Glossary

During this course, you’ll find there’s a lot of terminology

about English Language Teaching. Each week we’ll have a
step near the end of the week with a list of key terms from the
week’s activities.

Here’s the terminology from this week which is all about the world
of ELT. If there are any terms which you’re not sure about, post
your question below – you may find one of your fellow learners
has an explanation which will help you to understand it better.

CELTA (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)

An initial teaching qualification from Cambridge English Language

Assessment. It’s frequently taken as a four-week intensive course,
with input on methodology and assessed teaching practice.

EAP (English for Academic Purposes)

Teaching English to people who are preparing to take, or are

taking, a university course in English. The course will cover things
like essay writing, note-taking, reading skills and academic
vocabulary.

EFL (English as a foreign language)

This is the subject of English when it is taught for work, study or

pleasure. Learners may be studying in their own country or
studying for a while in an English-speaking country before
returning home. They do not intend to live permanently in an
English-speaking country. EFL is the term used in European
contexts.
ESL (English as a second Language)

This is the term used in the US and Canada to talk about the
subject of English when it is not the learner’s first language.
Learners may be in the US or Canada or they may be in their own
countries.

ESP (English for Specific Purposes)

English for people who need a very specialised type of English

often for their jobs. Big sectors within this are Business English,
English for Tourism and English for Medicine.

General English

Classes which aim to improve learners’ overall ability to

communicate in English by studying the grammar, vocabulary and
pronunciation of English and developing the skills of speaking,
listening, writing and reading.

TEFL (Teaching English as a foreign language)

Teaching English to learners, both overseas and in the UK, who

want to learn English for work, for study or pleasure but who do
not normally live or work permanently in an English-speaking
country. TEFL is the term used in European contexts.

TESL (Teaching English as a second language)

The term used in the US and Canada for teaching English. It is

used for both learners studying in their own country and those
studying in the US or Canada and it refers to both learners who
live permanently in the US or Canada and those who don’t.
TESOL (Teaching English to speakers of other languages)

The term which is used to cover all forms of English teaching to

non-English speakers. The term is widely used in North America,
Australia and New Zealand.

You might also find it useful to look at the TKT (Teaching

Knowledge Test) Glossary (attached below). The words and
phrases in the TKT Glossary includes words and phrases for
teaching knowledge connected to language, language use and the
background to and practice of language teaching and learning as
assessed in TKT. TKT is a teaching qualification which shows
teachers how they are developing as a teacher. It is ideal for
people who want to prove their teaching knowledge with a globally
recognised certificate.

Glossary
During this course, you’ll find there’s a lot of terminology
about English Language Teaching. Each week we’ll have a
step near the end of the week with a list of key terms from the
week’s activities.

Here’s the terminology from this week which is all about the world
of ELT. If there are any terms which you’re not sure about, post
your question below – you may find one of your fellow learners
has an explanation which will help you to understand it better.

CELTA (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)

An initial teaching qualification from Cambridge English Language

Assessment. It’s frequently taken as a four-week intensive course,
with input on methodology and assessed teaching practice.
EAP (English for academic purposes)

Teaching English to people who are preparing to take, or are

taking, a university course in English. The course will cover things
like essay writing, note-taking, reading skills and academic
vocabulary.

EFL (English as a foreign language)

This is the subject of English when it is taught for work, study or

pleasure. Learners may be studying in their own country or
studying for a while in an English-speaking country before
returning home. They do not intend to live permanently in an
English-speaking country. EFL is the term used in European
contexts.

ESL (English as a second Language)

This is the term used in the US and Canada to talk about the
subject of English when it is not the learner’s first language.
Learners may be in the US or Canada or they may be in their own
countries.

ESP (English for specific purposes)

English for people who need a very specialised type of English

often for their jobs. Big sectors within this are Business English,
English for Tourism and English for Medicine.

General English

Classes which aim to improve learners’ overall ability to

communicate in English by studying the grammar, vocabulary and
pronunciation of English and developing the skills of speaking,
listening, writing and reading.
IELTS (International English Language Testing System)

https://www.ielts.org/ - usually used by non-native speakers to

prove language proficiency for university entrance, visa
applications or job applications.

TEFL (Teaching English as a foreign language)

Teaching English to learners, both overseas and in the UK, who

want to learn English for work, for study or pleasure but who do
not normally live or work permanently in an English-speaking
country. TEFL is the term used in European contexts.

