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Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language ISBN: 9781111351694

Glossary of Key Terms

academic language a variety of language involving complex and varied technical

and sub-technical vocabulary, complex grammatical patterns and text structures (e.g., problem-solution and comparison-contrast), cohesive devices (transition words), and meta-discourse expressions; typically used for cognitively abstract content and demanding academic reading, writing, speaking, and listening; contrasts with informal (primarily oral) social language

academic listening the processing of spoken language in academic contexts, e.g., lectures, seminars, tutorials and on-line media

accentedness the extent to which an accent is perceived as different from one’s own; compare intelligibility, comprehensibility, and interpretability

accuracy the degree to which language forms are grammatically, phonetically, and/or lexically correct; compare fluency

action research a research method that involves teachers identifying an issue in their classroom and systematically collecting and analyzing data to illuminate the issue; often involves iterative cycles of planning, acting, observing, reflecting, and replanning; considered to be a form of teacher or practitioner research carried out by people within the setting under investigation; compare teacher research

action zone the pattern of teacher-student interaction revolving around those students who actively participate or who are called on by the teacher to contribute

adapting a textbook the process through which a teacher makes changes in textbook materials to have them better fit a particular group of students

adjunct instruction an approach to content-based language teaching in which L2 students concurrently enroll in a language and a content course; the tasks and assignments are generally coordinated between the language and content instructors; compare content and language integrated learning, content-based instruction, sheltered instruction, and theme-based instruction

advance organizer an organizational framework that is presented in advance of a lesson to emphasize its central idea, e.g., having students skim a reading text or using a graphic organizer to present key ideas


and vocabulary

aesthetic reading a term coined by Louise Rosenblatt to designate a process in which a text is mainly read to provide pleasure for the reader

allomorph a predictable variation in the form of a morpheme; for example, the regular past tense (-ed) morpheme has three allomorphs that vary according to the phonological environment: /t/ in walked, /d/ in jogged, and /əәd/ in waited.; compare morpheme, morphology, morphosyntax

alphabetic writing a writing system where the graphic sign is linked to a spoken sound or phoneme

analytical approach according to David Wilkins, one of two broad approaches to syllabus design; this approach uses topics, text, tasks and experiential content rather than linguistic content as its point of departure and is favored by communicative approaches to language teaching (e.g., task-based language teaching, content-based language teaching); compare synthetic approach

analytic rubric an assessment tool that rates the various components of student performance and provides scores for each one; compare holistic rubric and rubric

approach a theory of language and language learning that includes units of linguistic analysis and psychological and pedagogical principles; compare design, methodology, and procedure

appropriacy the degree to which language use is communicatively acceptable in a given situation

asynchronous media online communication that does not happen in “real time” but rather at different times (for example e-mail); compare synchronous media

authentic a term that describes language or tasks that approximate those used in the real world for non-pedagogical purposes, i.e., for genuine communication; compare authentic discourse and authenticity

authentic discourse discourse (oral or written) that was produced for some communicative purpose and not artificially constructed with language teaching in mind; compare authentic and authenticity

authenticity the degree to which texts and tasks are ‘real’ rather than artificially created; compare authentic and authentic discourse

automaticity the ability, typically developed through extensive practice, to perform a language task without conscious or deliberate effort;


also referred to as automatization

baseline data in research studies, data gathered to document the status quo before an experimental treatment or before the implementation of a change whose effect the researcher wishes to investigate

basic interpersonal communication skills (BICS)

according to Jim Cummins, a learner’s language proficiency that is characterized by a command of every-day, conversational or social language; compare cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP)

basics of writing the ability to recognize and produce the graphic signs of the writing system of a language and their most frequent combinations

beginner’s paradox the challenge faced by beginning learners of a second or foreign language who do not know enough words to comprehend a text when reading and thus are unable to read enough to acquire new words through exposure

bias systematic differences in the meaning of test scores based on group membership, e.g., gender, ethnicity, social class

bilingual an individual possessing age-appropriate skills in two languages, although the nature and extent of the skill in each language may vary according to multiple individual and situational influences

bilingual education a program of education in which two languages are used as the means of classroom instruction for a given group of students, such that the students receive some of their instruction in one language and some in the other, with the proportion of each language varying according to program type, instructional goals, and various contextual influences

biliteracy the ability to read and write in two languages

blog a shortened form of weblog, a type of online diary or journal that typically focuses on one topic and invites comments from readers

bottom-up literacy skills

“lower-level” (text-based) skills involved in reading and writing that include building meaning via decoding text (letter-sound correspondences), recognizing words and word parts, understanding and parsing phrase and sentence structure

bottom-up processing the process whereby a learner applies existing knowledge of sound segments, words, phrases etc. to make sense of or to produce a spoken or written text; often involves the segmentation of linguistic units to: (1) help the reader or listener interpret the text or utterance; or (2) help the speaker or writer to produce or reformulate the text or utterance;


compare top-down processing

computer assisted language learning (CALL)

instruction in which the learning process is facilitated through the use of computers

career technical education (CTE)

training in vocational fields, such as auto technician, welding, or certified nursing assistant (formerly called vocational education); compare Vocational English as a Second Language

caregiver speech how a caregiver, typically a parent or grandparent, may talk to a child learning language in order to aid in comprehension, using, for example, clear pronunciation, a slower rate of speech, shorter and simpler utterances, rephrasing, and repetition; also referred to as child-directed speech, caretaker speech, motherese, or teacherese

Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment Systems (CASAS)

a U.S.-based non-profit organization that provides teachers and school systems curricula and assessments with a focus on basic skills

co-text refers to the discourse context of a form or construction, i.e., to what comes before and what comes after the form or construction; the co-text is often influenced by the genre or register of the given piece of discourse

characterization a term describing how an author portrays a character in a short story or a novel by carefully selecting what the character thinks, says, and does

chunks sequences of words that are repeatedly used together, for example you know what I mean, by the way, I don’t know; easily identified using corpus research

claims assertions or statements of interpretation that assessment developers (teachers, committees, or agencies) make regarding an assessment

classical languages ancient languages with a rich literary tradition; for the purposes of this text, Classical Greek and Classical Latin

classroom research research based on the collection of empirical data within classrooms which investigates how classroom activities and interaction patterns affect the teaching/learning process; also referred to as classroom-centered research and classroom-based research

closed task a task for which there is a single correct answer, solution, or outcome

cloze a type of assessment in which randomly-selected or deliberately-selected words in a written passage have been


