Negative Transfer
which occurs when speakers and writers transfer items and structures that are not the same in both languages. In English, a verb that expresses a state of being (e.g., "I am") is used to indicate the age of a person, whereas in several other languages, a
dialect
a particular form of a language that is peculiar to a specific region or social group.
Code switching
the practice of alternating between two or more languages or varieties of language in conversation. "Spanglish
Achievement test
a test of developed skill or knowledge. The most common type of achievement test is a standardized test developed to measure skills and knowledge learned in a given grade level, usually through planned instruction, such as training or classroom instructio
Summative assessment
typically given to children after a specific point in instruction to measure their understanding of a subject. High stakes, a midterm exam. a final project.
Diagnostic assessments (also known as pre
assessments) provide instructors with information about student's prior knowledge and misconceptions before beginning a learning activity
Formative assessments
a range of formal and informal assessment procedures conducted by teachers during the learning process in order to modify teaching and learning activities to improve student attainment. (thumbs up/down, show me)
Performance Based Assessment
adaptable instruments and are often suitable measures of students' knowledge in content classes. Measures students' ability to apply the skills and knowledge learned from a unit or units of study.
International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL)
an organization in the field of English language learning and teaching. It is based in Britain and was founded in 1967.
The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)
dedicated to the improvement and expansion of the teaching and learning of all languages at all levels of instruction. ACTFL is an individual membership organization of more than 12,500 language educators and administrators from elementary through graduat
NAFSA (National Association for Foreign Student Affairs)
The world's largest nonprofit association dedicated to international education and exchange. NAFSA's 10,000 members are located at more than 3,500 institutions worldwide, in over 150 countries.
Linguisitic Approach
a method which assumes that all children have a strong grasp of oral L1. Which is then an associative tool for words and spelling patterns.
Language Experience Approach
students orally relate their personal experiences to the teacher; the teacher transcribes these experiences, complete with errors, and then develops other reading and writing activities based on the transcription. This approach allows for the development
Basal Reading Approach
a technique used to teach children reading skills. ... Commonly called "reading books" or "readers," basal readers are short stories, including individual books for learners, a teacher's edition, workbooks, assessments and activities for a specific readin
Allophone
any of the speech sounds that represent a single phoneme, such as the aspirated k in kit and the unaspirated k in skit, which are allophones of the phoneme k.
Palatalization
a sound change that either results in a palatal or palatalized consonant or a front vowel, or is triggered by one of them. Palatalization involves change in the place or manner of articulation of consonants, or the fronting or raising of vowels.
Phoneme
any of the perceptually distinct units of sound in a specified language that distinguish one word from another, for example p, b, d, and t in the English words pad, pat, bad, and bat.
Passive voice
a grammatical construction (specifically, a "voice"). The noun or noun phrase that would be the object of an active sentence (such as Our troops defeated the enemy) appears as the subject of a sentence or clause in the passive voice (e.g. The enemy was de
Dipthong
a sound formed by the combination of two vowels in a single syllable, in which the sound begins as one vowel and moves toward another (as in coin, loud, and side ).
Metathesis
the transposition of sounds or letters in a word
Epenthesis
the insertion of a sound or letter within a word, e.g., the b in thimble.
Flapping
may occur when /t/ or /d/ occurs between two vowels, as in butter, writing, wedding, loader.
Pidginization
a linguistic process that occurs when people who do not speak the same language come into contact.
Redundancy Reduction
It has been suggested that a marked parameter in L1 might be reset to an unmarked value in L2. The principle underlying this notion is the Redundancy Reduction Principle (Seliger, 1996). The simple idea behind this theory is that "when two languages come
Semantic
relating to meaning in language or logic.
Syntactic
the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.
Semiotics
the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation.
Morphology
the study of the forms of words.
Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (CALLA)
was designed to provide comprehensible instruction for English- language learners in ESL or bilingual programs. CALLA integrates language development, content area instruction, and explicit instruction in learning strategies.
Behaviorism
the theory that human and animal behavior can be explained in terms of conditioning, without appeal to thoughts or feelings, and that psychological disorders are best treated by altering behavior patterns.
Constructivist teaching
based on the belief that learning occurs as learners are actively involved in a process of meaning and knowledge construction as opposed to passively receiving information. Learners are the makers of meaning and knowledge.
Lau v. Nichols, 414 U.S. 563 (1974)
a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court unanimously decided that the lack of supplemental language instruction in public school for students with limited English proficiency violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas
State sanctioned segregation of public schools was a violation of the 14th amendment and was therefore unconstitutional.
Plyler v. Doe
a landmark decision holding that states cannot constitutionally deny students a free public education on account of their immigration status.
