TKT Glossary
Expectation
A belief about the way something will happen. Learners often have expectations about what and how they should learn.
Bilingual dictionary
A bilingual dictionary uses translation from one language into another language for definitions and examples.
Graded reader
A book where the language has been made easier for learners. These are often books with stories or novels where the language has been simplified.
Storybook
A book with stories for children.
Flashcard
A card with words, sentences or pictures on it. A teacher can use these to explain a situation, tell a story, teach vocabulary etc.
Style
A characteristic way of conveying information e.g. humorous, journalistic, casual, business-like.
Collective noun
A collective noun is a noun that refers to a group of people or things, e.g. the police, the government.
Word map, mind map
A diagram which is used to make a visual record of vocabulary on the same topic.
One-to-one
A teaching situation which involves only one teacher and one learner.
Chunk
Any pair or group of words commonly found together or near one another, e.g. phrasal verbs, idioms, collocations, fixed expressions.
Language resource
Clarifying language. Correcting learner language. Consolidating learner language. Contextualising language. Eliciting language. Explaining language. Modelling language. Personalising language. Providing language input.
Complex
Complicated, not simple.
Varieties of English
English is spoken as a first or second language in many countries around the world, but the English spoken may be slightly or significantly different in each country or in different parts of one country, e.g. different vocabulary or grammar may be used. An example of this is the English spoken in the USA and that spoken in the UK.
Syllabus
This describes the language and skills to be covered on a course, and the order in which they will be taught.
Object
This is a noun or phrase that describes the thing or person that is affected by the action of a verb, e.g. I saw Mary in the classroom.
Arouse, generate, stimulate interest
To get learners interested in a task or topic.
Enable
To help someone be able to do something. To make something possible. For example, using a correction code on learners' writing enables learners to improve their own work.
Pick up (language)
To learn language without studying it, just by hearing and/or reading and then using it.
Label
To match the name of an object to the object.
Scan
To read a text quickly to pick out specific information, e.g. finding a phone number in a phone book.
Set a question, task, test
To give learners a question to answer or a task or test to do.
Task-type
A set of questions that are all of one kind, e.g. multiple choice, gap-fill, matching.
Consonant
A sound in which the air is partly blocked by the lips, tongue, teeth etc. Any letter of the English alphabet which represents these sounds, e.g. d /d/, c /k/.
Nasal
A sound produced by air passing through the nose.
Bilabial
A sound produced with both lips e.g. / m / , / b /.
Suffix
A suffix is a letter or group of letters added at the end of a word to make a new word, e.g. good - goodness.
Monitor
1. To watch over learners in order to make sure that they are doing what they have been asked to do, and help them if they are having problems. 2. To listen to/read the language you use to see if it is accurate and effective. 3. See teacher role.
Phrase
A group of words which are often a part of a sentence rather than the whole sentence, e.g. the green car, on Friday morning are phrases. Also a group of words that together have a particular meaning.
Hyponym
A hyponym describes a relationship between words. Hyponyms are words that are examples of a particular type or category, e.g. 'potatoes, carrots, peas' are hyponyms of 'vegetables'; 'chair, table, sideboard' are hyponyms of 'furniture'.
Sticker
A label with a picture or message on it that has 'glue' on the back of it. Teachers may use stickers to keep things on the classroom wall or on the board.
Visual learner
A learner who finds it easier to learn when they can see things written down or in a picture. This type of learner may like the teacher to write a new word on the board and not just say it aloud.
Kinaesthetic learner
A learner who learns more easily by doing things physically. This type of learner may like to move around or move objects while learning.
Volunteer
A learner who offers to help the teacher in class, for example by answering a question, handing out books or cleaning the board.
Progress test
A progress test is used during a course in order to assess the learning up to a particular point in the course.
Question mark
A punctuation mark (?) used in writing after a question, e.g. How are you?
Prefix
A prefix is a letter or group of letters added to the beginning of a word to make a new word, e.g. clear - unclear.
Phonology
The study of sounds in a language or languages.
Discipline
The system of rules used to maintain control of learners in the classroom.
True/false questions
A task-type in which learners read or listen to a text and decide whether statements are correct (true) or not correct (false).
Oral test
A test of speaking ability.
Thesaurus
A thesaurus is a type of dictionary in which words with similar meanings are grouped together.
Part of speech
A way of categorising words according to their grammatical function and meaning, e.g. noun, verb, adjective, pronoun, adverb, preposition, conjunction.
Homophone
A word which sounds the same as another word, but has a different meaning or spelling, e.g. I knew he had won; I bought a new book.
Feedback
1. To tell someone how well they are doing. Teachers might give learners feedback at a certain point in the course, or after an exercise that learners have just completed. In addition, learners can give feedback to teachers and teacher trainers give feedback to trainee teachers. 2. To communicate to a speaker that you understand (or not) what they are saying.
Information-gap activity
A classroom activity in which learners work in pairs or groups. Learners are given a task, but they are given different information and, to complete the task, they have to find out the missing information from each other.
Action rhyme
A classroom activity using a rhyme which learners perform with accompanying actions.
Listen and do/make/draw
A classroom activity where learners listen to the teacher or to another learners and while they are listening they perform an action (listen and do), make something (listen and make) or draw something (listen and draw). These activities are usually used as comprehension tasks.
Picture dictation
A classroom activity where the teacher describes a scene or an object and learners draw what they hear.
Clause
A clause generally consists of a subject and a finite verb relating to the subject and any other elements, e.g. object. A clause can be a full sentence or a part of a sentence.
Specification
A clear and exact description of something, e.g. aims. Aims are specified at the beginning of a lesson plan and for individual stages in the lesson.
Model
A clear example of the target language for learners to repeat or write down or save as a record. If a teacher is focusing on the target language of a lesson, s/he usually chooses a model sentence, which s/he writes on the board. The teacher often models the language as well, by saying it clearly before drilling the learners.
Portfolio
A collection of work that a learner uses to show what he/she has done during a particular course. A purposeful document, regularly added to that may be part of continuous assessment.
Common noun
A common noun is a noun that is not the name of a particular person, place or thing, e.g. table, book.
Comparative adjective
A comparative adjective compares two things, e.g. He is taller than she is.
Utterance
A complete unit of speech in spoken language. An utterance can be shorter than a sentence, e.g. A: When's he coming? B: Tomorrow. 'Tomorrow' is an utterance here.
Compound noun
A compound noun is a combination of two or more words, which are used as a single word, e.g. a flower shop, a headache.
PowerPoint
A computer programme which is used during presentations to show pieces of text, diagrams, drawings, movies, or other objects.
Concept questions, concept checking
A concept question is a question asked by the teacher to make sure that a learner has understood the meaning of new language, e.g. Teaching the new grammatical structure 'used to', using the example - He used to live in Paris. Concept question - Does he live in Paris now? Answer - No. Concept checking is the technique of asking concept questions or using other techniques to check that learners have understood a new structure or item of lexis.
Conjunction
A conjunction (or connector) is used to connect words, phrases, clauses or sentences, e.g. I like tea but I don't like coffee because it's too strong for me.
Subordinating conjunction
A conjunction that links a main clause with a subordinate clause e.g. though, while, because.
Dialogue
A conversation between two or more people.
Countable noun
A countable noun has a singular and plural form, e.g. book books.
Intensive course
A course which takes place over a short period of time, but which consists of a large number of hours.
Coursebook or textbook
A coursebook or textbook is used regularly by learners in the class. It generally contains grammar, vocabulary and skills work and follows a syllabus. A coursebook unit is a chapter of a coursebook.
Demonstrative adjective
A demonstrative adjective shows whether something is near or far from the speaker, e.g. this (near), that (far).
Demonstrative pronoun
A demonstrative pronoun is a word which refers to a noun (phrase) and shows whether it is near or far from the speaker, e.g. this, that, these, those.
Wordsearch
A grid in which each square has a letter of the alphabet. Words are hidden in the grid and learners have to find them.
Lexical set
A group of words or phrases that are about the same content topic or subject, e.g. weather - storm, to rain, wind, cloudy.
Idiom
A group of words that are used together, in which the meaning of the whole word group is different from the meaning of each individual word, e.g. She felt under the weather means that she felt ill.
Word family
A group of words that come from the same root or base word, e.g. economy, economist, economic.
Logical
Based on reason. A lesson is logical if the stages follow an order which makes sense and if one stage leads clearly and obviously to another.
Flipchart
A pad of large sheets of paper fixed to a stand, which teachers use for presenting information to the class.
Guided writing
A piece of writing that learners produce after the teacher has helped them to prepare for it by, for example giving the learners a plan to follow, or ideas for the type of language to use.
Self-access centre, learning centre
A place with learning resources such as books, computers and cassettes where learners can study by themselves.
Placement test
A placement test is often used at the beginning of a course in a language school in order to identify a learner's level of language and find the best class for them.
Glottal (stop)
A plosive sound produced at the back of the mouth and represented by the phonemic symbol /⁊ /. In English it sometimes replaces other sounds.
Plural noun
A plural noun is more than one person, place or thing and can be regular or irregular, e.g. boys, women.
Possessive adjective
A possessive adjective shows who something belongs to, e.g. my, our.
Possessive pronoun
A possessive pronoun is used to replace a noun and shows something belongs to someone, e.g. the house is mine.
Phonemic chart
A poster or large diagram of the phonemic symbols arranged in a particular order.
Complex sentence
A sentence containing a main clause and one or more subordinate clauses.
Topic sentence
A sentence that gives the main point or subject of a paragraph. This is usually the opening sentence in a paragraph.
Sequence
A sequence is a series of things, which follow each other in a logical order. Learners can sequence pictures in a story, i.e. put them in order.
Correction code
A series of symbols a teacher may use to mark learners' writing so that they can correct mistakes by themselves, e.g. P = punctuation mistake, T = tense mistake.
Lexical chain
A series of words related through a topic and that in discourse serve to provide cohesion, e.g. shop shop assistant counter sale
Initialism
A set of letters representing the first letters of two or more words where the letters are pronounced as letters, such as BBC, DVD.
Counsellor
Giving learners advice on difficulties they may have outside of their language class. Showing understanding of issues learners bring to the classroom from outside.
Glue
Glue is used to fix or join things together. For example, children cut out pictures from a magazine and then glue them onto a poster they are making in class.
Acronym
A set of letters representing the first letters of two or more words, usually of a name or title. The letters are pronounced as a word e.g. NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) radar (radio detection and ranging). N.B. Acronyms are different from initialisms such as BBC, CD where the letters are pronounced as letters.
