Realia
The word real on which this word is built gives a big clue to what realia is.
In foreign language instruction realia are real-life objects used in the classroom to illustrate and teach vocabulary or to facilitate language acquisition and production.
Realia allows students to use their senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch) to connect concrete words with their meaning, thus making them more memorable. For young learners in particular it's a very useful tool to make real in their mind what, at the beginnig, might come across as abstract words.
Sometimes we may not able to get hold of the real thing or to bring it to class. In this case we can use photos, toys, reproductions etc.
Objects from a country where the target language is spoken, as well as objects from the target culture, can range from flags, to musical instruments, to newspapers, to ticket stubs, etc.
You can use in fact anything to set the bigger picture, where you can then introduce and practice target vocabulary and sentence patterns.