Casta�eda standard
mandates that programs for language-minority students must be (1) based on a sound educational theory, (2) implemented effectively with sufficient resources and personnel, and (3) evaluated to determine whether they are effective in helping students overc
Title VI, Civil Rights Act of 1964
prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance.
Circumlocution
the use of many words where fewer would do, especially in a deliberate attempt to be vague or evasive.
Subtractive bilingualism
when the second language is added at the expense of the first language.
Semantic maps (or graphic organizers)
maps or webs of words. The purpose of creating a map is to visually display the meaning based connections between a word or phrase and a set of related words or concepts.
Critical Period Hypothesis
the subject of a long-standing debate in linguistics and language acquisition over the extent to which the ability to acquire language is biologically linked to age.
Sheltered instruction
an approach to teaching English language learners which integrates language and content instruction.
Sociolinguistic competence
the knowledge of the sociocultural rules of language and discourse. This type of competence requires an understanding of the social context in which language is used: the role of the participants, the information they share, and the function of the intera
Sociopragmatic Competence
the ability to recognize the effect of context on strings of linguistic events and to use language appropriately in specific social situations. In romance languages a typically difficult socio-pragmatic competence for language learners is to master the pr
Dialect
a particular form of a language that is peculiar to a specific region or social group.
Jargon
special words/expressions that are used by a particular profession/group and difficult for others to understand.
Affective Filter
the term Stephen Krashen has used to refer to the complex of negative emotional and motivational factors that may interfere with the reception and processing of comprehensible input. Such factors include: anxiety, self-consciousness, boredom, annoyance, a
metalinguistic feedback
this type of recast shows the students or forces them to think about why something in the language functions the way that it does, ie: "Is that how you would say it in English?
notional-functional approach to ESL
a way of structuring a syllabus around "notions," real-life situations in which people communicate, which are further broken down into "functions," specific aims of communication
direct method of teaching
sometimes called the natural method, and is often (but not exclusively) used in teaching foreign languages; refrains from using the learners' native language and uses only the target language.
Whole Language Approach
approach to language instruction that uses a variety of methods to promote and augment true reading comprehension. Integrates listening, speaking, reading, and writing, authentic texts; moves from whole to part.
Audio-lingualism
a method of foreign language teaching where the emphasis is on learning grammatical and phonological structure, especially for speaking and listening. It is based on behaviourism and so relies on formation as a basis for learning, through a great deal of
bottom-up approach
an approach that treats developing reading skills as a sequential process. Students must first learn the basics of phonics and how to decode words before more complex skills such as reading comprehension can be mastered.
Transitional Bilingual Program
The bilingual education program model that works to build students' English proficiency and put them into mainstream classes as quickly as possible.
Maintenance Bilingual Program
program attempts to educate students in the majority language while also promoting the use of the native or home language at school in order to develop bilingualism.
The Silent Way
Teacher should be as silent as possible, modelling items just once; language is learnt inductively; students' communication needs dictate what language is taught.
Total Physical Response (TPR)
a method of language instruction that attempts to bypass translation and instead help learners to make direct connections with the target language through physical movements; teacher-centered
Community language Learning
a language-teaching method in which students work together to develop what aspects of a language they would like to learn; L1 may be used freely.
Suggestopaedia
uses a sensory rich environment to promote a positive experience; use of games, plays, music to promote participation; L1 may be used freely.
Inductive reasoning
a logical process in which multiple premises, all believed true or found true most of the time, are combined to obtain a specific conclusion.
Deductive reasoning
a logical process in which a conclusion is based on the concordance of multiple premises that are generally assumed to be true.
Preproduction stage of L2 acquisition
1st stage; the student has minimal comprehension, does not verbalize, nods "Yes" and "No," and draws and points. Time frame: 0 to 6 months
-Students should build pre-reading skills that will assist them with future literacy development (ex: phonemic aware
Early production stage of L2 acquisition
2nd stage; the student has limited comprehension, produces one- or two-word responses, uses key words and familiar phrases, and uses present-tense verbs. Time frame: 6 months to 1 year
Speech emergence stage of L2 acquisition
3rd stage; the student has good comprehension, can produce simple sentences, makes grammar and pronunciation errors, and frequently misunderstands jokes. Time frame: 1 to 3 years
Intermediate fluency stage of L2 acquistion
4th stage; the student has excellent comprehension and makes few grammatical errors. Time frame: 3 to 5 years
Advanced fluency stage of L2 acquisition
5th stage; the student has near-native level of speech. Time frame: 5-7 years
nasalization
the production of a sound while the velum is lowered, so that some air escapes through the nose during the production of the sound by the mouth.
Discourse analysis
a general term for a number of approaches to analyze written, vocal, or sign language use, or any significant semiotic event.
