Cambridge Delta Integrated

Study online at quizlet.com/_13ptw7

Acculturation

Acculturation is the process by which a person integrates into a particular culture.

Active
Vocabulary

The words one knows well enough to use.

3.

Affordance

An affordance is a particular property of the environment that is potentially useful to an organism. The term has been
borrowed from ecology to describe the language learning opportunities that exist in the learner's 'linguistic
environment.'

4.

Assessment

Assessment refers to the different ways of collecting information about a learner's progress and achievement. One of
the ways is by testing the learner, but testing and assessment are not necessarily the same thing. Assessment may
include informal procedures such as those carried out by the teacher in the course of a lesson. Assessment is also
distinguished from evaluation, which is concerned with evaluating the effectiveness of the overall course or
programme, rather than the progress of individual learners on it.

5.

Authentic Text

A text not constructed for the purpose of helping someone to learn a language.

Autonomy (SelfDirected
Learning)

Autonomy is one's capacity to take responsibility for, and control of, one's own learning, either in an institutional
context, or completely independent of a teacher or instruction. Autonomous learning assumes that the learner has
well-developed learning strategies, and the development of such strategies is the aim of learner training.

Bottom-Up
Processing
(Listening)

The process of decoding the sounds of what you hear in a linear fashion, starting from the smallest meaningful units
(phonemes) to complete texts.

Bottom-Up
Processing
(Reading)

Readers decode the letters, words, and grammatical structures of individual sentences.

Clarifying

giving examples, explaining and so on.

Communicative
Competence

Communicative Competence is what you know in order to be able to communicate effectively. First proposed by Dell
Hymes, the term contrasts with Noam Chomsky's much narrower conceptualisation of competence (now known as
linguistic competence), which is the knowledge that enables the creation of well-formed sentences.

Competence

Competence is what we intuitively know about a language in order to be able to use it. It is the kind of internalised
knowledge that allows us to distinguish well-formed from ill-formed sentences. According to Noam Chomsky,
competence contrasts with performance, which is the way that competence is realised, with all its 'imperfections.' in
actual speech or writing. More recently, the distinction between competence and performance has been re-labelled as
the difference between I-language (internalised language) and E-language (the way this internalised language is put
to use externally.)

Complex
Sentence

A complex sentence is one that contains a main clause and one or more subordinate clauses. It is different to a
'compound sentence' which contains only co-ordinate clauses.

Comprehension

Comprehension is the process of understanding speech or writing. It results from an interaction between different
kinds of knowledge. At one level, there is linguistic knowledge and a knowledge of grammar. At a higher level there is
knowledge of different text types and styles, as well as schematic knowledge. Comprehension also involves different
psychological operations, including perception, recognition, and inferencing. Learners experience problems with
comprehension due to a failure in one or more of these operations.

Conceptual
Meaning

The meaning a word can have on its own.

Concordance

A concordance is a list of words in a text, or in a corpus, along with each word's immediate context. It functions like
an index and is a convenient way in which corpus information can be made available for study.

1.
2.

6.

7.

8.

9.
10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

Consciousnessraising (CR)

CR describes the way that learners become aware, or are made aware, of features of the language they are
learning. The term belongs to cognitive learning theory. At the very least learners need to notice features of the
input, if these features are to become intake. Of course, teachers can highlight input features but this is no
guarantee that learners will notice them. So it may be better to talk about the things that teachers do that have CR
potential. These include: enhancing the input in some way so as to make certain items more salient; asking
learners to infer rules from examples (inductive learning); asking them to compare their own output with that of
more proficient users of the TL ('noticing the gap'); problematizing the input, ie, forcing them to notice
distinctions that they had previously ignored; and 'pushed output,' where they are forced to 'notice the holes' in
the present state of their language knowledge (output hypothesis).

Contextual
Meaning (force or
functional value)

The meaning a sentence can have only when in context.

18.

Detailed Reading

Reading a text in order to extract the maximum detail from it. EXAMPLE: When following the instructions for
installing a household appliance.

19.

Dictation

Dictation is the transcribing, by students, of words, sentences, or whole texts, usually read aloud by the teacher.
Dictations were for a long time used simply as tests of spelling. More recently the dictation has been
rehabilitated, first as a form of integrative testing, and more recently as a popular activity type in its own right.