Script
A set of letters used for writing a particular language, e.g. Arabic script, Cyrillic script, Roman script.
Interaction
Interaction is 'two-way communication' between listener and speaker, or reader and text. Interactive strategies are the means used, especially in speaking, to keep people involved and interested in what is said or to keep communication going, e.g. eye contact, use of gestures, functions such as repeating, asking for clarification.
Presentation, Practice and Production (PPP)
A way of teaching new language in which the teacher presents the language, gets learners to practise it in exercises or other controlled practice activities and then asks learners to use or produce the same language in a communicative and less controlled way.
Function word
A word with little semantic meaning that is included in a sentence or utterance mainly to help form its grammatical structure and convey its grammatical meaning e.g. in the sentence 'Bill was spending the evening at home', 'was', 'the' and 'at' are function words.
Homonym
A word with the same spelling and pronunciation as another word, but which has a different meaning, e.g. bit (past tense of 'bite') and a bit (a little).
Adverbial
A word, phrase or clause acting as an adverb e.g. in the sentence She cut the paper as carefully as she could, the 'as carefully as she could' part is an adverbial.
Interference
Interference happens when the learner's mother tongue affects performance in the target language, especially in pronunciation, lexis or grammar. For example, a learner may make a grammatical mistake because they apply the same grammatical pattern as they use in their mother tongue to what they want to say in the target language, but the L1 grammatical pattern is not appropriate in L2.
Indirect object
An indirect object is an object affected by a verb but not directly acted on, e.g. He gave the book to me. In this sentence, the book is the direct object and me is an indirect object.
Indirect question
An indirect question is used when someone wants to ask something in a more polite way, e.g. 'I was wondering if you could help me.' (indirect question) instead of 'Could you help me?' (direct question).
Integrated skills
An integrated skills lesson combines work on more than one language skill. For example reading and then writing or listening and speaking.
Ice-breaker
An introductory activity that a teacher uses at the start of a new course so that learners can get to know each other.
Irregular verb
An irregular verb does not follow the same pattern as regular verbs. Each irregular verb has its own way of forming the past simple and past participle, e.g. go went (past simple) gone (past participle).
Entry
An item, for example a piece of information that is written or printed in a dictionary about a word, e.g. easy adj, adv. 1. not difficult, and not needing much physical and mental effort: an easy job.
Object pronoun
An object pronoun is a word which replaces an object noun or an object noun phrase, e.g. him, her.
Prop
An object used by the actors performing in a play or film. Teachers may give learners props to use when they are doing a role play in class.
Objective test
An objective test is marked without using the examiner's opinion, e.g. true/false questions, multiple-choice questions. There is a clear right answer.
Uncountable noun
An uncountable noun does not have a plural form, e.g. information.
Dental
Involving the teeth. Dental sounds (/ ä / , / Ü /) are made with the teeth.
Warmer
An activity that a teacher uses at the beginning of a lesson to give the class more energy.
Contextualise
To put new language into a situation that shows what it means.
Visualisation
To form a mental picture of something. Visualisation can help learners to remember new words or can be used for creative story-telling. A classroom activity where learners close their eyes and create mental images.
Consult
To get advice or information from someone or something, e.g. teachers and learners might consult a dictionary or grammar book.
Activate previous knowledge
To get learners to think about and to say what they know about a topic. Teachers activate learners' previous knowledge when they are preparing learners to read or listen to a text. Research has demonstrated that when learners' previous knowledge is activated, reading and listening comprehension is increased.
Contribute
To give or add something, e.g. in the classroom, learners can contribute to a discussion by taking part and giving their ideas.
Express
To show or make known a feeling or an opinion in words,
Acknowledge
To show that you have seen or understood something, e.g. the teacher acknowledged the learner's answer with a gesture.
Storyboard
To show the events in a story sometimes with speech and thoughts or short text.
Deduce meaning from context
To guess the meaning of an unknown word by using the information in a situation and/or around the word to help, e.g. I drove my van to the town centre and parked it in the central car park. Van must be some kind of vehicle because you drive it and park it.
Praise
To tell someone they have done well, e.g. That's excellent. Well done!
Exploit (material)
To use material for a particular purpose.
Intransitive
Is a term used to describe a verb which does not take a direct object, e.g. She never cried.
Transitive
Is used to describe a verb which takes a direct object, e.g. She wrote a letter.
Tapescript, audio script, transcript
The written version of the words learners hear when doing a listening activity. These can often be found in a teacher's book or at the back of the learner's book.
Differentiation
To make or see a difference between people and things. In teaching, this can have a special meaning relating to dealing with mixed ability learners in one class, e.g. the teacher can provide different tasks, activities, texts or materials for different learners in the class according to their ability.
Demotivate
To make someone lose motivation.
Simplify
To make something easier. Simplifying language or tasks is a common scaffolding strategy, for example.
Facilitator
To make something possible. Teachers facilitate learning by planning and delivering lessons and maintaining discipline in the classroom.
Reference
To mention something or someone. Also, similar in meaning to comment. Learners can refer to someone or to reference materials (e.g. a dictionary) to get advice or information.
Instruct
To order or tell someone to do something, e.g. Please turn to page 12 and do exercise 1.
Focus on
To pay attention to something, to notice something, to highlight something.
Distract
To prevent someone from concentrating on doing something. For example, talking to someone when they are trying to read a book.
Voiced sound
To produce a voiced sound, the voice is used, e.g. /b/ in bad, /d/ in dentist. Movement or vibration can be felt in the throat. Vowels in English are voiced.
Unvoiced sound
To produce an unvoiced sound, no voice is used, e.g. /p/ in pad, /t/ in tomorrow. No movement or vibration can be felt in the throat.
Categorisation
To put things into the group (category) to which they belong. For example, learners might categorise a list of different foods into groups (categories) such as fruit and vegetables.
Proofread
To read a text in order to check whether there are any mistakes in spelling, grammar, punctuation etc.
Skim
To read a text quickly to get a general idea of what it is about.
Gist, global understanding, listening/reading for gist, listening/reading for global understanding
To read or listen to a text and understand the general meaning of it, without paying attention to specific details.
Mood, listen for mood, read for mood
To read or listen to a text in order to identify the feelings of the writer or speaker.
Identify
To recognise somebody or something as being a particular person or thing.
Recall
To remember, bring something back into the mind.
Chant
To repeat a phrase, sentence, rhyme, verse, poem or song, usually with others, in a regular rhythm.
Consolidate, reinforce
To return to something in order to allow learners to understand and remember it more completely. For example, learners can consolidate a grammar point by doing extra practice.
Recast
To reword a sentence or phrase to improve it, e.g. Learner: I find myself unable to accept your statement. Teacher: Oh, you don't agree. Why not? Teachers recast language which may not contain errors but which is inappropriate for the context it is being used in.
Paraphrase
To say or write something that has been read or heard using different words. Paraphrase can also be used to describe what a learner does if s/he is not sure of the exact language they need to use, i.e. explain their meaning using different language.
Repetition/repeat
To say something again, often for practice. This is often done in drills.
Decline, refuse an invitation
To say that you will not accept an invitation, e.g. I'm sorry but I can't.
Dynamic verbs
Verbs referring to actions, events or bodily sensations and that express some kind of action. They can be used in the progressive/continuous form e.g. His leg is hurting him; They're eating their supper; It's changing shape.
Verbs of perception
Verbs related to the senses or emotions, e.g. hear, see, smell, taste, feel. These verbs follow distinctive grammatical patterns.
State (stative) verbs
Verbs which describe a state or situation rather than an action. They tend not to be used in the progressive/ continuous e.g. to want, to contain.
Possessive 's' and whose
Ways of showing or asking who something belongs to, e.g. 'Whose book is it?' 'It's Sue's'.
Ellipsis
When a word, phrase or clause is left out in discourse because it is unnecessary for conveying meaning e.g. in the sentence ' They made a big effort and ended up winning the prize,' 'they' is left out before 'ended up' because it is clear what the subject of this verb is.
Open comprehension questions
are a task-type in which learners read or listen to a text and answer questions (using their own words).
Grammatical structure
A grammatical structure is a grammatical language pattern, e.g. present perfect simple.
Goal, target
An aim that a learner or teacher may have.
Diagnostician
Diagnosing, evaluating learners' needs and difficulties.
Concept
Idea or meaning.
Literacy
The ability to read and write.
Lyrics
The words of a song.
Word boundary
Where one word ends and the next one begins, especially in connected speech.
Unsupportive
Not being helpful or encouraging.
Velar
The adjective from velum (the soft palate).Velar sounds are made by moving the tongue towards the velum.
Semantic
The meanings of words or how they relate to one another e.g. as synonyms, antonyms.
Rubric
Written instructions for an exercise, activity or task in a test.
Leaflet, brochure
A piece of printed paper that gives information or advertises something, e.g. a leaflet with information about local places of interest. This is one example of realia.
Art and craft activity
A classroom activity in which learners make something with their hands, such as an origami animal or a mini-book. Learners often follow instructions from a teacher or a coursebook in order to make the item.
Participle (past and present)
-ed and -ing forms of the verb, they are often used to make tenses or adjectives, e.g. I'm going home. (present participle); I haven't seen him today. (past participle)
Narrative
1. A narrative is another word for a story. 2. To tell a story or talk about something that has happened. Teachers often narrate stories to young learners.
Item
1. A piece of language, e.g. a vocabulary or a grammar item. 2. The questions (items) in a test to which a learner has to respond.
Filler
1. A short activity between the main stages of a lesson used for reasons such as time management or to provide a change of pace etc. 2. A word or sound used between words or sentences in spoken English when someone is thinking of what to say, e.g. When I went to London ... um ... I think it was about ... er ... 4 years ago. Er and um are conversational fillers.
Target language
1. The language which is the focus of the lesson or a part of the lesson. It could be grammar, lexis, functions or pronunciation. 2. The language being studied (often called the L2).
Context
1. The situation in which language is used or presented, e.g. a story about a holiday experience could be used as the context to present and practise past tenses. Photographs can help to provide a context for a magazine article. 2. The words or phrases before or after a word in discourse which help someone to understand that word. See deduce meaning from context.
Linking
1. The way different sounds can link into each other in connected speech. 2. Joining parts of sentences (phrases and clauses), sentences and paragraphs to make text more cohesive e.g. I went shopping then I went to the gym. I bought a dress and a hat.
Exchange
1. To give something to another person and receive something in return. 2. An exchange can also be used to refer to the part of spoken interaction in which one person speaks and another responds to what they said.
