Trainer book

English for Teaching 2

Glossary

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 English for Teaching 2
Glossary Trainer book

Glossary
The glossary consists of terminology from the course. There are two separate glossaries – one for
participants and one for trainers. In the trainer’s glossary there are some additional terms which do not
occur in the coursebooks; these are given in a separate section, following the main glossary below.
The numbers in brackets following the terms indicate the modules in which they occur.
Some of the definitions have been taken from the TeachingEnglish teaching knowledge database
(www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/knowledge-database/teaching-knowledge-database);
this is indicated by TKD at the end of the definition.

A
Action plan (18): An activity in which participants plan how they are going to put their new learning into
practice.
Anecdote (15): A short, personal story.
Auction (2): A classroom activity which involve learners buying correct or incorrect sentences as a game.
Auditory learners (1, 8): Learners who like to learn by hearing and saying things. See also Learning style.

B
Blended learning (7): Learning which mixes face-to-face classroom teaching with computer-mediated
activities.
Board game (2, 3): An activity that involves moving counters around a board which can be used in the
English classroom.
Brainstorm (7, 8, 9, 10): Generate ideas, often in a group, before an activity.

C
Categorise (15): An activity where learners put language into groups (categories).
Class(room) survey (2, 7): This is an activity in which students ask a question or a list of questions to
collect information from other students.
Class-centred teaching (7): Teaching which encourages learners in class to develop into
collaborative groups.
Collocations (14): Collocation refers to words that are found together in language. Collocations can be
fixed, where it is difficult to replace one of the words with an alternative, or freer, allowing for more choice
of words. TKD
Communal memory task (18): An activity where groups, or the whole class, come together to try to recall
something they learnt earlier.
Concentric circles (1): This is a classroom seating arrangement. Move chairs to make two circles, one
within another. Learners in the inner circle face outwards; learners in the outer circle face inwards. This is
good for speaking activities when you want to change partners.
Consonant cluster (9): A consonant cluster is a group of two or more consonant sounds together in a
syllable without a vowel between them.
Contractions/contracted forms (1, 14): Contractions are made when you shorten a word and join it to
a word next to it, for example I’m (I am), isn’t (is not). They are most common in spoken or informal written
English.

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Controlled practice (11): A stage in a lesson where learners practise new language in a limited and
controlled way.
Choral drilling/repetition (17): This is when the teacher or a learner models language and the group
of learners repeat it together.

D
Debate (3): A formal debate is a form of argument which follows clear rules. The debaters try to persuade
the people listening on a topic.
Demonstrate (8): To show someone how to do something by doing it yourself
Dialogue (1): A conversation between two people.
Discovery activity (15): An activity that helps learners to find out information about language
(for example meaning or form) by themselves through guided exercises or questions, rather than being told
the information by a teacher.
Discourse markers (16): Discourse markers are words and phrases used in speaking and writing to
‘signpost’ discourse. Discourse markers do this by showing turns, joining ideas together, showing attitude,
and generally controlling communication. Some people regard discourse markers as a feature of spoken
language only. TKD
Discussion (2): A conversation between two or more people on a specific subject or topic.
Drill (4, 14): A classroom technique in which students listen to a model by the teacher or on audio, and
repeat what is heard. It can be individual drilling or choral (group) drilling.

E
E-learning (7): Learning online with the help of a computer.
Elicitation (7, 15): A technique by which teachers get information from learners rather than giving it
to them. TKD
Elision (5): Elision is the omission of sounds, syllables or words in speech. This is done to make the
language easier to say, and faster.
Error (all modules): The wrong form or use of language.

F
Fluency (2): The ability to speak easily and effectively.
Functional exponent (2): An example of a function showing the purpose of the speaker.

G
Gap-fill (11): A practice exercise in which learners have to replace missing words from a text.
Graphic organiser (3): Graphic organisers are ways of organising ideas in a picture form. Graphic
organisers can take many forms, for example, mind maps and persuasion maps. They are motivating, and
can help learners to remember information better and help with understanding and to organise thoughts.

