English abstract
Omani teachers mostly rely on textbooks that are prepared by the ministry of education to teach integrated skills. The Omani English as a foreign language syllabus mainly concentrates on developing learners' communicative competence as it adopts a communicative language approach. However, in Oman, especially in the interior governorates where most of the learners are not exposed to English outside the classrooms, grade eleven and twelve teachers find it hard to expose their learners to the target language. Al-Toubi (1998) found that Omani English language curriculum failed to prepare learners for appropriate oral communication in real situation due to a lack of a real life oral exposure. Therefore, the current research implemented a qualitative methodology situated within a constructivist grounded theory approach that aimed to understand post basic Omani EFL teachers' insights and attitudes towards the selection and implementation of authentic materials in their classrooms. In accordance with the above, the researcher employed one-on-one interviews with four experienced Omani teachers and focus group interviews with five teachers to answer the research questions focusing on the main reasons for choosing to implement authentic materials in language classrooms, the criteria used for the selection of authentic materials and how Omani teachers perceive the implementation of authentic materials to motivate learners and promote active engagement in the learning process. Findings revealed that the teachers perceived the implementation of authentic materials in language classrooms as promoting the development of overall language proficiency and language skills (reading, writing, speaking and listening). Precisely, the findings highlighted Omani teachers' preference to use authentic materials to focus on developing speaking and listening skills more than reading and writing. Furthermore, the teachers supported the choice of authentic materials in Omani English classrooms as it played an essential role in enhancing their learners' fluency and accuracy through authentic exposure. Subsequently, the research contributed a working model illustrating the processes related to the implementation of authentic material in EFL classrooms enhancing motivation and engagement based on the teachers' perspectives. Consequently, this model provides guidelines for teachers seeking to implement authentic materials to help their students' improve their performance in the final and international exams.
