2015_SEP Flashcards
1
Q
up-and-coming
A
Up-and-coming people are likely to be successful in the future.
…his readiness to share the limelight with young, up-and-coming stars…
2
Q
elucidate
A
If you elucidate something, you make it clear and easy to understand.
Haig went on to elucidate his personal principle of war…
There was no need for him to elucidate.
3
Q
umbrella term
A
An umbrella term, or a hypernym, is a word or phrase used to generally, rather than specifically, describe a group of varying but identifiably related subjects.
For example, the word “psychosis” is an umbrella term that covers various abnormal mind conditions that cause patients to lose contact with reality on some level.
Similarly, “intellectual property” is an umbrella term used to describe an assortment of intangible properties, such as music, writing, and art.
4
Q
layman
A
A layman is a person who is not trained, qualified, or experienced in a particular subject or activity.
These technical terms are difficult for the layman to understand.
5
Q
assortment
A
An assortment is a group of similar things that are of different sizes or colours or have different qualities.
…an assortment of cheese.
6
Q
intangible
A
Something that is intangible is abstract or is hard to define or measure.
There are intangible benefits beyond a rise in the share price.
The old building had an intangible air of sadness about it.
7
Q
pathology
A
Pathology is the study of the way diseases and illnesses develop.
The eighteenth century saw the development of modern pathology and experimental surgery.
8
Q
pedagogical
[ˌpɛdəˈɡɑdʒɪkl]
A
Pedagogical means concerning the methods and theory of teaching.
…the pedagogical methods used in the classroom.
9
Q
reflective
A
If you are reflective, you are thinking deeply about something.
I walked on in a reflective mood to the car…
10
Q
lingua franca
A
A lingua franca is a language or way of communicating which is used between people who do not speak one another’s native language.
any language that is widely used as a means of communication among speakers of other languages.
English is rapidly becoming the lingua franca of Asia.
There the lingua franca is Cajun French, and folks love to fiddle, dance and most of all, eat.
11
Q
akin
A
If one thing is akin to another, it is similar to it in some way.
Listening to his life story is akin to reading a good adventure novel.
What he felt was more akin to pity than love.
This process is akin to piecing together a jigsaw puzzle.
12
Q
crucifixtion
[ˌkrusəˈfɪkʃən]
A
Crucifixion is a way of killing people which was common in the Roman Empire, in which they were tied or nailed to a cross and left to die.
…her historical novel about the crucifixion of Christians in Rome.
He was executed by crucifixion.
13
Q
rustic
[ˈrʌstɪk]
A
You can refer to someone who comes from the countryside as a rustic if you find their behavior amusing or very different from that of people who live in towns and cities.
14
Q
rebubattal
[rɪˈbʌtl:]
A
If you make a rebuttal of a charge or accusation that has been made against you, you make a statement which gives reasons why the accusation is untrue.
Pakistan has still not issued an official rebuttal to the latest Indian statements.
15
Q
encompass
[ɛnˈkʌmpəs]
A
If something encompasses particular things, it includes them.
His repertoire encompassed everything from Bach to Schoenberg.
The book is intended for a diverse audience, but is firmly oriented towards newcomers: you, the reader,might be a researcher, a graduate student, an academic wanting to familiarize yourself with the field, or a indeed a language
professional looking for a ‘way in’ to one of the many topics encompassed by applied linguistics.
16
Q
underpin
A
If one thing underpins another, it helps the other thing to continue or succeed by supporting and strengthening it.
…the economic underpinning of ancient Mexican society.
The origins of applied linguistics lie in the mid-twentieth century effort to give an academic underpinning to the study of language teaching and learning.
17
Q
enquiry
[ˈɪnkwəri,]
A
=inquiry
An inquiry is an official investigation.
This focus is still prominent for many: it remains the most active area of applied linguistic enquiry, though the time is past when it could be considered the sole motivation for the field.
18
Q
disparate
[‘dɪspərət]
A
Disparate things are clearly different from each other in quality or type.
Scientists are trying to pull together disparate ideas in astronomy…
As chapters in this volume demonstrate, applied linguistics concerns range from the well-established ones of language learning, teaching, testing and teacher education, to matters as disparate as language and the law, the language of institutions, medical communication, media discourse, translation and interpreting, and language planning.
19
Q
ethnicity
[ɛθˈnɪsɪti]
A
Ethnicity is the state or fact of belonging to a particular ethnic group.
