ENG505 Glossary by Asfand Yarr

1. Acculturation :The process of adapting to a new culture. This involves understanding different systems of thought, beliefs, emotions, and communication systems. Acculturation is an important concept for understanding SLA, since successful learning is more likely when learners succeed in acculturating.
2. Accuracy :The use of correct forms of grammar, vocabulary, spelling and pronunciation. In an accuracy activity, teachers and learners typically focus on using and producing language correctly.
3. Acquisition :Language acquisition is the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language, as well as to produce and use words and sentences to communicate.
4. Action research :Corey (1953) defined action research as the process through which practitioners study their own practice to solve their personal practical problems.
5. Activity-based learning :A way of learning by doing activities. The rules of language used in the activity are looked at either after the activity or not at all.
6. Affective Filter :Affective Filter is 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, alienation, and so forth.
7. Affective needs :They are the needs of a learner that relate to expression of his or her feelings and/or emotions. They impact on aspects such as motivation to learn a language, learners’ willingness to engage in learning activities etc. These include the need to feel at ease, the need to express one’s own ideas and emotions, the need for self-fulfillment, etc.
8. Aids :Aids are the things that a teacher uses in a class, e.g. handouts, pictures, flashcards. When teachers plan lessons they think about what aids they will need. See also visual aid. Aids to teaching include (a) Visual: Blackboard, whiteboard, overhead projector, posters, wall charts, flip-charts, maps, plans, flashcards, word cards, and puppets. (b) Electronic: Tape recorder, TV or video player, computer, CD Rom, language laboratory.
9. Aim :What the teacher wants to achieve in the lesson or in the course. The main aim is the most important aim, e.g. the teacher’s main aim in a lesson could be to teach the present perfect or develop listening skills. A stage aim is the aim or purpose of a stage, step or short section of a lesson, e.g. ‘to provide controlled practice of the present perfect or to develop listening for gist’. A subsidiary aim is the secondary focus of the lesson, less important than the main aim. It could be the language or skills learners must be able to use in order to achieve the main aim of the lesson or a skill or language area which is practiced while focusing on the main aim. A personal aim is what the teacher would like to improve in his/her teaching, e.g. ‘to reduce the time I spend writing on the whiteboard’.

10. Approach :It is a theory about the nature of language and how languages are learned. It is usually manifested through sets of principles which guide the choice of teaching procedures. Examples are ‘the communicative approach’ and ‘taskbased learning’. 11. Arbitrary symbols :One of the central 'design features' of human language is that the relationship between the sound of a word and its meaning is arbitrary [1,2]; given the sound of an unknown word, it is not possible to infer its meaning. 12. Assessment :It is normally used as a general term to refer to various types of testing or evaluation. It is discovering, judging, testing or forming an opinion on learners’ ability, proficiency or progress either formally or informally. Continuous assessment A type of testing which is different from a final examination. Some or all of the work that learners do during a course is considered by the teacher on a regular basis and contributes to the final grade given to learners. It may also include regular monitoring of classroom performance and contribution. 13. Behaviorism :Behaviorism (or behaviourism) is a systematic approach to understanding the behavior of humans and other animals. It assumes that all behaviors are either reflexes produced by a response to certain stimuli in the environment, or a consequence of that individual's history, including especially reinforcement and punishment, together with the individual's current motivational state and controlling stimuli. 14. Behaviorist Approach :Key Features of Learning (Behaviorist Approach) Learning is entirely a product of experiences Learning is controlled by the conditions under which it takes place. Variations in learning do exist. Language learning is practice based. Imitation, repetition, reinforcement and retention have significant role in language learning. 15. Body language :Body language is a type of non-verbal communication in which physical behavior, as opposed to words, are used to express or convey information. 16. Brainstorming :Generating lots of ideas from many individuals 17. Brian Based Learning :Brain-based learning refers to teaching methods, lesson designs, and school programs that are based on the latest scientific research about how the brain learns, including such factors as cognitive