deleted and the test taker fills in the blanks

cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP)

according to Jim Cummins, a learner’s language proficiency that is characterized by not only a command of basic interpersonal communication skills (BICS) but also those language and literacy skills required for academic study; compare basic interpersonal communication skills (BICS)

cognitive flexibility the ability to adapt strategy use to unfamiliar or unexpected moments in language learning or use

cognitive processes a learner’s conscious or nonconscious mental behavior used to achieve some language learning objective

coherence the unity of a piece of discourse such that the individual sentences or utterances are connected to each other to form a meaningful whole with respect to the context; compare cohesion

cohesion the grammatical and/or lexical relationships between the different elements of a text, which hold across sentences or clauses; resulting from the use of various devices (e.g., reference items such as pronouns, transitional expressions such as therefore) that explicitly link propositions in the text; compare coherence

cohesive chain a group of linguistic structures used in a series for a single referent or meaning; for example, a personal pronoun, a demonstrative pronoun and a noun phrase with definite article the could be used in succession for the same referent; or a series of synonyms could be used to convey the same meaning (e.g., large, big, sizeable)

cohesive device a linguistic structure used to create connections across sentence boundaries, contributing to text coherence. In English, grammatical cohesive devices include personal pronouns (e.g., it), demonstrative pronouns and determiners (e.g., this), definite article the, and sentence adverbs (e.g., consequently), among others

communicative competence

the ability to use language, both oral and written, as well as language strategies, appropriately in diverse social situations for different purposes and with a variety of interlocutors or audience types, according to local community norms; compare discourse competence, linguistic competence, socio-cultural competence, and strategic competence

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)

an approach to language teaching dating from the 1970s that emphasizes the learning of language for (and by) meaningful interactions with others either through speech or writing, but usually with everyday speech as an initial priority


Community Language Learning

a language teaching method developed by Charles Curran based on a counseling model; students decide what they want to say, the teacher translates these utterances into the target language, and once many expressions have been elicited, the teacher writes the expressions on board and explains their structure

complementing or supplementing a textbook

the process through which a teacher selects and/or creates additional materials that are not provided in a textbook in order to enhance classroom instruction

complexity the use of a wide range of structures to form more varied sentences

comprehensibility the perceived ease with which a speaker can be understood; compare accentedness, intelligibility, and interpretability

comprehensible input a hypothesis developed by Stephen Krashen claiming that the language input required for language acquisition to occur should be just above students’ current level of understanding; often referred to as “i + 1”

concordancer a computer-based program that analyzes and displays grammatical, lexical, and lexicogrammatical patterns in spoken and written corpora, with the results typically displayed in strings of words that highlight the usage patterns

constructed response type

assessment tools that require students to provide a response using language that they have learned

content and language integrated learning (CLIL)

a pedagogical approach with a dual focus on the integration of second or foreign language study with subject matter learning; this terms is commonly used in Europe; compare adjunct instruction, content-based instruction, sheltered instruction, and theme-based instruction

content-based language teaching (CBLT)

an approach to the teaching of language in which content is the driving force behind the course or curriculum; it is often drawn from regular school subjects such as science, geography and mathematics or topics of themes of interest to students; also referred to as content-based language instruction; compare adjunct instruction, content and language integrated learning, sheltered instruction, and theme-based instruction

context analysis the gathering of information about contextual factors that will impact the curriculum; also referred to as situation analysis and environment analysis

conversation analysis the study of “talk-in-interaction,” which attempts to describe the organization of conversation in terms of its sequential


systems, rules, and structures

corpus a searchable, generally electronic collection of spoken and/or written texts which can be used to determine the frequency of occurrence of certain words and grammatical structure, along with other words or structures with which they co-occur

corpus-based approach

an approach that incorporates grammatical, lexical, or other linguistic descriptions based on structural patterns identified in a large collection of spoken and/or written texts such as found in dictionaries, collocation reference books, and concordancers

course managements system (CMS)

a software application which allows teachers to create a course learning space with a variety of classroom tools (e.g., live chat, a discussion board, a course calendar, links of interest)

criterion-referenced assessment

an assessment approach where the interpretation of test performance is absolute (i.e., in relation to some level of mastery)

critical ethnography a reflective and evaluative approach to researching target situations, requiring researchers to assess their own frames of reference and the effect of their work upon the context and the implications of their findings for society

critical literacy an approach to the teaching of literacy that seeks to examine how power inequities and human injustices can be reflected in texts

critical period hypothesis (CPH)

a theory that claims that: (1) there is a period from birth to puberty when children’s minds are flexible and able to acquire language naturally and easily; and that (2) following the onset of puberty native-like proficiency becomes increasingly difficult to achieve because of the biological changes in the brain

cultural values ideas, world-views, attitudes, opinions, principles, and knowledge shared by members of a particular society, and not necessarily shared or understood by members of other societies

curriculum a specification of the goals, objectives, content, procedures, and evaluation instruments underpinning a course of study, typically for a program entailing more than one course; compare syllabus

deductive approach an approach to the presentation of new material which begins by the teacher presenting the rules for a given teaching point, then providing examples that illustrate the rule; also referred to as rule-driven learning; compare inductive approach

Deixis The language we use to point to people, places and time, for


example, you, those people (point to people); this, that, over there (point to places); today, next week, back then (point to time)

descriptive grammar a description of how speakers of a language actually use the language; compare prescriptive grammar

descriptive observation

a style of observing classroom events in which the observer suppresses impulses to judge and evaluate teaching behaviors, often producing field notes that describe classroom events as non-judgmentally as possible

design curriculum objectives and syllabus types for teaching, including learning activities, materials, and the roles of teachers and learners; compare approach, methodology, and procedure

designer methods a term coined by David Nunan to describe methods developed and promoted by one individual and spread by disciples, e.g., Silent Way, Community Language Learning

developmental bilingual program

an educational program that aims to provide language and literacy instruction for learners in two languages from Kindergarten through elementary and occasionally through secondary levels as well; also referred to as a maintenance bilingual program

dictogloss a classroom activity in which students listen to a text read aloud to them and then reconstruct it in writing from their notes; can be done individually or in pairs or groups; also referred to as dictocomp

discourse an instance of spoken or written language that has describable, internal form and meaning (e.g., words, structures, cohesive devices) relating coherently to an external function or purpose and a given audience or interlocutor

discourse analysis the study of language in use (both spoken and written) that extends beyond sentence boundaries