TESL (Teaching English as a second language)

The term used in the US and Canada for teaching English. It is

used for both learners studying in their own country and those
studying in the US or Canada and it refers to both learners who
live permanently in the US or Canada and those who don’t.

TESOL (Teaching English to speakers of other languages)

The term which is used to cover all forms of English teaching to

non-English speakers. The term is widely used in North America,
Australia and New Zealand.

TOEIC

A test of a candidate’s language proficiency.

TOEFL

This is a test of a candidate’s language proficiency (used to apply

for visas, university admission, jobs that need English etc).
You might also find it useful to look at the TKT (Teaching
Knowledge Test) Glossary (attached below). The words and
phrases in the TKT Glossary includes words and phrases for
teaching knowledge connected to language, language use and the
background to and practice of language teaching and learning as
assessed in TKT. TKT is a teaching qualification which shows
teachers how they are developing as a teacher. It is ideal for
people who want to prove their teaching knowledge with a globally
recognised certificate.

Glossary
Here’s the terminology from this week which is all about
motivating and managing learners. If there are any terms
which you’re not sure about, post your question below - you
may find one of your fellow learners has an explanation
which will help you to understand it better.

Intrinsic motivation

Motivation influenced by internal factors, such as a desire to

communicate in a new language or an interest in a new culture.

Extrinsic motivation

Motivation influenced by external factors, such as the need to

pass an exam or apply for a visa.

Learning preferences

These are also known as learning styles and describe the way
individuals learn languages best. The most common categories
are visual, auditory and kinaesthetic, but there are many others.
Although some people dispute the fact that learners can be boxed
into these categories, it is generally accepted that teachers need
to accommodate different learning preferences in a class by
providing a range of activity types.

Visual learner

Prefers to learn through images and pictures.

Auditory learner

Prefers to learn through listening.

Kinaesthetic learner

Prefers to learn through doing actions.

Interpersonal

Prefers to work in pairs or groups.

Intrapersonal

Prefers to work independently.

Experiential

Enjoys experimenting with language.

Differentiation

This is when teachers identify and address the different needs,

interests or abilities of their learners by providing a range of
activity types and using a range of approaches.

TTT
This is the commonly accepted abbreviation for teacher talk time
and refers to the amount of time in a lesson that the teacher talks
to the learners. It is important that TTT is helpful to the learners.

STT

This is the commonly accepted abbreviation for student talk time

and refers to the amount of time in a lesson that the students talk.
There needs to be a balance of TTT and STT in a language
lesson.

Grading language

This is when teachers use language they know the students have
already studied to ease the cognitive load. This can be done by
avoiding informal, colloquial language or complex grammar
structures.

Eliciting

When the teacher asks learners questions, or prompts them, to

come up with ideas or language. It can be used to activate their
existing knowledge of a language point in order to base new
knowledge on what they already know.

Monitoring

When the teacher observes learners during an activity to check

their understanding of the activity and assess their progress.

Feedback

This happens at the end of the activity cycle when the teacher
gives the learners feedback on their performance by going
through the answers with the class and/or finding out what they
have talked about. This stage can be used for further clarification
if the learners still need help with the language point.

Reading for gist/Skimming

Reading quickly to get a general understanding of a written text, eg reading
a description of a city to find out if it sounds like somewhere you'd like to
visit.

Reading for specific information/Scanning

Searching for a particular piece of information in a written text, eg reading a
description of a city only to find out which country it's in

Reading/listening for detail

Reading or listening more carefully so that you get a full understanding of
the text, eg reading a description of a city to find out everything about it.

Listening for gist

Getting a general understanding of something you hear, eg listening to the
weather forecast and deciding you might need to take an umbrella when you
go out.

Listening for specific information

Listening for a particular piece of information e.g. listening to the weather
forecast to find out what the temperature will be tomorrow.

Inferring meaning
Making guesses about what is not stated explicitly in a text, eg listening or
reading a conversation and deciding that the people are brother and sister
without them saying so.
Please allow access to your computer’s microphone to use Voice Recording.
Having trouble? Click here for help.
Glossary
Here’s the terminology for this week.

Reading for gist/Skimming

Reading quickly to get a general understanding of a written text,

eg reading a description of a city to find out if it sounds like
somewhere you’d like to visit.

Reading for specific information/Scanning

Searching for a particular piece of information in a written text, eg

reading a description of a city only to find out which country it’s in.

Reading/listening for detail

Reading or listening more carefully so that you get a full

understanding of the text, eg reading a description of a city to find
out everything about it.

