http://globeenglishconsultants.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=54&Itemid=72Glossary of ELT TermsAccentThis can mean word stress - control has the accent on the second syllable but we use it to mean the pronunciation used by some speakers a regional or class accent.

Acquisition A term used to describe language being absorbed without conscious effort; i.e. the way children pick up their mother tongue. Language acquisition is often contrasted with language learning.

Active VocabularyThe words and phrases which a learner is able to use in speech and writing. Contrasted with Passive Vocabulary.

AdvancedA level of attainment where the learner has mastered most of the structures and functions of the language and is able to move freely through several registers - there may be a working vocabulary of in excess of 3000 words.

Aids to Teaching(a) Visual: Blackboard, whiteboard, overhead projector, realia, posters, wallcharts, flipcharts, maps, plans, flashcards, wordcards, puppets. (b) Electronic: Tape recorder, TV or video player, computer, CD Rom, language laboratory.

Applied LinguisticsThe study of the relationship between theory and practice. The mainemphasis is usually on language teaching, but can also be applied totranslation, lexicology etc.

Audio-Lingual MethodListen and speak: this method considers listening and speaking the first tasksin language learning, followed by reading and writing. There is considerable emphasis on learning sentence patterns, memorization of dialogues and extensive use of drills.

Authentic Materials Unscripted materials or those which have not been specially written forclassroom use, though they may have been edited. Examples includenewspaper texts and TV broadcasts.

Auxiliary VerbsForms of the verbs be, do and have which are used to create the different tenses in English: am/is/are/was/were eating/ being eaten; do/does/did eat;has/have/had eaten/ been eaten.

BehaviourismA psychological theory developed by B F Skinner; became the basis for theaudio-lingual approach, which viewed language learning in terms of habitformation.

BilingualismBeing able to communicate effectively in two or more languages, with moreor less the same degree of proficiency.

CALL Computer Assisted Language Learning.

Cloze ProcedureAn exercise where every fifth word (or sixth or seventh etc) is deleted from atext. The interval between the deleted words should remain the samethroughout the text. The student then supplies the missing words, oftenrelying on contextualization for help.

CognateCognates are words from different languages which are related historically, egEnglish bath - German bad or English yoke - Hindi yoga. Beware FalseFriends however.

Cognitive CodeAn approach in which a conscious effort is made to understand the Learning rules when learning a new item. There is little concern with the formation ofhabits as in the audio-lingual and direct methods; can be seen as deductivelearning, cf inductive learning.

CollocationThe tendency for words to occur regularly with others: sit/chair, house/garage.

Common CoreThe central part of the course or syllabus; or the elements of a language vitalto any teaching programme.

Communicative Language TeachingAn approach concerned with the needs of students to communicate outside the classroom; teaching techniques reflect this in the choice of language content and materials, with emphasis on role play, pair and group work etc.

Content WordsWords with a full meaning of their own; nouns, main verbs (ie not auxiliaryor modal verbs), adjectives and many adverbs. Contrasted with structure words.

Contextualization Placing the target language in a realistic setting, so as to be meaningful to thestudent.

Cue Cards Cards with words or pictures on them which are used to encourage studentresponse, or pair and group work.

DialectThe regional variety of a language, differing from the standard language, ingrammar, vocabulary, pronunciation or idiomatic usage.

Direct Method The most common approach in TEFL, where language is taught throughlistening and speaking. There may be little or no explicitexplanation ofgrammatical rules, nor translation into the mother tongue of the student -inductive learning rather than deductive.

DiscourseA unit of language greater than a sentence.

Drilling The intensive and repetitive practice of the target language, which may bechoral or individual.

Elementary Students at this level may have a vocabulary of up to 1000 words and willprobably be learning or practising present simple and continuous tenses, pastsimple and present perfect, will/shall, 'going to' futures. They should be ableto hold simple conversations and survive in everyday situations.

ESL/E2LEnglish as a Second Language.

ESOLEnglish to/for Speakers of Other Languages.

ESPEnglish for Special Purposes; eg for business, science and technology,medicine etc.

Extensive Reading Reading for general or global understanding, often of longer texts.

False FriendsCognate words, or words accidentally similar in form, whose meaning is ratherdifferent in the two languages, eg English gentle - French gentil.

Finely-tuned LanguageLanguage which is equivalent to the students' knowledge, which they should readily understand.

First CertificateCambridge First Certificate: an examination which may be taken by studentsof a good intermediate level.

Function Words See Structure Words

Functional ApproachA course based on a functional approach would take as its starting point forlanguage development, what the learner wants to do through language. Common functions include identifying oneself and giving personal facts aboutoneself; expressing moods and emotions.

General Service ListA standard list of 2000 frequently used words as compiled by Michael West. Regarded as a language core by many syllabus designers.