discourse competence The ability of a learner to construct coherent and cohesive oral and written discourse in the target language and to interact with others (e.g., in conversations, email, business letters) in a coherent and acceptable manner; compare communicative competence, linguistic competence, socio-cultural competence, and strategic competence

discourse structure awareness

conscious awareness of the ways in which text information is organized and the signals that provide cues to that organization; often used by good readers for reading comprehension and good writers for effective text production


display question a question (usually posed by the teacher) asking the learner to provide specific information related to the lesson content (e.g., from a written text or as part of a grammar drill or homework correction task); typically display questions require lower order thinking skills or rote memory; compare referential question

double immersion program

a form of immersion in which instruction in two foreign languages takes place concurrently, for example, native English-speaking students learning French and Hebrew in a double immersion program; compare immersion, partial immersion, two-way immersion, and total immersion

early-exit bilingual program

an educational program for English language learners that provides instruction in two languages for a limited number of years (ranging from 3-4 years) after which the curriculum and instruction continues in one language, generally the politically dominant one; also referred to as transitional programs

efferent reading a term coined by Louise Rosenblatt in which a reader focuses on the message of the text and on extracting information (as is too often the case in literature classes) rather than on its aesthetics

elicitation any technique designed to get the learner to produce language in speech or writing

ellipsis the omission of words or phrases which can be understood from the co-text (textual ellipsis) or the situation (situational ellipsis); common informal speech and writing

emergentism in the context of second language acquisition, theories that assume that: (1) language use and acquisition emerge gradually from basic cognitive processes that are not specific to language; and that (2) learners respond to the frequency of the forms they are exposed to in the input

emic perspective in classroom research, a point of view that describes behaviors or beliefs in terms meaningful (consciously or unconsciously) to participants; reflective of insiders’ views, i.e., what insiders know and/or believe to be true; compare etic perspective

English as a foreign language (EFL)

English that is studied and learned in contexts where English is not commonly spoken, e.g., Korea, Turkey, Peru; compare English as a second language, English as a lingua franca, English as an international language

English as a lingua franca (ELF)

the varieties of English that are emerging in Europe and Asia as a result of non-native speakers of English using English to communicate with other non-native speakers; compare English as a foreign language, English as a second


language, English as an international language

English as a second language (ESL)

English that is studied and learned in contexts where English is commonly spoken, e.g., the U.S., U.K., Australia, Singapore; compare English as a foreign language, English as a lingua franca, English as an international language

English as an international language (EIL)

a term that recognizes that English has spread well beyond its original borders and now exhibits numerous varieties, with more non-native than native users; used across national boundaries for purposes of diplomacy, business, science, entertainment, etc., often quite apart from its historical and cultural origins; compare English as a foreign language, English as a lingua franca, English as a second language

English learner (EL) preferred term for students in U.S. schools who are placed in English as a second language classes that are designed for the study of English; alternative term for English language learner (ELL), which is also commonly used

English to Speakers of Other languages (ESOL)

a preferred term that refers to the subject studied in U.S. schools by speakers of other languages in recognition of the fact that many students may be learning English as their third or even fourth language; often used interchangeably with English as a second language (ESL)

e-portfolio a collection of selected digital items (documents, video or audio files, etc.) which highlights an individual’s learning over a period of time

Engage, Study, Activate (ESA)

a series of lesson phases proposed by Jeremy Harmer as an alternative to Presentation-Practice-Production; in ESA, the lesson begins with “Engage”–a phase in which learner attention is stimulated and motivation is thus enhanced; this is followed by “Study”–a phase in which language awareness is heightened and learners engage in language practice; finally in “Activate” learners apply what has been learned, engaging in meaningful communication; compare Presentation, Practice, Production (PPP)

estrangement device a tool for gathering information in classrooms that provides an outsider’s perspective (for example, video and audio recordings which provide opportunities for teachers to be able to see their own teaching behaviors as other might see them)

ethnographic investigations

the long-term study of the beliefs and behavior of social groups

etic perspective in classroom research, a point of view that describes behaviors or beliefs in terms that are meaningful to the outsider (e.g., a researcher, supervisor, mentor); reflective of an outsider’s


view, i.e., what outsiders see and/or believe to hold true; compare emic perspective.

every-day writing task a writing activity that students might do outside of their school assignments such as shopping lists, logs/diaries/journals, letters/notes, text messages, e-mail messages, blogs, etc.; compare school-oriented writing tasks

evidence any research finding based on analysis of assessment data, assessment performance, and the impact of assessments

expanding circle based on B. B. Kachru, countries where English is learned as a foreign language (such as China, Japan, and Brazil) and where the target English variety is an Inner Circle model such as American or British English; compare inner circle and outer circle

explicit instruction the focused study of words, structures, or sound patterns; also referred to as intentional instruction

extensive reading an approach to the teaching and learning of reading in which the emphasis is placed on the top-down aspects of reading larger amounts of text that are within students’ range of linguistic competence; compare intensive reading

fairness the quality of assessment procedures that guarantees equitable opportunity to learn, with score interpretations and determinations that are free of bias

far transfer the transfer of knowledge or strategies that were learned in one situation to another, different or changing learning situation; in English for Specific purposes (ESP) programs, this is a central goal so as to enable learners to modify and adapt their existing knowledge and strategies for their future use in different contexts

fluency the ability to read, speak, or write easily, smoothly, and expressively; a relative concept that must take into account task, topic, learner’s age, and amount of second language exposure; compare accuracy

focused task a communicative task that is designed to get learners to practice a predetermined linguistic form; compare task; unfocused task

focus-on-form instruction that overtly draws students’ attention to linguistic elements as they arise in lessons which focus mainly on meaning or communication; compare focus-on-forms

focus-on-forms an approach that is evident in the traditional approach to grammar teaching based on a structural syllabus, with the underlying assumption that language learning is a process of


accumulating distinct linguistic elements or constituents; compare focus-on-form

formative assessment assessments used while instruction is in progress to promote student learning; compare summative assessment

formative assessment of teaching

a procedure used to enhance the learning of teaching (not to evaluate the quality of teaching behaviors); typically characterized as assessment for teacher development over time; compare summative assessment of teaching

form-function relationship

the relationship that a linguistic structure has with its use, such as a passive verb used: (1) to place focus on the recipient of an action rather than the agent; or (2) to avoid naming an agent responsible for the action

function in the notional-functional syllabus, one of the two organizational principles determining the selection of items to be taught; this principle takes into consideration the communicative purposes of a language (both formal and informal), often involving particular grammatical forms and lexical expressions that signal the function; some common classroom functions include reporting, summarizing, agreeing and disagreeing, expressing a position, identifying, defining, sequencing, hypothesizing, predicting, describing, comparing and contrasting; compare notion, notional-functional syllabus

functional literacy minimum reading and writing abilities to meet basic personal, social, and occupational needs

functional load the relative importance or frequency of a linguistic contrast in making distinctions in meaning

future self -guide a possible self that acts as a forward-pointing force by providing incentive, direction, and impetus for action in order to reduce the discrepancy between one’s actual self and the projected ideal/ought-to selves