I
Integrated skills activity (2): An activity in which reading, writing, speaking and listening are used
together in a lesson.
Interaction (7): Exchange between students.
Intonation (2, 16): The rise and fall of the voice in spoken English

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J
Jigsaw listening/reading (1, 15): A jigsaw listening or reading activity is an information gap exercise.
Learners hear or read different parts of a text, then exchange information with others in order to complete
a task. TKD
Jumble activity (11): An activity in which learners need to put mixed up letters, words, sentences or
paragraphs into the correct order.

K
Kinaesthetic learners (1, 8, 11,18): Learners who like to learn by doing things and moving around or
moving different objects. See also Learning style.

L
Language analysis (all modules): Focusing on the grammar and structure of the language; looking at the
use, meaning and form including the spelling, pronunciation, collocations, etc.
Learning style (1): A preference for learning in certain ways, for example through listening, speaking,
moving, or by seeing.
Lexical set (15): A group of words with the same topic, function or form. TKD
Linking (14): Linking is when sounds are joined together or when a sound is inserted between two others
to make them easier to say. TKD

M
Mind map (3, 5,11): A mind map is a visual record of new vocabulary or other content. Vocabulary mind
maps are also known as word maps or spidergrams, and are organised in a way that shows groupings or
relationships between the words.
Microteaching (1, 9, 15): A kind of role-play where teachers can practise teaching techniques with
their peers.
Mingle (7): Activity where learners walk around the classroom and talk to each other. TKD
M-learning (7): Learning which is done using mobile devices such as notebook and tablet computers as
well as mobile phones.
Modals (5): Modal verbs are a small group of verbs which convey the speaker’s opinion about or attitude
towards what is being expressed. Modal verbs include ‘could’, ‘should’, ‘might’ and ‘may’.
Monitor (2): To observe and check carefully for a period of time to find out something.
Multiple intelligences (1): A way of classifying learners who like to learn in different ways, for example
interpersonal (with other people).

N
Noticing (11, 15): When learners notice new language they pay special attention to its form, use and
meaning. Part of a teacher’s role will be to create conditions under which learners can notice aspects of
language use. TKD

P
Peer observation (13): Colleagues observing each others’ classes for the purpose of development.
Persuasion map (3): This is a type of graphic organiser that helps learners to organise their thoughts in
order to present a clear argument on a topic. See also graphic organiser.

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Phonemic script (15): Phonemic script is a transcription of the sounds of a word or phrase, using
phonemic symbols from the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). It shows learners the correct
pronunciation for example /fi:t/ ‘feet. TKD
Pre-teach (15): Pre-teaching is the teaching of the language that learners need before an activity. TKD
Project work (8): Learners work, individually or in groups, to complete research and prepare to produce
a piece of work in English. It may be presented in written or spoken form. Projects usually last for a longer
period of time than one class, involve several tasks and give more language practice of what learners are
studying on their course.
Podcast (7): An audiofile which is uploaded to the internet so that it can be shared with others.

R
Rank (7, 9, 15): To list items in order of importance.
Realia (5, 15): Realia are real things that are brought to the class and used as a resource. Realia can include
the learners themselves, the classroom, furniture, the school, published material such as advertisements and
menus, the contents of learners’ pockets and bags, and the view outside the window. TKD
Recycle (15, 18): To practise language that learners have already studied. This helps them to remember
and use new vocabulary and structures.
Relevance (2): The level of relation or usefulness of an event or an idea.

S
Sentence stems (13, 18): An activity in which learners are given the beginning of sentences, which they
have to complete.
Sentence stress (14): Sentence stress is the pattern of stressed and unstressed words across a sentence.
Normally this emphasis is on words that carry important information, although this can change significantly,
depending on the specific meaning the speaker wants to communicate. TKD
Sentence transformation (11): An activity which requires students to rewrite a sentence using a different
grammatical form.
Strong forms (3): Strong forms are syllable sounds that are stress in connected speech.
See also weak forms.
Survey (2): An activity which involves asking people questions to get their opinions or other information.