He said his ethnicity had not been important to him.
Applied linguistics engages with contemporary social questions of culture, ethnicity, gender, identity, ageing, and migration.
20
Q
span
A
If something spans a range of things, all those things are included in it.
Bernstein’s compositions spanned all aspects of music, from symphonies to musicals.
Applied linguists adopt perspectives on language in use spanning critical discourse analysis, linguistic ethnography, sociocultural theories, literacy, stylistics
and sociolinguistics.
21
Q
ethnography
[eθˈnɑ:grəfi]
A
Ethnography is the branch of anthropology in which different cultures are studied and described.
22
Q
draw on
A
If you draw on or draw upon something such as your skill or experience, you make use of it in order to do something.
He drew on his experience as a yachtsman to make a documentary program.
And applied linguistics draws upon descriptions of language from traditions such as cognitive linguistics, corpus linguistics, generative linguistics and systemic functional linguistics, among others.
23
Q
corpus
A
A corpus is a large collection of written or spoken texts that is used for language research.
a corpus of 100 million words of spoken English
24
Q
generative
A
In linguistics, generative is used to describe linguistic theories or models which are based on the idea that a single set of rules can explain how all the possible sentences of a language are formed.
25
interdisciplinary
Interdisciplinary means involving more than one academic subject.
..interdisciplinary courses combining psychology, philosophy and linguistics.
Though this is an applied field and an interdisciplinary one, it is not fragmented.
26
fragment
If something fragments or is fragmented, it breaks or separates into small pieces or parts.
Europe had become infinitely more unstable and fragmented.
27
tentative
1) Tentative agreements, plans, or arrangements are not definite or certain, but have been made as a first step.
Such theories are still very tentative.
2) If someone is tentative, they are cautious and not very confident because they are uncertain or afraid.
My first attempts at complaining were rather tentative.
28
delimit
If you delimit something, you fix or establish its limits.
This is not meant to delimit what approaches social researchers can adopt.
While language is, of course, fundamental to human life, and surrounds us, the problem orientation helps to delimit the field.
29
autonomous
| [ɔ:ˈtɑ:nəməs]
An autonomous country, organization, or group governs or controls itself rather than being controlled by anyone else.
An autonomous person makes their own decisions rather than being influenced by someone else.
That is, the motivation for applied linguistics lies not with an interest in autonomous or idealized language, as with understandings of linguistics which deal in linguistic universals: applied linguistics data is typically collected empirically in contexts of use.
30
empirical
empirically
[ɪm'pɪrɪklɪ]
Empirical evidence or study relies on practical experience rather than theories.
There is no empirical evidence to support his thesis.
...empirically based research.
applied linguistics data is typically collected empirically in contexts of use.
31
in context of
The context of an idea or event is the general situation that relates to it, and which helps it to be understood.
We are doing this work in the context of reforms in the economic, social and cultural spheres.
applied linguistics data is typically collected empirically in contexts of use.
32
demarcate
| [ˈdi:mɑ:rkeɪt]
If you demarcate something, you establish its boundaries or limits.
A special UN commission was formed to demarcate the border.
It is demarcated by its interest in how language is
implicated in real-world decision-making.
33
implicate
To implicate someone means to show or claim that they were involved in something wrong or criminal.
He was obliged to resign when one of his own aides was implicated in a financial scandal...
It is demarcated by its interest in how language is
implicated in real-world decision-making.
34
ramification
| [ˌræməfɪˈkeʃən]
The ramifications of a decision, plan, or event are all its consequences and effects, especially ones which are not obvious at first.
The book analyses the social and political ramifications of AIDS for the gay community.
The
main ramification is that practically everything in life poses a problem in which language is central: ‘It is hard to think of any “real-world” problems’, says Greg Myers (2005: 527), ‘that do not have a crucial component of language use’, for language is a central issue in most human endeavour.
35
trajectory
| [trəˈdʒɛktəri]
The trajectory of something such as a person's career is the course that it follows over time.
...a relentlessly upward career trajectory.
The chapters share broadly the same format, covering a history of the area, a critical discussion of its main current issues, and an indication of its emergent debates and future trajectory.
36
bibliography
| [ˌbɪbliˈɑ:grəfi]
A bibliography is a list of the books and articles that are referred to in a particular book.
