Adapting ELT coursebooks listening materials within an ELF-aware perspective: Voices from Greek and Italian classrooms

Abstract

This contribution, drawing on the ELF-awareness perspective (Sifakis, 2019), emphasises the need for ELT materials adaptation within the latest ELF and WEs literature and research. Focusing on listening, it showcases adaptations of existing materials in EFL coursebooks used in Italy and Greece and presents data collected through student lesson-evaluations and teacher interviews. The adaptations comprise: a) replacement of prefabricated listening inputs with authentic spoken discourse encountered outside the classroom situation, b) design of follow-up tasks stimulating students’ involvement in authentic interactions, and c) inclusion of reflective questions that can trigger teachers’ and learners’ awareness regarding language use, learning and instructional practices. Findings, indicating that the attempted modifications were successful, provide insights in enhancing our understanding of ELF-awareness integration in ELT.