The Alternative ELT Jargon Dictionary Part 10
BIELT- The British Institute of English Language Teaching, set up with the goals of establishing a framework of professional qualifications and a professional code of practice. It failed.
BULATS- EFL testing euphemism for “bollocks”
Cloze- The practice of making random spelling changes to make a word seem technical or impressive
Corrective feedback- Using the squealing sound of an electric guitar brought close to an amplifier as a way of memorably showing students they have made a mistake
Learner awareness- Remembering that you are the teacher and they are the students, despite the fact that due to all your eliciting the students do all the talking and explain all the grammar to each other
Eikaiwa- The Japanese for “English conversation”. This is the mostly frequently used term for the private language school industry as it includes the two crucial factors of “English” (meaning the ability of teachers to look like they a stereotypical Englishman) and “conversation” (meaning the ability to sustain a 45 min conversation with someone who is too shy to speak)
ELTA- English language teaching assistants- The students you always turn to first when you are trying to elicit something
Error correction- In the same way as it is possible to win an argument with your partner or correct someone’s wrong impression of you just by telling them you are wrong, in TEFL it is possible to stop students making grammar mistakes by pointing out their errors
ETS- The American organisation behind TOEFL and TOEIC. Many researchers are now convinced that these tests were set up in order to hold back the worldwide tendancy to learn English that is useful for communication, therefore helping the USA retain its competitive edge.
Explicit grammar teaching- The use of example sentences on the theme of sex to increase learner motivation and language retention
Explicit knowledge- Knowing swear words and sexual language
Exposure- One of the most common reasons for the dismissal of TEFL teachers
Tags: ELT jargon