A scholastic work is to have a useful bibliography at the end of each chapter or the whole book.
Finally, bibliographical references appear at the end of each chapter
37
tempt
Something that tempts you attracts you and makes you want it, even though it may be wrong or harmful.
Can I tempt you with a little puff pastry?...
‘One is tempted to wonder’,‘what is so special about studying language within real-world problems if the only purpose is to use it as a stimulus for academic reflection.’
38
stimulus
A stimulus is something that encourages activity in people or things.
Interest rates could fall soon and be a stimulus to the US economy...
‘what is so special about studying language within real-world problems if the only purpose is to use it as a stimulus for academic reflection.’
39
engage
If something engages you or your attention or interest, it keeps you interested in it and thinking about it.
They never learned skills to engage the attention of the others.
the practical general relevance of applied linguistics is apparent, the issues with which it engages are to the fore, and the breadth of contemporary applied linguistics
is reflected.
40
to the fore
If someone or something comes to the fore in a particular situation or group, they become important or popular.
A number of low-budget independent films brought new directors and actors to the fore.
the practical general relevance of applied linguistics is apparent, the issues with which it engages are to the fore
41
breadth
The breadth of something is its quality of consisting of or involving many different things.
His breadth of knowledge filled me with admiration.
42
hitherto
| [ˌhɪðərˈtu:]
You use hitherto to indicate that something was true up until the time you are talking about, although it may no longer be the case.
Hitherto, the main emphasis has been on the need to resist aggression...
Of the areas chosen, some are well-established sub-fields of applied linguistic study, while others have hitherto been considered independent or peripheral
43
peripheral
| [pəˈrɪfərəl]
A peripheral activity or issue is one which is not very important compared with other activities or issues.
Companies are increasingly keen to contract out peripheral activities like training...
Of the areas chosen, some are well-established sub-fields of applied linguistic study, while others have hitherto been considered independent or peripheral
44
proliferate
| [prəˈlɪfəˌret]
If things proliferate, they increase in number very quickly.
In recent years commercial, cultural, travel and other contacts have proliferated between Europe and China.
Readers will realize that in this section, chapters would surely have proliferated, had space allowed.
45
invoke
If you invoke something such as a principle, a saying, or a famous person, you refer to them in order to support your argument.
In political matters George Washington went out of his way to avoid invoking the authority of Christ.
A number of the chapters invoke globalization.
46
in terms of
He referred to your work in terms of high praise.
He thought of everything in terms of money.
How do the two techniques compare in terms of application?
Opening the book, Language Policy and Planning has a long history in terms of interventions into language practices, as Lionel Wee says, but a short one as an area of academic study.
47
delve into
If you delve into something, you try to discover new information about it.
Tormented by her ignorance, Jenny delves into her mother's past...
If you're interested in a subject, use the Internet to delve deeper.
Thierry Fontenelle’s chapter on Lexicography delves into the fascinating history of the subject.
48
lexicography
| [ˌleksɪˈkɑ:grəfi]
lexicography is the activity or profession of writing dictionaries.
I heard the professor's discourse on English lexicography.
Thierry Fontenelle’s chapter on Lexicography delves into the fascinating history of the subject.
49
reflection
Reflection is careful thought about a particular subject. Your reflections are your thoughts about a particular subject.
After days of reflection she decided to write back.
50
reflect
When you reflect on something, you think deeply about it.
We should all give ourselves time to reflect...
the issues with which it engages are to the fore, and the breadth of contemporary applied linguistics is reflected.
51
obligation
If you have an obligation to do something, it is your duty to do that thing.
Ministers are under no obligation to follow the committee's recommendations.
This obligation is clear in the study of language learning, which investigates the two way relationship between the tangible practical experience of learners and teachers on the one hand, and more abstract perspectives on language and learning on the other.
52
pedagogy
| [ˈpedəgoʊdʒi]
Pedagogy is the study and theory of the methods and principles of teaching.
Language pedagogy is both fast-moving and at the same time subject to shifts of fashion which are confusing for novices and veterans alike.
53
alike
You use alike after mentioning two or more people, groups, or things in order to emphasize that you are referring to both or all of them.
The techniques are being applied almost everywhere by big and small firms alike.
54
semiotics
| [ˌsemiˈɑ:tɪks]
Semiotics is the academic study of the relationship of language and other signs to their meanings.