Listening for gist

Getting a general understanding of something you hear, eg

listening to the weather forecast and deciding you might need to
take an umbrella when you go out.

Listening for specific information

Listening for a particular piece of information, eg listening to the

weather forecast to find out what the temperature will be
tomorrow.
Inferring meaning

Making guesses about what is not stated explicitly in a text, eg

listening or reading a conversation and deciding that the people
are brother and sister without them saying so.

Coherence

Organising ideas in a logical way when speaking or writing so that

the listener or reader can follow our ideas.

Cohesion

Joining sentences together using words like and, but and because
so our language flows more easily.

Interactive strategies

Strategies we use when we are speaking, eg showing you are

listening to other people by saying things like, mmmm or uh-uh or
oh!

Turn taking

An interactive strategy which is about knowing when you can join

in a conversation and signalling when you think someone else
should speak.

Fluency

For speaking; this is speaking without a lot of hesitation and too

many long pauses. For writing; this means you can write without
stopping for a long time to think about what to write.
Glossary
Here’s the terminology for this week.

Reading for gist/Skimming

Reading quickly to get a general understanding of a written text,

eg reading a description of a city to find out if it sounds like
somewhere you’d like to visit.

Reading for specific information/Scanning

Searching for a particular piece of information in a written text, eg

reading a description of a city only to find out which country it’s in.

Reading/listening for detail

Reading or listening more carefully so that you get a full

understanding of the text, eg reading a description of a city to find
out everything about it.

Listening for gist

Getting a general understanding of something you hear, eg

listening to the weather forecast and deciding you might need to
take an umbrella when you go out.

Listening for specific information

Listening for a particular piece of information, eg listening to the

weather forecast to find out what the temperature will be
tomorrow.

Inferring meaning
Making guesses about what is not stated explicitly in a text, eg
listening or reading a conversation and deciding that the people
are brother and sister without them saying so.

Coherence

Organising ideas in a logical way when speaking or writing so that

the listener or reader can follow our ideas.

Cohesion

Joining sentences together using words like and, but and because
so our language flows more easily.

Interactive strategies

Strategies we use when we are speaking, eg showing you are

listening to other people by saying things like, mmmm or uh-uh or
oh!

Turn taking

An interactive strategy which is about knowing when you can join

in a conversation and signalling when you think someone else
should speak.

Fluency

For speaking; this is speaking without a lot of hesitation and too

many long pauses. For writing; this means you can write without
stopping for a long time to think about what to write.
 noun

 pronoun

 verb

 adverb

 adjective

 preposition

 conjunction

 determiner

 interjection

Task

 sounds/phonemes?

 stress?
 intonation?

Typical mistakes and terminology

Let’s see if you got the features of pronunciation right in the
previous step. Listen to the sentences again – this time
they’re correct – and read the explanation. Were you right?

1. intonation
How interesting! You're so lucky!
This example shows the importance of intonation to show
how we feel. Our voices go up in the first part of interesting
and lucky to show we are happy and excited. Without this
intonation we sound bored, don't we?
2. stress
I want to be an English language teacher.
This example shows the importance of stress in a sentence.
We usually stress the words which carry important
information. We wouldn't normally stress an. Which words
would we stress? Which words are important when
conveying the meaning in the sentence? Probably if I
said: "want English language teacher" you'd know what I
mean, wouldn't you?
3. phoneme
I have three uncles.
This example sounded like I have three ankles, didn't it? This
is an example of mispronouncing a phoneme. Saying /æ/
(the sound a, as in cat) instead of /ʌ/ (the sound u as in but)
 at the beginning of the worduncle changes the meaning of
the sentence.

Task

Glossary
Here’s the terminology for Week 4.

Pronoun

A word which is used instead of a noun perhaps because you

have already talked about the person or thing, eg I, they, which.

Verb

A word which describes an action or a state of being, eg eat, like,

know.

Adverb

A word which describes or gives more information about a verb or

an adjective, eg he walked quickly, she danced well.

Adjective

A word which describes something or someone, eg beautiful,

happy, long.

Preposition

A word which is used with a noun or pronoun to show time, place

or direction, eg at, on, in.
Conjunction

A word which connects words and phrases in a sentence, eg but,

and, although.

Determiner

A word which is used before a noun to show which particular

example of the noun you are referring to, eg this pencil, your
shoes.

Interjection

An interjection is a word that is used to express emotion, eg Oh

no! Gosh! Ow!

