Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Second Edition

controlled composition Oral or written composition in which the students
follow exact instructions and should produce error-free writing, e.g.
filling in blanks, combining sentences, etc. See guided composition; free
composition.

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core linguistics Phonology, syntax, lexis and semantics which are seen as
the central concerns of linguistics, contrasted with linguistic studies
which are related to other disciplines, e.g. psychology, sociology.
counselling learning A style of learning (associated with the work of
Curran deriving from psychotherapy) in which for language learning a
tutor helps groups of students to develop conversation by formulating
what they want to say, but without overt language instruction. There is
a heavy emphasis on establishing strong rapport between students and
‘helpers’ (not teachers). See community language learning for specific
developments in language teaching.
CRAPEL Centre de Recherche et d’Applications Pédagogues aux Langues.
Address: Université de Nancy II, 23 Boulevard Albert I
er
, 5400 Nancy.
CREDIF Centre de Recherche et d’Etudes pour la Diffusion du Français.
Address: 11 Avenue Pozzo di Borgo, 92211 Saint-Cloud, France.
creole A language, originally a pidgin, which has become the mother
tongue of a community and expanded to fill all language needs. E.g.
Sierra Leone Krio. See pidgin.
cue cards Cards with writing or pictures, used to elicit student response,
either oral or written. See flash card.
culture Values and behaviour patterns common to people belonging to the
same national, social or language community.
curriculum (1) A specification of all the subjects taught in an educational
institution, or, (2) (1) above, plus any values, attitudes, etc., transmitted
implicitly or explicitly by the institution.
deep structure A term in TG referring to the underlying syntactic and
semantic structures which are revealed by analysis of sentences. See
surface structure.
deixis/deictic A feature of words like it, this, former, which acquire
meaning by pointing to something in the context of the discourse.
deprivation hypothesis The sociolinguistic view that some children are
linguistically handicapped because they belong to social groups which
have a poor linguistic repertoire.
dialect A variety of language used by members of a particular
geographical region or social class. Sometimes, as with Chinese,
mutually unintelligible languages are regarded as dialects because
they share a common writing system. Cf. two varieties of the same
language (or sometimes of two different languages) for ‘high’ (literary,
liturgical, governmental) and ‘low’ (commonplace and familiar)
purposes.
diglossia The use within one country of two languages or of ‘high’ and
‘low’ (classical and colloquial) varieties of one language for different
social purposes, the whole population being bi-lingual. E.g. Spanish
and Guarini in Paraguay, or High German and Swiss-German in
Switzerland.

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direct method Language teaching mainly through conversation, sometimes
carefully arranged, but without explicit statement of grammatical rules
or the use of the mother tongue.
discourse Any stretch of language in which communication is achieved in a
coherent flow of spoken or written sentences, involving either one
speaker or writer (e.g. lecture, book) or interaction between two or
more participants. Hence discourse analysis: the study of how spoken
or written sentences relate to each other so that they are coherent and
effective. See text.
distractor Any of the unacceptable alternatives in a multiple-choice test.
drill The intensive choral or individual repetition of items to be learned.
EAP English for Academic Purposes. elaborated code see restricted code.
ELTJ English Language Teaching Journal, published quarterly by Oxford
University Press.
error analysis The systematic investigation of language learners’ errors. See
contrastive analysis and interlanguage.
ESL/E2L English as a second language.
ESP English for Specific/Special Purposes. E.g. medicine, commerce,
nursing.
EST English for Science and Technology.
ETIC English Teaching Information Centre, British Council. Address: 10
Spring Gardens, London SW1.
extensive reading General reading in which the aim is to read widely rather
than to pay great attention to detail. See intensive reading.
extrinsic motivation Externally imposed motivation, not based on
personal wishes or needs. E.g. examinations, etc. See intrinsic
motivation.
false beginners/faux débutants Students starting elementary language
courses but having had previous experience or study of the language.
FELCO Federation of English Language Course Organisers. An
organisation concerned with Summer School courses in the UK.
Address: 43 Russell Square, London WC1.
first language Usually the mother tongue.
flash card A card with writing or a picture held up briefly by the teacher to
illustrate a teaching point or elicit a response from a class.
FLES Foreign Languages in the Elementary School.
fluency Ability to speak or write as naturally and easily—but not
necessarily as accurately—as the native speaker can.
form The shape patterns and structure of the substance of language, i.e.
the sounds and letter shapes.
formal The adjective derived from either form or formality.
formality (1) The style of spoken or written language used to show respect,
politeness or for public ritualistic speech. (2) Scale or level of formality:
the scale from formal to informal as defined in (1) above.

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free composition That kind of composition in which students write
without controls and with minimum guidance. See controlled
composition ; guided composition.
free response A spontaneous, individual response, contrasting with
mechanical responses as in drill.
free variation Language items are in free variation when they can be used
interchangeably without loss, or significant change of meaning.
function The communicative purpose fulfilled by an utterance. A
functional grammar would describe the communicative functions of
the language. A functional syllabus is organised around functions
rather than graded structures. In functional/notional syllabuses
functions categorise language interaction whereas notions classify
meaning. See notion; structure.
function words Words without lexical content with a grammatical role in
the sentence. E.g. pronouns, prepositions, articles, etc. Also called
structure words or empty words or operators. Cf. content word.
General Service List A General Service List of English Words by M. West,
Longman, 1953. The most influential standard list of 2,000 frequently
used English head-words.
generative grammar see transformational/generative grammar.
generative semantics The development of standard TG on a semantic
rather than syntactic basis. Cf. generative grammar; case grammar.
Gestalt Literally (from the German) form, pattern, configuration. Gestalt
psychology claims that learning is the mind’s attempt to organise
perceptions into satisfying complex patterns.
grading In syllabus construction, the classifying of language items
according to their differences. Also loosely used for a similar
classification in learning tasks. See selection; sequencing.
grammar (1) A specific theoretical approach to studying language. E.g.
TG, case grammar, systemic grammar. (2) Most commonly
Morphology (the structure of words) and ways in which words are
arranged in sentences. See selection; sequencing.
grammar-translation A language-teaching method emphasising the
memorisation of rules and the practice of translation.
grapheme A written symbol or symbols for a sound of a language. I.e.
letters of an alphabet, or a character in picture writing.
guided composition Composition in which students are given detailed
guidance and advice but can use their own words. See controlled
composition; free composition.
IATEFL International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign
Language affiliated to the Federation Internationale des Professeurs de
Langues Vivantes.
Address: 87 Benwell’s Avenue, Tankerton, Whitstable, Kent, England
CT5 2HR.
idiom A fixed phrase whose meaning is not deducible from its constituent

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