This article examines how four teachers of ESOL selected and used instructional materials in courses for adult refugees and new migrants. To date, scholarly literature on this topic has largely comprised advice about the principles of teaching and second language learning on which materials should be based, and on-going debate about the merits and shortcomings of commercial texts. Due to the dominance of reconstructionist approaches in adult migrant resettlement TESOL in Australia and New Zealand, recent attention has focused on the development of objectives-based curricula, and as yet relatively little is known about how teachers select and use materials in their classroom practice. Findings of this study highlight teachers' flexible, pragmatic practices, and their primary goal of meeting the learning and settlement needs of students in their classes. The influence of particular principles of practice, performance-based curriculum and assessment goals, and context constraints are explored. The study confirms the importance of ensuring that teachers have sufficient time, resources and independence for them to be able to devise appropriate materials for their classes. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)