E-H

Echo correct
When a student makes a mistake, the teacher repeats the mistake with rising intonation so that students can correct themselves, e.g.

Student: He don’t like it.
Teacher: Don’t?
Student: He doesn’t like it.

Edit
To correct mistakes in a piece of writing, and perhaps shorten or change the words of some parts of the text to make it clearer or easier to understand.

Elicit
When a teacher asks careful questions to get students to give an answer.

Emphasis noun, emphasise verb
When special force is given to a word when it is said because the word is important, e.g. I want to start the lesson at six o’clock not seven.

Enable
To make someone able to do something. A teacher can enable students to become independent learners by teaching them how to study by themselves.

Encouragement noun, encourage verb
When a teacher helps students to succeed by giving them confidence, e.g. ‘Of course you can do it! You are doing very well’.’ See confidence.

Energy levels
The feeling in a classroom. If students are interested and working hard, then the energy levels are high; if students are bored or tired then the energy levels are low.

Enquiring
To ask for information, e.g. What time does the train leave?

Error
A mistake that a learner makes when trying to say something above their level of language or language processing.

A developmental error is an error made by a second language learner which could also be made by a young person learning their mother tongue as part of their normal development, e.g. I goed there last week (I went there last week).

See slip.

Evaluation
When a teacher collects information about students’ performance and abilities. See assessment.

Expectation noun
A belief that something will happen, e.g. He has an expectation that he will win.

Exploit (material)
To use material for a particular purpose.

Exposure noun, expose verb
When learners listen to or read language without being consciously aware of it.

Express
To show or make known a feeling or an opinion in words.

Expressing ability, e.g. I can swim.

Expressing intention, e.g. I’m planning to visit him next year.

Expressing necessity, e.g. He needs to get a new passport.

Expressing obligation, e.g. You must wear a seatbelt.

Expressing permission, e.g. Can I have a look at your book?

Expressing preference, e.g. I’d rather have coffee than tea.

Expressing probability, e.g. He should be in later.

Extension task
An activity which give students further practice of the target language or the topic of the lesson.

Extensive listening/reading
Listening to or reading long pieces of text, such as stories. You may listen to or read some parts in detail and may skim other parts. See intensive listening/reading.

Extract
Part of a text.

Facial expression
A teacher can show how they feel through their face, e.g. smiling, showing surprise.

Factor
A fact or situation which influences the result of something, e.g. the factors which decide whether someone learns a language successfully or not.

False friend
A word in the target language which looks or sounds as if it has the same meaning as a similar word in the learners’ first language but does not.

Feature (e.g. of connected speech)
A feature of something is an interesting or important part or characteristic of it.

Feedback noun + verb, conduct, elicit or give feedback

To tell students how well they are doing. This could be at a certain point in the course, or after an exercise that students have just completed.
To communicate to a speaker that you understand (or not) what they are saying.

Peer feedback
Feedback given to a student by another student in the class.

First conditional: see conditional forms.

First language: see mother tongue, L1.

Flashcard
A card with words, sentences or pictures on it. A teacher can use these to explain a situation, tell a story, teach vocabulary etc.

Flipchart
A pad of large sheets of paper fixed to a stand, which teachers use for presenting information to the class.

Fluency, oral fluency
The use of connected speech at a natural speed without hesitation, repetition or self-correction. In a fluency activity, students typically give more attention to the communication of meaning, rather than correctness. See accuracy.

Focus on
To direct someone’s attention to something. To make someone notice something.

Focus on form
To pay attention to language by identifying and practising it.

Formal (language): see register.

Formal assessment: see assessment.

Formality (level of): see register.

Formative assessment: see assessment.

Freer practice: see practice.

Function
The reason or purpose for communication, e.g. making a suggestion; giving advice.

Functional Approach
A way of teaching which uses a syllabus based on functions rather than on grammatical structures.

Functional exponent
A phrase which is an example of a function and shows the purpose of the speaker, e.g. Let’s... . This phrase is one way to make a suggestion. It is an example (or exponent) of the function of suggesting. See function.

Gap-fill
An activity in which students fill in the spaces in sentences or texts. This is often used for restricted practice or for testing a specific language point. This is different from a cloze test which can focus on reading ability or general language use. See cloze test.

Gerund, -ing form
A noun which is made from the present participle form of a verb, e.g. I hate shopping.

Gesture noun + verb
A movement with part of the body, e.g. hand, head.

Get students’ attention
To make students listen to the teacher, possibly after they have been doing group or pairwork.

Goals
Aims that a student or teacher may have.

Grade (language)
To use language that is the correct level for the students and is not too difficult. See graded reader.

Graded reader
A story book with language that has been made easier for students.

Grammar-Translation method
A way of teaching in which students study grammar and translate words into their own language. They do not practise communication and there is little focus on speaking. A teacher presents a grammar rule and vocabulary lists and then students translate a written text from their own language into the second language. See communicative approach.

Grammatical structure
The arrangement of words into meaningful sentences. A grammatical structure is also a grammatical language item, e.g. present perfect simple.

Graph
A drawing that uses a line or lines to show how two or more things are related to each other.

Greeting
To welcome someone, often with words, e.g. Hello, how are you?

Grid
A pattern of straight lines that cross each other to make squares.

Group dynamics
The relationship between members of the class.

Guidance
Help given by a teacher with learning, or with doing a task.

Guided discovery
A way of teaching in which teachers provide examples of the target language and then guide the students to work out the language rules for themselves.

Guided writing
A piece of writing that students produce after a lot of preparation by the teacher. The teacher may give the students a plan to follow, or ideas for the language to use.

Handout, worksheet
A piece of paper with exercises, activities or tasks on it that a teacher gives to students for a range of reasons during a class.

Headword
A word whose meaning is explained in a dictionary. It usually appears in bold at the top of a dictionary entry.

Hesitate
To pause before or while doing or saying something. Students often hesitate if they are trying to find the correct words to say, because they are nervous, or need more time to think.

Highlight

To mark words on paper or on a computer screen using a colour so that they are easier to notice.
To focus on something so that students realise it is important, e.g. to highlight a mistake by underlining it.

Homophone
A word which sounds the same as another word, but has a different meaning or spelling, e.g. I knew he had won; I bought a new book.

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