Finally, in this section Agnes He discusses a view of language in which she considers it not
as a body of knowledge but as semiotic resource.
55
entail
If one thing entails another, it involves it or causes it.
Such a decision would entail a huge political risk...
The applied linguistic concern with language in the social world entails an exploration of phenomena, connections and relationships from the micro to the macro scale – from language-related issues of individual identity to those of globalized society.
56
whereby
A system or action whereby something happens is one that makes that thing happen.
They voted to accept a deal whereby the union will receive nearly three-quarters of a million pounds from the International Miners Organisation.
Claire Kramsch maintains a position whereby language is viewed as cultural understanding.
57
stance
Your stance on a particular matter is your attitude to it.
They have maintained a consistently neutral stance...
Roxy Harris’s chapter is on Ethnicity, a much-neglected
topic in applied linguistics, towards which he adopts a critical stance.
58
stripe
a kind or category;
"businessmen of every stripe joined in opposition to the proposal"
Globalization is the concern of the next chapters in the section. Language teachers of all stripes will find these chapters relevant and interesting, relating as they do to questions of differences between and within languages, the dominance of one language or variety of a language
over others.
59
dominance
The dominance of a particular person or thing is the fact that they are more powerful, successful, or important than other people or things.
These economies will no doubt maintain their dominance of financial markets...
60
adopt
If you adopt a new attitude, plan, or way of behaving, you begin to have it.
Pupils should be helped to adopt a positive approach to the environment.
61
pervade
If something pervades a place or thing, it is a noticeable feature throughout it.
...the corruption that pervades every stratum of the country..
Language surrounds us: it is central to psychological and cognitive development, and to social contact, relationships and understandings; it pervades human life.
62
stratum
A stratum of society is a group of people in it who are similar in their education, income, or social status.
It was an enormous task that affected every stratum of society...
63
foreshadow
If something foreshadows an event or situation, it suggests that it will happen.
The disappointing sales figures foreshadow more redundancies...
The particular aspect of language in use that is the object of enquiry will bear on the view of language itself, and these chapters usefully develop the question of the complexity and multiplicity of what language is, and thus foreshadow the final section.
64
multipilicity
A multiplicity of things is a large number or a large variety of them.
...a writer who uses a multiplicity of styles.
65
emic
| ['i:mɪk]
pertaining to or being a significant unit that functions in contrast with other units in a language or other system of behavior.
66
paradigm
| [ˈpærəˌdaɪm,]
A paradigm is a model for something which explains it or shows how it can be produced.
He had become the paradigm of the successful man.
Perhaps because of its emic perspective and sensitivity to contextual features, linguistic ethnography is emerging as a key paradigm for investigating language in use in the world today.
67
contend
If you have to contend with a problem or difficulty, you have to deal with it or overcome it.
It is time, once again, to contend with racism...
the sanction for applied linguistics to develop its own models of description is now no longer contended.
68
sanction
A sanction is a severe course of action which is intended to make people obey instructions, customs, or laws.
As an ultimate sanction, they can sell their shares.
the sanction for applied linguistics to develop its own models of description is now no longer contended.
69
relevant
The relevant thing of a particular kind is the one that is appropriate.
‘how can relevant models of language description be devised,
70
suffice
| [səˈfaɪs]
If you say that something will suffice, you mean it will be enough to achieve a purpose or to fulfil a need.
A cover letter should never exceed one page; often a far shorter letter will suffice.
Nonetheless, in an echo of earlier chapters, readers will note that no one description, model or view of language will suffice for all intentions...
71
fleeting
Fleeting is used to describe something which lasts only for a very short time.
During these, the teacher is encouraged to focus students’ attention on form fleetingly, in a way that would not disrupt communication, e.g. by recasting or reformulating a student’s error.
72
inert
| [ɪˈnɜ:rt]
If you describe something as inert, you are criticizing it because it is not very lively or interesting..
...her inert personality.
He covered the inert body with a blanket.
The problem with the former is that it leads to the inert knowledge problem. Students acquire a great deal of declarative knowledge or knowledge about language, but little by way of procedural knowledge, how to do things with language, especially when they attempt to use their knowledge for their own purposes outside of the classroom.
73
protean
| [ˈproʊtiən]
If you describe someone or something as protean, you mean that they have the ability to continually change their nature, appearance, or behaviour.
He is a protean stylist who can move from blues to ballads and grand symphony.
