The Alternative TEFL Jargon dictionary Part 11
Anthropological linguists- Studying the feuds and other interactions of linguists as if they were a Papua New Guinea tribe
Contrastive analysis- trying to work out what the picture on a bad photocopy is when asked to talk about it in class
Deterministic grammar rules- ones you are destined never to understand
Drilling- Popular with Asian students who get stressed with fluency activities, this consists of making a hole in the skull to relieve the pressure
EOP- English for Occupational Purposes- Studying the language to keep yourself occupied, e.g. after retirement
Holistic language teaching- The idea that the lesson and students’ heads are empty spaces that need to be filled somehow
i + 1- As illustrated by the career of Krashen, the fact that you only need to keep banging on about one idea (i + 1) to become famous in linguistics
Mim-mem method (the) - replacing language practice with transcendental meditation
Notional syllabus- The vague idea that you should plan and do things in order
Silent period- Krashen suggested that students, especially East Asians, should be given a silent period of 5 or 10 minutes to respond to each question
Silent Way- A method originating with Gattegno and widely adopted in Asia in which the teacher keeps nattering on to cover the uncomfortable silence left by the students’ incomprehension of the game and unwillingness to speak
Sociolinguist- Abbreviation of “sociopathological linguist”, responsible for the worst academic feuds
Threshold Level- The level at which students can join the conversation with the teacher at the pub after lessons, usually indicated by the fact that they are part of the circle rather than looking over other people’s shoulders
TPR- Total Physical Response- The reaction from students to mention of a test or extra homework
Washback effect- The build up of spit in the mouth by Spanish speaking students trying to pronounce /h/ properly
Can you stand more? If so, you can see the whole dictionary so far here:
The Alternative English Teaching Jargon Dictionary
Any other suggestions also gratefully accepted (the list already includes quite a few reader contributions)
Tags: ELT jargon, Humour