| D |
| Deductive
learning / deductive approach |
See
Inductive
/ Deductive.
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| Deep
end strategy |
In
a deep end strategy, new language input is provided
within a context that includes other language structures.
Example:
You could present the present simple affirmative with a text
about a typical day in the life of sports star.
The text would include perhaps ten examples of the present
simple affirmative, plus some other grammatical structures.
The students would read the text and underline the verbs in
the present simple.
You could then go on to the standard practice and production
stages of a PPP
presentation.
The idea behind this is that students can recognize much
more than they can produce.
This is the opposite approach to the Structural-Situational
Approach.
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| Directionality |
Learning
that letters in a word, sentence or paragraph flow in the
same direction. In English, the direction is always from
left to right, with a “reverse sweep” at the end of the
line back to the beginning of the line underneath. Other
languages have different directionality – Arabic, for
example, flows from right to left.
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| Distance
learning |
Courses
which are either sent as printed material to the students’
houses or places of work, or are available on the Internet.
Students are usually assigned a tutor who corrects their
work and answers their questions, but they may never meet
their tutor in person.
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| Drill |
A
drill is a set of sentences containing a new structure for
the students to repeat.
- Choral drill: the entire class repeats the
sentences in unison.
- Individual drill: The teacher selects students
to repeat a sentence individually.
- Substitution drill: The teacher varies the
drill with cue words.
Example (during a presentation of object pronouns):
Teacher: My brother.
Students: I gave the book to him.
Teacher: My mother.
Students: I gave the book to her.
Teacher: Children.
Students: I gave the book to them.
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| Dynamics |
See
Classroom
management.
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|
|
| E |
| EAP |
EAP
stands for English for Academic Purposes. This covers
activities such as the reading skills necessary to
understand academic papers, taking notes, writing summaries,
writing essays and so on.
See ELT
for related terms.
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|
| Eclectic
approach |
The
Eclectic approach combines the techniques of several
different approaches. For example, many courses have
elements from the Functional
approach, the Communicative
approach, the structural-situational
approach, a skills approach, and so on.
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| EFL |
EFL
stands for English as a Foreign Language i.e. teaching
English in a country where English is not generally spoken.
See ELT
for related terms.
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|
| ELT |
ELT
stands for English Language Teaching - a general term that
includes EFL and ESL.
Other related abbreviations:
EAP stands for English for Academic Purposes. This
covers activities such as the reading skills necessary to
understand academic papers, taking notes, writing summaries,
writing essays and so on.
EFL stands for English as a Foreign Language i.e.
teaching English in a country where English is not generally
spoken.
ESL stands for English as a Second Language, i.e.
teaching English in a country where English is generally
spoken.
ESOL stands for English for Speakers of Other
Languages. This is a general term that includes EFL and ESL.
EPP stands for English for Professional Purposes,
such as English for workers in the tourist industry, English
for computer programmers and so on.
ESP stands for English for Special Purposes. This can
include EPP, but also special cases such as Survival English
for newly-arrived immigrants.
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| EPP |
EPP
stands for English for Professional Purposes, such as
English for workers in the tourist industry, English for
computer programmers and so on.
See ELT
for related terms.
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|
| Error
correction |
There
are three basic types of error correction:
1. Teacher correction: The teacher corrects the
student.
2. Self-correction: The teacher indicates the student
has made a mistake
or error (usually by repeating in a quizzical tone)
and gives the student an opportunity to self-correct.
3. Peer correction: The teacher asks other students
to correct the mistake or error.
A decision to correct or not is based on many factors: the
most important criteria is whether the activity you are
doing is for accuracy
or fluency.
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| Errors
and mistakes |
Errors
are when students produce incorrect language because they
don’t know the correct form.
Mistakes are when students produce incorrect language
although they know the correct form.
Students can usually correct their mistakes, but by
definition they can’t correct their errors.
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| ESL |
ESL
stands for English as a Second Language, i.e. teaching
English in a country where English is generally spoken.
See ELT
for related terms.
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|
| ESOL |
ESOL
stands for English for Speakers of Other Languages. This is
a general term that includes EFL and ESL.
See ELT
for related terms.
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| ESP |
ESP
stands for English for Special Purposes. This can include
EPP, but also special cases such as Survival English for
newly-arrived immigrants.
See ELT for related terms.
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|
| Extensive
/ Intensive reading |
Extensive
reading is reading for the pleasure of reading, not
focusing on every single detail in the text.
Intensive reading is reading in detail for a complete
understanding of every part of the text.
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|
| F |
| False
beginners |
False
beginners have some understanding of the basics of
English, but they can’t use it very well. They may give
the impression that they know little or nothing of the
language.
True beginners know absolutely nothing about English
and have had little or no contact with the language.
Usually, false beginners advance much more quickly than true
beginners.
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| False
friends |
See
Cognates.
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| Fill-in
exercises |
A
set of sentences or a text which has blanks in it for the
students to complete with the correct or appropriate word.
Example:
He walked _____ school.
Fill-in exercises are a good way of reinforcing new
grammar and vocabulary.
See also cloze
test.
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|
| Fill-in
the blank |
See
Fill-in
exercises.
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|
| Fill-the-gap
exercises |
See
Fill-in
exercises.
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|
| Fillers |
See
Position
holders / Fillers.
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|
| Fine
motor skills / Gross motor skills |
As
babies develop, they learn how to move their arms and legs
in increasingly well-controlled movements. The culmination
of this process is learning to walk. These movements are gross
motor skills.
From this stage on, children begin to learn fine motor
skills – for example, drawing lines, then shapes, and
eventually learning to write.
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| Fluency |
See
Accuracy
/ Fluency.
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| Four
skills / Four skills approach |
The
four skills are reading, writing, speaking and listening.
Each of these skills is divided into separate skills. For
details, see Reading
skills, Writing
skills, Speaking
skills and Listening
skills.
The four skills approach gives equal emphasis to developing
each of the four skills, and to Integrating
skills.
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| Four
skills approach |
See
Four
skills / Four
skills approach.
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| Frame
dialogue |
A
short dialogue (usually about 3 or 4 exchanges) which is
used to practice a particular piece of language.
Example:
A: Do you want to go to the movies this afternoon?
B: I can’t. I’m going to play tennis.
A: Oh. That’s a pity.
B: Yes. Never mind.
Frame dialogues use substitutions so that the
students can practice the dialog with other language.
Substitutions for Student A
go to the movies / have coffee with me / go to the mall
Substitutions for Student B
do my homework / visit my grandmother / see my friends
Frame dialogues are the ideal way to practice functions.
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| Functional
approach |
Functions
are the purposes for which you use English.
Examples: suggesting, inviting, disagreeing,
expressing interest.
Exponents are the way you express functions. Examples:
suggesting: Shall we...? Let’s... Why don’t we...?
A course with a functional approach is a sequence of
functions and their exponents. It does not present grammar
as a graded sequence, as in the structural-situational
approach.
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|
| Functions |
See
Functional
approach.
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|