Clarify
1. To make clear what you mean. 2. Clarify language. When teachers focus on form, meaning and pronunciation to help learners understand the use and rules of target language.
Highlight
1. To mark words on paper, on the board or on a computer screen using a colour or underlining so that they are easier to notice. 2. To draw attention to or focus on something so that learners realise it is important, e.g. to highlight a mistake by underlining it.
Presentation
1. When the teacher introduces new language usually by focusing on it, often by using the board and speaking to the whole class. 2. When a learner or learners gives a talk to their class or group.
Rhyme
1. Words that sound similar because they have the same ending, e.g. hat, cat. 2. A song or poem with words that sound the same at the end of each line I believe I can fly. I believe I can touch the sky.
Meaningful
1. something which shows the meaning of language. 2. an activity can be meaningful if it is useful for learners in the real world outside the classroom or is relevant to them.
Scheme of work
A basic plan of what a teacher will teach for a number of lessons. Its aim is to try to ensure that lessons fit logically together, to give the teacher clear goals and to try to ensure a balance of language, skills, topics and activities over a number of weeks or months.
Cue card, prompt card
A card on which there is/are (a) word(s) or picture(s) to prompt or encourage learners to produce particular language, often during a controlled practice activity or drill, e.g. a teacher presenting I like + ing / I don't like + ing could have a number of picture cue cards with different activities (swimming, reading etc). Learners have to respond to the cue card using I like + ing or I don't like + ing.
Assessment chart/Assessment profile
A chart designed by the teacher and used for diagnostic purposes. The chart includes learners' names and assessment criteria. The teacher uses it to monitor and record comments on learners' progress and achievement in English. The comments are based on observation of learners working during class time, and/or on samples of written work done for homework.
Role-play
A classroom activity in which learners are given roles to act out in a given situation, e.g. a job interview role-play where one learner would be the interviewer and the other learner would be the interviewee. Role-plays are usually done in pairs or groups.
Communicative activity
A classroom activity in which learners need to talk or write to one another to complete the activity.
Class, learner profile
A description of the learners and information related to their learning, including their age, ability, strengths and weaknesses in language and skills.
Determiner
A determiner is used to make clear which noun is referred to, or to give information about quantity, and includes words such as the, a, this, that, my, some, e.g. That car is mine.
Developmental error
A developmental error is an error made by a second language learner which could also be made by a young person learning their mother tongue as part of their normal development, e.g. I goed there last week (I went there last week).
Diagnostic test
A diagnostic test is used to identify problems that learners have with language or skills. The teacher diagnoses the language problems learners have. It can also be used to diagnose learner strengths. It helps the teacher to plan what to teach, or what not to teach, in future.
Timeline
A diagram that shows learners the relationship between tense and time. It is often used in language teaching to present the use of a new tense or to correct learners when they use tenses wrongly.
Direct object
A direct object is the main object of a transitive verb.
Draft
A draft is a piece of writing that is not yet finished, and may be changed. A writer drafts a piece of writing. That is, they write it for the first time but not exactly as it will be when it is finished.
Venn diagram
A drawing of circles that cross over each other showing the similarities and differences between two or three objects, people, concepts, places. They are also used to show a whole set of items and a sub-set of those items.
Graph
A drawing that uses a line or lines to show how two or more set of numbers are related to each other.
Factor
A fact or situation which influences the result of something, e.g. the factors which influence whether someone learns a language successfully or not.
Cohesive device
A feature in a text which provides cohesion, e.g. use of topic-related vocabulary throughout a text, of sequencing words (then, next, after that etc.), of referencing words (pronouns - he, him, etc.), of conjunctions (however, although etc.).
Feature
A feature of something is an interesting or important part or characteristic of it. Take, for example, the sentence I can play tennis. In connected speech, can is pronounced / kWn / - the weak form / W / is a feature of this sentence.
Gerund, -ing form
A form of a verb functioning as a noun, which ends in -ing, e.g. I hate shopping.
Tense
A form of the verb that shows whether something happens in the past, present or future.
Test
A formal assessment of a learner's language.
Fossilised error
A fossilised error is an error that has become a permanent feature of a learner's language, the error has become a habit. Fossilised errors cannot easily be corrected.
Board game
A game played by two or more players on a board using dice. Players throw the dice and move around squares on the board. By writing different instructions in the squares, teachers can use board games for controlled language practice or oral fluency, e.g. when a learner lands on a square, they say a daily routine using the present simple.
Superordinate
A general word which is the name for a category/ type of thing, e.g. vehicle is the superordinate for car, bus, train, bike etc; job is the superordinate for postman, teacher, computer scientist, politician etc.
Gradable/ungradable
A gradable adjective or adverb can be measured in degrees. Non-gradable adjectives or adverbs cannot be. Examples of gradable adjectives are 'exciting, solid, interesting'. They can be qualified by words such as more, rather, quite which show degree. Examples of ungradable adjectives are 'perfect, alive, salaried'.
Auditory learner
A learner who remembers things more easily when they hear them spoken. This type of learner may like the teacher to say a new word aloud and not just write it on the board.
Language awareness
A learner's understanding of the rules of how language works and his/her ability to notice language.
Observed lesson
A lesson that is watched by a teacher trainer or a colleague.
Silent letter
A letter in a word which is written but which does not influence the pronunciation, e.g. in thumb, the letter b is a silent letter.
Capital letter
A letter of the form and size used at the beginning of a sentence or a name, e.g. They went to Spain last year.
Word bank
A list of key words required for learning subject concepts which can be used to pre-teach, to support input and to help learners remember key subject vocabulary.
Checklist
A list of things that a learner or teacher needs to focus on or consider. Examples could include assessment checklist, resources checklist, lesson planning checklist.
Stirrer
A lively activity teachers use to activate children in class. For example, a mingle or an action game.
Affix
A meaningful group of letters added to the beginning or end of a word to make a new word, which can be a different part of speech from the original word, e.g. interview, interviewer. Affixation is the process of adding a prefix or suffix to a word.
Mingle
A mingle is an activity which involves learners having to walk round the classroom talking to other learners to complete a task.
Error
A mistake that a learner makes when trying to say something above their level of language or language processing.
Modal verb
A modal verb is a verb used with other verbs to show ideas such as ability or obligation or possibility. They include can, must, will, should, e.g. I can speak French, but I should study even harder.
Puppet
A model of a person or animal often made of paper or cloth, which a teacher or learners can move by putting their hand inside. Puppets are often used when teaching young learners.
Monolingual dictionary
A monolingual dictionary uses only the target language for headwords, definitions, examples etc.
Gesture
A movement with part of the body, e.g. hand, head, which is used to convey meaning.
Multiword verb
A multiword verb is made up of a verb and one or more particles (adverbs and/or prepositions). The meaning of a multiword verb is not the same as the meaning of the individual verbs and participles that make it. One multiword verb may have more than one meaning, e.g. Get your coat on and then we can leave (wear), How are you getting on with that job (progressing).
Cross reference
A note that tells the reader of a book to go to another place in the book to get more information, e.g. in a dictionary entry for early it might say: early ─ arriving before the planned time. OPP LATE. This is a cross reference showing the reader that there is information about late in another entry.
Sentence dominoes
A pair or group game in which learners match half-sentences, in order to make full sentences. They do this by taking turns to join dominoes which, in the context of language teaching, are typically single pieces of paper with 2 half sentences on them, at either end of other dominoes. e.g. ...midnight / I went to university in ... would match with I went to bed at /...six years. As the game continues, learners develop a line of sentences.
Paragraph
A paragraph is a section in a longer piece of writing such as an essay. It starts on a new line and usually contains a single new idea. When a writer is paragraphing, s/he is creating paragraphs.
Syllable
A part of a word that usually contains a single vowel sound, e.g. pen = one syllable; teacher = two syllables - teach/er; umbrella = three syllables - um/brell/a.
Non-finite verb
A part of the verb which does not show time or person, e.g. the infinitive (He needed to have a holiday), the present participle (Not understanding the question, he gave the wrong answer).
Finite verb
A part of the verb which shows time or person e.g. in the sentence 'He goes away, laughing, 'goes' shows time and person whereas 'laughing' shows neither.
Version
A particular form of something in which some details are different from an earlier or later form of it, e.g. a written text may have different versions.
Grid
A pattern of straight lines that cross each other to make squares.
Hesitation
A pause before or while doing or saying something. Learners often hesitate if they are trying to find the correct words to say, because they need more time to think.
Story corner
A permanent space in the classroom where learners can tell each other stories or sit quietly and read stories.
Facial expression
A person can show how they feel through their face, e.g. smiling, showing surprise.
Noun
A person, place or thing, e.g. elephant, girl, grass, school.
Personal aim
A personal aim is what the teacher would like to improve in his/her teaching, e.g. to reduce the time I spend writing on the whiteboard
Separable phrasal verb
A phrasal verb in which the particle can be separated from the verb, e.g. He looked up a word. / He looked a word up.
Phrasal verb
A phrasal verb is a type of multiword verb which is made up of a verb + an adverb particle, e.g. look after - A mother looks after her children.
Question tag, tag question
A phrase that is added to the end of a sentence to make it a question, or to check that someone agrees with the statement just made, e.g. It's very cold, isn't it? It isn't very far, is it?
Functional exponent
A phrase which is an example of a function and shows the purpose of what the speaker is communicating, e.g. Let's ... This phrase is one way to make a suggestion. It is an example (or exponent) of the function of suggesting.
Smiley
A picture of a happy face☺. Teachers can use a smiley to point out good features of learners' written work. Learners can use a smiley to indicate strengths or progress in their own English, or to show features of a lesson they enjoyed.
Visual aid
A picture, a diagram or anything else the learners can look at which can help teachers illustrate form or meaning.
Pie chart
A pie chart is a circle divided into sections in order to show how something is divided into different amounts. They are used to help learners remember new information by making thinking visual.
Overhead projector (OHP)
A piece of equipment that makes images appear on a wall or screen. It can be used in a classroom instead of a whiteboard or blackboard.
Clue
A piece of information that helps someone to find the answer to a problem, e.g. a teacher could give the first letter of a word she is trying to elicit as a clue to learners to help them find the word.
Handout, worksheet
A piece of paper with exercises, activities or tasks on it that a teacher gives to learners for a range of reasons during a class or for reference or homework.
Proficiency test
A proficiency test is used to see how good learners are at using the target language. The contents of a proficiency test are not chosen according to what has been taught, but according to what is needed for a particular purpose, e.g. English for hotel receptionists, English for studying at university, English for general communication. Cambridge ESOL First Certificate in English (FCE) and IELTS are examples of proficiency tests.