General American English Pronunciation (GA)

the pronunciation of many Americans whose speech has few marked regional influences; the norm for teaching English pronunciation to second language learners in the U.S.

genre originally considered a text type, genre is now seen as a textual (or spoken) approach to a given situation, a social action often sanctioned and conventionalized by a community of readers or writers

global errors According to Marina Burt and Carol Kiparsky, errors that lead to misunderstanding or miscommunication of a sentence; compare local errors


glocalization a term blending the concepts of globalization and localization, referring to when something global is locally adapted to each locality or culture in which it is used/sold; initially a term from economics, now used by applied linguists to refer to global language teaching methods/practices which are locally adapted

goals the description in broad terms of the general learning outcomes of a course; also referred to as aims, purposes, and general learning outcomes; compare objectives

grammar the system of language that includes inflections, structures, and patterned sequences (constructions) in language that have meanings and uses

grammaring the ability to use grammar constructions accurately, meaningfully, and appropriately

graphic organizer a diagram or chart (such as a spider map or a T-graph) used to organize or represent knowledge graphically with the intent of enhancing comprehension, learning, and critical thinking ability; also referred to as visual organizer, advance organizer, or concept map; compare KWL chart

group cohesiveness the strength of the relationships linking group members to one another and to the group itself

group dynamics the science of the social behavior of small groups overlapping a number of fields (e.g., social psychology, clinical psychology, and sociology) that involve groups as focal points around which human activities and relationships are organized

group norms implicit and explicit rules of conduct in the classroom that regulate the life of the learner group and that make joint learning possible

guided imagery a variety of techniques to focus and direct one’s imagination, utilizing visualization and to a lesser extent the non-visual senses

hedging a linguistic device used by a speaker or writer to “soften” or qualify an assertion; hedging structures include probability adjectives and adverbs (e.g., possible, possibly), modal verbs (e.g., could, may), quantifiers (e.g., most, many), and expressions such as sort of, kind of etc.

heritage language students who speak a language at home (their first language) that differs from the majority language of the community in which they live (their second language) and whose education has taken place primarily in the second language; when seeking to obtain advanced literacy skills in their home language, these students are often placed in special heritage sections (e.g., Spanish for native speakers) due to their


differing learning profile from that of traditional foreign language learners

holistic rubric an assessment tool that rates student performance as a whole and generates a single score; compare analytic rubric and rubric

immersion education a type of foreign language program which typically serves language majority students in North American contexts. Immersion programs vary in terms of the amount of subject matter instruction in the L2; compare total immersion, partial immersion, two-way immersion, double immersion

incidental word learning

vocabulary that is “picked up” or acquired when a learner’s attention is focused elsewhere (e.g., on meaning)

incumbent worker workers currently employed who are undergoing (re)training to improve performance on the job

inductive approach presentation of new material which begins by the teacher presenting examples, then guiding the students to arrive at the rule based on the examples presented; also referred to as discovery learning; compare deductive approach

information gap activity

an activity in which selected information is known by one participant but not the other and the participants must discover and share the information to complete the task

initiation-response-evaluation (IRE)

a classroom interactional sequence in which the teacher asks a student a display question and then signals whether the students’ response is correct or not followed by a brief evaluation; compare initiation-response-feedback (IRF)

initiation-response-feedback (IRF)

a classroom interactional sequence in which the teacher asks the student a referential question; after the student responds, the teacher provides feedback and uses the student’s response to continue the conversational exchange (often over multiple turns); compare initiation-response-evaluation (IRE)

inner circle based on B. B. Kachru, countries where English is a native language (such as the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada); compare expanding circle and outer circle

input modification the ways in which teachers alter their classroom language based on their perceptions of learners’ proficiency level

integrated instruction the integration of the four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) during instruction

intelligibility the extent to which a message can actually be understood; compare accentedness, comprehensibility, and interpretability


intensive reading an approach to the teaching and learning of reading in which the emphasis is placed on the bottom-up aspects of reading texts of a limited length; compare extensive reading

interlanguage (1) the series of interlocking systems moving from the first language (L1) to the second language (L2) which characterize language acquisition; (2) the system that is observed at a single stage of development (i.e., an interlanguage); and (3) particular L1 and L2 combinations (for example, L1 French/L2 English versus L1 Japanese/L2 English)

intermediate level slump

the transition from learning to read to reading to learn, often characterized by a slowing of progress and frustration due to students’ belief that they are more advanced than they really are; compare learning to read, reading to learn

international teaching assistant (ITA)

at the university level, international graduate students hired by departments to serve as teaching assistants; often, a certain level of language proficiency is required by the university for students to serve as ITAs

interpretability the extent to which a listener is able to figure out a speaker’s intentions; compare accentedness, comprehensibility, and intelligibility

intertextuality the use of others’ texts (or one’s own previous texts) in shaping a newly-created text, for example by citing other authors or alluding to commonly known works

jigsaw activity an activity in which individuals receive different but related parts of something, and then work together to complete the whole; in jigsaw reading and listening tasks, individuals receive parts of a text that is shared and reconstructed in groups

KWL chart a graphic organizer commonly used for promoting strategic reading or listening; the chart motivates students to engage in the text by having them discover what they already know (the K stage), what they want to know (the W stage), and what they have learned (the L stage); also referred to as a KWHL chart (with H representing the How stage); compare graphic organizer

