Moroccan EFL Teachers' Perceptions towards the Use of Authentic Materials to Improve Students' Reading Skill

Abstract

It has been well-documented that the use of authentic materials while teaching reading comprehension can be one of the keys to motivate students interacts with the reading texts. Moroccan ELT textbook sometimes go beyond learners' level and interest. For these reasons, it becomes very necessary for teachers to vary materials and strategies while teaching reading comprehension. This paper aimed to investigate the attitudes of Moroccan EFL teachers towards the use of authentic materials in teaching reading comprehension to senior high schools. Six English teachers took part in completing a survey questionnaire for the purpose of the study. The researcher, therefore, aims to find out whether the use authentic materials can motivate learners interact with the reading texts and voice out their opinions. The results obtained indicated most teachers agree that texts mentioned in the textbook go beyond the level of students' understanding because of the difficulty students face while dealing with texts in the textbook. Most teachers perceive the use of authentic materials as useful for motivating students to be engaged in the learning process. That is, English teachers have positive attitude towards the use of authentic materials.