Proper noun
A proper noun is the name of a person or place, e.g. Robert, London.
Exclamation mark
A punctuation mark (!) written after an exclamation, e.g. Be careful!
Apostrophe
A punctuation mark ('). The ' is added to a singular noun before an 's' to show that something belongs to someone, e.g. John's house An apostrophe is also common in contractions, e.g. He's (He is or He has).
Comma
A punctuation mark (,) used to separate items in a list or to show where there is a pause in a sentence, e.g. I bought some apples, oranges, bananas and lemons. When I went to the market, I met my friend.
Full stop
A punctuation mark (.) used at the end of a sentence, e.g. I like chocolate.
'at' symbol
A punctuation mark (@) used instead of 'at' in email addresses, e.g. [email protected]
Interrogative
A question form.
Rhetorical question
A question that does not expect or require an answer, and often used to create interest e.g. Where have I put my keys?
Open question
A question which can lead to a long response, e.g. How did you spend last weekend? Why do you think many people prefer to drive rather than use public transport?
Closed question
A question which leads to a yes/no answer or another very short response, e.g. Did you come to school by bus? Yes. What did you have for breakfast?
Word snake
A reading or writing activity involving words written in the shape of a snake. Each new word begins with the first letter of the previous word, e.g. Dog giraffe elephant tiger.
Reflexive pronoun
A reflexive pronoun is used when the object of a sentence refers to the same person or thing as the subject of the sentence, e.g. He cut himself.
Regular verb
A regular verb changes its forms by adding -ed in the past simple and past participle, e.g. walk walked.
Reduced relative clause
A relative clause in which the relative pronoun and possibly the auxiliary have been left out, e.g. in the sentences The person I saw on the bus, ('who' is left out); The house hit by the storm ('which was' is left out).
Relative pronoun
A relative pronoun introduces a relative clause, e.g. the book which I'm reading is interesting.
Response
A reply or reaction to communication such as a laugh, a smile, saying something. Teachers and learners may respond to each other in writing, speech or in the form of a facial expression.
Reporting verb
A reporting verb is a verb such as tell, advise, suggest used in reported speech to report what someone has said, e.g. Jane advised John to study harder.
Language laboratory
A room in a school where learners can practise language by listening to tapes or CDs and by recording themselves speaking.
English-medium school
A school in a non-English speaking country, in which all subjects are taught using English.
Stage, step
A section of a lesson. Lessons work through different stages or steps such as lead-in, presentation, controlled practice etc.
Abbreviation
A short form of a word or phrase, e.g. in addresses, Rd is an abbreviation of Road.
Contraction
A shorter form of a group of words, which usually occurs in auxiliary verbs, e.g. you have = you've; it is = it's.
Noun phrase
A single word or a group of words that act as the subject, object or complement in a sentence or utterance. It usually contains a noun and words occurring before or after the noun that modify it, e.g. in the sentence 'The tall shy-looking girl on the right is my sister.' the underlined words make up noun phrases.
Particle
A small grammatical word, often an adverb or preposition which does not change its form when used in a sentence, e.g. after is a particle in the phrasal verb look after.
Block
A small piece of wood with straight sides: Some teachers give learners coloured blocks for use in listen and make activities.
Vowel
A sound in which the air is not blocked by the tongue, lips, teeth etc. Movement or vibration is felt in the throat because the voice is used. The letters a, e, i, o, u and sometimes y are used to represent these sounds.
Plosive
A sound produced by blocking air then releasing it suddenly. This creates a popping sound.
Fricative
A sound produced by creating friction in the air flow e.g.
Affricate
A sound produced by stopping the air flow then releasing it with friction.
Labio-dental
A sound produced on the lips and teeth.
Interactive whiteboard (IWB)
A special surface where a computer screen is displayed using a projector. Teachers and learners can use it by touching it or by using an interactive pen which acts like a mouse.
Stage aim
A stage aim is the aim or purpose of a stage, step or short section of a lesson, e.g. to provide controlled practice of the present perfect or to develop listening for gist.
Used to
A structure that shows something happened in the past but does not happen now, e.g. I used to live in London, but now I live in Paris.
Neutral
A style of speaking or writing that is neither formal nor informal, but in between. It is appropriate for most situations.
Subjective test
A subjective test is marked using the examiner's opinion about the quality of the answer. The answer is not simply right or wrong, e.g. marking written stories, compositions, interviews, conversations, story-telling.
Subsidiary aim
A subsidiary aim is the secondary focus of the lesson, less important than the main aim. It could be the language or skills learners must be able to use in order to achieve the main aim of the lesson or a skill or language area which is practised while focusing on the main aim.
Summative test
A summative test is used at the end of a course. The focus is on the mark or grade given and feedback is not usually provided.
Superlative adjective
A superlative adjective compares more than two things, e.g. He is the tallest boy in the class.
Pupil profile chart
A table or diagram used by teachers to record learners performance and progress in different skills during a course.
Open-ended (task, questions)
A task or question that does not have a right or wrong answer, but which allows learners to offer their own opinions and ideas or to respond creatively, e.g. Why do you think the writer likes living in Paris?
Matching task
A task-type in which learners are asked to pair related things together, e.g. match two halves of a sentence, or a word with a picture.
Multiple-choice questions
A task-type in which learners are given a question and three or four possible answers or options. They choose the correct answer from the options they are given.
Sentence transformation
A task-type in which learners are given a sentence and a prompt, and have to make a second sentence using the prompt so that it means the same as the first, e.g. It's too cold to play tennis. It ____________ to play tennis. (enough) It isn't warm enough to play tennis.
Sentence completion
A task-type in which learners are given parts of a sentence, e.g. the beginning or the end, and are asked to complete the sentence, using specific target language, e.g. At the weekend, I love ... ; In the evenings, I enjoy ... .
Cloze test
A task-type in which learners read a text with missing words and try to work out what the missing words are. The missing words are removed regularly from the text, e.g. every seventh word. A cloze test is used for testing reading ability or general language use. It is different from a gap-fill activity, which can focus on practising or testing a specific language point.
Teacher's book
A teacher's book accompanies the coursebook, and contains teaching ideas, audio scripts and answers to coursebook activities.
Headword
A word whose meaning is explained in a dictionary. It usually appears in bold at the top of a dictionary entry, e.g. run to move using your legs, going faster than you can walk; run is the headword.
Prediction
A technique or learning strategy learners can use to help with listening or reading. Learners think about the topic before they read or listen. They try to imagine what the topic will be or what they are going to read about or listen to, using clues like headlines or pictures accompanying the text or their general knowledge about the text type or topic. This makes it easier for them to understand what they read or hear.
Drill
A technique teachers use for encouraging learners to practise language. It involves guided repetition or practice.
Scaffolding
A term originally used to refer to teacher talk that supports pupils in carrying out activities and helps them to solve problems. Examples include simplifying tasks by breaking them down into smaller steps; keeping pupils focused on completing the task by reminding them of what the goal is; showing other ways of doing tasks. Scaffolding also includes support strategies for writing and speaking, examples of which are the use of substitution tables and language frames. Scaffolding is temporary support which is gradually taken away so that learners can eventually work without it.
Jigsaw listening/reading
A text is divided into two or more different parts. Learners listen to or read their part only, then share their information with other learners so that in the end everyone knows all the information. In this way, the text is made into an information-gap activity.
Fairy story
A traditional story written for children which usually involves imaginary creatures and magic.
Summative assessment
A type of assessment done at the end of a course where the focus is on learners receiving a grade for their work rather than receiving feedback on their progress.
Diagnostic assessment
A type of testing aimed at identifying - diagnosing - aspects of language and skills where learners have weaknesses (or strengths) which subsequently informs the teachers' future lesson planning. See teacher roles.
Continuous assessment
A type of testing which is different from a final examination. Some or all of the work that learners do during a course is considered by the teacher on a regular basis and contributes to the final grade given to learners. It may also include regular monitoring of classroom performance and contribution.
Causative passive
A use of the passive to express the idea of making something happen e.g. She got her car washed; They had their house painted; the causative is commonly expressed with the verb 'get' or 'have'.
Conditional (forms)
A verb form that refers to a possible or imagined situation.
Semi-modal
A verb that has a modal meaning but does not have all the grammatical features of modal verbs. Examples of semi-modals are ought to, be able to, used to.
Diphthong
A vowel combination which is pronounced by moving from one vowel to another, e.g. / aˆ / as in my is pronounced by moving from / æ /to / ˆ /.
Method; methodology
A way of approaching or doing a particular activity, e.g. use modern/new/traditional methods in language teaching; a set of methods, e.g. changes in the methodology of language teaching
Finger correction
A way of drawing attention to where a learner has made a mistake. The teacher counts out the words a learner has said on her fingers. The fingers represent words and the teacher can show clearly in which word (finger) the mistake was made. A teacher may use her fingers to show that a mistake has been made with word or sentence stress, word order, grammar, pronunciation of sounds etc.
Activity-based learning
A way of learning by doing activities. The rules of language used in the activity are looked at either after the activity or not at all.
Aspect
A way of looking at verb forms not purely in relation to time. Aspect relates to the type of event and the way speakers view events, e.g. whether it is long or short, whether it is complete or not, whether it is repetitive or not, whether it is connected to the time of speaking or not. There are two aspects in English, the continuous/progressive and the perfect. The continuous aspect, for example, suggests that something is happening temporarily.
Situational presentation
A way of presenting new language through a simple story or situation. The teacher may use pictures or other aids to help him/her create the situation.
Communicative approaches
A way of teaching and practising language which is based on the principle that learning a language successfully involves communication rather than just memorising a series of rules. Teachers try to focus on meaningful communication, rather than focusing on accuracy and correcting mistakes.
Guided discovery
A way of teaching in which a teacher provides examples of the target language and then guides the learners to work out the language rules for themselves.
Grammar-Translation method
A way of teaching in which learners study grammar and translate words and texts into their own language or the target language. They do not practise communication and there is little focus on speaking. A teacher presents a grammar rule and vocabulary lists and then learners translate a written text from their own language into the second language or vice versa.
Task-based Learning (TBL)
A way of teaching in which the teacher gives learners meaningful tasks to do. After this the teacher may ask learners to think about the language they used while doing the tasks, but the main focus for learners is on the task itself. Project work is often task-based.
Total Physical Response (TPR)
A way of teaching in which the teacher presents language items in instructions and the learners have to do exactly what the teacher tells them, e.g. Open the window. Stand up.
