(T)EFL

(Teaching) English as a Foreign Language – where the learners are likely to be learning English to use in an international, non-English situation.

(T)ESL

(Teaching) English as a Second Language – where the learners are likely to be living in an English speaking environment and need English to survive.

(T)ESOL

(Teaching) English to Speakers of Other Languages. This is currently the most fashionable term!

A ccuracy

Often compared to fluency, as one of the things which is desirable in a learner. Different approaches have different attitudes to fluency & accuracy, although ideally a learner will have a high level of both!

A pproach

This is the theoretical background behind a classroom technique – so the Communicative Approach is a way of looking at what and how to teach. We can call the actual classroom practice method.

CELTA

Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults – a basic level teaching qualificatuion offered by the University of Cambridge ESOL section.

CertTESOL

Trinity Certificate in TESOL – a similar qualification to the CELTA, offered by Trinity College in London.

C ollocation (1)

Putting words together. For learners this can be when we use certain lexemes together – for example we say make the bed to mean tidy the bed , lay the table to mean put the cutlery etc on the table.

C ollocation (2)

Putting words together. Sometimes this can very tight, for example the collocation washing machine is fixed, in that you can’t separate them, whereas wine glass is less fixed as the word glass can mean wine glass. This goes up to Textual Collocation, where lexemes from a lexical set are used in a text with a very tenuous connection.

D eductive

A way of approaching grammar with learners. In a deductive approach, the rules of the language are presented first, before going on to practice those rules. Compare inductive .

DELTA

Diploma in English Language Teaching to Adults. This is the higher level teaching qualification offered by Cambridge ESOL.

D iscourse

T he way people use language in a day to day situation – which is governed by certain rules and regulations which are not really definable as structural.

EAP

English for Academic Purposes

E clectic

An approach which combines different approaches as and when needed.

Elicit

Bringing the language out of the learners, rather than forcing it onto them.

ELT

English Language Teaching

ESP

English for Specific Purposes

E xtensive

When we talk about receptive skills, they can be divided into two broad types. Extensive listening/reading is when people listen or read for the general idea, for gist, for fun. This is how we usually listen to the radio, watch TV and read novels and magazines. See intensive

F irst L anguage

The learner’s native language

F luency

Often compared to accuracy, as one of the things which is desirable in a learner. Different approaches have different attitudes to fluency & accuracy, although ideally a learner will have a high level of both!

G raphology

Another word for orthography

Humanistic Approaches

Approaches which use the “whole student”, involving the student on all levels, not just as a language learner, but as a human being.

I nductive

A way of approaching grammar with learners. If grammar is taught through an inductive approach, the teacher presents the learners with language before giving learners the opportunity to work out the rule for themselves. See deductive

I ntensive

When we talk about receptive skills, they can be divided into two broad types. Intensive listening/reading is when people listen or read for the details and specific information. This is how we usually listen to weather information, train/bus/plane announcements, watch cookery programmes on TV (if we want to use the recipe) and read timetables and instruction books. See extensive

L exeme

A single unit of lexis. Sometimes called a “word”, but more specific. For example, how many words is “washing machine”? It’s two if you use the word count on your computer, but it only carries one meaning. If you separate the lexeme, it loses its meaning. See morpheme

L exical set

A group of lexemes which relate to a particular meaning – so car, plane, drive and ship are all parts of the lexical set we can call transport. It has been suggested that we use this kind of organisation when we are learning a language, and that to present lexis this way is good for learners.

L exis

Vocabulary

M ethod

What happens in a classroom – what a teacher actually does, depending on his/her approach

M orpheme

A part of a lexeme. The smallest possible unit of lexis – the word jumped  has two morphemes jump and ed. For a mental puzzle, what are the morphemes in cheeseburger and where do they come from?

M orphology

The study of how morphemes work in a language

O rthography

The characters used in writing. This is not usually a problem for speakers of Western European languages, but can be a major problem.

P honeme

A single sound, for example /p/

P honemics

The study of the individual sounds in a language

P honology

The study of how the sounds of a language work together .

PPP

Presentation, Practice, Production. A simple standard for planning a three stage lesson – first the language is presented by the teacher, the students then practice it in a controlled way before moving onto a production stage, where the students have a chance to use the language in a realistic situation.

P roductive S kills

Speaking & Writing, where the language user makes the language. See receptive skills

R eceptive S kills

L istening & reading, where the language user doesn’t make language. See also productive skills .

Silent Way

An approach & method which uses artificial tools to present language, in particular Cuisenaire rods and silence.

S tructure

How we use words in language – grammar in other words.

Suggestopedia

A rather grand approach, which uses various kinds of music and poetry to present language. Only for the very brave.

T arget L anguage

The language to be learned – in our case, English. This is a better term than second language as some learners may already have two or more languages!

Task B ased Learning

An approach to learning and teaching where the learners are exposed to the language in its natural situation before moving onto trying to use it themselves.