all sorts Flashcards
assimilation
changing a sound to make it closer to its neighbour
/t/ in that man → /ðæpmæn/
Example: in ‘ten pin bowling’, the /n/ in ten becomes bilabial /m/ to ease the transition to the similarly bilabial /p/
Further Point: Another form of assimilation is ‘coalescence’ e.g. ‘Do you..?’ becomes /dju:/
elision
Definition: when a sound disappears to ease the transition between words
Example: In the phrase ‘first time’, the first /t/ disappears
Further Point: this often happens when the end of one word has the same sound as the start of the next one, as in the example above.
Liaison
(a liaison is an intrusion)
Liaison refer to the insertion of a sound between two others. In English, the most common sounds that are most usually inserted, in English, between two words are: /r, j, w/
eg. Here –r– and there;
Speakers of languages that don’t have these ‘semi-consonants’ will either not make the liaison, or substitute another sound from their language to make the link.
Juncture
This is where the consonant at the end of a word carries over to connect with a vowel at the beginning of the next word.
great ape sounds like grey tape → / greɪteɪp /
Reduction
he substitution of the weak central vowel (called schwa /ə/) in unstressed syllables.
Two or/ə/ three;
achievement test
Designed to test what learners have learned over a week, month, term or entire course. Because ___ ___s are directly related to the content of the teaching program, they provide feedback on the teaching-learning process, and are therefore useful data for course evaluation.
placement test
TESTING Definition: a test done to place a student in the correct level/class at the start of a course Example: a multiple‐choice grammar test followed by a spoken interview to ascertain ability Further Point: placement tests can have a 'forward wash' effect, rather than backwash, as they are before the course
diagnostic test
TESTING Definition: a test undertaken to test strengths and weaknesses in skills and systems
Example: a list of incorrect sentences for student to put into correct grammar, thereby testing grammatical areas they are good and bad at
Further Point: the results of these tests are often used as needs analyses, thus dictating future course content
progress test
TESTING Definition: a test to find out if the aims of a course/part of a course have been achieved, and the content absorbed Example: A grammar test at the end of the month, testing what has been covered in class Further Point: also called an achievement test or can be classed as formative testing (during a course)
achievement test
TESTING A form of assessment administered at the end of a course to monitor the learning process. Also called summative tests.
criterion-referenced test
TESTING Test in which the candidate has to achieve a certain agreed standard in order to pass.
norm-referenced test
TESTING
Definition: a test graded in comparison to the whole group of exam takers
Example: A test in which there had to be a certain number of passes, grade Bs, grade As, etc
Further Point: usually for Proficiency tests which test general ability in an area; not specifically connected to a particular curriculum or course book e.g. FCE
validity
TESTING When a test measures accurately what it is intended to measure. Face, content and construct are different factors to consider.
reliability
TESTING When a test gives consistent results.
Definition: the consistency of the results gained from the test
Example: 2 students of identical level should get the same result, or the same student sitting the test on different occasions
Further Point: we can also talk about ‘marker reliability’ in that the marker should also mark the same across different tests
integrative test
TESTING Definition: a test of various aspects of systems or skills at the same time
Example: a cloze test tests lexis and grammar and discourse at the same time
Further Point: used as a measure of general linguistic ability rather than knowledge of a single item
practicability
TESTING
Definition: how easy the exam/test is to administer and mark
Example: a test that has a cover grid for the marker to quickly see what is right and wrong has high practicality.
Further Point: increasing a test’s practicality often has an inverse effect on its reliability or validity
backwash
TESTING The way a test affects the classroom teaching that leads up to it.
theme
DISCOURSE The way messages are constructed. This is the ‘point of departure’ of the message. It typically expresses known (or given) information, often information that is carried over from a previous sentence. The rest of the sentence is called the rheme, and constitutes the new information.
Definition: the topic of a sentence
Example: “Smoking is bad for your health.” In this sentence ‘smoking’ is the theme of the sentence.
Further Point: Commonly seen with the expression ‘rheme’, which is the comment made on the theme of a sentence
universal grammar
LINGUISTICS The name given to the theory that all languages share certain fundamental principles. Adopted by Noam Chomsky in order to argue that we are genetically programmed with an innate language leaning faculty (language acquisition device).
product approach to writing
METHODOLOGY An approach in which the focus is exclusively on producing a text that reproduces the model learners are initially given. Involves analyzing and imitating models of particular text types.
process approach to writing
METHODOLOGY Approach in which writers do not in fact start with a clear idea of the finished product. The text emerges out of a creative process which includes: planning, drafting and re-drafting, reviewing, publishing.
genre-based approach to writing
METHODOLOGY An approach that is similar to a product approach. Starts with a model text (authentic) that is subjected to analysis and replication. These are closely associated with their contexts of use, and they are analyzed in functional terms as much as in linguistic ones. Has been particularly influential in the teaching of academic writing.
affix, affixation
VOCABULARY An element that is added to a word and which changes its meaning. The process of doing this.
applied linguistics
LINGUISTICS Concerned with the application of linguistic theory to solving language-related problems in the real world. Language planning, speech therapy, lexcography, translation studies, forensic linguistics.
appropriacy
SOCIOLINGUISTICS Using language in a way that is suitable for the context and in a way that meets the expectations of the people you are communicating with.
aspect
GRAMMAR The way the speaker’s ‘view’ of an event is expressed by the verb phrase, regardless of the time of the event itself. 2 of these in English: progressive and perfect.
audiolingualism
METHODOLOGY Became widespread in the US in the 1950s and 60s. Distinctive feature=drilling of sentence patterns. Came from a view of learning as habit formation (behaviorism).
authenticity
LINGUISTICS Became a priority with the communicative approach. The idea of “grade the task, not the text” was born.
behaviorism
PSYCHOLOGY A psychological theory that viewed learning as a sort of habit formation and positive reinforcement. Audiolingualism is the teaching method that is associated with this. stimulus-response-reinforcement.