Lexical approach
A way of teaching language that focuses on lexical items or chunks such as words, multi-word units, collocations and fixed expressions rather than grammatical structures.
Process writing
An approach to writing, which thinks of writing as a process which includes different stages of writing such as planning, drafting, re-drafting, editing, proofreading.
Test-teach-test
A way of teaching new language. The teacher asks learners to do a task to see how well they know a certain piece of language (this is the first test). The teacher then presents the new language to the learners (teach), then asks the learners to do another task using the new language correctly (this is the second test). This way of approaching teaching target language can be helpful if the teacher thinks the learners may already know some of the target language. It helps the teacher diagnose what the learners need to learn so that s/he can focus only on what learners need to learn in the presentation (teach) stage.
Functional approach
A way of teaching which uses a syllabus based on functions.
Structural approach
A way of teaching which uses a syllabus based on grammatical structures. The order in which the language is presented is usually based on how difficult it is thought to be.
Crossword puzzle
A word game in which learners complete a grid. Learners write the answers to clues in the squares on the grid. It is often used to review and consolidate vocabulary.
False friend
A word in the target language which looks or sounds as if it has the same meaning as a similar word in the learners' first language but does not, e.g. In French, 'librairie' is a place where people can buy books. In English, a library is where you may go to borrow books rather than somewhere where you go to buy books (a bookshop).
Jumbled letters, paragraphs, pictures, sentences, words
A word in which the letters are not in the correct order, a sentence in which the words are not in the correct order, a text in which the paragraphs or sentences are not in the correct order, or a series of pictures that are not in the correct order. The learners put the letters, words, text or pictures into the correct order.
Key word, language
A word or aspect of language in a piece of discourse or text, which is important for understanding the text.
Quantifier
A word or phrase such as much, few or a lot of which is used with a noun to show an amount, e.g. I don't have much time; I have a lot of books about music.
Time expression
A word or phrase that indicates time, such as after, last weekend, e.g. I will meet you after the lesson.
Discourse marker
A word or phrase that signals the function of the information that will follow/has just been given. e.g. in the sentence 'She was interested in many subjects, for example, food technology.' 'for example' signals that an example will follow. In the sentence 'By the way, they've become good friends.' 'by the way' signals that the remark gives additional information not wholly coherent with previous information.
Pronoun
A word that replaces or refers to a noun or noun phrase just mentioned.
Preposition
A word used before a noun, pronoun or gerund to connect it to another word, e.g. He was in the garden.
Intensifier
A word used to make the meaning of another word stronger, e.g. He's much taller than his brother. I'm very tired.
Verb
A word used to show an action, state, event or process, e.g. I like cheese; He speaks Italian.
Modifier
A word which adds further meaning to a noun phrase e.g. in the sentence 'I'd like to try on that leather coat in the window', 'leather' and 'in the window' are modifiers.
Content word
A word which carries the main meaning; often contrasted with 'function words' which mainly perform a grammatical function and carry little meaning e.g. in the sentence ' The postman was carrying a very big bag.' the content words are postman, carrying, very, big, bag. Content words are usually nouns, verbs, adjectives or adverbs.
Synonym
A word which has the same, or nearly the same, meaning as another word, e.g. nice is a synonym of pleasant.
Article
An article can be definite (the), indefinite (a/an) or zero (-), e.g. I was at (-) home in the sitting room when I heard a noise.
Auxiliary verb
An auxiliary verb is a verb used with other verbs to make questions, negatives, tenses, etc. e.g. be, do, have.
Aids
Aids are the things that a teacher uses in a class, e.g. handouts, pictures, flashcards. When teachers plan lessons they think about what aids they will need.
Exponent
An example of a grammar point, function or lexical set.
Definition
An explanation of the meaning of a word, e.g. in a dictionary.
Figurative
An imaginative meaning of a word e.g. he put all his heart into his new job.
-ing/ -ed adjective
An -ing/-ed adjective describes things or feelings. An -ing adjective describes things or people, e.g. The book is very interesting. An -ed adjective describes feelings, e.g. I am very interested in the book.
Achievement test
An achievement test is used to see how well learners have learned the language and skills taught in class. Achievement tests are often at the end of term or end of the year and test the main points of what has been taught in that time.
Activity book or workbook
An activity book or workbook contains extra practice activities and is often used for homework. It usually accompanies a coursebook.
Gap-fill
An activity in which learners fill in spaces or gaps in sentences or texts. This is often used for restricted practice or for focusing on a specific language point. This is different from a cloze test which can focus on reading ability or general language use.
Survey
An activity in which learners find out information from others by asking questions or using questionnaires in order to practise speaking skills and/or specific language.
Information transfer
An activity in which learners move information from one source to another, e.g. reading an explanation then completing a diagram with key words from the explanation.
Task
An activity that learners complete. For example, problem-solving activities or information-gap activities are tasks. A task usually focuses on communication. Task may also be used as another word for activity.
Settler
An activity used to quieten and calm children perhaps done after a more lively activity. For example, a piece of copying or quiet drawing or colouring in.
Project work
An activity which focuses on completing an extended task or tasks on a specific topic. Learners may work in groups to create something such as a class magazine. Learners sometimes do some work by themselves, sometimes outside the classroom.
Extension task, extend
An activity which gives learners further or extended practice of the target language or the topic of the lesson or additional skills work.
Introductory activity
An activity which takes place at the beginning of a lesson. Introductory activities often include warmers and lead-ins.
Dictation
An activity which typically involves the learners in writing down what the teacher reads aloud.
Adjective
An adjective describes or gives more information about a noun or pronoun, e.g. a cold day.
Adverb
An adverb describes or gives more information about how, when, where, or to what degree etc something is done, e.g. he worked quickly and well.
Learning contract
An agreement between the teacher and the learners about their roles and responsibilities ( i.e. what the teacher will do and what the learners will do to help the learners to learn).
Solution
An answer to a problem.
Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)
An approach in which a foreign language is used as a tool in the learning of a non-language subject in which both language and the subject have a joint role.
Eclectic
An approach to language teaching in which the teacher uses techniques and activities taken from different methods.
Content-based instruction, content-based learning
An approach to teaching, traditionally associated with the US, in which non-native speakers, often from minority language groups, are learning the target language to enable them to integrate into mainstream classes.
Product writing
An approach to writing which involves analysing and then reproducing models of particular text types.
Planner
Anticipating problems. Deciding on a methodology for lessons. Designing and adapting texts and materials for lessons. Preparing texts and tasks for learners. Selecting materials and texts for lessons.
Assessor
Assessing learners' performance, behaviour, effort and contribution. Checking understanding, Evaluating learners' performance, behaviour, and contribution. Testing learner progress and level. Providing feedback on work, progress, behaviour and contribution.
Attention spread
Attention spread relates to when and how teachers give equal attention to all of the learners in the class. This can involve encouraging quieter learners to participate and ensuring that more enthusiastic learners do not dominate.
Pre-teach (vocabulary)
Before introducing a text to learners, the teacher can teach key vocabulary from the text which s/he thinks the learners do not already know and which is necessary for them to understand the main points of a text.
Mime
Body movements used to convey meaning without using words.
Facilitator
Developing learner autonomy. Enabling learners to fulfil their potential. Helping learners to access resources. Providing opportunities for individual learning.
Co-ordinating conjunction
Conjunctions which link two main clauses or two other grammatical units which have the same grammatical status. 'and' and 'but' are examples of co-ordinating conjunctions e.g. He was keen but lazy; He played football and tennis.
Linguistic
Connected with language or the study of language.
Contrastive stress
Contrastive stress is used to express an unusual or emphatic meaning in a sentence. It involves stressing the important word according to the different meanings, e.g. It was my AUNT who bought the car (not my uncle) or My aunt bought the CAKE (not the biscuits)!
Contributor
Contributing ideas or information other than language, e.g. participating in discussions.
Subskill
Each of the four language skills can be divided into smaller subskills that are all part of the main skill, e.g. identifying text organisation (reading); identifying word stress (listening).
Peer feedback
Feedback given to a learner by another learner in the class.
Maturity
Fully grown or developed. If a learner is mature in attitude, they behave in an adult way. A learner's maturity (physical, emotional and mental) influences a teacher's approaches and/or decisions.
Effective
Having the intended or desired result.
Guidance
Help given by a teacher with learning, or with doing a task.
Syllabus fit
How a lesson fits in with the syllabus; how a lesson fulfils the syllabus requirements.
Timetable fit
How a lesson fits logically into a sequence of lessons; how what goes before a particular lesson links to, and helps learners with, the following lesson.
Attention span
How long a learner is able to concentrate at any one time.
Weak form
If a word is unstressed, the weak form of vowels may be used.
Energy levels
If learners are interested and working hard, then the energy levels are high; if learners are bored or tired, then the energy levels are low.
Choral drill
In a choral drill the teacher says a word or sentence and the learners repeat it together as a class.
Passive voice
In a passive sentence, something is done to or happens to the subject of the sentence, e.g. They were taken to the airport by taxi.
Substitution drill
In a substitution drill the teacher provides a sentence and a different word or phrase which the learner must use (or substitute) in exactly the same structure, e.g. Teacher: I bought a book. Pen. Learner: I bought a pen.
Transformation drill
In a transformation drill the teacher says a word or a sentence and the learner answers by changing the sentence into a new grammatical structure, e.g. Teacher: I bought a pen. Didn't Learner: I didn't buy a pen. Teacher: I went to the cinema. Didn't Learner: I didn't go to the cinema.
Active voice
In an active sentence, the subject of the verb usually does or causes the action, e.g. The captain scored the winning goal.
Individual drill
In an individual drill the teacher says a word or sentence and one learner repeats it.
Strong form
In connected speech many words are not pronounced fully. For example, prepositions, auxiliary verbs, pronouns and conjunctions are usually not pronounced fully and are not stressed. When these words (weak forms) are pronounced fully and are stressed to emphasise a point they become strong forms, e.g. I don't speak Italian but I can /kæn/ speak a little Spanish in an emergency.
Open pairs
In open pairs, one pair does a pairwork activity in front of the class. This technique is useful for showing how to do an activity and/or for focusing on accuracy.
Lexis
Individual words or sets of words, e.g. homework, study, whiteboard, get dressed, be on time.
Chart
Information in the form of diagrams, lists or drawings often placed on the classroom wall for learners to refer to. Common examples are lists of irregular verb forms or drawings illustrating the meanings of prepositions.
Input
Information which is given to learners by the teacher, e.g. through a text or via electronic means.