T
Tactile learners (11): Learners who benefit from activities which involve touching and feeling objects.
See also Learning style.
Teacher Talking Time (TTT): Teacher talking time (TTT) is the time that teachers spend talking in class,
rather than learners (Learner talking time (LTT), or Student talking time (STT)). One key element of many
modern approaches is to reduce the amount of TTT as much as possible to allow learners opportunities to
speak and learn from speaking. TKD
Technique (all modules): A way of doing something, for example a drilling technique or an eliciting
technique.
Total Physical Response (TPR) (5): Total Physical Response is an approach to teaching language based
on the idea that if you have to do something physical in response to language, then learning is more
meaningful, and you learn faster, for example The teacher says ‘Jump!’ and learners jump; the teacher says
‘March!’ and they march. TKD

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V
Visual learners (1, 8, 18): Learners who like to learn by seeing things (words, pictures, objects) and by
writing things down. See also Learning style.

W
Warmer (3): A warmer is an activity at the start of the class to warm up the learners and get them relaxed
and ready to participate in the class. They tend to be short, dynamic activities.
Weak forms (3): Weak forms are syllable sounds that become unstressed in connected speech and are
often then pronounced as a schwa. TKD
Wordsearch (15): A vocabulary practice activity where learners find words in a grid of letters.
Worksheet (7): Prepared document for classroom use.

Additional glossary items from Trainer’s book

D
Discovery activity (8): An activity that helps learners to find out information about language
(for example meaning or form) by themselves through guided exercises or questions, rather than being told
the information by a teacher.
Drill (1): A drill is a classroom technique used to practise new language. It involves the teacher modelling
a word or a sentence and the learners repeating it. There are different kinds of drilling, such as choral drill,
which involves the whole class, and substitution drill, where the teacher changes the cue words after each
repetition. TKD

E
Elicit/elicitation (all modules): Elicitation is a technique by which the teacher gets the learners to give
information rather than giving it to them. Elicitation is an important technique for various reasons. It helps
develop a learner-centred dynamic; it makes learning memorable as learners can link new and old
information; and it can help produce a dynamic and stimulating environment. TKD
Elision (4, 5): Leaving out one or more sounds from a word or phrase, making it easier to pronounce.
ELT (8): English language teaching

L
Lead-in (8, 15): Introduction.
Learner-centred activity (1, 10): A learner-centred activity is one where learners work independently
from the teacher, either alone, in pairs or groups. The teacher is available for help but is not the focus of
the classroom.

M
Monitor (all modules): To watch and listen to learners while they are doing an activity but not to lead them
in the activity. Teachers monitor to find out what problems the learners are having, and to identify the type of
errors learners make as they produce language. TKD
Micro-teaching (general): Where participants ‘teach’ activities to each other and receive feedback.

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P
Peer teach (15): As micro-teaching (above), it is an opportunity for students to practise teaching
techniques, share ideas with each other and receive feedback on how they did.
Personalise (1): Personalisation happens when activities allow students to use language to express their
own ideas, feelings, preferences and opinions. Personalisation is an important part of the communicative
approach, since it involves true communication, as learners communicate real information about themselves.
TKD

R
Rank (8, 9): To put words or sentences in order of importance.
Reading race (9): An activity where learners work together in small groups. One learner in the group has to
run to read the information. They then return to the group, and tell the information to their group. The group
use the information to work together on task. The winner is the group that finishes first. Also sometimes
called Running dictation (18).
Reflective practice (13): A form of teacher development in which teachers reflect on their own learning.
Role (10): Teacher role refers to the different functions a teacher can have in a class. The role implies the
relationship between the teacher and learner, particularly in terms of the autonomy the learner has over their
learning. Teachers can have different roles at different times: facilitator, assessor, manager and evaluator are
all teacher roles. TKD

S
Scanning (4): Reading a text fast to find specific pieces of information.
Skimming (4): Reading fast to get a general idea of the what the text is about.
Syllabus (10): A syllabus is a document that describes what the contents of a language course will be and
the order in which they will be taught. Syllabus types include grammatical, lexical and functional, which focus
on the building blocks of language, and task based and learner centred, which focus on processes of
communication and learning. TKD

T
Target forms/target language (8): The target language is the language learners are studying, and also
the individual items of language that they want to learn, or that the teacher wants them to learn. TKD

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The British Council is the United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.