| T |
| Task-based
learning |
Task-based
learning (TBL) is an approach which concentrates more on
carrying out tasks (solving puzzles, writing projects,
investigating topics and so on) than on graded
structures and vocabulary.
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| Topic
sentence |
See
Identifying
the topic sentence.
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| Total
immersion |
See
Immersion.
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| TPR |
TPR
= Total Physical Response.
TPR is an ELT method that involves getting students
(usually children) to respond physically to the language
before they produce the language orally.
Examples:
- Students acting out the words of a song.
- Students physically responding to commands like "Give
me a book".
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| Transitive
/ Intransitive verbs |
Transitive
verbs have an object:
He was reading a book.
She cooked lunch.
Intransitive verbs don’t have an object.
He died on Saturday.
They cried a lot.
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| Transmission
mode |
Classes
work are said to be in transmission mode when the flow
of information is one way only - from the teacher to students,
with the students are passive receivers of knowledge. This is
the basic dynamic for instructivism,
an approach in which teaching is principally a matter of
giving facts to students.
The opposite approach to instructivism is constructivism.
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| TTT |
TTT
= Teacher Talking Time.
Students need input from the teacher for:
- instructions
- motivation
- exposure to the language.
These are examples of effective TTT. However,
it’s very easy to talk too much in class, particularly
if you’re nervous. This means that you are depriving
your students of opportunities to practice the language,
and can lead to confusion and passiveness among the
students.
Make sure that all your TTT is effective TTT!
See also STT
(Student Talking Time).
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|
| U |
| Use
/ Usage |
The
use of a language item is it’s communicative purpose,
as used by native speakers.
The usage of a language item is the grammatical rules
for making it.
Example:
The second conditional:
If I had enough money, I would take a vacation.
The use of the second conditional is:
Talking about the the consequences of hypothetical
situations in the present or future.
The (most simple) usage of the second conditional is:
If + past simple, would + infinitive.
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|
| V |
| Virtual
classroom |
In
a distance
learning course or any online course where the students
interact with the teacher and each other via the internet,
there isn’t a true classroom.
However, the students may be interacting together and
interacting with a tutor by e-mail or bulletin boards, etc.
Therefore they are working in a virtual classroom.
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| Visual
discrimination |
See
Auditory
/ Visual discrimination.
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|
| W |
| Warm-up |
A
low challenge, enjoyable and relaxing activity designed to get
the students responding well at the beginning of a class.
It sets the context of the lesson or recycles what was taught
in previous lessons and helps the students better understand
the new structure or vocabulary.
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| Weak
forms / Citation forms |
Some
words have two pronunciations:
- The weak form, which is used in normal
conversation.
- The citation form, such as when you say the word
on its own (e.g. reading it from a dictionary) or when
emphazing it.
Example:
was
- Weak form: the a of was is like the e
in absent (a schwa or neutral vowel sound, not an e
sound!).
- Citation form: the a is like the o
in hot.
The weak form is used when no emphasis is necessary.
A: Where were you this morning?
B: I was in a meeting.
The citation form is used when the word is emphasized:
A: You weren’t at the meeting this morning.
B: Yes, I was.
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| Whole
word approach |
See
Phonics
approach / Whole word approach.
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| Word
families |
See
Lexical
sets.
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| Writing
skills |
Some
of the most important writing skills are:
- taking notes
- writing a passage from notes
- writing formal letters
- writing informal letters
- writing e-mails
- writing a resume.
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