L1/L2
L1 is the learner's mother tongue or first language; L2 is the learner's second language.
Language frames
Language frames are forms of support for writing and speaking at word, sentence and text levels or all three. They are types of scaffolding which help learners to start, connect and develop ideas.
Colloquial
Language normally used in informal conversation but not in formal speech or writing, e.g. Give Gran a ring, OK?
Formal language
Language used in formal conversations or writing, e.g. Yours faithfully.
Informal language
Language used in informal conversations or writing, e.g. Hi John.
Inappropriate
Language which is not suitable in a particular situation.
Appropriacy
Language which is suitable in a particular situation.
Problem solving
Learners work in pairs or groups to find the solution to a problem. Problem-solving activities usually help to develop oral fluency.
Interlanguage
Learners' own version of the second language which they speak as they learn. Interlanguage is constantly changing and developing as learners learn more of the second language.
Objective
Lesson objectives are specific learning targets that help achieve a lesson's aims, e.g. Learners will be able to understand the gist of the text.
Proficiency
Level of ability; to be very good at something because of training and practice, e.g. speaking English.
Extensive listening/reading
Listening to or reading long pieces of text, such as stories or newspapers.
Word level
Looking at language features of a text at a word level includes looking at the use of technical vocabulary, adjectives, quantities.
Sentence level
Looking at the language features of a text which are produced in sentences. Examples include use of imperative forms, use of cause and effect clauses or examples in a sentence.
Manager
Managing the learners, the lessons and procedures in the classroom, e.g. Controlling the group dynamic. Deciding on interaction patterns. Demonstrating tasks and activities. Developing rapport. Encouraging learners. Giving instructions. Motivating learners. Praising learners. Maintaining discipline. Responding to classroom problems as they happen.
Dependent preposition
Many nouns, verbs and adjectives are followed by a particular preposition. These prepositions are dependent prepositions, e.g. interested in, depend on, bored with.
Monitor/Observer
Monitoring, observing and collecting information about learner performance, behaviour, contribution and effort and progress. Keeping a written record of learners' work.
Motivation
Motivation is the thoughts and feelings which make us want to do something and help us continue doing it.
Narrator
Narrating stories and things that have happened.
Revise, revision
Note that American English usage of 'revise' implies editing, so it is better to use 'review' as many candidates for TKT are from South America.
Compound
Nouns, verbs, adjectives or prepositions that are made up of two or more words and have one unit of meaning, e.g. assistant office manager, long-legged.
Intensive listening/reading
One meaning of intensive listening/reading is reading or listening to focus on how language is used in a text. This is how intensive listening/reading is used in TKT.
Word class
One of the grammatical groups into which words are divided depending on their use, such as noun, verb and adjective.
Plenary
Part of a lesson when teachers discuss ideas with the whole class. A plenary is often held at the end of a lesson when teachers assess learning against the learning outcomes by providing opportunities to review what has been learnt.
Extract
Part of a text which is removed from an original, longer text.
Clip, DVD clip, video clip
Part of a video or DVD that can be used in class.
Focus on form
Paying attention to the words/parts of words that make a language structure or to spelling or pronunciation.
Personal pronoun
Personal pronouns are words, which are used instead of the name of a person, e.g. I (subject pronoun), me (object pronoun).
Supportive
Providing help or encouragement. The opposite of supportive is unsupportive. Effective teachers create a supportive atmosphere in their classes.
Speech marks
Punctuation marks ('x') written before and after a word or a sentence to show that it is what someone said, e.g. John said 'My favourite subject is music.'
Fronting
Putting part of a sentence or utterance in a non standard position at the beginning of a sentence/utterance, usually to emphasise the topic e.g. 'That music, I can't stand it'.
Ranking, rank ordering, prioritising rank
Putting things in order of importance. In the classroom, a prioritising or rank-ordering activity is a communicative activity in which learners are given a list of things to rank (put in order of importance). It involves discussion, agreeing/disagreeing and negotiating.
Realia
Real objects such as clothes, menus, timetables and leaflets that can be brought into the classroom for a range of purposes.
Exophoric reference
Reference to something that is outside the text; often achieved through pronouns or demonstrative adjectives, e.g. in the sentence 'Pass me that piece of paper, will you?' 'that' is exophoric, referring to something in the speaker's surroundings.
Anaphoric reference
Reference to something that occurs earlier in the text; often achieved through use of pronouns or lexical chains e.g. in the text 'Singapore is on the sea. It shares a border with Malaysia', It refers back to Singapore.
Cataphoric reference
Reference to something that occurs later in the text; often achieved through use of pronouns or lexical chains e.g. in the sentence That's what it is - a nuisance, That refers forward to nuisance.
Abstract
Relating to complex thoughts and ideas rather than simple, basic, concrete concepts. A text or language can be abstract, e.g. words to express thoughts, feelings or complex ideas, which cannot be seen or touched, are often abstract words.
Concrete
Relating to real or specific ideas or concepts. Lexis can be concrete, e.g. words for real objects like clothes, food, animals that can be seen or touched, or abstract.
Academic
Relating to schools, colleges and universities, or connected with studying and thinking.
Substitution
Replacing words, phrases or clauses in discourse with another word or words to achieve cohesion e.g. in the sentence 'Bill is going to university next year, and Jim is too', 'too' substitutes for 'going to university next year'.
Outcome
Result. This is what the teacher hopes will be the result in terms of learning at the end of the lesson.
Secondary stress
Secondary stress is stress on a syllable or word in a sentence that is less strong than the primary (main) stress.
Sentence stress
Sentence stress refers to the way some words in a sentence are stressed. In English these are usually the information-carrying words. In the sentence It was a lovely evening, and the temperature was perfect, the main stress, when spoken, is probably on the word perfect. Stress can therefore be used to show meaning, to emphasise a particular point or feeling.
'Can-do' statements
Sentences that describe language learners' language use or an aspect of it on a scale of proficiency, e.g. This learner CAN express simple opinions or requirements in a familiar context.
Dice
Small blocks of plastic or wood with six sides and a different number of spots on each side. They are used in board games.
Natural order
Some people believe there is an order in which learners naturally learn some items in their first or other languages. Some language items are learned before others and it can be difficult for teachers to influence this order.
Trainee
Someone learning to do a particular job or activity. For example, a trainee teacher is someone learning to be a teacher.
Native speaker
Someone who has spoken a particular language since they were a baby, rather than having learnt it as a child or adult.
Trainer
Someone whose job it is to teach people how to do a job. For example, a teacher trainer trains people to become teachers.
Flexible
Something or someone that can change easily to suit new situations. Teachers need to be flexible and to be prepared to change or adapt if the lesson is not going to plan.
Achievement
Something reached by effort; something done successfully. Something which is achievable for learners is something they can succeed in.
Mask
Something that you wear to cover your face. Children may wear different masks when they are acting as different characters in a class activity.
Routine
Something which is done regularly such as a teacher setting writing homework every Friday. Teachers try to develop some routine habits in the classroom, e.g. always asking learners to record new words with their meaning and an example sentence.
Connected speech
Spoken language in which the words join to form a connected stream of sounds. In connected speech some sounds in words may be left out or may be pronounced in a weak way, e.g. Is he busy?
Discourse
Spoken or written language in texts or groups of sentences.
Picture stories
Stories that are shown in pictures instead of words.
Independent study
Studying without a teacher present or without the teacher monitoring and directing the learning very closely, e.g. learners could carry out research on a topic using reference resources. This could be done at home or with minimum involvement of the teacher in class.
Involvement
Taking part in an activity actively, being involved in it.
Teacher role
Teacher role refers to the different functions a teacher can have in a class and the different ways a teacher can manage the classroom and the learners, e.g. a teacher can choose to take a controlling role, giving directions or instructions at the front of the class or to take a less controlling role, monitoring learners as they work.
Reflective (teachers)
Teachers who look back on the lessons they have taught and think about what worked and what did not work in order to improve their teaching.
Text type
Texts that have specific features, e.g. layout, use of language, that make them part of a recognisable type of text, e.g. letters, emails, news reports.
Delexicalised
That has (almost) lost its denotative meaning; usually used to describe verbs that combine with nouns to form multi-word verbs e.g. to have a shower, to take a break, to make a difference.
Lead-in
The activity or activities used to prepare learners to work on a text, topic or main task. A lead-in often includes an introduction to the topic of the text or main task and possibly study of some new key language required for the text or main task.
Direct speech, question
The actual words someone says, e.g. He said, 'My name is Ron.', 'What do you mean, Sue?', asked Peter.
Origami
The art of making objects for decoration by folding sheets of paper into shapes.
Connotation
The associations of a word. These associations may come from a situation, person or culture. e.g. 'garlic' - in some countries garlic is thought of as health-giving and tasty; in others it is thought of as smelly and overpowering. Because connotations are often subjective, they are not easy to learn. This example is terribly specific and is also cross-cultural. Connotation also explains the difference between words like 'thin' and 'slim' - or 'house' and 'property', which has a focus on language itself.
The base form of a verb
The base form of a verb is the infinitive form of a verb without 'to', e.g. go.
Sentence starter, sentence stem
The beginning of a sentence which learners then complete orally or in writing. A type of scaffolding strategy, e.g. I like ....., I love.....
Supplementary material
The books and other materials which teachers can use in addition to a coursebook, e.g. pronunciation practice materials.
Root word, base word
The core word or part of a word from which other words can be made by adding a prefix or suffix, e.g. photograph is the root or base word of photographer and photographic.
Declarative form, declarative question
The declarative form refers to the form of a sentence/utterance/clause that is used to make statements and give information. A declarative question is a question with the grammar of a statement but said with intonation that shows it is a question.
Relevance
The degree to which something is related to or useful in a situation.
Procedure
The details of exactly what is going to happen in each stage of a lesson, e.g. learners practise the language of complaints in a role-play in pairs.
Denotation
The dictionary definition of a word e.g. a chair is a piece of furniture with legs and we use it to sit on.
Mixed ability, mixed level
The different levels of language or ability of learners studying in the same class.
Interaction patterns
The different ways learners and the teacher work together in class, e.g. learner to learner, in pairs or groups or teacher to learner, in open class, in plenary. When teachers plan lessons, they think about interaction patterns and write them on their plan.
Text level
The discourse features of a text. In an instruction text, for example, these would include: a statement about what is to be made, a list of items needed, steps written in chronological order, use of visuals or diagrams, etc.
Confidence
The feeling someone has when they are sure of their ability to do something well. Teachers often do activities that help learners to feel more confident about their own ability.
