TERM

appropriacy

backchaining

Bingo

Board Rush
bottom-up processing
CALL
choral drilling
classroom language
cline
coherent
cohesive

collocation
concept questions
connected speech
connotation

contractions
controlled practice

deducing meaning from context

Delta
diphthongs
discourse

DOS/ADOS

drill
EAP
elicit
ellipsis
ELT
engage
ESOL
ESP
extensive course
extrinsic motivation
feedback
fillers
finger highlighting
form
formal style
freer practice
genre
grade
guided discovery
idiomatic
IELTS
individual drilling
informal style
intensive course
intrinsic motivation
kinaesthetic
L1
L1 interference
L2
language feedback
lead-in
learning style
lexical chains
lexical set
lexis
lingua franca
linkers
listening sub-skills
live listening
meaning
mentor
MFPA

monitor
monolingual
monophthongs
morphology
multilingual
nominalisation
nominate
non verbal responses
on task
over-generalisation
peer check
Pelmanism
phoneme
phonemic chart
productive skills
progress test
pronunciation
reading sub-skills
realia
receptive skills
reformulate
Roman script

Simon says
stress-timed
strong form
student-centred
syllable-timed
synonym
target language

Task-based learning
teacher-centred
timelines
top-down processing
Total Physical Response
transactional letter
utterance

vague language
weak forms
weighting
word stress

DEFINITION

This is whether or not a word/phrase is suitable for the context in which it is being used, e.g. Hi is informal and How do

This is a technique when the teacher breaks down the language into smaller parts and drills the students from the end
Teacher: money
Students: money
Teacher: value for money
Students: value for money
Teacher: good value for money
Students: good value for money
Teacher: It's good value for money
Students: It's good value for money.

An activity where students are given a choice of about ten numbers or words. They choose six of these and write them
numbers or words in a random order and the students cross them off their list. When they cross off the last word, the s

An activity where students are divided into two teams and line up behind each other. The teacher asks a question, e.g.
from each team runs to the board, writes their answer and then runs back to the end of the line. The next student then
The team with the most correct answers wins the game.
When the listener uses their knowledge of grammar, lexis and pronunciation to interpret the text. The same process ap
Acronym for Computer Assisted Language Learning.
This is when the teacher models the language and the students repeat it together.
The language that is useful for students to help them communicate in the classroom, e.g. How do you spell that?
A visual scale which shows degrees of meaning, e.g. boiling - hot - warm - cool - cold - freezing.

When a text is coherent, it makes sense. In order for a text to be coherent it needs to be of a recognisable type and its
relate to each other so the reader/listener can understand the message.

When a text is cohesive, it contains links which hold it together and give it meaning. Cohesion refers to the grammatica
sentence here 'it' refers back to 'a text'.

If two words are said to collocate, that means they occur together with more than random regularity. This may be gram
preposition e.g. keen on someone or with a verb with a noun e.g. do the washing-up. A collocation can also be lexical,
collocation) or hopelessly devoted (adverb + adjective collocation).

These are questions that the teacher asks to check that the students have understood the language (these are often r

Spoken language as a continuous sequence as opposed to individual sounds or words in isolation, e.g. Do you know

This is whether the word/phrase can have other meanings attached to it apart from its basic meaning. These meanings
word/phrase. For example, assertive and pushy, although these words have the same essential meaning, assertive ha
negative one.

Contractions are the reductions in words by omitting a letter or letters. Contractions can be spoken and written, e.g. I w
These are practice activities which give students less choice over language and ideas. For example, a gap-fill where th

A strategy which helps learners overcome the problem of meeting unknown language in a text. Learners use their know
surrounding text to guess the meaning of new language. For example, in the following sentence Ive got the collywobb
unfamiliar with the expression have got the collywobbles but they can assume most people are apprehensive before a
nervous.
A higher level English language teaching qualification for experienced teachers.

A phonemic symbol which is a combination of two monophthongs. The sound begins with one monophthong and 'glide
production of a diphthong e.g.//.

Discourse refers to any connected piece of speaking or writing, for example a conversation or a letter. Analysing disco
sentence level, in both spoken and written texts.

Acronym for Director of Studies and Assistant Director of Studies. These words are often used to describe the academ
departments in schools. They are generally in charge of interviewing and hiring teachers, timetabling, placing students
though occasionally some of these jobs will be given to senior teachers.

This is when the teacher says the language item and the students repeat it, either together or individually.
Abbreviation of English for Academic Purposes.
When the teacher asks prompting questions to encourage students to provide the information, rather than simply tellin
This is when elements of a sentence are omitted because they are unnecessary or clear from the context e.g. In 'Havi
Abbreviation of English Language Teaching.
To get students interested in the lesson or in a topic.
Acronym for English for Speakers of Other Languages.
Abbreviation of English for Specific Purposes, e.g. English for business or academic purposes.
A long-term course, usually with a relatively low number of hours of classes over a long period.
A motivation to learn that comes from external factors, such as a work requirement or parental pressure.
The stage after students have done a task where the teacher asks for/gives answers and responses.
Words, expressions or sounds used to fill a silence and give the speaker thinking time, for example, um, right, let me s
This is a technique a teacher uses to prompt correction or highlight the stress in a word by using their fingers to repres
The components of a word/phrase /structure and the part it plays in a sentence e.g. waiter is a countable noun.
Language appropriate when there is some social distance between speakers/writers (e.g. government reports, academ
These are practice activities which allow students to have more choice over language and ideas.
A text which has specific features, social purpose and readership, e.g. newspaper articles, advertisements.
When a teacher uses language which is appropriate to the level of the learners, e.g. using simple language for lower le

An approach which encourages the students to work out the rules of the language for themselves. This is sometimes r

An idiom is a phrase or expression whose meaning is not literal. The meaning cannot easily be worked out from the in
Acronym for the proficiency test International English Language Testing System.
This is when the teacher models the language and the students repeat it individually.
Language appropriate when there is a close social relationship between speakers/writers (e.g. a chat between friends)
A short-term course, usually with a relatively high number of hours of classes over a short period.
A motivation to learn that comes from internal factors, such as a love of the subject or the desire for personal developm
Used to describe activities which involve moving around the classroom, acting things out or touching objects.
The learner's first language.

