Test-Teach-Test

A lesson design in which learners first perform a task, which the

teacher uses to assess learners' specific needs. They are then taught whatever they
need in order to re-do the task more effectively.
modality
The lexical and grammatical ways used by speakers to express their
attitude to what they're saying. For example: Maybe Sarah is a chef. (lexical _______:
adverb)
cohesion
The use of grammatical and lexical means to achieve connected text,
either spoken or written.
induction
The process of working out rules on the basis of examples. Also called
discovery learning.
priming
The process by which a word gathers particular associations through
repeated encounters.
process writing
An approach to writing where learners are encouraged to
brainstorm, plan, draft, re-draft, review, and "publish" their written work.
word family A group of words which share the same root but have different affixes, as
in care, careful, careless, carefree, uncaring, carer.
sentence
The largest purely grammatical unit in a language.
silent period This refers to the fact that children learning their first language go through
a lengthy period simply listening before they say their first words.
uptakeWhat learners report to have learnt from a language lesson. Typically this does
not match what the teacher intended to teach.
notional syllabus
A syllabus that is organised according to general areas of meaning
that are used in most grammars, such as frequency, location, duration and possibility.
deixis The way language points to spatial, temporal and personal features of the
context. For example, I have been here three weeks now, the referents of I, here and
now cannot be identified without knowing the context.
phatic language
Language whose purpose is to smooth the conduct of social
relations. It has an interpersonal function.
phoneme
One of the distinctive sounds of a particular language. It cannot be
replaced with another sound without causing a change in meaning.
phonology The study of a sound system of a particular language, which describes the
abstract system that allows the speakers of a language to distinguish meaning from
mere verbal noise.
polysemy
This refers to the case where one word has more than one related
meaning.
prosodic features The stress, rhythm, and intonation along with tempo, loudness and
voice quality of speech.

ellipsis
The leaving out of elements of a sentence because they are either
unnecessary or because their sense can be worked out from the immediate context.
display questions Asked by teachers in order to find out what a learner can say in the
target language.
face validity Used to say that a test is acceptable to a learner, in that it meets the
learner's expectations of what a test should be like.
TALO Text as a Linguistic Object
TAVI Text as a Vehicle for Information
TASP Text as a Stimulus for Production
Dictogloss A classroom dictation activity where learners are required to reconstruct a
short text by listening and noting down key words, which are then used as a base for
reconstruction.
Diagnostic test
A test that helps the teacher and learners identify problems that
they have with the language.
Diglossia
A situation where a language that has two forms, one a 'higher' and more
prestigious form used by educated speakers in formal situations, and the other a 'lower',
vernacular form used more commonly.
Dipthong
A one-syllable sound that is made up of two vowels. In Received
Pronunciation English there are eight of these.
Discourse management The ability to produce extended written and spoken texts, for
example conversations.
Achievement test This test evaluates a learner's understanding of a specific course or
study programme.
Action research
A development tool for a teacher that involves observing or
gathering other data about a class through interviews, case studies, and questionnaires.
Non-gradable adjectives Adjectives that cannot be expressed in degrees and so
cannot be graded.
Backwash The positive or negative impact of a test on classroom teaching.
Substitution The replacing of a noun phrase or a clause by a single word in order to
avoid repetition or to make a text more cohesive.
Universal Grammar The theory which claims that every speaker of a language knows a
set of principles which apply to all languages and also a set of parameters that can vary
from one language to another, but only within set limits.
Connotation The attitudinal meaning of a word, which may be culturally determined,
such as whether it carries a positive or negative meaning.
Nuclear stress
The place in an utterance where the major pitch movement begins,
marking the focal point of the message.

Fossilisation A process through which an error has become a permanent feature of a

