emphasizing human creativity in materials design, the author 
also discusses macro-level and micro-level processes that are involved in materials design and 
writing. 

In the third chapter, Alper Darici argues for the importance of needs analysis in materials 
development. Darici strongly supports this notion by discussing the reasons for conducting needs 
analysis and how it can be performed. He further suggests that needs analysis is necessary because 
“students can sometimes observe or sometimes feel if the lesson plan and the material facilitate 
their learning. … [and they] can provide the best feedback by drawing our attention to their needs” 
(p. 31).  

Based on the language- and learner-centered syllabuses, in the fourth chapter of this book, 
Akram Faravani and Mitra Zeraatpishe highlight the process and importance of selection and 
gradation of materials when designing teaching materials for English language learners.  

Guiding readers to be effective language teachers, John Macalister writes about adapting 
and adopting materials in the fifth chapter. Adapting materials occurs through changes made to the 
content and sequencing, format and presentation, and monitoring and assessment of materials. 
Moreover, the author also outlines the model of language curriculum design that “can be used to 
inform decisions about adapting materials … [and] about what to adopt. The biggest investment is 
often the choice of a course book, and so it is important to make the best possible decision” (p. 
63). 

The next four chapters are about developing appropriate materials to support the language 
skills of ESL learners. In the sixth chapter, Jayakaran Mukundan, Abdolvahed Zarifi, and Seyed 
Ali Rezvani Kalajahi highlight “important elements that material developers should take into 
account in selecting and presenting the reading materials…. [and attend to] the selection and 
presentation of vocabulary items that have proven to significantly affect reading performance” (p. 
65). Parviz Maftoon, Hamid Reza Kargozari, and Maryam Azarnoosh discuss guidelines for 
developing listening materials in chapter seven. The chapter describes listening processes, types 
of listening materials, technologies used for developing these materials, and characteristics of 
effective listening materials. This is followed by a discussion on developing materials for speaking 
skills in chapter eight by Ivor Timmis. Timmis points out a gap between theory and practice in 
speaking skills, and to fill this gap, he promotes designing activities for learners that considers 
“accuracy, fluency and complexity at specific phases of the planned activity and how learners can 
be best prepared for each phase” (p. 92). He advocates designing activities that provide scaffolding 
for the learners and motivate them to speak in English. Finally, in chapter nine, Jayakaran 
Mukundan, Seyed Ali Rezvani Kalajahi, and Ruzbeh Babaee support developing materials for 
teaching writing to EFL and ESL learners. In this chapter, the authors stress the importance of 
using authentic materials of different types in teaching writing to students and argue that these 
materials should be developed “after gaining a clear picture of the needs and interests of the target 
audience” (p. 106). The authors also emphasize making writing an enjoyable activity for language 
learners.  



Pira / Emerging Perspectives (2019) 1-4  3 
 

John Levis and Sinem Sonsaat explore designing pronunciation materials for EFL and ESL 
learners in chapter ten. They examine three materials development principles: intelligibility in 
pronunciation materials, integration of pronunciation with the teaching of other skills, and 
provision of sufficient support for teachers in developing pronunciation materials.  

In chapter eleven, Handoyo Puji Widodo recounts his research study that was carried out 
in Indonesia to investigate “the pedagogical roles of portfolios in the development of students’ 
ESP vocabulary” (p. 121). He argues that “a portfolio as a tool for learning technical vocabulary 
aims to expand depth and breadth of technical vocabulary knowledge of students” (p. 121). 

In chapter twelve, Hassan Soleimani and Maryam Mola Esmaili document the issues 
surrounding the contribution of technology and computer in the field of materials development. 
This interdisciplinary field of study is known as computer assisted language learning (CALL). 

Chapter thirteen brings up the issue of authenticity in materials development. In this 
chapter, Soufiane Trabelsi accentuates the importance of developing authentic texts and materials 
for enhancing efficient language learning. He also discusses four authenticity approaches from his 
review of the literature on authenticity in ELT area. 

Maria Heron, in chapter fourteen, writes about stimulating students’ motivation by using 
affectively engaging texts. She contends that “if the learners are not affectively engaged with the 
texts because the content is trivial or they cannot relate to it, they will disconnect and learning will 
not take place” (p. 159). Furthermore, she emphasizes the connection between emotion and 
motivation, and how this connection can lead to learning and autonomy.  

Chapter fifteen focuses on universal designs when developing materials for English for 
Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). In this chapter, Lilia Savova investigates ESOL 
instructional design that is drawn from “cognitive and constructivist theories of learning as well as 
from principles of universal design derived from disciplinary and cross-disciplinary design 
knowledge” (p. 184). Savova also provides examples of two universal principles of design: the 
principle of 80/20 and Gestalt principle of similarity. 

Finally, in chapter sixteen, Dat Bao presents the core qualities of second language teaching 
materials while stressing on major areas for improvements in today’s ELT materials development. 
Bao outlines “four major dimensions that mark the desirability of second language materials” for 
ESL learners: linguistic values, cultural content, learning resources, and learners’ identity and 
living environment (p. 195). 

Critique 

One of the strengths of Issues in Materials Development is the discussion of various 
resources used for developing materials for language learners. For instance, Widodo presents the 
British National Corpus (BNC) and the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) and 
shows how these online resources help the language learners to comprehend “the frequencies of 
identified words and recognize how words are used in context” (p. 128). Within the same chapter, 
the author also writes about various online dictionaries and the importance of these resources in 
providing the language learners “with quick access to the meanings of unfamiliar words” (p. 128).  



Pira / Emerging Perspectives (2019) 1-4  4 
 

According to Widodo’s research, these resources have been proven to be successful for language 
learners; hence, they are invaluable for new and experienced teachers and material developers who 
want to take advantage of these free, online resources.  

Issues in Materials Development also provides ample recommendations and suggestions 
for implementing different strategies when developing teaching materials for ESL, EFL, and ESP 
learners. Its greatest strength lies in promoting a learner-centered approach, one that considers the 
needs and strengths of the learners, and that values the notion of “one-size-does-not-fit-all.” 
Language learners come from different backgrounds; hence, it is critical for teachers to “consider 
starting their year applying needs analysis in small scales and then decide what the best is for 
themselves and their learners” (p. 40). 

The research studies included in this book are contextualized for learners outside of Canada 
such as Indonesia and Tunisia. Canada is a multicultural society, and language learners in 
Canadian classrooms come from a range of different backgrounds. Hence, from a Canadian 
perspective, this book is somewhat limited in providing effective strategies for developing 
materials for language learners in Canada. Teachers and materials developers may have to seek 
additional research that proves the success of these strategies in Canadian classrooms. 
Additionally, as a text for developing materials for English language learners, it falls short of being 
edited carefully, and contains several spelling mistakes, sentences with missing articles and 
punctuation marks, and minor printing errors. 

Overall, Issues in Materials Development provides a practical and theoretical overview of 
the issues encountered when developing materials for language learners. Language teachers, 
practitioners, researchers, and educational materials developers would benefit from reading this 
book because it offers resources for designing classroom content that can build and enhance 
English language learners’ vocabulary, pronunciation, and reading, listening, speaking, and 
writing skills. Moreover, this book will also provide readers with sufficient knowledge and skills 
in developing materials that are predominantly learner-centered. As a contemporary text, the book 
also provides enough exposure to readers on how to integrate technology when developing 
materials for language learners.  

Reference 

Azarnoosh, M., Zeraatpishe, M., Faravani, A., & Kargozari, H. R. (Eds.). (2016). Issues in 
materials development. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense. 

 

 

 

 

 