Learning resources
The materials or tools which help learners learn, e.g. books, computers, CDs etc.
Reference materials
The materials which teachers and learners can use to find or check information, e.g. grammar books, dictionaries or CD-Roms.
Infinitive of purpose
This is used to express why something is done, e.g. I joined the course to learn English.
Form
The form of a grammatical structure is the way it is written or pronounced and the parts which combine to make it, e.g. the present perfect (grammatical structure) is made up of have + past participle (the form).
Imperative
The form of a verb that gives an order or instruction, e.g. Turn to page 10.
Verb pattern
The form of the words following the verb, e.g. He advised me to get there early. (advise + object pronoun + to + base form).
Register
The formality or informality of the language used in a particular situation. Formal register or language is that used in serious or important situations, e.g. in a job application. Informal register or language is that used in relaxed or friendly situations, e.g. with family or friends. Register may also refer to language which is specific to a particular group, e.g. technical register, scientific register.
Skills
The four language skills are listening, speaking, reading and writing.
Needs
The language, language skills or learning strategies a learner still has to learn in order to reach their goals, or the conditions they need to help them learn.
Timing
The likely time different activities or stages in a lesson plan should take. When teachers plan lessons, they think about how long each activity will take and they usually write this on their plan.
Main aim
The main aim is the most important aim, e.g. the teacher's main aim in a lesson could be to teach the present perfect or develop listening skills.
Components (of a lesson plan)
The main parts of a lesson plan, e.g. aims, procedure, timing, aids, interaction patterns, anticipated problems, assumptions, timetable fit, personal aims.
Primary, main stress
The main stress on a word, e.g. DIFFicult, indiVIDual. The primary stress on a word is marked in the dictionary as follows 'difficult.
Theme
The main subject of a conversation, a text or a lesson.
Pragmatic
The meaning given to an utterance by the situation in which it occurs e.g. 'would you mind keeping quiet' said by a teacher to a student is likely to have the pragmatic meaning of a command rather than an enquiry about willingness.
Cognitive (processes)
The mental processes involved in thinking, understanding and learning.
Swap
To change one thing for another, e.g. in class a teacher could ask learners to swap partners so that they can work with someone different.
Core
The most important, central or most basic part of something.
Overhead transparency (OHT)
The plastic sheet a teacher can write on and use with an overhead projector (OHP).
Nominate
To choose and name one learner to speak or do a particular task.
Antonym
The opposite of another word, e.g. hot is an antonym of cold.
Literal
The original or basic meaning of a word.
Fossilisation
The process in which incorrect language becomes a habit and cannot easily be corrected.
Alveolar (ridge)
The ridge at the top of the mouth between the teeth and the hard palate. Several sounds e.g. / t / , / d / are made in this area.
Palate - palatal
The palate is the roof of the mouth. Sounds can be produced on the hard palate or the soft palate (velum).
Verb phrase
The part of a sentence containing a main verb and any other verbs that qualify it, e.g. He must have heard me; Those fantastic things couldn't have been made by machine.
Assessment criteria
The qualities against which a learner's performance is judged for assessment. For example, assessment criteria for judging learners' writing may be: accuracy of grammar, use of vocabulary, spelling and punctuation, organisation of ideas.
Rationale
The reason for doing something, e.g. the rationale for pre-teaching vocabulary before learners read a text is to help learners read the text more easily. When teachers plan a lesson, they think about a rationale for activities and procedures.
Function
The reason or purpose for communication, e.g. making a suggestion; giving advice.
Group, class dynamics
The relationship between learners in the group or class.
Rapport, build rapport
The relationship between the teacher and learners. Teachers try to build or create a good rapport or relationship with their learners.
Parallelism
The repetition of grammatical structures within a text, e.g. 'Enjoy the ride; Have a great time' (imperative + object).
Rhythm
The rhythm of speech is the way that some words in a sentence are emphasised or stressed to produce a regular pattern, e.g. If I were YOU, I'd go by BUS.
Phoneme
The smallest sound unit which can make a difference to meaning e.g. /p/ in pan, /b/ in ban. Phonemes have their own symbols (phonemic symbols), each of which represents one sound. Words can be presented in phonemic script (usually International Phonetic Alphabet or IPA), e.g. / dÅktW /- doctor. Phonemic transcription is used in dictionaries to show pronunciation.
Morpheme
The smallest unit that has meaning in a language. A morpheme is a base word or an affix, e.g. carefully contains three morphemes: care, -ful, -ly; walked contains two: walk, -ed.
Pace
The speed of the lesson. A teacher can vary the pace in a lesson by planning different activities in order to keep the learners' attention.
Classroom management
The strategies used by a teacher to organise the classroom, the learning and the learners, such as seating arrangements, different types of activities, teacher roles and interaction patterns.
Topic
The subject of a text or lesson.
Curriculum
The subjects which make up an educational programme. They are taught differently in different contexts and in different cultures.
Punctuation
The symbols or marks used to organise writing into clauses, phrases and sentences to make the meaning clear.
Learning strategies
The techniques which learners consciously use to help them when learning or using language, e.g. deducing the meaning of words from context; predicting content before reading.
Wait time
The time that teachers wait in order to give learners time to respond to questions rather than expecting an immediate response.
Silent period
The time when learners who are beginning to learn a first (or second) language prefer to listen (or read) before producing the language, e.g. babies have a silent period when they listen to their parents before starting to try to speak themselves.
Target language culture
The traditions and culture of the country whose language is being studied.
Learner characteristics
The typical things about a learner or learners that influence their learning, e.g. age, L1, past learning experience, learning style.
Learner training
The use of activities to help learners understand how they learn and help them to become autonomous, independent learners.
ICT / IT (Information [Communication] Technology)
The use of computers to enable learners to improve information-processing skills, to explore ideas, to solve problems, to access and surf the internet, to develop collaborative learning with students who are in other places, to participate in video conferencing. The subject is referred to as ICT, the skills used are IT skills and the lab is known as the IT lab.
Accuracy
The use of correct forms of grammar, vocabulary, spelling and pronunciation. In an accuracy activity, teachers and learners typically focus on using and producing language correctly.
Mother tongue
The very first language that you learn as a baby, which is usually the language spoken to you by your parents. Also called L1 or first language.
Text structure
The way a text is organised. For example, an essay typically has an introduction, a main section and a conclusion.
Layout
The way in which a text is organised and presented on a page. Certain texts have special layouts, e.g. letters and newspaper articles.
Learning style
The way in which an individual learner naturally prefers to learn something. There are many learning styles.
Seating arrangement, seating plan
The way the learners sit in the classroom, e.g. in rows, in a circle around the teacher, in groups around different tables. A plan of where the learners should sit in the classroom.
Intonation
The way the level of a speaker's voice changes to show meaning such as how they feel about something, e.g. if they are angry or pleased, or to make speech sound polite in English. Intonation can be rising or falling or both.
Ignore (errors)
To choose not to pay attention to something such as an error made by a learner. A teacher may do this if he/she wants to help the learner with fluency, not accuracy.
Higher-order thinking skills (HOTS)
These are skills such as analysis and evaluation. They are often used in the classroom to develop reasoning skills, encourage enquiry and discussion and to develop creative thinking. For example, How can we change the design of the building to make it more fuel efficient? They involve open-ended talk.
Lower-order thinking skills (LOTS)
These are skills such as remembering information and defining objects. They are often used in the classroom to check understanding and to review learning. They usually involve closed answers.
Reflector
Thinking about his/her own performance. Reflecting on learners' progress.
Portfolio assessment
This is a type of formative assessment and also continuous assessment. It consists of a collection of learners' work done over a course or a year which shows evidence of development of their language skills.
Subject
This is the noun or phrase that goes before the verb to show who is doing the action in an active sentence, e.g. John plays tennis every Saturday, or who or what the action is done to in a passive sentence, e.g. The food was cooked yesterday.
Contrast
To compare the differences between two things.
Trace
To copy a picture by putting transparent paper on top of it and following the lines with your pencil.
Process
To actively think about new information in order to understand it completely and be able to use it in future.
Ask for clarification
To ask for an explanation of what a speaker means, e.g. What do you mean?
Enquire
To ask for information, e.g. What time does the train leave?
Request, make a (polite) request
To ask someone politely to do something, e.g. Please could you open the window?
Evaluation
To assess or judge the quality, importance or effectiveness of something. Teachers may evaluate learners' progress or strengths and weaknesses.
Adapt
To change a text or other material, so that it is suitable to use with a particular class.
Infer attitude, feeling, mood
To decide how a writer or speaker feels about something from the way that they speak or write, rather than from what they openly say.
Establish
To discover or get proof of something. Assessing learners can establish the progress they have made.
Assessment
To discover, judge, test or form an opinion on learners' ability, proficiency or progress either formally or informally.
Negotiate
To discuss with someone to reach an agreement, e.g. If you help me now, I'll help you next week.
Stimulate discussion
To encourage learners to talk about something. This can be done in different ways such as through a text or a picture.
Analysis
To examine or think about something in detail in order to understand it or get to know it better, e.g. analyse language: what the form of the structure is and why it is being used in this way in this situation. Teachers also analyse learners' style or performance.
Set the scene, the context
To explain or present the context of something learners will read, hear, talk or write about, to make the situation clear for them, e.g. before playing a recording a teacher might tell learners who the people are on the recording and where they are.
Convey meaning
To express or communicate meaning. Teachers focus on conveying meaning when they present new language.
Recycle
To focus on words or structures that have been taught before, for revision and more practice.
Speculate
To guess something based on information you have, e.g. She might have time to go to the bookshop, but I'm not sure.
Dominate
To have a very strong influence over what happens. If a particular learner is dominant in class, then other learners get less chance to participate actively. If a teacher dominates, the lesson is teacher-centred.
Prompt
To help learners think of ideas or to remember a word or phrase by giving them a part of it or by giving another kind of clue. When a teacher suggests a word that the learner hasn't remembered, e.g. Learner: I want to ...... in an office. Teacher: Work? Learner: Yes, I want to work in an office. A teacher can also use a word prompt to correct a learner, e.g. Learner: He don't like that. Teacher: Grammar. Learner: Sorry - he doesn't like that.
Develop skills
To help learners to improve their listening, reading, writing and speaking ability. Teachers do this in class by providing activities which focus on skills development.
Raise awareness
To help learners to start to understand something that they may not already know by drawing attention to it. For example, if you teach learning strategies, it can raise learners' awareness of how to learn.
