ELT Glossary

A Glossary of ELT Terms


 * Accent: This    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.

Acculturation: The    process of adapting to a new culture. This involves understanding different    systems of thought, beliefs, emotions, and communication systems. Acculturation is an important concept for understanding S.L.A., since    successful learning is more likely when learners succeed in acculturating.

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. The internalization of rules and formulas which are then used to communicate in the L2. For some researchers, such as Krashen, 'acquisition' is unconscious and spontaneous, and 'learning' is conscious, developing through formal study.


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


 * Applied Linguistics: The study of the relationship between theory and practice. The    main emphasis is usually on language teaching, but can also be applied to     translation, lexicology, among others.      

Authentic Materials: Unscripted materials or those which have not been specially    written for classroom use, though they may have been edited. Examples    include newspaper texts and TV broadcasts.

Behaviorist Learning theory: This a general theory of learning, developed by B F Skinner. It sees learning as the formation of habits. Environmental factors (input,    teacher, classroom, etc.) are seen as more important than the student's     mental, internal factors.

Bilingualism: Being    able to communicate effectively in two or more languages, with more or     less the same degree of proficiency.

Blended Learning: Learning    which involves a combination of e-learning and face-to-face learning.

CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning): An approach to language teaching and    learning which uses computer technology.


 * Communicative Language Teaching: An 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, among others.

Comprehensible Input: When native speakers and teachers speak to L2 learners, they    often adjust their speech to make it more comprehensible. Such    comprehensible input may be a necessary condition for acquisition to     occur.

Comprehensible Output: The language produced by the learner (the 'output') may be    comprehensible or incomprehensible. The efforts learners make to be    comprehensible may play a part in acquisition.


 * Content-based E.S.L.: A model of language education that integrates language and    content instruction in the second language classroom; a second language     learning approach where second language teachers use instructional     materials, learning tasks, and classroom techniques from academic content     areas as the vehicle for developing second language, content, cognitive     and study skills.

Corpus (s.); Corpuses, Corpora (pl.): A corpus is an amount of collected texts,    held in a computer, which can be accessed and analyzed by means of a     concordancer. Corpuses can be based on spoken text, or on written text. Well-known corpuses are the British National Corpus, and the COBUILD Bank    of English corpus. CONCORDANCER and WORDSMITH TOOLs


 * Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis: According to this hypothesis, L2 errors are the result of    differences between the learner's first language and the target language,     and these differences can be used to identify or predict errors that will     occur.

Cooperative/Collaborative Group: A grouping arrangement in which positive interdependence and    shared responsibility for task completion are established among group     members; the type of organizational structure encouraging heterogeneous     grouping, shared leadership, and social skills development.

Dialect: The    regional variety of a language, differing from the standard language, in     grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation or idiomatic usage.

E.S.P.: English for Specific Purposes; e.g., for business, science and technology,    medicine among others.


 * EAP: English for Academic Purposes – The study or teaching of English with specific    reference to an academic (usually a university- or college-based) course.


 * EFL: English    as a Foreign Language – English language programs in countries where     English is not the common or official language. It is used in American     university programs where international students study English although     the use of the word “foreign” is now avoided in some schools because of     its xenophobic connotations.


 * ELT: English Language Teaching or Training–A term coined in the UK and designed to replace    EFL. It is in use around the world but has yet to catch on in the USA..


 * Error Analysis: In    this procedure, samples of learner language are collected and the errors     are identified, described, and classified according to their hypothesized     causes. The errors are then evaluated for relative seriousness.


 * ESL: English as a Second Language – English language programs in countries where    English is the dominant or official language. programs designed for     non-English-speaking immigrants in the USA are ESL programs.


 * ESOL: English to Speakers of Other Languages–a term often used to describe elementary and    secondary English language programs. It is sometimes used to distinguish     ESL classes within adult basic education programs.


 * ESP: English for Specific Purposes–a term that refers to teaching or studying    English for a particular career (like law or medicine) or for business in     general.


 * Interlanguage: The    learner's knowledge of the L2 which is independent of both the L1 and the     actual L2. This term can refer to: i) the series of interlocking systems     which characterize acquisition; ii) the system that is observed at a     single stage of development (an 'interlanguage'); and iii) particular     L1/L2 combinations.


 * Language Acquisition Device (LAD): a term coined by Noam Chomsky to explain an innate psychological    capacity for language acquisition.


 * Learning styles: The    way(s) that particular learners prefer to learn a language. Some have a     preference for hearing the language (auditory learners), some for seeing     it written down (visual learners), some for learning it in discrete bits     (analytic learners), some for experiencing it in large chunks (global or     holistic or experiential learners) and many prefer to do something     physical whilst experiencing the language (kinaesthetic learners).


 * Learning: The    internalization of rules and formulas which can be used to communicate in     the L2. Krashen uses this term for formal learning in the classroom.


 * Linguistic Competence: A broad term used to describe the totality of a given    individual's language ability; the underlying language system believed to     exist as inferred from an individual's language performance.


 * Multilingualism: Ability    to speak more than two languages; proficiency in many languages.


 * Multiple Intelligences (Also MI): A theory of intelligence that characterizes human    intelligence as having multiple dimensions that must be acknowledged and     developed in education. The theory of MI is based on the work of the     psychologist Gardner who posits 8 intelligences.


 * Neuro Llinguistic Programming. (Also NLP): A training philosophy and set of training    techniques first developed by John Grindler and Richard Bandler in the mid     -1970s as an alternative form of therapy. Important within language     teaching to teachers interested in humanistic approaches, i.e. those which     focus on developing one’s sense of self-actualization and self-awareness


 * Passive Vocabulary: The vocabulary that students are able to understand compared    to that which they are able to use. Contrasted with Active Vocabulary.


 * Process approach: The    process approach focuses on the means whereby learning occurs. The process     is more important than the product. In terms of writing, the important     aspect is the way in which completed text was created. The act of     composing evolves through several stages as writers discover, through the     process, what it is that they are trying to say: See product approach.


 * Product approach: The    product approach focuses on the end result of teaching/learning. In terms     of writing, there should be something "resulting" from the     composition lesson (e.g. letter, essay, story, etc.). This result should     be readable, grammatically correct and obeying discourse conventions     relating to main points, supporting details and so on: See process     approach.


 * Second language: The    term is used to refer to a language which is not a mother tongue but which     is used for certain communicative functions in a society. Thus English is     a second language in Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Singapore. French is a second     language in Senegal, Cameroon and Tahiti: See foreign language.


 * Target language: This    is the language that the learner is attempting to learn. It comprises the     native speaker's grammar.


 * Task based: This    refers to materials or courses which are designed around a series of     authentic tasks which give learners experience of using the language in     ways in which it is used in the 'real world' outside the classroom. They     have no pre-determined language syllabus and the aim is for learners to     learn from the tasks the language they need to participate successfully in     them. Examples of such tasks would be working out the itinerary of a     journey from a timetable, completing a passport application form, ordering     a product from a catalogue and giving directions to the post office: See     authentic tasks.


 * Universal Grammar: A set of general principles that apply to all languages,    rather than a set of particular rules.