GradingThe order in which language items are taught. Systematic grading mayreduce the difficulties of language learning by introducing the language in steps or stages.

Grammar-Translation A method based upon memorizing the rules and logic of a language and the practice of translation. Traditionally the means by which Latin and Greekhave been taught.

GraphemeThe written symbols for sounds in language; ie letters of the alphabet or acharacter in picture writing (as in Japanese kange).

IATEFL International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language.

Immersion MethodThis simulates the way in which children acquire their mother tongue. Thelearner is surrounded by the foreign language, with no deliberate or organizedteaching programme. The learner absorbs the target language naturallywithout conscious effort.

Inductive LearningLearning to apply the rules of a language by experiencing the language inuse, rather than by having the rules explained or by consciously deducing therules.

InflectionThe change in form of a word, which indicates a grammatical change:eg. behave - behaved - behaviour - misbehave.

IntermediateAt this level a student will have a working vocabulary of between 1500 and2000 words and should be able to cope easily in most everyday situations. There should be an ability to express needs, thoughts and feelings in areasonably clear way.

Intensive ReadingReading for specific understanding of information, usually of shorter texts.

IntonationThe ways in which the voice pitch rises and falls in speech.

L1The mother tongue.

L2 A language other than the mother tongue.

LADLanguage Acquisition Device; a term coined by Noam Chomsky to explain an innate psychological capacity for language acquisition.

Language LaboratoryA room equipped with headphones and booths to enable students to listen toa language teaching programme, while being monitored from a centralconsole. Labs may be Audio-Active (AA), where students listen and respondto a tape, or Audio-Active-Comparative (AAC), where they may record theirown responses and compare these with a model on the master tape. Lexical item An item of vocabulary which has a single element of meaning. It may be acompound or phrase: bookcase, post office, put up with. Some single words may initiate several lexical items; eg letter: a letter of the alphabet / posting a letter.

Lexical SetA group or family of words related to one another by some semantic principle: eg lamb, pork, chicken, beef are all different types of meat and form a lexicalset.

Micro-teachingA technique used on teacher training courses: a part of a lesson is taught toa small number of students. A variation of this is 'peer teaching', where the'students' are often peers of the trainee teacher attending the same course.

Minimal PairA pair of items differing by one phonological feature; eg sit/set, ship/sheep,pen/pan, fan/pan, pan/pat etc.

Modal VerbVerbs which express the mood of another verb: will/would; shall/should;may/might; can/could; must, ought, need, dare, used to.

MonitorThe device by which learners check their spoken or written language against their knowledge of the rules that operate in the particular situation they arefacing.

Morpheme The smallest unit of language that is grammatically significant. Morphemesmay be bound, ie they cannot exist on their own; eg -er,un-, -ed, mis- ; orthey can be free, as is ball in football.

MorphologyThe branch of linguistics which studies how words change their forms whenthey change grammatical function, ie their inflections swim -swam - swum - swimming - swimmer; cat - cats; mouse - mice; happy - happier - happily etc. See also Syntax.

Natural ApproachPioneered by Krashen, this approach combines acquisition and learning as ameans of facilitating language development in adults.

Pair WorkA process in which students work in pairs for practice or discussion.

Passive VocabularyThe vocabulary that students are able to understand compared to that whichthey are able to use. Contrasted with Active Vocabulary.

Peer GroupUsually refers to people working or studying at the same level or in the samegrouping; one's colleagues or fellow students.

Phatic CommunionPhrases used to convey sociability rather than meaning.

PhonemeThe smallest unit of sound which causes a change of meaning: cattle - kettle /ktl/ - /ketl/; sleep - sleeve, /sli:p/ - /sli:v/. Phonemic sounds are written in sloping brackets / /. There are usuallyconsidered to be 24 consonant and 20 vowel phonemes in RP.

PhoneticsThe study of sounds by the manner or place of articulation.

Phonetic Transcription The recording of speech sounds in writing, using a special alphabet; eg book[buk], bath [ba:q]. Phonetic transcription (using squarebrackets [ ] ) makesfiner distinctions than Phonemic transcription, with a narrow transcriptionbeing more accurate than a broad one. A standard sometimes applied is the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet).

PhonologyThe study of the sound system of a language - its phonemes, stress andintonation.

Polar QuestionsSee YES/NO Questions.

Practice StageThis follows the Presentation Stage and is the time when students begin tomaster the target items themselves.

Presentation StageUsually the beginning of a lesson when new language is introduced by theteacher, generally followed by a practice stage.

RealiaUsing real objects or things in the classroom as teaching aids; eg travelbrochures, train tickets, food items etc.