On the other hand, dividing communication into discrete lessons is not easy, due to its protean nature..
74
synchronic
occurring or existing at the same time or having the same period or phase;
"the synchronous action of a bird's wings in flight"
Saussure chose to focus on the synchronic system of language, in particular langue (the abstract system of the shared code), as distinct from parole (the individual utterances of speech).
75
emanate
| [ˈɛməˌnet]
If something emanates from somewhere, it comes from there.
..reports emanating from America.
The former emanates from a formal or structural view of the language system.
76
attest
To attest something or attest to something means to say, show, or prove that it is true.
I can personally attest that the cold and flu season is here...
Language is viewed in various theories as a genetic inheritance, a mathematical system, a social fact, the expression of individual identity, the expression of cultural identity, the outcome of dialogical interaction, a social semiotic, the intuitions of native speakers, the sum of attested data, a collection of memorized chunks, a rule-governed discrete combinatory system, or electrical activation in a distributed network.
77
rendition
A rendition of a play, poem, or piece of music is a performance of it.
His rendition brought tears to my eyes.
And, of course, these definitions are not all distinct in that several are implicationally related or apply to different
levels of scale; nevertheless, it is easy to see even from this selective rendition that there is quite a range of views concerning language.
78
discrete
Discrete ideas or things are separate and distinct from each other.
...instruction manuals that break down jobs into scores of discrete steps.
For purposes of illustration, and because they are responsible more than any for pendulum swings in the field, let me now contrast two of Cook and Seidlhofer’s characterizations of language: ‘language as a rule-governed discrete combinatory system’ and ‘language as social fact’.
79
propel
If something propels you into a particular activity, it causes you to do it.
It was a shooting star that propelled me into astronomy in the first place...
The social-fact view of language was propelled in part by Hymes’ (1972) call for language education to move beyond linguistic competence to communicative competence: the knowledge of when and how to say what to whom.
80
in part
It is selling very well, in part because the packaging is so attractive.
81
faltering
If something falters, it loses power or strength in an uneven way, or no longer makes much progress.
A faltering attempt, effort, or movement is uncertain because the person doing it is nervous or weak, or does not really know what to do.
A faltering economy and a recent wave of labor unrest have affected the new party's popularity.
While most people accept that ultimately the purpose of
learning a language is to be able to communicate, the question of whether it is better to prepare students to communicate by having them build up a repertoire of lexical items and structures or by having them launch directly into communicating, however falteringly, has
been at issue.
82
proffer
If you proffer something such as advice to someone, you offer it to them.
The army has not yet proffered an explanation of how and why the accident happened.
Again, many answers to this question have been proffered.
83
reinforce
If something reinforces an idea or point of view, it provides more evidence or support for it.
...films that reinforce the idea that we live in a threatening and risky world.
There is no mental process involved; instead, learner behaviour is reinforced in order to condition a voluntary response to a particular stimulus.
84
condition
To condition your hair or skin means to put something on it which will keep it in good condition.
If someone is conditioned by their experiences or environment, they are influenced by them over a period of time so that they do certain things or think in a particular way.
We are all conditioned by early impressions and experiences...
learner behaviour is reinforced in order to condition a voluntary response to a particular stimulus.
85
voluntary
Voluntary actions or activities are done because someone chooses to do them and not because they have been forced to do them.
Attention is drawn to a special voluntary course in Commercial French...
86
construe
If something is construed in a particular way, its nature or meaning is interpreted in that way.
We are taught to construe these terms in a particular way.
When language is construed as verbal behaviour, acquired through habit formation, it seems that the best way to learn a new language in the classroom is to ‘overlearn’ it.
87
impoverish
A person or thing that impoverishes something makes it worse in quality.
..plants that impoverish the soil quickly.
Chomsky questioned how it was possible for a child learning its native language to induce the rules necessary to produce grammatical sentences, given the impoverished input to which the child was exposed.
88
insoluble
| [ɪnˈsɑ:ljəbl]
An insoluble problem is so difficult that it is impossible to solve.
It was an insoluble dilemma and one which I could do nothing about.
Without it, the child would generate countless hypotheses about the rules such that the induction problem would be insoluble, certainly within the time it normally takes a child to acquire his or her native language.
89
induction
Induction is a method of reasoning in which you use individual ideas or facts to give you a general rule or conclusion.