Devised by Skinner
coherence
DISCOURSE Definition: how IDEAS ‘hang together’ in a text - do they sound logical together or not
Example: the sentence “I’ll take an umbrella in case it rains and say hello to your family.” Is not coherent by itself
Further Point: often confused with ‘cohesion’ which is how language is linked together in a text
cohesion
DISCOURSE Definition: how the LANGUAGE is linked together in a text
Example: cohesive devices and linking expressions, such as ‘However’ at the start of a paragraph to show contrast with the previous paragraph
Further Point: often confused with ‘coherence’ which is how ideas sound logical together in a text
avoidance strategy
SLA Abandoning a message or replacing an original messae with one that is less ambitious.
communicative activity
METHODOLOGY Activity in which real communication occurs. Key features: purposefulness, reciprocity, negotiation, unpredictability, heterogeneity, synchronicity.
communicative approach
METHODOLOGY An umbrella term used to describe a major shift in language teaching that occurred in Europe in the 1970s. Shift away from language systems and toward how these systems are used in real communication. Linguistic competence replaced with focus on communicative competence. Directly related to functional-notional syllabus.
concord
GRAMMAR Also called agreement. The name given to the grammatical relationship whereby the form of one word requires a corresponding form in another. In English, it’s the case with subjects and verbs (I like, He likes…).
corpus
LINGUISTICS A collection of actually occurring texts (either spoken or written) stored and accessed by means of computers, and useful for investigating language use.
dictogloss
METHODOLOGY A form of dictation in which students hear the complete text (short) and then reconstruct it from memory. Learners first work individually, then in pairs, then in groups, each time comparing their versions of the text and negotiating changes.
discourse marker
DISCOURSE Definition: words, polywords, fixed and semi‐fixed phrases which act as ‘signals’ to show the direction and organisation of discourse
Example:” Anyway, …” tells the listener/reader that we are going to return to a previous theme, or possible move to a conclusion
Further Point: Discourse markers appear in both written and spoken discourse
linkers
DISCOURSE Used to connect what has been said to what follows. and, but, or, so, because
drill
METHODOLOGY Repetitive oral practice of a language item, whether a word, a sound, a phrase or a sentence structure. Follow a prompt-response sequence. Were a defining feature of the audiolingual method.
eclecticism
METHODOLOGY Combining techniques and activities from different methods in your teaching. Motivated by different reasons, one being a general distrust of a ‘one size fits all’ method.
Has been criticized on the grounds that it lacks principle and encourages an ‘anything goes’ approach to teaching. Principled ____ subscribes to a ‘post-method’ philosophy.
ellipsis
DISCOURSE Definition: the missing out of words in informal speech or writing. A type of grammatical cohesion.
Example: “Where you going?” Here, the auxiliary ‘are’ has been elided or ‘Having a great time’ in a postcard
Further Point we commonly elide subject pronouns and auxiliaries
error
SLA An instance of the learner’s language that does not conform to accepted norms of usage, and which is attributed to incomplete or faulty learning.
finite verbs
GRAMMAR Show that they are related to a subject by having person, number and tense. “Brad works for his uncle.”
non-finite verbs
GRAMMAR Do not show person, number or tense contrasts. The infinitive, present and past participles are forms of these. “Before working for his uncle, Brad used to work for his father.”
fossilization
SLA When an error becomes a permanent feature of a learner’s interlanguage. In theory such errors are resistant to correction. It has been hypothesized that the lack of instruction (and therefore the lack of a focus on form) is the main cause.
function
LINGUISTICS The communicative purpose of a language item.
form
LINGUISTICS The way a word, phrase or sentence is written or pronounced, independent of its meaning. Often contrasted with function.
genre
LINGUISTICS Any type of spoken or written discourse which is used and recognized by members of a particular culture or sub-culture. As these become established, they acquire a conventionalized structure and often a characteristic vocabulary and grammar. Involves features at macro level (overall organization) and micro level (specific grammatical and functional features).
prescriptive grammar
LINGUISTICS Prescribes correct usage, according to the standards of some group.
descriptive grammar
LINGUISTICS Describes, in a systematic way, the rules that govern how words are combined and sequenced in order to form sentences in a given language. Deal with morphology and syntax. Can be formal or functional.
grammaring
LINGUISTICS A term coined by the applied linguist Diane Larsen-Freeman in order to capture the notion of grammar being more a skill than an inert body of knowledge. The process by which a sequence of words if fine-tuned in order to create a more complex message than mere words can express. Has also been used to describe the way the learner’s mental grammar develops, over time, from a mainly lexical mode into a fuller mode (mirrors L1 acquisition).
grammar-translation method
METHODOLOGY Developed out of a way that classical languages (Greek and Latin) were traditionally taught. It wasn’t fully formalized until the mid-19th century, when it became institutionalized in schools in Germany.