Language Experience Approach (LEA)

a method of teaching first and second language literacy in which a group of students first experiences some activity or event together; then, drawing upon that common experience, the students dictate statements describing the experience to the teacher (or another student) who writes them down; this story is then used for various reading and language practice


activities; particularly effective for beginning and intermediate English as a second or foreign language students, and for showing the relationship between oral and written language

language majority speakers of a dominant language, either politically or numerically; also referred to as linguistic majority; compare language minority

language minority speakers of a language who are fewer in number and/or less politically and economically powerful than speakers of the dominant language; also referred to as linguistic minority; compare language majority

language of wider communication (LWC)

a language used internationally by a large number of second language speakers in areas such as education, commerce, science, diplomacy, etc.; English is not the only language of wider communication, other examples being Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, and Swahili

learner strategy a conscious or nonconscious thought or behavior used by an individual to achieve a language learning or use goal

learner’s style a learner’s strategic, motivational, or affective predilection for, or orientation to, language learning or use; also referred to as learning style

learning disabilities difficulties faced by some individuals when learning specific skills or tasks in a typical manner

learning outcomes statements that specify what students should know or be able to do as result of participation or completion of an activity, course, or program; also referred to as student learning outcomes

learning to read learning the conventions of reading, e.g., what the shapes and lines on a page mean or what the conventions of narrative text are; compare intermediate-level slump, reading to learn

lesson study an approach to improve learning involving a group of teachers examining student data and together designing a lesson that one teacher teaches, while the others observe; following the lesson, the lesson study members meet again to reflect on the lesson and discuss their observations and then collaborate on revising the lesson and re-teaching it

lexicogrammatical a term that refers to structures in which grammar and vocabulary combine and interact in creating meaning; for example, this solution, consisting of a demonstrative determiner and classifier noun, is a lexicogrammatical structure that is used to create cohesion

lexicon the words and phrases of a language; its vocabulary


lingua franca a language used to communicate with others when there is no common first language

lingua franca core (LFC)

the proposed minimal elements of pronunciation (proposed by Bryan Jenner and elaborated by Jennifer Jenkins) that learners need to acquire in order to speak English intelligibly

linguistic competence the accuracy and extent of a learners’ phonological, lexical, and grammatical proficiency in a second or foreign language; compare communicative competence, discourse competence, socio-cultural competence, and strategic competence

listening strategies techniques that can be used to aid listening comprehension, including metacognitive, cognitive, and socio-affective strategies

listening taxonomies lists of skills and strategies which learners may use to develop their listening comprehension skills

LISTSERV® a software program that runs e-mail discussion lists; originally a brand name which has since become the generic term for this type of program

literacy the ability to read and write a language; compare New Literacy Studies

literary texts texts (such as short stories, novels, plays, and poems) that are not primarily designed to convey information but rather to engage the reader in an aesthetic experience and whose form is carefully selected by the author in order to provide new insights

local errors according to Marina Burt and Carol Kiparsky, errors that involve only a small portion of a sentence (for example, missing articles) but do not lead to misunderstanding of a proposition; compare global errors

macro-skills the basic language skills of reading, writing, listening, and speaking, which can be further subdivided into individual processes and abilities; compare micro-skills

materials writers professional authors who write for publication, and/or classroom teachers who create localized materials and lessons for specific student audiences

meaning-based writing

a system where the graphic sign is linked to a meaning in the real world, e.g., a sign for a word such as tree, river, entrance, etc.

metacognition the ability to reflect on one’s thinking and exercise control over cognitive processes through planning, monitoring, and evaluation


metacognitive processes

a learner’s conscious or nonconscious self-regulation of thoughts or behaviors related to some language learning or use goal

meta-communicative awareness of and ability to objectify, reflect on, or discuss the forms, functions, and appropriateness of communication

metalinguistic awareness of and ability to objectify or discuss language forms, functions, and systems

methodology (1) a set of step-by-step procedures for teaching a language; (2) according to Jack Richards and Theodore Rodgers, a three-part construct consisting of approach, design, and procedure; (3) procedures and principles for selecting, sequencing, and justifying learning experiences; compare approach, design, and procedure

micro-skills the subdivision of the four macro-skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking into individual processes or abilities (e.g., in listening, the ability to guess word meaning from context or the ability to recognize reduced forms of words); compare macro-skills

morpheme a minimal unit of structure or meaning which falls into one of two types: (1) a free morpheme consisting of a word root or a particle that can stand on its own; or (2) a bound morpheme that cannot stand on its own and consists of an inflectional affix (e.g., –s plural) or a derivational affix (e.g., –ion as in createàcreation); compare allomorph, morphology, morphosyntax

morphology the study of the structure of words and their inflections and derivations; inflectional morphology deals with grammatical affixes, e.g., –s for regular plurals and –ed for regular past tense; derivational morphology deals with the extension of lexical items using affixes such as –ity and –ible that typically change the part of speech: human (adj)àhumanity (noun); access (noun/verb)àaccessible (adj); compare allomorph, morpheme, morphosyntax

morphosyntax refers collectively to the morphological and syntactic rules that constitute the grammar of a language and the interaction of the two (adj: morphosyntactic); compare allomorph, morpheme, morphology

motivation the mental function or state that determines the direction and magnitude of human behavior, that is, why people decide to do something, how long they are willing to sustain the activity, and how strongly they are going to pursue it

motivational constellations of various motivational, cognitive, and emotional variables that form coherent patterns/amalgams that


conglomerates act as wholes

multicompetent individual

in contrast to the term nonnative speaker–which highlights what an individual is not (i.e., a native speaker of a language)–this term highlights an individual’s knowledge of and ability to use two or more languages

narrow-angled ESP classes

classes (such as adjunct classes and some types of vocational English classes) offered to students with similar needs and goals; their advantage is that the needs assessment and target situation analysis–and the pedagogy–can be specifically focused; their disadvantage is that they often do not prepare students for a broad range of possible workplace situations or a variety of classrooms; compare wide-angled ESP classes

native speaker traditionally, a term referring to people who learned a language as their first or sole language, in a natural setting, and from childhood

native speaker fallacy the belief that a native speaker is always the best teacher of a language; also referred to as native speaker construct

needs assessment in English for Specific Purposes, the process of gathering and interpreting information about students’ learning needs so as to make decisions about course or curricular goals and content; also referred to as needs analysis; compare target situation analysis

negotiated syllabus an approach to course design that involves learners in decision- making about what they are going to learn