learner's language use and is believed to be resistant to correction.
Adjacency pair
A sequence of two related utterances by two different speakers.
The first utterance leads to a set of expectations about the response.
Anaphoric referenceA word or phrase that refers back to another word or phrase which
was used earlier in a written or spoken text.
Collocation Two or more words that co-occur in a language more often that would be
expected by chance.
Order of acquisition The order in which grammar/language items are thought to be
acquired.
Structural syllabus A syllabus which is based around a series of grammatical
structures, which are sequenced according to assumed level of complexity.
cognitive deficit
The limitations on processing information in a second language
compared to in L1.
Tautology
When two synonyms are placed consecutively or very close together for
effect. eg. the reason why
Metalanguage
The language used to describe, analyse or explain another
language including, for example, grammatical terms and rules of syntax.
Realia Real objects used as teaching aids to make learning more natural. Includes items
such as tickets, pictures, clothes, etc.
Parsing
the process of analyzing a text to determine its grammatical structure with
respect to a given formal grammar. Also known as syntactic analysis.
Pragmatic competence
The ability to use language in a contextually appropriate
fashion.
Apodosis
The main clause in a conditional sentence.
Phatic speech
Words or phrases that have a social function and are not meant
literally. For example, "You're welcome" after hearing thank you doesn't literally mean
the hearer is welcome.
Ephenthesis The process of adding vowels to make possible syllables out of impossible
consonant sequences, for example /helep/ for help.
Idiolect
A variety of a language unique to an individual. It is manifested by patterns
of vocabulary or idiom selection (the individual's lexicon), grammar, or pronunciations
that are unique to the individual.
Lexicon
The vocabulary of a language.
Polyseme
A word or phrase with different, but related senses. eg. a person's foot,
and the foot of the stairs (both relate to the base of something).
Code mixing Switching between two or more language within sentences and phrases -

often used to show belonging and solidarity within bilingual or multilingual communities.
Framing
A questioning technique which involves asking a question, pausing and
then calling on a student to answer. In this way, students maintain maximum attention.
Content wordA word which carries meaning when used alone and refers to a thing,
state, quality or action.
Utterance meaning The meaning of something that is said, including the words used,
the speaker's tone and posture and other contextual considerations.
Interlanguage
An emerging linguistic system that has been developed by a learner
of a second language (or L2) who has not become fully proficient yet but is
approximating the target language.
Principled eclecticism
The use of various teaching styles in a discriminating
manner as required by learner needs and styles, favoured by contemporary course book
writers.
redundancy Approximately 50% of all items in a spoken English utterance are not
absolutely vital in order to achieve communication.
suprasegmental
the sound of the whole utterance. Important for receptive fluency.
What happens at word boundaries.
acquisition The process of picking up a language without formal instruction and
without a sustained conscious effort to learn the language.
interference The negative influence of one language whilst learning another language.
Register
The language appropriate to particular types of situations.
subjective test
A test which requires the markers to evaluate and not just to follow
a mark sheet.
cotext the linguistic environment in which a word is used within a text
conversion the process by which an item becomes a different word class. eg noun to
verb (water/to water)
copula verb a verb that connects the subject to the complement. They are sometimes
called linking verbs.
discrete item test
used when we want to know if a learner can recognise or produce a
specific language item
agglutinative language
language in which each affix carries one item of grammatical
meaning
content validity
the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest
construct validity
the degree to which a measure actually assesses what it claims to
assess
consequential validity
The way in which the implementation of a test can affect the
interpretability of test scores; the practical consequences of the introduction of a test

Utterance
a complete unit of talk, bounded by the speaker's silence.
phone an unanalyzed sound of a language. It is the smallest identifiable unit found in a
stream of speech that is able to be transcribed with an IPA symbol.
allophone
A phonetic variant of a phoneme in a particular language. The difference
in pronunciation does not affect meaning. The different pronunciations of the same
phoneme are determined by position in a word. eg /p/ in /pin/ and /spin/
coordinating conjunction a conjunction (like 'and' or 'or') that connects two identically
constructed grammatical constituents
idiom an expression whose meanings cannot be inferred from the meanings of the
words that make it up. eg. to make ends meet
parataxis
The placing of clauses or phrases one after another, without words to
indicate coordination or subordination, as in Tell me, how are you
direct method
A method in which grammar rules are not taught / only the target
language is used in the classroom / translation is avoided at all costs. There is no
tolerance of error (eg Berlitz)
hyponym
Describes the relationship between words represented by the formula X is
a type of Y. eg banana to fruit.
meronym
a whole-part relationship where X is a part of Y. eg wheel to car.
homonym
words which are written and pronounced the same way, but have different
meanings. eg Would you _like_ a drink? Who do you look _like_?
homograph words written the same way, but pronounced differently, and have different
meanings. eg windy day, windy road.
homophone words which are written differently, and have different meanings, but
pronounced the same. eg sew, so
minimal pair Two words that are identical except for one sound, revealing which
phonemes are semantically significant
tensesa grammatical category which is used to indicate the time at which an action
happens by changing the form of the finite verb. English has two: past and present, e.g.
he walked and he walks
Direct Test a test employing tasks which replicate real-life activities, e.g. role-playing a
job interview, writing a
letter of complaint, or reading and completing an application form
superordinate
a term for an 'umbrella' item of lexis which subsumes a range of
more specific items, e.g. fruit in relation to apple, orange, pear
modal auxiliary verb Auxiliary verb which expresses the attitude / modifies the meaning
of the main verb in a sentence. They do not conjugate / inflect like 'normal' verbs. eg
might/can

