Essential Language Teaching Terminology Explained

Essential Language Teaching Terminology

1. Accuracy

The ability to produce correct sentences that are comprehensible. The sentence has to be correct from the point of view of the language system (grammar, vocabulary, spelling, etc.).

2. Acquisition (Verb: Acquire)

To learn a language without studying it, just by hearing and reading it, and then using it. This is usually how people learn their first language.

3. Assessment Criteria (Criterios de Evaluación)

The qualities that are judged to evaluate something. Assessment criteria for judging learners may include: accuracy of grammar, use of vocabulary, spelling and punctuation, and organisation of ideas.

4. Brainstorm (Lluvia de Ideas)

To think quickly about ideas concerning a topic. This is usually what we do before undertaking a writing or a speaking activity.

5. CLIL

Content and Language Integrated Learning.

CLIL refers to situations where subjects learn content through the use and simultaneous learning of a foreign language. This approach, with dual-focused aims, means that students learn history, science, or others through an additional language.

6. Drill

It is a technique that teachers use to encourage learners to practise a language. It involves guided repetition or practice.

• Choral Drill: The teacher says a sentence/word, and students repeat it together.
• Individual Drill: The teacher says a sentence/word, and one learner repeats it.
• Substitution Drill: The teacher provides a sentence and a different word or phrase, and the student must repeat the same sentence with the new word, in exactly the same structure.

Example:

• Teacher: I bought a book. Pen.
• Learner: I bought a Pen.

• Transformation Drill: The teacher says a sentence/word, and the student needs to change the sentence grammatically.

Example:

• Teacher: I bought a pen. Didn’t.
• Learner: I didn’t buy a pen.

7. Error / Mistake

• Error: Something you make because you do not know the system (grammar, vocabulary, etc.). It is part of the learning process; it cannot be self-corrected.
• Mistake (Attempts): Something you make although you know the system. It is something you do wrong even if you know the rule. Mistakes can be self-corrected.

8. EAP

English for Academic Purposes.

A type of English for specific purposes where the specific goal is to enter an English-speaking university.

9. ESP

English for Specific Purposes.

It refers to teaching a specific genre of English for students with specific goals. For example, a doctor will learn English related to medicine vocabulary, and a business student will learn vocabulary related to business.

10. Fluency

The ability to produce rapid and flowing speech, but not necessarily correct speech. It is not necessary to be grammatically correct. It is often contrasted with accuracy.