AUTHENTIC MATERIALS IN ESSAY WRITING CLASS: AN ALTERNATIVE LEARNING TOOL

Abstract

Writing can not be separated from the journey in learning English. Learners have to learn it with other language skills and components. However, writing has to be one of the scary activity among learners. To have good writing performance, learners have to be able to apply their ideas and use their good sentences. Teachers are forced to be creative and innovative to help learners enhance their ideas in writing. Authentic materials can be one of the alternative learning tools to gain learners’ ideas to write. Authentic materials can bring learners direct contact and reality of life, which are believed to enrich the writing performance. Besides, authentic materials can bring learners real rhetorical functions. The sources teacher used for gaining authentic materials in class are from popular fairy tales and some other reading texts. This research conducted in essay writing class, where learners are expected to write good essay, one of them is Compare and Contrast essay. This paper reviews some theories and describes the use of authentic materials in essay writing class and its advantages after applying it. It is qualitatively describes the application of authentic materials in writing Compare and Contrast essay. Furthermore, this paper can give contribution for the development of English teaching and learning activity moreover in using good tools to enhance learners’ performance and mastery.