Material used should empower students and put them in control of their own learning. It is not uncommon to find a teaching situation where the learners remain constantly aware of their own state of ignorance before a teacher who possesses all relevant knowledge. Material should be presented in such a way that it is possible for the student to be self monitoring. Ideally, questions and answers should be in the same book so that self assessment is possible. Indexes should be easy to use.
Students often learn as much from each other as they do from the teacher.
Material should make it easy to divide the class into groups or pairs, to have conversations or roleplay, and to allow the students to interact with each other. It is easy to be insensitive in the area of cultural differences. It is important to avoid potentially offensive images. Material where women are consistently portrayed as subordinate should be rejected. Some older material can still be very useful.