An Alternative Dictionary of ELT jargon Part 17
adjacency pairs- the strange connection between students being sat beside each other in the first lesson and forming couples
back channelling- TEFL euphemism for shirt lifting
boundary marker-use of textbooks to stake out territory on a desk
caretaker talk- “pesky kids”, “ragamuffins”, “no good scoundrels” etc
checking moves- watching someone else dance
conversational repairs- the subconscious belief that standing round and talking about fixing something is enough
discourse markers-waving board pens around to emphasize your point
framing move- undermining the students’ faith in the textbook so you can later blame everything on it rather than you
initiation-response-follow-up- The classic method for getting a date with a student
opening move – students who are wondering about the point of the lesson reaching for their textbooks
paralinguistic- speaking like a paratrooper
paralinguistic indicators of involvement- students licking their lips
product-oriented talk- chatting about brands
vernacular grammar- as spoken by your Uncle Vern
Must be reading jargon free TEFL books too often nowadays, so only a few up there. If you are a recent convert, want more and have nothing better to do for 15 to 150 minutes, here is Part 16 and here is the whole archived dictionary so far.
Tags: ELT jargon, Humour, Lists