Dictogloss (or
dictocomp or
grammar
dictation)

The dictogloss is a form of dictation in which students hear the complete text (it should be a short one), and then
reconstruct it from memory. To do this, they work individually, then in pairs, and then, if practicable, in larger
groups, each time comparing their versions of the text and negotiating changes. Finally, they compare their
consensus version with the original. Dictogloss is an effective technique both for encouraging learners to pool
their language knowledge, and also for discovering features of the language that they hadn't noticed before.

Discourse
Knowledge

Knowing how different text-types are organised.

Discourse
Markers/Pragmatic
Markers/Linkers

Discourse Markers are words or expressions (e.g. well, anyway, I mean, right, actually) that normally come at
the beginning of an utterance and function to orient the listener to what will follow. They do this either by
indicating some kind of change of direction in the talk or by appealing to the listener in some way. Linkers,
which connect what has been said to what follows, are sometimes classified as Discourse Markers. EXAMPLES:
"then" is a DM often used to signal an inference based on what someone else has said. 'so/because" are linkers
that signal that what follows is (respectively) the result or the cause of what has been mentioned.

23.

Encouraging

Urging students to have a try, praising them for what they get right, not blaming them for what they get wrong
but using it to help them improve.

24.

Evaluation

This generally refers to either curriculum evaluation or materials evaluation, or both. The main purpose of
curriculum evaluation is to determine whether the goals and objectives of a course have been achieved, or
whether the course meets externally imposed standards, such as those set by an educational authority. It is
usually thought of as involving two types: ongoing (formative) evaluation - getting feedback on the curriculum in
action - and final (summative) - when the outcomes of a programme are evaluated according to the goals that
were established at the outset.

25.

Extensive Listening

Listening in quantity and in order to gain a general understanding; the term generally refers to listening to L2
input outside the classroom but some authors use it to refer to listening for gist even inside the classroom.

26.

Extensive Reading

The more leisurely reading of longer texts, primarily for pleasure or in order to accumulate vocabulary, or simply
to develop sound habits of reading.

27.

Focus on Form

When learners focus on form, they direct conscious attention to some formal feature of the language input. This
attention may be self-directed, or it may be directed by the teacher or by another learner. Either way, it has been
argued that a focus on form is a necessary condition for language learning. This term captures the fact that this
focus can, theoretically, occur at any stage in classroom instruction.

16.

17.

20.

21.

22.

28.

Form, Highlighting

Techniques to highlight the form, either spoken or written, include: 'Modelling' (the teacher the item a number of
times, clearly articulating its component parts, as well as demonstrating how these components are connected in
natural speech), 'finger-coding' (the teacher uses his fingers to identify each element of the item, as well as
showing which elements are stressed, joined, or omitted in natural speech), 'cuisenaire rods' (these are small
blocks of wood of different length, colours, etc. good for demonstrating formal features of language, such as the
component parts of a grammatical structure, or the syllables in words), 'boardwork' (the teacher writes the item
on the board, and, using symbols and phonemic script, highlights features of its pronunciation such as weak
forms, stress, etc), and 'substitution' (components of a grammar structure displayed in the form of a table).

29.

Fossilisation

A fossilised error is one that has become a permanent feature of a learner's interlanguage. Some researchers
doubt this, and prefer the term stabilisation. There are various theories as to what causes fossilisation: lack of
focus on form, lack of negative feedback, learners may have not been pushed to make their output more accurate,
and absence of social motivation to improve their interlanguage. Now that has been accepted that few if any
language learners achieve native-like proficiency, the concept is been viewed less negatively. It is being replaced
by the idea of partial competence. In other words, for many learners it may be more realistic to aim for a 'working
knowledge' of the target language.

30.

Genre

A genre is any type of spoken or written discourse which is used and recognized by members of a particular
culture or sub-culture. As a genre becomes established, it acquires a conventionalized structure and often a
characteristic vocabulary and grammar. EXAMPLES: (written genres) news reports, academic papers, etc.;
(spoken genres) sports commentaries, business presentations, etc.The specialized vocabulary, the long noun
phrases, the use of abbreviations and ellipsis, as well as the way in which information is sequenced and
punctuated are generic features of a particular type of text and must be consistent with the text's function.

31.

Guided Discovery

The approach where the teacher or the materials writer intervenes in the induction process.

32.

Hyponymy

Use of general words to cover more specific ones.