When a learner uses knowledge from his first language when learning a different language and this leads to an error o
may say I am learning English for 3 years instead of I have been learning English for 3 years because of the transfer o
The learner's second or additional language.
The stage after students have done a task where the teacher focuses on students' use of language during the task.
The first part of the lesson where the aim is to raise the students' interest in the topic, task or text.
How a student prefers to learn (this is also referred to as learner style).
A sequence of words or expressions related to the same topic spanning an entire text.
A group of words or expressions related to a particular topic or situation, e.g. cook, fry, boil are all related to cooking.
This is another term for vocabulary and refers to both individual words and phrases.
A language which is used to make communication possible between speakers who do not share the same mother tong

These join the first part of a sentence to what follows and show the meaning relationship between the two parts, e.g. a
therefore, as a consequence (which show result).
These include listening for a general understanding, listening for specific information and listening for detail.
Instead of listening to a recording, students listen to a person or people in class speaking; this constitutes the listening
What a word/phrase/structures means in a given context, for example, a waitress is a woman who serves food in a ba

A more experienced teacher or member of staff whose job is to help a newly qualified teacher with things like planning
procedures .

Abbreviation for meaning, form, pronunciation and appropriacy. In order to use an item of language effectively, learners
how to pronounce it, and when it is appropriate to use it.

This is when the teacher is observing the students while they are doing a task. This is done for a number of reasons w
instructions, to see how successfully they are carrying out the task and to find out which areas need more attention in
Where students share the same first language.
A single vowel sound. There is no movement of the mouth in the production of a monophthong e.g. //.

This is the area of grammar that is concerned with the formation of words. For example, the root word record can func
e.g. a recording (noun) recordable (adjective) and prefixes e.g. re-record (verb).
Where there is a variety of first languages among the students.
The process of turning verbs into nouns, e.g. spending increased year on year might be written as year on year spend
This is when the teacher calls on individual students by their name.
This is when students answer a question or do a task without speaking
Students are doing the task set.
This is when a learner applies a rule to lexical or grammatical items it is not relevant to, and this results in an error. For
children for the plural of child.
The stage when students compare answers in pairs or small groups.

A memory game which uses two sets of cards, e.g. six cards with words and six cards with pictures. The cards are laid
a matching pair by turning two cards over. If the cards match, they keep them, but if they are different they put them ba

The smallest unit of sound in a language that can change meaning. For example, pin is made up of three phonemes /p
phoneme is // instead of // .

A chart used for teaching purposes which contains all the sounds of a particular variety of English e.g. Received Pronu
Australian English.
Speaking and writing.
A test given to learners during the course to monitor their learning.
How we say a word/phrase/structure including stress, sound and intonation, for example, a waitress is /wetrs/.
These include reading for a general understanding, reading for specific information and reading for detail.
Real objects as opposed to images of objects.
Reading and listening.

A technique where the teacher addresses a gap in the learners lexis or grammar by prompting the student to repeat u
example, a student says something which is correct but simplified because they do not have enough language to expr
The script used in most western European languages, including English.

An activity where students listen and respond to the teachers instructions, e.g. the teacher says 'Simon says touch yo
the teacher just says 'Touch your nose' without using the name Simon then the students have to stand still without resp
the game and have to return to their seat.

This refers to languages where the stress tends to fall at more or less equal intervals of time regardless of the number

Certain grammar and function words have two forms; strong and weak. When the word is unstressed, it has a differen
strong /kn/ or weak /kn/.
Stages in which students are encouraged to work with and learn from each other.
This refers to languages where the time it takes to say an utterance depends on how many syllables it contains, such a
A word which has the same, or nearly the same, meaning as another word.
The language that the students are focusing on in a particular lesson.

An approach which focuses on communicative tasks, rather than specific language points. The main aim of these less
designing their perfect holiday or describing their favourite possession. The language focus is then determined by the
Stages in which the focus is on the teacher, for example, when they are clarifying a language item for students.
A diagram used to illustrate meaning of language which is related to time.
When the listener uses their own background knowledge to understand content and language of the text.

A language teaching method which is based on acting out commands. Teachers give instructions which require a phys
A letter where the focus is on information exchange or completing a real world transaction (e.g. a letter of complaint), r
One speakers turn, or a stretch of speech between pauses.

This refers to words or expressions used to be vague about, for example, a quantity (a load of, plenty of) or a descripti

Certain grammar and function words have two forms; strong and weak. When the word is unstressed, it has a differen
strong /kn/ or weak /kn/.
The number of marks or percentage given to part of an exam according to its perceived importance or significance.
Refers to the syllable of a word which is emphasised and pronounced louder e.g. water carries the stress on the first s