Every induction is a speculation.
Without it, the child would generate countless hypotheses about the rules such that the induction problem would be insoluble, certainly within the time it normally takes a child to acquire his or her native language.
90
parameter
| [pəˈræmɪtɚ]
Parameters are factors or limits which affect the way that something can be done or made.
...some of the parameters that determine the taste of a wine.
Although the specifics of the LAD have changed over the years, perhaps the most productive contemporary description is that the LAD consists of innate general principles of language, which the child has to then but
tune to the ambient language, said to involve a process of parameter-setting.
91
neonate
| [ˈni:oʊneɪt]
a baby from birth to four weeks
For instance, even neonates engage in ‘conversations’ with their caretakers, with the latter making particular accommodations to facilitate language acquisition.
92
accommodation
An accommodation is an agreement between different people which enables them to exist together without trouble.
His instinct would be to seek a new accommodation with the nationalists...
For instance, even neonates engage in ‘conversations’ with their caretakers, with the latter making particular accommodations to facilitate language acquisition.
93
facilitate
To facilitate an action or process, especially one that you would like to happen, means to make it easier or more likely to happen.
The new airport will facilitate the development of tourism...
For instance, even neonates engage in ‘conversations’ with their caretakers, with the latter making particular accommodations to facilitate language acquisition.
94
posit
If you posit something, you suggest or assume it as the basis for an argument or calculation.
Several writers have posited the idea of a universal consciousness...
Also rejecting the idea of the need to posit an innate LAD, emergentists argue instead that humans are well suited to perceive and to assimilate the patterns in the language spoken to them (and therefore the input is not as impoverished as Chomsky maintained).
95
assimilate
If you assimilate new ideas, techniques, or information, you learn them or adopt them.
I was speechless, still trying to assimilate the enormity of what he'd told me.
to assimilate the patterns in the language spoken to them
96
bootstrap
help oneself, often through improvised means
to help (oneself) without the aid of others
She spent years bootstrapping herself through college.
adult learners learning a target language can ‘bootstrap’ their learning by attending to frequently occurring form-meaning-use constructions in the language to which
they are exposed
97
prototype
If you say that someone or something is a prototype of a type of person or thing, you mean that they are the first or most typical one of that type.
98
exemplar
An exemplar is someone or something that is considered to be so good that they should be copied or imitated.
Learners build categories around frequent prototype exemplars, and from the categories extract the semantic and pragmatic information that allows them to analogize
beyond the forms they have encountered.
99
analogize
| [ə'næləˌdʒaɪz]
make an analogy
| allows them to analogize beyond the forms they have encountered.
100
contingent
A contingent is a group of people representing a country or organization at a meeting or other event.
The whistles from the large contingent of England fans away to our left are deafening.
Frequent and reliably contingent form-meaning-use
constructions are made more available to the learners through a social process of co-adaptation, an iterative process, with each interlocutor adjusting to the other over and over again.
101
iterate
to say, state, or perform again;
Let me iterate that we have absolutely no plans to increase taxation.
an iterative process, with each interlocutor adjusting to the other over and over again
102
interlocutor
Your interlocutor is the person with whom you are having a conversation.
Owen had the habit of staring motionlessly at his interlocutor.
an iterative process, with each interlocutor adjusting to the other over and over again
103
atrophy
If something atrophies, its size, degree, or effectiveness decreases because it is not used or protected.
If you allow your mind to stagnate, this particular talent will atrophy...
With each new instance of meaningful language the learner encounters or uses, certain neural connections are strengthened and others atrophy, creating a dynamic, interconnected network of language-using patterns in memory
104
stagnate
If something such as a business or society stagnates, it stops changing or progressing.
His career had stagnated.
105
multifaceted
Multi-faceted means having a variety of different and important features or elements.
Webb is a multi-faceted performer...
Her job is multi-faceted.
it should not be surprising that any answer to this question is multifaceted as well
106
cursory
A cursory glance or examination is a brief one in which you do not pay much attention to detail.
Certainly, even a cursory response to this question would include learners’ ages, the native or other languages that they speak, and their individual differences.
107
discrepant
not compatible with other facts
Of course, this hypothesis is not without controversy; nevertheless, it is difficult to argue that adult learners approach the challenge of learning another language in exactly the same way that children do, if only because the circumstances surrounding the learning are discrepant.