Assimilation
the process of taking in and fully understanding information or ideas.
Semiphonetic stage
When a child begins to understand letter-sound correspondence (that sounds are assigned to letters). At this stage, the child often employs rudimentary logic, using single letters, for example, to represent words, sounds, and syllables.
Stephen Krashen
The person most closely associated with the idea that learner input should be based on language that is slightly beyond the learner's current receptive level. His theory of second language acquisition consists of five main hypotheses:
(1) The Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis
(Krashen) states that there are two independent ways in which we develop our linguistic skills: acquisition and learning.
(2) The Monitor Hypothesis
(Krashen) This model forms the basis of the Natural Approach, which is a comprehension-based approach to foreign and second language teaching; as rules are learned, those rules are used to monitor one's own spoken or written output (what looks or sounds
(3) The Natural Order Hypothesis
(Krashen) the acquisition of grammatical structures proceeds in a predicted progression. Certain grammatical structures or morphemes are acquired before others in first language acquisition and there is a similar natural order in L2 acquisition.
(4) The Input Hypothesis
(Krashen) Not all input leads to acquistion. Krashen claims that people acquire language best by understanding input that is a little beyond their present level of competence (i + 1).
(5) The Affective Filter Hypothesis
(Krashen) The learner's emotional state, according to Krashen, is just like an adjustable filter which freely passes or hinders input necessary to acquisition. Low filter = high acquisition; High filter= low acquisition.
Jean Piaget's view of language acquisition theory
Through a series of stages, Piaget proposed four stages of cognitive development: the sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational period. (1) The sensorimotor stage from ages 0 to 2 (understanding the environment) (2) The pre
The Discourse Theory
This theory emphasizes that language development should be viewed within the framework of how the learner discover the meaning capacity of language by taking part in communication.
Jerome Bruner
researcher in cognitive and educational psychology, coined the term scaffolding as a description for the kind of assistance given by the teacher or more knowledgeable peer in providing comprehensible input and moving the learner into the zone of proximal
Jim Cummins
idea that BICS and CALP should could be taught separately and that students needed to be competent in both.
Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS)
language skills needed in social situations. It is the day-to-day language needed to interact socially with other people.These language skills usually develop within six months to two years after arrival in the U.S.
Cummins' cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP)
refers to formal academic learning. This includes listening, speaking, reading, and writing about subject area content material. This level of language learning is essential for students to succeed in school. Students need time and support to become profi
Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development
Vygotsky was a psychologist but his studies on conscious human behavior led him to investigate the role that language plays in human behavior. Vygotsky's point of view is simply that social interaction plays an important role in the learning process.
Skinner's Verbal Behavior
Behavioristic view of language acquisition simply claims that language development is the result of a set of habits.
Modals
type of verbs, including: can, must, may, might, will, would, should. They are used with other verbs to express ability, obligation, possibility, and so on.
Preposition
This part of a speech refers to words that specify location or a location in time. Examples: above, below, throughout, outside, before, near, and since.
Conjunction
A part of a speech which joins words, phrases, or clauses together. Examples: for, and, nor, yet, but, or, and so (FAN BOYS)
Verb
a word that shows an action (physical or mental) or state of being of the subject in a sentence.
State of Being" (to be) Verbs
am, is, was, are, and were.
Adverbs
used to describe adjectives, verbs, or adverbs. 4 types.
Adverb of Manner
an adverb that refers to how something happens or how an action is done. Example: Annie danced gracefully.
Adverb of Time
an adverb that states "when" something happens or "when" it is done. Example: She came yesterday.
Adverb of Place
an adverb that tells something about "where" something happens or "where" something is done. Example: Of course, I looked everywhere!
Adverb of Degree
an adverb that states the intensity or the degree to which a specific thing happens or is done. Example: The child is very talented.
Pronoun
a part of a speech which functions as a replacement for a noun. Some examples: I, it, he, she, mine, his, hers, we, they, theirs, and ours.
Gerund
a form that is derived from a verb but that functions as a noun, in English ending in -ing
Indefinite article
a determiner (a and an in English) that introduces a noun phrase and implies that the thing referred to is nonspecific (as in she bought me a book ; government is an art ; he went to a public school ).
Definite article
a determiner ( the in English) that introduces a noun phrase and implies that the thing mentioned has already been mentioned, or is common knowledge, or is about to be defined (as in the book on the table ; the art of government ; the famous poet and shor
Superlative Adjective
compares three or more nouns. This takes the comparison of nouns to the highest degree. "hot , hotter, hottest
Comparative Adjective
used to compare differences between the two objects they modify (larger, smaller, faster, higher).
recasts
restructuring inaccurate speech into correct form