What is Authentic Materials

The necessity to develop the language proficiency of students in higher education and to equip them with the necessary professional and multicultural competences has become a priority in higher education. Irrespective of the different kind of proposals available, it is a fact that, today, English-taught programs are raising a great deal of interest. However, very little attention is being given to the pedagogical dimension, not only to what concerns the specific methodologies, but also to the resources with which they work. In this chapter the authors will review the basic principles that should encourage the development of materials adapted for bilingual teaching, and more specifically, they will analyse the properties and most relevant characteristics that these materials must possess, ending up by offering a practical instrument regarding the criteria that should encourage the design and development of didactic materials for bilingual education at the tertiary level.