Authenticity in the Adult ESOL Classroom and Beyond

The debate over authenticity is a longstanding one in the teaching of English to speakers of other languages. This article revisits that debate in the context of linguistic‐minority adults who, in the process of migration, experience a loss of independence and cultural capital (Bourdieu, 1986/2004). Adult migrants must develop authentic voices in their new second language both for social and interpersonal encounters and in bureaucratic and institutional settings such as job interviews and medical consultations. These needs are not adequately met by invented or oversimplified functional materials which flatten out interactional complexity. Rather, materials should be research based so that they exemplify the social relations and discourse routines of everyday and institutional interactions.