RedundancyUsing more utterances than necessary; includes talking around the subject,unnecessary addition and saying the same thing twice in different ways. Ingrammar it refers to a grammatical feature which has no functional use, suchas the -s inflection for present tense third person singular.

RegisterA variation in language due to circumstances: these may include age, sex,status, topic or setting. The language of medicine, business and science alldiffer in their register, which may be spoken or written.

ReinforcementThe means by which language which has been presented and practised isfully internalized by the learner. This usually involves plenty of repetition andextra language use.

Rhotic AccentsAccents which pronounce R after a vowel, as in mother, part, and whichinclude American, Scottish, Irish and Western British accents.

Rhythm The pattern of sound length and stress in speech. English has stress-timedrhythm, while Spanish is said to have syllable-timed rhythm, because thesyllables tend to be uniform in time.

Role PlayA practice activity which involves students acting out a given role; eg playingan angry customer returning an item to a shop or being a patient in a doctor'swaiting room. It may be controlled and structured, or more or less improvised.

R.P.Received Pronunciation - a term coined by Daniel Jones. RP was, untilrecently, widely regarded as being the yardstick for correct pronunciation;corresponds loosely to a public school or BBC accent.

Roughly-tuned LanguageLanguage which is somewhat beyond the students' knowledge, whichthey should eventually absorb through exposure.

RSA Royal Society of Arts.An examining board which offers exams in both EFL and TEFL. It is now merged with UCLES.

ScanningGoing quickly over a text to find a particular piece of information.

Scheme of Work An outline plan for a sequence of lessons, usually within a syllabus,perhaps for a period of hours or for a number of weeks.

SchwaThe weak English vowel, represented / /, which is found in Englishunstressed syllables. The only other unstressed vowel is /I/.

SemanticsThe study of the meaning of words and the study of context, - how meaning isexpressed through language and in individual languages.

Silent WayAn approach to language teaching, developed in the States by CalebGattegno, involving a highly structured system of specialized techniques andapparatus. The teacher is encouraged to restrict his own speech to aminimum, in order that students become involved in establishing meaningfullanguage behaviour themselves.

SimulationRefers to students acting out language situations, where they may have todraw on their knowledge of the outside world; eg they have just survived aplane crash in the desert and must now plan a course of action.

Situational Approach Uses selected situations as the basis of the teaching programme; eg at arailway station, in a restaurant, in a bank etc.

SkimmingReading a text quickly to get the gist.

StressNormally refers to word stress: English words have one syllable which isinvariably stressed, the others being weak or unstressed: below, normally, photographer. Words of three or more syllables may havesecondary stress on one of the remaining syllables: photograph, ' responsibility.It may also refer to the greater emphasis of some syllables or words overothers in speech. This often carries changes of meanings as in He went to America (not she) orHe went to America (not Australia)This is an aspect of sentence stress, or rhythm, and involves different intonation patterns.

StructureThe complex set of rules underlying a language, generally the grammar of alanguage.

Structural ApproachAn approach based on the teaching of the different areas of 'grammar' in alanguage; eg present simple tense, conditionals, adverbs and adjectives etc. A structural syllabus will view the language in terms of linguistic structures,of which there will be grading and sequencing; cf a functional approach.

Structure WordsWords with no lexical content, with a grammatical role in the phrase orsentence; eg 'articles, pronouns, prepositions, modal and auxiliary verbs'. These are sometimes called function words.

SyllabusA plan of what is to be taught. Most syllabuses now attempt to combinestructural and functional approaches. This is reflected in many moderncoursebooks.

SyntaxThe branch of grammar concerned with word order as an element in a clauseor sentence and the rules governing word order and sentence structure.

Target LanguageThe items to be learned in a particular lesson or sequence of lessons.

TESLTeaching English as a Second Language. See Introduction to Modulet 1.TESOL Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages. This includes bothTEFL and TESL.

TOEFL Test of English as a Foreign Language. An American examination to testlanguage proficiency; usually necessary in order to gain entry to university in the United States. A related exam is TOEIC, Test of English for InternationalCommunication.

TPRTotal Physical Response: an approach developed by J Asher, in whichlearners are not required to speak until they are ready. This may take days, weeks or even months. During this period learners listen and acquirelanguage; understanding and comprehension are demonstrated through non-verbal, physical responses.

TransferThe influence of a mother tongue habit on the language being learned; can bein pronunciation, word order or use of tenses etc.

UtteranceA stretch of speech or written language, which may be a single word or astring of sentences. This is generally marked in speech by silence before andafter. Also refers to a word or expression that conveys meaning.

WH QuestionsQuestions starting with one of the question words: Who, What, When, Where, Why, Whose & How.

YES/NO Questions Questions starting with a modal or auxiliary verb, Does/Are/Will/Could etc.as opposed to open or WH questions starting with a WH word.Sometimes called Polar Questions.