Discriminate, distinguish
To identify the difference between two or more things, e.g. sound discrimination is hearing the differences between sounds, particularly minimal pairs, e.g. not/lot ; ship/sheep.
Variety
To introduce different things such as different types of activities or tasks, language skills, interaction patterns, pacing or timing into a lesson. Teachers try to include variety in their lesson, so that learners stay interested.
Acquisition
To learn a language without studying it, just by hearing and/or reading and then using it. This is the way people usually learn their first language.
Memorise
To learn something so that you can remember it later; something which is easy to remember.
Learn by heart
To learn something so that you can remember it perfectly.
Detail, read for detail, listen for detail
To listen to or read a text in order to understand most of what it says or particular details.
Get learners' attention
To make learners listen to the teacher after they have been doing group or pairwork or at the start of the lesson.
Comprehension
Understanding a spoken or written text.
Edit
To shorten or change or correct the words or content of some parts of a written text to make it clearer or easier to understand.
Illustrate meaning
To show what something means.
Indicate
To show, point out, make known, e.g. a teacher can indicate that a learner has made a mistake by repeating the mistake with rising intonation.
Hypothesise
To suggest an explanation for something unknown. For example, What would you do if you were leader of your country?
Note-taking
To take notes means to listen and write down ideas from the text in short form.
Summary
To take out the main points of a long text, and rewrite or retell them in a short, clear way.
Participation
To take part in something, e.g. a lesson or classroom activity.
Train
To teach someone to do a particular job or activity. For example, John trains people to sing. It also means to study or learn to do something. For example, I trained to be a teacher.
Reflect on teaching, learning
To think about a lesson after teaching it or to think about learning in order to decide what worked, what did not work and how to improve teaching/learning in the future.
Brainstorm
To think of ideas (usually quickly) about a topic (often noting these down). This is often done as preparation before a writing or speaking activity.
Grade (language)
To use language that is at the correct level for the learners and is not too easy or difficult.
Greet
To welcome someone, often with words, e.g. Hello, how are you?
Collaborate
To work together. Learners often collaborate in class when carrying out tasks, which typically involves planning, creating, discussing, evaluating etc.
Consonant cluster
Two or more consonants occurring together at the beginning or end of a syllable e.g. / eks / in / eksáésaˆz / (exercise); / str / in / strŘ / (strong).
Minimal pair
Two words which differ from each other by only one meaningful sound (or phoneme),e.g. hit and heat.
Performance assessment
Typically this involves observation of classroom performance to assess how well learners express themselves during specific tasks by checking performance against criteria. Teachers can evaluate if learners achieved the purpose of the task.
Qualify
Used in grammatical descriptions to refer to words that limit the meaning of something, e.g. in the sentence 'The young student sitting at the end of the row', the underlined words qualify 'student'.
Intrusion/intrusive
Used to describe a feature of connected speech in which an extra sound is added at a word boundary to make for smoother linking between separate words, e.g. the / w / in (you are).
Wh- question
Wh- questions start with a wh- word. Wh- questions expect information in reply; not just yes or no, e.g. Where do you live? I live in France.
Wh- word
Wh- words introduce wh- questions and indirect questions. Wh- words include who, whom, what, which, whose, how, why, where, when.
Meaning
What a word expresses; there are several kinds of meaning.
Aim
What the teacher wants to achieve in the lesson or in the course.
Notice language
When a learner becomes aware of the language the speaker or writer uses to express a particular concept or meaning.
Learner autonomy
When a learner can set his/her own aims and organise his/her own study, they are autonomous and independent. Many activities in coursebooks help learners to be more independent by developing learning strategies and focusing on learner training.
Slip
When a learner makes a slip they make a language mistake but they are able to correct themselves.
Report back
When a learner tells the whole class what was discussed in groupwork or pairwork.
Over-application of the rule, over generalisation
When a learner uses a grammatical rule s/he has learned, but uses it in situations when it is not needed or appropriate, e.g. a learner says, There were three girls (correct plural form used for most nouns) and two mans. (incorrect plural form - not appropriate for man).
Review
When a learner, often guided by the teacher, looks again at language that has already been taught in order to remember this language better. Teachers may choose to review vocabulary or grammatical structures in the classroom, for example, in order to help learners consolidate the language or to prepare for a test.
Back-channeling
When a listener signals understanding, surprise, agreement etc. to a speaker as the speaker is speaking.
Re-draft
When a piece of writing is changed with the intention of improving it. A writer's first draft may be re-drafted.
Assimilation
When a sound in connected speech becomes similar to a neighbouring sound e.g. in the sentence He grew up in Britain, the /n/ in 'in' is likely to be assimilated to / m /.
Elision
When a sound is left out in connected speech because it is followed by a similar sound e.g. in 'he gave up politics' the /p/ in 'up' is likely to be elided /higeˆv√pÅlˆtˆks/
Reformulation
When a teacher corrects what a learner has said by repeating the sentence correctly, but without drawing the learners' attention to their mistake. This is usually the way parents 'correct' their young children's language mistakes.
Informal assessment
When a teacher decides whether a learner is doing well or not, or whether a course is successful or not, by observing learners rather than setting a test or writing an official report or giving a grade.
Personalisation
When a teacher helps a learner to connect new words, topics, texts or grammar to their own life.
Encouragement
When a teacher helps learners to succeed by giving them confidence, e.g. 'Of course you can do it! You're doing very well '.
Formal assessment
When a teacher judges learners' work through a test and then gives a formal report or grade to learners, to say how successful or unsuccessful they have been.
Tutorial
When a teacher talks to a learner individually or to a small group of learners to discuss their learning and give feedback on their progress in class.
Elicit
When a teacher thinks that some learners will know a piece of language or other information, s/he asks targeted questions or gives clues to get, or prompt learners to give the target language or information rather than simply providing it to the class her/himself.
Formative assessment
When a teacher uses information on learners' progress during a course to adapt their teaching and/or to give learners feedback on their learning.
Cohesion
When ideas in a spoken or written text fit together clearly and smoothly, and so are logical and make sense to the listener or reader.
Off task
When learners are distracted or not completing an activity in the way the teacher wants them to do it then they are off task.
On task
When learners are doing an activity in the way the teacher intended that it should be done then learners are on task.
Self-correction
When learners correct language mistakes they have made, perhaps with some help from the teacher.
Self-assessment
When learners decide for themselves how good they think their progress or language use is.
Receptive skills
When learners do not have to produce language; listening and reading are receptive skills.
Peer assessment
When learners give feedback on each other's language, work, learning strategies, performance.
Closed pairs
When learners in the class do pairwork with the person sitting next to them but not in front of the class.
Exposure
When learners listen to or read language without being consciously aware of it.
Echo correction
When learners make a mistake, the teacher repeats the mistake with rising intonation encouraging learners to correct themselves, e.g. Learner: He don't like it. Teacher: Don't? Learner: He doesn't like it.
Productive skills
When learners produce language. Speaking and writing are productive skills.
Take risks
When learners take risks they experiment with language.
Active role
When learners think about their own learning and what their own needs are and try to help themselves learn more, they are taking an active role.
Work out
When learners try to understand how and why a particular piece of language is used or how it is formed. For example, learners read a text with different past tenses then look at the example sentences in the text and work out how the different tenses are used and how they are formed.
Less controlled, freer practice, free practice
When learners use the target language but have more choice of what they say and what language they use.
Controlled practice, restricted practice
When learners use the target language repeatedly and productively in situations in which they have little or no choice of what language they use. The teacher and learners focus on accurate use of the target language.
Passive role
When learners want to be taught and to acquire language without making their own decisions about their needs and learning, they are taking a passive role.
Turn, turn-taking
When someone speaks in a conversation this is called a turn. Speaking and then allowing another person to speak in reply is called 'turn-taking'.
Reported speech, statement, question
When someone's words are reported by another person, e.g. She said she was sorry.
Emphasis
When special force or attention is given to a word or information because it is important, e.g. I want to start the lesson at SIX o'clock not seven o'clock.
Anticipate (language) problems
When teachers are planning a lesson, they think about what their learners might find difficult about the language or skills in the lesson so that they can help them learn more effectively at certain points in the lesson. They may also think about how learners' previous learning experience may affect their learning in a specific lesson.
Assumptions
When teachers think about what they believe their learners will or will not know or how they will behave in a particular lesson. For example, a teacher plans to teach the present simple using the context of jobs and daily routines. The teacher may make the assumption that learners will know basic job vocabulary and so knows s/he will not need to spend time in the lesson presenting these words.
Subject-verb agreement
When the form of the verb matches the person doing the action of the verb, e.g. I walk, he walks. If a learner writes I walks, then it is wrong because there is no subject-verb agreement.
Learner-centred
When the learners are at the centre of the activities and have the chance to work together, make choices and think for themselves in a lesson.
Teacher-centred
When the teacher is seen as the source of all knowledge in the learning process and acts as the provider of knowledge rather than making use of the knowledge and experience of the students to guide the learning process.
Open class, whole class
When the teacher leads the class and each learner is focusing on the teacher, rather than working alone or in groups. When learners respond, they do so in front of everyone in the class.
Hypothetical
Which can be imagined or suggested; improbable; impossible e.g. as expressed in the following 'If they'd been here; If only I had more time.'
Unmotivated
Without motivation; having no motivation.
Word stress
Word stress is the pronunciation of a syllable with more force or emphasis than the surrounding syllables which are said to be unstressed,
Complement
Words or phrases that complete the meaning of another word or a sentence e.g. in the sentence 'He gave the man a ticket', 'the man a ticket' is the complement. In 'Jane was unavailable', 'unavailable' is the complement.
Collocation
Words which are regularly used together. The relation between the words may be grammatical, for example when certain verbs/adjectives collocate with particular prepositions, e.g. depend on, good at or when a verb like make or do collocates with a noun, e.g. do the shopping, make a plan. Collocations may also be lexical when two content words are regularly used together, e.g. We went the wrong way NOT We went the incorrect way.
Co-operation
Working together and helping each other. In some group work activities learners co-operate to find the answer or solve a problem.
Authentic material
Written or spoken texts which a first language speaker might read or listen to. They may be taken from newspapers, radio etc. The language in the texts is not adapted or made easier for learners or the language learning process.
Oral fluency
being able to speak using connected speech at a natural speed with little hesitation, repetition or self-correction. In spoken fluency activities, learners typically give attention to the communication of meaning, rather than trying to be correct.
Written fluency
being able to write in a clear and confident way. In a written fluency activity, learners give attention to the content and ideas of the text rather than trying to be correct.