New Literacy Studies (NLS)

the study of reading and writing in authentic socio-cultural contexts with the goal of interpreting, producing, and critiquing text, visual information, and other forms of ideological discourse; compare literacy

non-native speaker traditionally defined as a speaker who acquires a given language as a second or additional language, in contraposition to the term native speaker; today a somewhat controversial term given questions about the “ownership” of languages; compare native speaker

norm-referenced assessment

an assessment approach where the interpretation of test performance is relative to other test-takers’ performances

notion in the notional-functional syllabus, one of the two organizational principles determining the selection of items to be taught; this principle takes into consideration the ideas or meanings (e.g., time, quantity, duration, location) that learners need to express; compare notion, notional-functional syllabus


notional-functional syllabus

a language syllabus organized around the communicative purposes (or functions) for which people use language and the ideas (notions) that are being communicated; compare notion, function; also referred to as functional-notional syllabus

objectives the breaking down of goals into achievable and measurable parts; compare goals

onset in a syllable, the opening segment, consisting of up to three consonants (e.g., say, stay, stray); compare rime

open task a task with more than one possible answer, solution, or outcome

oral fluency the ease with which one can speak in a given language (for example, the first or second language)

outer circle based on B. B. Kachru, countries (such as India and Nigeria) where the English varieties spoken are localized and the role of English is that of an institutionalized variety that is influenced by local languages and different from Inner Circle varieties; compare inner circle and expanding circle

paradigmatic a relation of substitution that typically occurs across clauses or sentences with the paradigmatic forms occurring in the same grammatical slot, e.g. Is that a new watch? No, it’s my old one; compare syntagmatic

paralinguistics the study of elements that accompany language use but are not part of language per se (e.g., body language, gestures, facial expressions)

parsing the process of analyzing the grammar of words and their roles in larger grammatical units

partial immersion program

a form of immersion education in which typically about 50% of the instructional time is spent in the second language; compare immersion, double immersion, and two-way immersion

pedagogical discourse analysis

the use of discourse analysis to identify learner problems and develop activities to help learners improve their communicative competence

pedagogical grammar an eclectic grammar that provides teachers and students useful generalizations about a language for teaching and learning purposes

perception the recognition that sounds form known words or phrases

periphery learning indirect, unconscious learning which, it is claimed, occurs when the learner is focused on or attending to something else

persistence the adult learner’s ability to remain in an educational program


for as long as possible, leave, and return dependent on personal needs

phoneme-grapheme correspondence

a sound and a written symbol (or symbols) constitute a regular match, e.g., the letter n and the sound /n/ as in nice

phonics the study of the sounds of language and the connection of the sounds to the letters that represent them and how these letters form words

phonological awareness

the awareness that words consist of separate sounds, a part of the decoding process in reading; this includes alphabetic letter knowledge and awareness of the sound-symbol correspondences, being able to identify syllables in a word, being able to segment a word into phonemes, and knowledge of sound blending and rhyming

podcast asynchronous content (e.g., news broadcasts, professional development modules) available online in an audio or video format; often downloadable; compare asynchronous media

point of view the perspective from which a literary text is told; entails what the author chooses to tell the reader about the characters and events of a story; may serve as a device to manipulate how the reader reacts

politeness culturally-determined linguistic and other types of behavior that have the goal of accommodating the other person's values and social disposition

post-methods era a recognition that there is no one best method, which has resulted in a search for research-based frameworks to inform teaching and learning in different contexts

pragmatic function the meaning– or social purpose– of an expression, word, phrase, or sentence in actual spoken or written communication, e.g., the function of how are you as a greeting

pragmatics a subdiscipline of linguistics that studies how context contributes to meaning, e.g., interaction participants' intentions, social status, social distance, age, and gender of interaction participants, and setting; a particular focus involves understanding meaning in context, for example, I’m very cold, depending on the given context in which it is uttered could actually mean, ‘I want you to close the window’, ‘I want to go back indoors’, and so on.

prescriptive grammar the way that a language “ought to” be used; compare descriptive grammar

Presentation, Practice, Production (PPP)

traditionally, the three stages of a form-focused lesson, starting with introduction to a new language point, moving to


controlled practice, and ending with communicative activities; compare Engage, Study, Activate (ESA)

previewing a pre-reading activity during which learners prepare for reading by looking over the text that they are going to read to identify its key features (e.g., headings, boldface, pictures/charts/tables)

problem-based learning (PBL)

a student-centered instructional strategy in which students collaboratively solve problems that relate to their lives

procedures all techniques, practices, behaviors, and equipment observable in the classroom; compare approach, design, and methodology

process approach an approach to the teaching of writing that focuses on understanding and teaching the process that experienced writers use in composing; generally involves consideration of audience and purpose, strategies for idea generation, and revision and feedback on multiple drafts of a paper; compare product approach

process-oriented instruction

pedagogy that develops learners’ ability to enhance the cognitive and social processes of their learning through explicit teaching and implicit scaffolding

product approach an approach to the teaching of writing that uses models to focus primarily on the rhetorical and grammatical features of the final written product (for example, a five paragraph essay) rather than the process of writing; compare process approach

productive word knowledge

the ability to use a word in writing and speaking; compare receptive word knowledge

professional association

an organization designed for professionals to join together to collaborate on common issues and concerns and share expertise

professional development

the process whereby teachers take steps to enhance their knowledge, skills, and abilities; also referred to as professional learning

professional learning community (PLC)

a group of teachers who regularly gather together to share their expertise while collaborating on specific tasks with the goal of improving their teaching practice

proficiency one’s (functional) ability in a given second or foreign language

psychometric experiments

the use of tests to measure psychological variables, including comprehension

published or collections of teaching materials published in a book format to


commercial textbooks be used by teachers as the basic source for information and activities to use in a class

push-pull factors negative factors that cause people to migrate from one region or allegiance and, conversely, positive factors that attract them to move to another region or allegiance

reading to learn the process of gaining new knowledge from what is read, especially from expository or information-based texts; compare intermediate-level slump, learning to read

recast the reformulation of a learner utterance, usually by the teacher in an attempt to provide the correct target form

Received Pronunciation (RP)

the pronunciation of the educated British elite of Southeast England; spoken by relatively few native speakers but often used as the model in second language teaching materials; also referred to as BBC English

receptive word knowledge

recognizing and understanding a word in reading or listening; compare productive word knowledge

recycling the classroom practice of presenting one aspect of language (e.g., a grammatical construction, a word or phrase, a pronunciation feature) and then returning to the same aspect from time to time as the need arises to reinforce it

referential question a question (usually posed by the teacher) that has no single correct answer and typically requires the learner to provide an original, creative answer (e.g., the learner’s opinion on an issue); typically such questions require a higher level of thinking on the part of the learner; compare display question

reflective practice a process involving teachers thinking deeply about what happens in their classrooms and making changes in an effort to enhance the effectiveness of their teaching

reliability consistency of a set of measurements or a measurement instrument over multiple administrations

rereading an activity in which students reread the same passage or text, e.g., to search for new information, to repair comprehension, to complete a post-reading activity, or one of a number of fluency-development exercises

response tokens single words or short phrases uttered by the listener while the speaker is holding the floor with the function of signaling listenership, at differing levels

rime in a syllable, the closing segment consisting of a vowel plus any following consonant(s) (e.g., see, seed, seeds); compare onset


rubric an assessment tool that includes criteria for evaluating levels of student performance; compare holistic rubric and analytic rubric