Formative assessment
Assessment which checks students' progress during a
course. Only tests what has been taught on the course. eg Progress test
denotation the most direct or specific meaning of a word or expression
affixation
words formed by the combination of bound affixes and free morphemes
bilabial plosive
A non-continuant consonant articulation where the lips are pressed
together./p/ /b/
intransitive verb
a verb (or verb construction) that does not take an object
transitive verb
a verb (or verb construction) that requires an object in order to be
grammatical
parallelism phrases or sentences of a similar construction/meaning placed side by
side, balancing each other, to aid grammatical cohesion
phrasal verb an English verb followed by one or more particles where the combination
behaves as a syntactic and semantic unit
The Silent Way
a METHOD of foreign-language teaching developed by Gattegno
which makes use of gesture, mime, visual aids, wall charts, and in particular Cuisinire
rods (wooden sticks of different lengths and colours) that the teacher uses to help the
students to talk. The method takes its name from the relative silence of the teacher
using these techniques.( Longmans dictionary of language teaching & applied linguistics
p486)
Grammar-Translation
An approach to second language teaching characterized by
the explicit teaching of grammar rules and the use of translation exercises.
Task-Based Teaching
a teaching approach based on the use of communicative and
interactive tasks as the central units for the planning and delivery of instruction. Such
tasks are said to provide an effective basis for language learning since they: a involve
meaningful communication and interaction, and b negotiation c enable the learners to
acquire grammar as a result of engaging in authentic language use.
prescriptive discourse
Any discourse that promotes what should be thought,
spoken, or done. It is discourse about what ought to be the case rather than descriptive
discourse about what is the case. eg You should eat more fresh fruit.
catenation the linking of sounds together in speech, such as the grouping of
phonemes into SYLLABLES, and the grouping of syllables and words through
ASSIMILATION, ELISION, and JUNCTURE.
fricative consonant A consonant sound where the flow of air is partially constricted and
released slowly. eg /f/ /s/
back-channelling
The verbal signals given by the listener to indicate interest,
attention, surprise etc. (eg really, uh-huh, yeah)
alveolar plosive
a consonant sound made by a sudden release of air from

between the tongue and the alveolar/tooth ridge. can be voiced (lenis/d/) or unvoiced
(fortis/t/)
cognate
two words which have the same (or similar) form and
meaning in two different languages. Can help teachers/learners, as their meaning is
clear.
determiner a grammatical unit which precedes a noun phrase and modifies the noun
phrase.There are different classes which limit the noun in different ways, such as
quantifiers, articles and possessives (eg some, the, her)
Eclecticism selecting techniques, activities, procedures for classroom use
from a range of different methodologies/approaches. This is very typical of current
practice. eg. pattern practice drills in a TBL lesson.
pro-drop
A pro-drop language (from "pronoun-dropping") is a language in which
certain classes of pronouns may be omitted when they are in some sense pragmatically
inferable. The phenomenon of "pronoun-dropping" is also commonly referred to in
linguistics as zero or null anaphora. English is considered a non-pro-drop language.
Nonetheless, subject pronouns are almost always dropped in commands (e.g., Come
here); and in informal speech, pronouns and other words, especially copulas and
auxiliaries, may sometimes be dropped, especially from the beginnings of sentences:
teachable moments sensitive periods when conditions are optimal for integration of
previous knowledge and the accomplishment of new developmental task with
assistance.
discrete item Any unit of the grammar system that is sufficiently narrowly defined to form
the focus of a lesson or exercise. eg. the present continuous, the definite article but
NOT "verbs".
intrusive /w/ When a word begins with a vowel sound, it links with the word before. This
sound is inserted between two rounded vowels, for example between : you are / you eat.
It can also occur within a word, such as cooperate.
instrusive /j/ When a word begins with a vowel sound, it links with the word before. This
sound is inserted between flatter vowels eg. a free evening.
delexicalised verbs verbs that have little meaning alone but that can be joined together
with many other words, so generating a wide variety of new meanings. These have also
been called 'empty' verbs. Learners often have problems with these verbs because they
try to find a general meaning. eg. the get in get older