Inductive
Learning/Induction

Induction is the process of working out rules on the basis of examples. It is also called 'discovery learning.'
Because inductive learning is thought to be the way that the rules of one's L1 are internalised, it has been a core
principle in such 'natural' methods as the direct method and audiolingualism.

34.

Input

Input is the spoken or written language that learners are exposed to. In his 'input hypothesis,' the linguist
Stephen Krashen argues that input is all that is necessary for language acquisition to take place. But, he adds,
the input must be comprehensible, and it must contain grammatical forms that are one step more advanced than
the current state of the learner's interlanguage. It does seem that, if input is to become more than simply 'noise,'
it needs to be attended to. According to cognitive learning theory, this conscious process of noticing features of
the input results in intake. Ways of helping learners notice features of the input (so that it becomes intake) are
known generally as consciousness-raising (CR) techniques. These include 'input enhancement' (when a
grammar feature is highlighted in some way) and 'input flood' (when the grammar feature is repeated many
times in a text. The input-output model of language learning has been criticised as being somewhat mechanistic,
and of taking no account of contextual factors apart from linguistic ones.

35.

Intensive Listening

Listening to L2 input in the classroom to attain a high degree of understanding.

36.

Intensive Reading

The way short texts are subject to close and detailed classroom study.

37.

Interactional Text

A text whose main purpose is to serve social relationships.

38.

Interlanguage

Interlanguage is the term used to describe the grammatical system that a learner creates in the course of learning
another language. It is neither their L1 system, nor the TL system, but occupies a transitional point between the
two. It is seen as an independent system in its own right, and not simply a degenerate form of the TL.

Learner Training
(LTR)

The aim of LTR is to help learners make the most of the learning opportunities that are available to them. In the
long term, it is directed at achieving autonomy in language learning. Typical learner training procedures include:
having learners complete questionnaires designed to help them identify their own learning style, showing
learners how to get the most out of available resources, training them in effective reading and listening
strategies, and experimenting with techniques to aid memorisation.

33.

39.

Learning
Strategy

Learning strategies are techniques or behaviours that learners consciously apply in order to enhance their learning. A
(reading/listening/etc.) strategy becomes a learning strategy when the intention is long-term learning rather than
solely immediate understanding. Learning strategies are often grouped according to whether they are cognitive
strategies, metacognitive strategies, or social/affective strategies. Cognitive strategies are those that are linked to the
way learners process data and perform specific tasks in the target language. Metacognitive strategies are those that are
used to regulate and manage learning in general. Social strategies are those that learners use in order to interact with
other learners or native speakers, and affective strategies are those that they use to give themselves encouragement and
to deal with anxiety.

Lexical Items

A word or group of words with a meaning that needs to be learnt as a unitary whole - that would, for example, need a
separate entry in a dictionary.

Linguistic
Objects

'texts' used as contexts for the study of features of the language.

Metacognition

The ability to think about what is going on in one's mind is often termed metacognition and is recognised as a key
factor in people's capacity to develop as learners.

Micro-skills
(or sub-skills
or enabling
skills) Listening

The individual processes and abilities which are used in listening comprehension.

Modelling

Demonstrating appropriate ways of doing things so that the students will understand what is wanted.

Needs
Analysis

Needs analysis is the process of specifying the learners' language needs in advance of designing a course for them.

Nonreciprocal
Listening

Listening to input without being able to respond, e.g. listening to a podcast or a recording in a language classroom.

Noticing
Hypothesis

The noticing hypothesis claims that noticing is a necessary condition for acquisition, although not the only one.

Output
Hypothesis

Output is the language that learners produce, either spoken or written. The output hypothesis is the theory that output,
especially spoken output, is a necessary condition for language acquisition. This contradicts Krashen's input
hypothesis (all that is necessary to ensure second language acquisition is comprehensible input.) In contrast, Merrill
Swain argues that learners also need to be pushed to produce comprehensible output as well.

50.

Parsing

Parsing is the process of analysing sentences into their component parts. It is also the term used to describe the largely
unconscious mental processes by which a reader or listener works out the grammatical structure of sentences or
utterances. To do this the 'parser' employs a number of processing strategies, such as assuming that the first noun
phrase in a sentence is the subject.

51.

Phonics

Phonics is the study of the relationship between sounds and spellings, particularly the regularities that help readers to
identify words. For instance, a child can use phonics to work out that b-a-t means 'bat', because the letters represent
their most common sounds; but phonics is no help in reading 'eye', where there is no correspondence between the
letters and their usual sounds.