Scaffolded Silent Reading (ScSR)

an approach to silent reading practice that involves some degree of teacher guidance and monitoring

scaffolding find-tuned help provided to learners to develop their competence and enable them to accomplish a task which they would otherwise not manage on their own; often includes breaking the task down into smaller steps, modeling it, or showing alternate ways of accomplishing it

schema a pre-existing knowledge structure in the memory of human beings, essential to discourse processing; plural: schemata

school-oriented writing task

a writing activity needed for learning within the school context such as answers to questions, summaries, reports, and essays; compare every-day writing task

Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS)

a U.S. Department of Labor report issued in the 1990s that describes to educators and employers what students and workers need to know and be able to do in order to succeed in the work place; delineated in the report are five workplace competencies and three foundation skills for employers and employees and for high school and adult school students who are entering the labor force

segmental features consonants and vowels, or the “segments” of the sound system; compare suprasegmental features

selected response item type

an assessment tool that requires students to select an answer or response to demonstrate learning, e.g., multiple choice items

self-regulation a learner’s executive control processes related to use of cognitive, affective, and sociocultural strategies

sheltered instruction an approach to content-based language teaching in which L2 students study subjects in the regular curriculum; usually taught by a subject matter instructor who has special training in strategies for making the content accessible to L2 students and assisting them with language development; compare adjunct instruction, content and language integrated learning, content-based instruction, and theme-based instruction

Silent Way a language teaching method developed by Caleb Gattegno; using an array of visuals (colored rods of different sizes, sound charts, and word charts), the teacher gets students to practice a new language point while saying very little in the process; only the target language is used with no explanation allowed


skill-building theory a view claiming that: (1) knowledge originates in an explicit form and is gradually proceduralized into an implicit form through practice; and (2) explicit knowledge develops into implicit knowledge through communicative practice; also referred to as skill-acquisition theory

skills-based curriculum

a language learning curriculum that is divided by language skills such that students would have a class or a dedicated portion of a course in listening/speaking, reading, writing, and/or grammar

social distance the degree of familiarity or closeness between the speaker and the hearer and/or between the second language learner and the target language community

socialization a complex, ongoing process whereby an individual acquires social skills and learns the norms, attitudes, values, and behavior that are needed to participate within a particular culture and its speech community; also referred to as enculturation

socio-cultural competence

knowledge, skills, and functional abilities that are associated with values, beliefs, norms, and behavior of a particular society and in the context of daily communication and social interaction, i.e., knowing how to speak and behave appropriately; compare communicative competence, discourse competence, linguistic competence, and strategic competence

speech acts conventionalized, frequently repeated, and routinized expressions, classified by their communicative and pragmatic functions and obligatory and optional sequential moves (e.g., as requests, apologies, compliments, complaints)

spoken grammar the unique structural characteristics of oral language (as compared with written language) at the word, phrase, and clause levels; reflective of the face-to-face nature of spoken language and how it differs from writing

stance the way in which a speaker or writer expresses his or her personal feelings, attitudes, judgments, or assessments toward another speaker, writer, or topic

standards statements about what students are expected to know and be able to do as a result of instruction; criteria for student achievement, usually established by an educational institution, a professional organization, or a governmental agency

stimulated recall a data elicitation process in which a researcher uses some record of an event (e.g., a video recording) to prompt the participant’s recollections of that event; the verbal


recollections are recorded forming a new layer of data as the participants recall and discuss the original event

strategic competence (1) the ability to adapt and adjust when communicating in a second language to compensate for knowledge gaps or breakdowns, (e.g., rephrasing, asking for help, using gestures); (2) a set of informational structures in long-term memory associated with the information processing system of the brain and observed in terms of self-regulatory processes; compare communicative competence, discourse competence, linguistic competence, and socio-cultural competence

student learning outcomes (SLO)

statements describing what a student will be able to do or demonstrate at the end of a lesson, course, or program; usually tied to assessment

Suggestology a language teaching method developed by Georgi Lozanov; students are exposed (in a very comfortable setting) to scripts with musical accompaniment, followed by group or choral reading of the script, followed by songs, and games; on a subsequent day, students elaborate on the script to create an anecdote or story; also referred to as Suggestopedia

summative assessment assessments used to summarize student learning upon completion of course or program of instruction; compare formative assessment

summative assessment of teaching

the evaluation of an individual’s teaching abilities with a view toward the current status of the teacher’s development; commonly used to refer to as formal assessment of faculty by a supervisor; compare formative assessment of teaching

suprasegmental features

pronunciation features which extend over multiple sounds (e.g., stress, rhythm, and intonation); also referred to as prosody; compare segmental features

syllabary a writing system where the graphic sign is linked to a syllable, usually CV or CVC in form; for example, in text messages an 8 can represent the syllable ‘ate’ /eyt/ in words like m8 (mate), d8 (date), etc.

syllabus a description of a course plan; may contain some or all of the following elements: brief course description, goals and objectives of course, assessment scheme, materials, outline or timetable of course content and sequence

syllabus design procedures and principles for selecting, sequencing, and justifying the learning content of a course

synchronous media online communication that occurs in “real time” (such as an online chat session or a telephone conference); compare


asynchronous media

syntagmatic refers to linear relations that are expressed within the same clause or sentence such as a lexical collocation (e.g., an auspicious occasion) or the position in which an indirect object occurs (I gave John the book/I gave the book to John); compare paradigmatic

synthetic approach according to David Wilkins, one of two broad approaches to syllabus design; this approach is based on the analysis and specification of discrete linguistic items and is favored by traditional approaches to language teaching (e.g., grammar translation); compare analytic approach

target language the second or foreign language that learners are trying to acquire

target situation analysis

in English for Specific Purposes, the process of gathering and interpreting information about the discourses and cultures in which students will be working or studying to arrive at decisions about course or curricular goals and content; compare needs assessment

task according to Peter Skehan, an activity that satisfies the following criteria: meaning is primary; there is a goal that needs to be worked toward; the outcome is evaluated; and there is a real-world connection; compare focused task, unfocused task

task repetition the repetition of the same or similar task at a later stage of learning

task-based teaching an approach to the teaching of second/foreign languages based on a syllabus consisting of communicative tasks and utilizing a methodology that places primary emphasis on meaningful communication rather than linguistic accuracy

task-supported language teaching

teaching that utilizes tasks to provide free practice in the use of a specific linguistic feature previously presented and practiced in exercises; often in the form of presentation-practice-production (PPP) with the task providing an opportunity for free production

teacher learning teachers incorporating new ideas into their existing theory of teaching, which leads to improved classroom practice

teacher research research conducted by teachers, regardless of the focus involved or the method used; compare action research

teaching English to young learners (TEYL)

field of study within the larger field of TESOL that refers to the teaching of English as a second or foreign language to children and young adolescents


technique a specific classroom activity that teachers use in the classroom, e.g., dictation, choral repetition, chain drill, small group problem-solving, etc.

