Realia

Realia is a term that refers to any real life object that a teacher uses as a teaching aid in an English language classroom. The greatest benefit of using real life objects as teaching tools in the classroom is that they can help the student connect the theoretical vocabulary being taught, to the actual object itself.

One simple example of this process would be to have a box full of various clothing items in the classroom to use as props when teaching the related vocabulary. Other examples include the use of kitchen utensils for teaching restaurant staff, or using specific documents to aid the teaching of business English.