Pragmatic
Meaning

The meaning a sentence has only as part of the interaction between the writer and reader.

Probing

Finding out why a student has given a particular answer, so that if need be one can help him/her to see where s/he
went wrong.

Procedural
Knowledge

Knowledge of texts similar to the one in examination and of how language is used in similar text types.

Prompting

Helping students complete the original task by giving cues, asking easier questions, setting supplementary tasks.

40.

41.

42.

43.

44.

45.
46.

47.

48.

49.

52.

53.

54.

55.

Propositional
Meaning (plain
sense or
signification)

The meaning a sentence can have on its own.

Readers/Graded
Readers

Readers are books that have been specially prepared for language learners. They provide supplementary reading
material, mainly for out-of-class use, and for the purpose of reading for pleasure. The language of each reader is
usually graded by level.

Reading Aloud

Reading a prepared speech. EXAMPLE: A lecture.

Receptive
Vocabulary

The words one recognise and can respond to, but cannot confidently use.

Reciprocal
Listening

Listening and responding to what you hear, thus affecting the continuation of the discourse.

Redundancy

The degree to which a message contains more information than is needed for it to be understood.

Running
Dictation

A non-testing dictation-based activity. In running dictations a text is posted on the far wall of the classroom, or even
outside the classroom, and students, working in pairs, have to reconstruct it. This means that one of each pair has to
run to the text, remember as much of it as possible, and ferry the information back to the other member of the pair,
who writes it down. The first pair to reconstruct the complete text are winners.

63.

Scaffolding

Scaffolding is the temporary support that surrounds a building under construction. The term is used metaphorically
to describe the temporary interactional support that is given to learners while their language system is 'under
construction.' It is the support that enables them to perform a task at a level beyond their present competence.
Scaffolding not only provides a conversational framework, but it is believed to shape language acquisition itself. The
incremental accumulation of grammar over several assisted turns is called 'vertical scaffolding.'

64.

Scanning

Reading a text in search of specific information and ignoring everything else. EXAMPLE: When consulting a bus
timetable for a particular time and destination.

65.

Schema

A schema is the way that knowledge about a topic or a concept is represented and organised in the mind. Schemata
help us make sense of experience, and hence they are crucial in comprehension. Schema is also used to refer to the
temporary mental 'picture' that a reader (or listener) constructs when processing a text. The schema for a narrative
text, for example, would be the sequence of main events in the story.

Schematic
Knowledge

The reader's existing knowledge of the topic (Knowledge of the world + Procedural knowledge)

Silent Way

The Silent Way is the name of a method that was developed by Caleb Gattegno in the 1960s. He believed that
language learning is a personal process, one that is self-initiated and self-directed. Hence, the teacher's role is that
of a technician or facilitator. Learning is largely mediated through the use of two aids: the 'Fidel Charts' (colourcoded charts representing the sounds of the language), and 'Cuisenaire rods' (small coloured blocks of wood of
varying lengths.

Skimming
(Skim-Reading,
Reading for
Gist)

Rapidly reading a text in order to get the gist or the main ideas or sense of a text. EXAMPLE: Reading a film review to
see if the reviewer liked the film or not.

Subvocalizing

Forming the sounds of the words one is reading (and even murmuring them aloud).

Task-Based
Learning (TBL)

TBL is an approach that makes the task the basic unit for planning and teaching. "You learn a language by using it."
There is a question though in regards to the incorporation of a focus on form. "When and in what form this form
focus should take." Purists argue that it should emerge out of the task and be dealt with after the task. Others argue
that the feedback that learners get while on task is more effective that post-task. Still others have accepted that a pretask focus on form is justifiable as a way of priming learners.

Teaching
Reading vs
Testing Reading

Teaching Reading = Train students in the sub-skills of reading by teaching them reading strategies.
Testing Reading = Comprehension Questions.

Text

A piece of language, complete in itself and written or spoken for a purpose.

56.

57.

58.
59.

60.

61.
62.

66.

67.

68.

69.
70.

71.

72.

73.

74.

75.

Top-Down Processes
(Reading)

Drawing on discourse and schematic knowledge, as well as on immediate contextual information.

Top-Down Processing
(Listening)

The process of actively (re)constructing the meaning of a text by using the incoming sounds as clues and
referring to your background knowledge and the context.

Transactional Text

A text whose main purpose is to convey a message.