108
cloak
To cloak something means to cover it or hide it.
The beautiful sweeping coastline was cloaked in mist.
Brian MacWhinney (2006) attributes the L1 patterns cloaked in L2 words to the ‘neural commitment’ that L1 speakers have already made to their the native language.
109
bifurcate
If something such as a line or path bifurcates or is bifurcated, it divides into two parts which go in different directions.
The blood supply bifurcates between eight and thirty times before reaching each particular location in the body.
It should also be noted that since its genesis, the subfield of SLA has adopted a bifurcated research agenda, which features both questions about the nature of the SLA process and about learners’ differential success.
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aptitude
Someone's aptitude for a particular kind of work or activity is their ability to learn it quickly and to do it well.
Some students have more aptitude for academic work than others.
These factors are varied and range from innate language aptitude to motivation to affective factors such as social attitudes toward the target language group, to learning style differences, to the preference for different learning strategies, to the circumstances of learning (i.e. as a second or a foreign language), and to the goals or needs of the learner.
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exemplify
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If a person or thing exemplifies something such as a situation, quality, or class of things, they are a typical example of it.
I'm going to exemplify one or two of these points.
To exemplify the last point, it is increasingly common to find heritage speakers in language classrooms these days.
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ambient
Ambient sound or light is the sound or light which is all around you.
...ambient sounds of children in the background.
For these learners the language of the home is different from the ambient language and the language of the school.
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underscore
If something such as an action or an event underscores another, it draws attention to the other thing and emphasizes its importance.
The rash of accidental shootings underscores how difficult it will be to restore order here.
Such an observation underscores a critical issue in the field of language learning and language education: to what extent it is possible to make generalizations about learners apart from the circumstances of, and reason for, their learning?
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backdrop
The backdrop to an event is the general situation in which it happens.
The election will take place against a backdrop of increasing instability.
It is no longer sufficient to talk about ‘individual differences’ in SLA against the backdrop of the universal learner.
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supersede
If something is superseded by something newer, it is replaced because it has become old-fashioned or unacceptable.
Hand tools are relics of the past that have now been superseded by the machine.
Perhaps if we are content to talk about tendencies, patterns, and contingencies, rather than absolute
predictions and generalizations, then although individuals follow different trajectories in learning a second language, there may be some patterns that supersede the individual level
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relic
If you refer to something or someone as a relic of an earlier period, you mean that they belonged to that period but have survived into the present.
The tower is a relic of grim days when big houses had to be fortified against invaders...
...a museum of war relics.
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contingency
1)A contingency is something that might happen in the future.
I need to examine all possible contingencies.
2)A contingency plan or measure is one that is intended to be used if a possible situation actually occurs.
We have contingency plans.
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receptacle
A receptacle is an object which you use to put or keep things in.
Like Freire, Dewey rejected approaches that construed learners as receptacles of the teacher’s knowledge.
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proximal
| [ˈprɑ:ksɪməl
situated nearest to point of attachment or origin;
| "the proximal end of a bone"
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rationale
| [ˌræʃəˈnæl]
The rationale for a course of action, practice, or belief is the set of reasons on which it is based.
However, the rationale for such initiatives is not, of course, solely economic...
More capable peers (and teachers) aid or ‘scaffold’ learners in the ZPD, thus contributing a socially oriented rationale for interactive and collaborative pair and group work.
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confer
To confer something such as power or an honour on someone means to give it to them.
Never imagine that rank confers genuine authority.
It is a fact that each of the three approaches to teaching that I have briefly touched upon –knowledge transmission, constructivism, and socioculturalism – all confer different roles on language teachers.
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eclectic
An eclectic collection of objects, ideas, or beliefs is wide-ranging and comes from many different sources.
...an eclectic collection of paintings, drawings, and prints.
While some say today’s times call for us to move beyond methods, adopting postmethod macro-strategies in place of prescribed and proscribed methodological practices
, the fact is that most teachers practise an eclectic form of teaching.
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prescribe
| proscribe
If a person or set of laws or rules prescribes an action or duty, they state that it must be carried out.
If something is proscribed by people in authority, the existence or the use of that thing is forbidden.
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methodological
| [ˌmɛθədəˈlɑdʒɪkl:]
A methodology is a system of methods and principles for doing something, for example for teaching or for carrying out research.
...theoretical and methodological issues raised by the study of literary texts.
