Developing Authentic L2 Reading Materials

Reading means different things to different people; for some it is recognizing written words, while for others, it is an opportunity to teach pronunciation and practice speaking. However, reading always has a purpose. It is something that we do everyday; it is an integral part of our daily lives, taken very much for granted and generally assumed to be something that everyone can do. The reason for reading depends very much on the purpose for reading. Among aspects which prove positive when using authentic materials is that they are highly motivating, giving a sense of achievement when understood and encourage further reading. One of the main reasons for using authentic materials in the classroom is once outside the controlled language learning environment, the learner will not encounter the artificial language of the classroom but the real world and language the way it is really used (Berardo, 2006).    Keywords: Authenticity; Foreign language (L2) learning; Reading comprehension; Reading materials