Is Materials Development Progressing?

Abstract

In this article I am going to review the ‘progress’ which L2 materials development has made both as a practical pursuit and as an academic discipline since my first contact with materials development in the 1960s. I am also going to evaluate the current situation, to make predictions about future developments and to make recommendations to teachers, to materials developers, to researchers, to publishers and to Ministries of Education. As I have reviewed the ‘progress’ of materials before (in, for example, Tomlinson (2012); Tomlinson & Masuhara (2013); Tomlinson & Masuhara (2018)) my review will be brief and my main emphasis will be on my evaluation and recommendations.

Topics & Concepts