authentic vs nonauthentic material

Non-Authentic Video for ELT
By Peter Viney
In the last few years, I have spent hours talking about the use of video in the classroom. One question that seems to come up again and again is the question of authentic materials. Somehow, the word 'authentic' has attained a magical status in English language teaching. People always assume that 'authentic' means good. It is seen automatically as a sign of approval. (Although in some senses, television drama has a dynamic, pace and repetition factor which makes it very different from 'authentic' dialogue in 'real' situations, and purists might argue that television drama was not authentically authentic - if you see what I mean!)
In my early years of using video, I was often desperate to use the medium and devoid of materials. I had to use authentic materials, and I did. I used the news, old silent films, sporting events (with the soundtracks removed), situation comedies - anything in fact that I could lay my hands on. Several things emerge when you are using authentic materials:
* You have to review hours of tape in order to find a few minutes of useable material.
* You have to spend hours more in planning how to use it.
* You will probably have to design support materials yourself.
The use of authentic materials in an EFL classroom is what many teachers involved in foreign language teaching have discussed in recent years. We have heard persuasive voices insisting that the English presented in the classroom should be authentic, not produced for instructional purposes. Generally, what this means is materials which involve language naturally occurring as communication in native-speaker contexts of use, or rather those selected contexts where standard English is the norm: real newspaper reports, for example, real magazine articles, real advertisements, cooking recipes, horoscopes, etc. Most of the teachers throughout the world agree that authentic texts or materials are beneficial to the language learning process, but what is less agreed is when authentic materials should be introduced and how they should be used in an EFL classroom.

My personal opinion about this topic.
first of all, the tow obtions are good, because if you use an authentic material you can have a different and interestin lesson,due to you could be an original and dinamic teacher, but if the teacher have an uthentic material with bad communication in your classroom this material is a bad idea.
second, in some cases the professors use the same materil each year because follow a national plan and the students learn in a good way, but if the materail is old that could be a mistake, because the time and people change and the material need to change.
Finally, all teachers need to know the student's needs and apply the best material.