Technology-Enhanced Language Learning (TELL)

classroom teaching and learning that is enhanced through the various uses of computers and other electronic devices

textbook evaluation the process of determining the effectiveness and merit or value of textbooks with reference to specified language learning criteria

textbook implementation

actual use of textbooks in classroom settings, evidencing trial-and-error, selectivity, and expansion activities

textbook selection determining relevance and making textbook adoption or recommendation decisions; often carried out by committees, with attention to issues of academic freedom as well as administratively sanctioned student needs

thematic unit planning an approach to curriculum design involving the creation of linked instructional units centered around a theme or topic, the goal of which is to present language within a meaningful context; often used in conjunction with communicative approaches

theme-based instruction

an approach to content-based language teaching in which themes and topics are integrated with second/foreign language instruction; compare adjunct instruction, content and language integrated instruction, content-based instruction, and sheltered instruction

think-aloud procedure a procedure which involves having research subjects (including teachers and learners) verbalize their thoughts as they are undergoing some process, such as lesson planning or revising a composition; compare think-aloud protocol

think-aloud protocol the resulting record (whether it be an audio-recording, a videotape, or a transcript) of research involving a think-aloud procedure; compare think-aloud procedure

threaded discussion in an online discussion forum, a chronological listing of all postings on a particular topic in which all posts are identified by the identity of the person posting the message and the time posted; the first message posted (e.g., by a teacher or a student) receives responses from others, forming a thread

time on task the amount of time during task work in which the students are actively engaged in the language learning process

top-down literacy skills

“higher-level” (mental) skills involved in reading and writing that include employing background knowledge in the comprehension of a text; these also involve the ability to make


predictions and inferences; compare bottom-up literacy processing

top-down processing the application by a learner of prior knowledge and knowledge of the context to understand or produce a spoken or written text; compare bottom-up processing

total immersion program

a form of immersion education in which the majority of school subjects are taught in the L2; compare partial immersion, double immersion, immersion, and two-way immersion

Total Physical Response (TPR)

a method for teaching a foreign language developed by James Asher in the 1970s that is based on connecting language to movement through a series of commands, such as “Stand up” or “Sit down”; still used widely as a technique in teaching English as a second or foreign language for learners with beginning levels of proficiency

triangulation the use of at least three different types of data to support research findings (e.g., proficiency test scores, questionnaires, and classroom observations)

turn the smallest unit of interaction between at least two speakers, of varying lengths, with speakers in a conversation taking turns at speaking and a new turn, usually beginning when there is a speaker change

turn taking (1) the part of conversation analysis that deals with how two or more speakers manage their turns in a conversation; (2) as part of the interactive dynamic of classrooms, the roles of speakers and listeners shift frequently, with turns initiated, delegated, relinquished, borrowed, stolen, interrupted, offered, overlapping, etc.

two-way immersion program

an educational program that uses two languages as media of instruction from Kindergarten through elementary levels of education (and rarely through secondary education); serves students coming from two different home languages (typically from language majority and language minority backgrounds) and uses the two languages in roughly similar proportions in classroom instruction; also referred to as dual language immersion; compare double immersion, immersion, partial immersion, total immersion

unfocused task a fluency-oriented communicative task for which learners are not made aware of the specific linguistic feature being practiced; generally these types of tasks elicit general samples of language use; compare focused task, task

usage (1) a reference to language use as it applies to the specific mention of grammatical rules and lexical patterns; or (2) the


ways that native speakers actually speak and write (as contrasted with the ways in which traditional grammars say they should speak and write)

validity various types of evidence and theory supporting the proposed interpretation and use of test scores

vernacular (language) the language or dialect of a given speech community, often lacking a written tradition.

Vocational English as a Second Language (VESL)

a primary curricular focus on the language required for successful participation in vocational training programs and for job performance; compare career technical education

visible minority teachers

native-English speaking teachers who belong to an ethnic minority and hence do not resemble the ethnic stereotype of the Anglophone teacher

vocabulary breadth the measure of the number of words that one knows; compare vocabulary depth

vocabulary depth to know many aspects of a word, including its meaning(s), written form, spoken form, grammatical behavior, collocations, register, associations and frequency; compare vocabulary breadth

wait time the amount of time which elapses after a teacher poses a question to an individual student or to the class as a whole

washback the influence or effect of assessment on instruction

Web 2.0 the second generation of the Worldwide Web, seen as a platform to enable interactivity and shared dynamic content, rather than static webpages

Webinar a web-based seminar or professional development opportunity, featuring both visual and audio material available online in real time and typically allowing for interaction with participants from around the world; often recorded and made available asynchronously after the initial broadcast

WebQuest an inquiry-based activity that asks students to investigate a question or topic of interest using web-based resources

wide-angled ESP classes

classes (such as stand-alone English for academic purposes or pre-employment vocational English classes) offered to students with a variety of needs and goals; their advantage is that they attempt to prepare students for a number of contexts and language situations; their disadvantage is that it is more difficult to conduct needs assessments and, especially, target situation analyses; also referred to as broad-angled classes; compare narrow-angled ESP classes


Wiki a dynamic, collaborative online workspace where any contributor can add, delete, or edit site content without specialized knowledge or tools; wiki sites are typically equipped with a built-in text editor and can be used effectively in English as a second/foreign language writing classrooms

word family a collection of words including the base word, its inflections (when an affix is added according to the requirements of grammar, such as to inflect a verb for the third person singular) and its derivatives (when the affix changes the word class or part of speech of the word)

zone of proximal development (ZPD)

according to Lev Vygotsky, the difference between what a child can achieve alone and what s/he can achieve with the help of the adult (parent or teacher) or more skilled peer

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