Achievement test

This test evaluates a learner's understanding

of a specific course or study programme.

acquisition

The process of picking up a language without
formal instruction and without a sustained
conscious effort to learn the language.

Action research

A development tool for a teacher that involves
observing or gathering other data about a class
through interviews, case studies, and questionnaires.

Adjacency pair

A sequence of two related utterances by two
different speakers. The first utterance leads
to a set of expectations about the response.

affixation

words formed by the combination of

bound affixes and free morphemes

agglutinative language

language in which each affix carries

one item of grammatical meaning

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/

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/)

Anaphoric reference

A word or phrase that refers back to another

word or phrase which was used earlier in a

written or spoken text.

Apodosis

The main clause in a conditional

sentence.

back-channelling

The verbal signals given by the listener to

indicate interest, attention, surprise etc. (eg

really, uh-huh, yeah)

Backwash

The positive or negative impact of a

test on classroom teaching.

bilabial plosive

A non-continuant consonant articulation

where the lips are pressed together./p/ /b/

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.

Code mixing

Switching between two or more language within sentences
and phrases - often used to show belonging and solidarity
within bilingual or multilingual communities.

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.

cognitive deficit

The limitations on processing information

in a second language compared to in L1.

cohesion

The use of grammatical and lexical means to

achieve connected text, either spoken or

written.

Collocation

Two or more words that co-occur in a

language more often that would be expected

by chance.

Connotation

The attitudinal meaning of a word, which may be
culturally determined, such as whether it carries a
positive or negative meaning.

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

construct validity

the degree to which a measure actually

assesses what it claims to assess

content validity

the extent to which a test samples the

behavior that is of interest

Content word

A word which carries meaning when used

alone and refers to a thing, state, quality or

action.

conversion

the process by which an item becomes a

different word class. eg noun to verb

(water/to water)

coordinating conjunction

a conjunction (like 'and' or 'or') that connects

two identically constructed grammatical

constituents

copula verb

a verb that connects the subject to the

complement. They are sometimes called

linking verbs.

cotext

the linguistic environment in which a

word is used within a text

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.

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

denotation

the most direct or specific meaning of

a word or expression

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)

Diagnostic test

A test that helps the teacher and learners

identify problems that they have with the

language.

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.

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.

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)

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

Discourse management

The ability to produce extended written and

spoken texts, for example conversations.

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".

discrete item test

used when we want to know if a learner can

recognise or produce a specific language item

display questions

Asked by teachers in order to find out what a

learner can say in the target language.

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.

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.

Ephenthesis

The process of adding vowels to make
possible syllables out of impossible consonant
sequences, for example /helep/ for help.

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.

Formative assessment

Assessment which checks students' progress
during a course. Only tests what has been
taught on the course. eg Progress test

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.

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.

fricative consonant

A consonant sound where the flow of air is

partially constricted and released slowly. eg

/f/ /s/

Grammar-Translation

An approach to second language teaching
characterized by the explicit teaching of grammar
rules and the use of translation exercises.

homograph

words written the same way, but pronounced

differently, and have different meanings. eg

windy day, windy road.

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_?

homophone

words which are written differently, and have

different meanings, but pronounced the

same. eg sew, so

hyponym

Describes the relationship between words

represented by the formula X is a type of Y.

eg banana to fruit.

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.

idiom

an expression whose meanings cannot be

inferred from the meanings of the words that

make it up. eg. to make ends meet

induction

The process of working out rules on the basis

of examples. Also called discovery learning.

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.

interference

The negative influence of one language

whilst learning another language.

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.

intransitive verb

a verb (or verb construction) that

does not take an object

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.

Lexicon

The vocabulary of a language.

meronym

a whole-part relationship where X is

a part of Y. eg wheel to car.

Metalanguage

The language used to describe, analyse or explain
another language including, for example, grammatical
terms and rules of syntax.

minimal pair

Two words that are identical except for one

sound, revealing which phonemes are

semantically significant

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

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)

Non-gradable adjectives

Adjectives that cannot be expressed

in degrees and so cannot be graded.

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.

Nuclear stress

The place in an utterance where the major

pitch movement begins, marking the focal

point of the message.

Order of acquisition

The order in which grammar/language

items are thought to be acquired.

parallelism

phrases or sentences of a similar
construction/meaning placed side by side, balancing
each other, to aid grammatical cohesion

parataxis

The placing of clauses or phrases one after another,
without words to indicate coordination or
subordination, as in Tell me, how are you

Parsing

the process of analyzing a text to determine its
grammatical structure with respect to a given formal
grammar. Also known as syntactic analysis.

phatic language

Language whose purpose is to smooth the

conduct of social relations. It has an

interpersonal function.

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.

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.

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.

phrasal verb

an English verb followed by one or more

particles where the combination behaves as a

syntactic and semantic unit

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).

polysemy

This refers to the case where one word

has more than one related meaning.

Pragmatic competence

The ability to use language in a

contextually appropriate fashion.

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.

priming

The process by which a word gathers

particular associations through repeated

encounters.

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.

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:

process writing

An approach to writing where learners are
encouraged to brainstorm, plan, draft, re-draft,
review, and "publish" their written work.

prosodic features

The stress, rhythm, and intonation along

with tempo, loudness and voice quality of

speech.

Realia

Real objects used as teaching aids to make
learning more natural. Includes items such as
tickets, pictures, clothes, etc.

redundancy

Approximately 50% of all items in a spoken
English utterance are not absolutely vital in

order to achieve communication.

Register

The language appropriate to

particular types of situations.

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.

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 Cuisinière 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)

Structural syllabus

A syllabus which is based around a series of
grammatical structures, which are sequenced
according to assumed level of complexity.

subjective test

A test which requires the markers to evaluate

and not just to follow a mark sheet.

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.

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

suprasegmental

the sound of the whole utterance. Important
for receptive fluency. What happens at word

boundaries.

TALO

Text as a Linguistic Object

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.

TASP

Text as a Stimulus for Production

Tautology

When two synonyms are placed consecutively

or very close together for effect. eg. the

reason why

TAVI

Text as a Vehicle for Information

teachable moments

sensitive periods when conditions are optimal for
integration of previous knowledge and the
accomplishment of new developmental task with
assistance.

tenses

a 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

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.

transitive verb

a verb (or verb construction) that requires an

object in order to be grammatical

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.

uptake

What learners report to have learnt from a language
lesson. Typically this does not match what the teacher
intended to teach.

Utterance

a complete unit of talk, bounded by

the speaker's silence.

Utterance meaning

The meaning of something that is said, including the
words used, the speaker's tone and posture and other
contextual considerations.

word family

A group of words which share the same root
but have different affixes, as in care, careful,
careless, carefree, uncaring, carer.