Part of speech

Learners need to know what type of word (noun, verb, adjective)

they are learning so that they know how to put it into a sentence.

Meaning

What idea the word shows and what contexts the word applies to.

Pronunciation

Learners need to know how to say the word, how many syllables
there are and which is stressed, eg ed-u-CA-tion.

Spelling

Learners need to know how to write the word.

Connotation
Learners need to know if the word has a positive or a negative
sense to it. For example, the words ‘slim’ and ‘skinny’ both mean
thin but one has a positive connotation (slim) and the other
(skinny) doesn’t.

Collocation

Learners need to know which words go with the word they are
learning. For example, we make beds but do housework.

Word families

Learners need to know other words that are formed from the same
word, for example, kind, unkind, kindness, kindly.

Register

Learners need to know if the word should be used in formal or

informal situations. For example, assist and help have the same
meaning but assist is more formal than help.

Syllable

A part of a word that usually contains a vowel sound, eg pen =

one syllable; teacher = two syllables – teach/er; umbrella = three
syllables – um/brell/a.

Connected speech

Spoken language in which the words join to form a connected

stream of sounds. In connected speech some sounds in words
may be left out or some sounds may be pronounced in a weak
way or some words might join together, eg Is he busy? /ɪzibɪzi/.
Phoneme

The smallest sound unit which can make a difference to meaning

eg /p/ in pan, /b/ in ban. Phonemes have their own symbols
(phonemic symbols), each of which represents one sound.

Phonemic symbols

The characters we use which represent the different sounds or

phonemes, eg /ɜː/, /tʃ/, /θ/. Words can be written in phonemic
script (usually the International Phonetic Alphabet or IPA), eg
/dɒktə/ = doctor.

Consonant

1. A sound in which the air is partly blocked by the lips, tongue,

teeth etc., eg /θ/ in ‘thing’, /b/ in ‘boy’.
2. Any letter of the English alphabet which represents
consonant sounds, eg d = /d/, c = /k/.

Diphthong

Diphthongs are vowel sounds. They are a combination of two

single vowel sounds said one after the other to produce a new
sound; eg /aɪ/ as in ‘my’ is pronounced by saying /æ/ and /ɪ/
together. There are eight diphthongs in English: /iə/(eg ear),
/eɪ/(eg play), /ʊə/(eg tourist), /ɔɪ/(eg boy), /əʊ/ (eg go), /eə/(eg air),
/aɪ/(eg life), /aʊ/ (eg now).

Vowels

1. A sound in which the air is not blocked by the tongue, lips,

teeth etc., eg /i:/ (eat), /ə/ (about), /e/ (egg), /ʌ/ (fun).
 Movement or vibration is felt in the throat because the voice
is used.
2. In the alphabet, the letters a, e, i, o, u are vowels.

Intonation

The way the level of a speaker’s voice changes to show meaning

such as how they feel about something; eg the level of your voice
when you are angry is different from the level of your voice when
you are pleased. Intonation can be rising or falling or both.

Stress

Pronouncing part of a word (syllable) or part of a sentence louder

and longer than other parts, eg VEGetable, I LOVE baNAnas.
Some parts of words and sentences are stressed (those in capital
letters in these examples) and some are unstressed.

Sentence stress

Sentence stress is about the way some words in a sentence are

stressed and some are unstressed. The stressed words are
usually the information-carrying words or content words such as
nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. For example, It was a
LOVely EVEning, and the TEMperature was PERfect (the parts of
the words in capitals are stressed).

Word stress

Word stress is about which syllable of a word is pronounced

louder and longer – eg umBRELLa /ʌmˈbrelə/.

Phonemic chart
A poster or diagram of the phonemic symbols arranged in a
particular order. Below is an example of the International Phonetic
Alphabet or IPA.

© UCLES 2016
www.breakingnewsenglish.com – interactive and printable English
lessons

www.newsactivities.com – lessons using BBC reports

tedxesl.com – lessons based around Ted Talks

dictionary.cambridge.org – online dictionary

www.esl-lab.com– conversations with adult and children’s voices

www.esl-lab.com – video snapshots for ESL/EFL students

www.voki.com – create speaking characters to communicate with

friends

www.dvolver.com – make a movie

www.engvid.com – English video lessons

www.lyricstraining.com – learn through music and the lyrics of

songs

www.quizlet.com – free study tools

www.listenandwrite.com – a dictation tool

www.makebeliefscomix.com – make your own comic

storybird.com – make your own story