CELTA TERMINOLOGY

CELTA 5

See Blue Book. CELTA5 is so-called because there are 4 other administrative documents from
Cambridge that precede it.

Specific information question

A question to check understanding of a text or part of a text.

CCQs

Concept checking questions - one of the most useful and common ways of checking concept. A
series of simple questions that break down the meaning of the language being presented.

Content feedback

Learners report back the content of their discussion (their experiences, opinions, conclusions, etc.)
to the group and the teacher.

Contextualization

Presenting or practicing a language item in a context (such as a situation or a text) rather than in
isolation. The context helps students better understand the meaning and use of the item.

Controlled Practice

(Also called Restricted Practice). Oral drills and written exercises in which students use newly
presented language in a restricted way. The choice they have over the language used is limited in
order to help them focus on the structure of the language.

Dialogue

Short conversation between two or more people, heard, written spoken, created (etc.) in class.

Pronunciation drill

Teacher-centered controlled practice to help learners with pronunciation, which involves students
repeating sentences/words after the teacher or students creating sentences with prompts from the
teacher. See Choral, Individual and Substitution Drill.

Echoing

When a teacher repeats students' correct utterances. This is unnatural, usually unnecessary and
increases teacher talking time. It can also be confusing as learners think they have made an error.

Elicit (v)

To draw an answer, grammar structure, word, example etc. from the students by asking questions
and giving prompts.

Feedback

The part of a stage or activity in which learners share their answers with the group and the teacher.
This could be to share their ideas, thoughts and opinions or to check answers to an activity. See also
content feedback
Fluency Practice

Free speaking or writing, to practice those skills in of themselves. Students use all the English they
have at their disposal to communicate, rather than consciously practicing specific grammatical
structures recently studied in class. See also Freer Practice. Contrast Accuracy Practice

Pronunciation drill

Teacher-centered controlled practice to help learners with pronunciation, which involves students
repeating sentences/words after the teacher or students creating sentences with prompts from the
teacher. See Choral, Individual and Substitution Drill.

Form

The way an item is written or said. "Form" is also used to refer to the grammatical operation of
items, as opposed to what they mean or how they are used.

Less controlled practice

Practice of specific items in an activity that allows students a degree of choice regarding the
language they use. It usually involves the students using the target item in the context of other
surrounding language.

Function

What you express through a piece of language. The task a piece of language performs. For example,
inviting, apologizing or expressing regret.

Functional exponent

A phrase which expresses a function. For example, "I'm sorry" is an exponent of the function of
apologizing.

Gap-fill

A written exercise in which students put the appropriate items into gaps left in a sentence. Also
called fill-in-the-blank. NOTE: Be careful not to confuse this with: Information Gap

Gist Question / Task

A question/task asked to check students' general overall comprehension of a text (listening or

Graded language

Language (in a text, oral instructions, etc.) that is simplified so that it can be understood by a learner
of English, for example by removing complex words, idiomatic phrases, etc. and making sentences
shorter with only one or two clauses

Grammar

The rules that govern the form of a language. The nuts and bolts that hold the vocabulary together.
Guided Discovery

A technique where students work out language meanings and rules for themselves. By looking at
examples of language and answering written guided questions, students can draw conclusions about
the meaning and form of language.

Highlighting Form

Drawing students' attention to the important aspects of how an item is formed, said or written. It
can be done orally (using Finger Highlighting) or on the board (see Written Record).

Highlighting Meaning

Drawing students' attention to the meaning of a particular language item. Often involves time lines,
CCQs etc.

Information Gap

An activity in which students use language to exchange information between one another. The
information each student has is different, yet related in some way. By communicating with each
other students gain a complete picture. Information gaps can be either relatively controlled, or much
freer. It depends on how they are set up, and how much prompting students receive. They are
always communicative.

ICQs

Instruction checking questions - Asking questions to check that students have understood the
instructions to a task or activity you have set (e.g. "so will you show your paper to your partner? (no)
Contrast: Concept Checking

Intonation

Meaningful changes of voice pitch in a word, phrase or sentence. The "music" part of phonology.
Americans often refer to intonation as 'inflection'.

L1

A learner's first language, often called "own language".

L2

The language the students are learning, in our case this is English. Also called "shared language".

Lead-in

The introduction to your lesson (or to an activity within your lesson), where you introduce the topic,
generate interest, get students thinking etc.

Lesson aims

What the students will be able to do at the end of the lesson that they couldn't do at the beginning
(or at least not as well!)

Metalanguage

The language used to talk about language. For example, the word 'verb' is an item of metalanguage.
Mingle activities

When the learners are on their feet, moving around the classroom and talking to each other to
perform a task (e.g. find somebody who... (can play the guitar).

MFP

Meaning, Form and Phonology: the three areas you have to cover when presenting new language to
students

Model Sentence

A sentence showing a language item in its typical use. New items are often presented and initially
practiced using a Model Sentence, particularly when doing a Situational Presentation. NOTE: A
marker sentence does not normally define or explain an item. It simply shows the item in use.

Monitoring

After giving directions for a pair or group work task, teachers walk around the room to make sure
that students understand the activity and are doing what was asked. It is also a way to assess
progress and listen for errors that can be corrected later.

Nominating

Using a gesture or a learner’s name to nominate them to answer a question during feedback or
drilling. This ensures that everyone has a chance to participate and avoids less confident students
from being side lined

Pair Work

When pairs of students work on a task at the same time. The focus is student-centered.

Peer Correction

Prompting a student to correct another’s mistake – perhaps when self-correction has been
unsuccessful.

Phonology

The study or practice of sounds, intonation and word & sentence stress.

Productive Skills

Speaking and writing. Contrast: Receptive Skills

Pronunciation

How a word or sentence is said – the sounds, stress and intonation.

Realia

The actual object used to illustrate meaning. For example, if you are teaching different types of fruit,
you could bring in realia: bananas, oranges, apples etc.

Receptive Skills

Reading and listening. Contrast: Productive Skills

When a teacher “thinks out loud” in class, causing unnecessary TTT. It is usually said very quickly and
quietly, or comes in the form of an ‘explanation’ that students usually do not need or understand.
Examples: “OK, so we don’t have time to do what we were going to do, but I’m going to give you
guys a hand-out. It’s probably too easy for you and I should have chosen a different one, but just go
ahead and do it anyways, and it’s not a very good photocopy, but....”

Self-correction

Prompting a student to correct their own errors, rather than the teacher providing the correction.

Skills

Language skills are how language is used. Speaking, Writing, Reading, Listening (see Receptive and
Productive skills)

Stress

The emphasis placed on a syllable in a word (=word stress) or on a word in a sentence (=sentence
stress). Word stress and sentence stress are two components of phonology.

Student-centered

Any approach which encourages students to participate fully in the learning process, and which
fosters autonomous learning. A student-centered lesson means the focus is on the students, through
pair and group work, eliciting etc.

Student Talking Time (STT)

The amount of talking done by students in class. In a language classroom this should ALWAYS be
higher than TTT.

Target Language

The language item(s) you are aiming to teach in a lesson. For example, if your lesson aim is to
improve students’ knowledge of the past perfect, then your target language is the past perfect.

Task Based Learning

A relatively new approach to teaching language which involves taking a ‘task’ as a starting point, and
then raising students’ awareness of the language required in order to successfully perform the task.

Teacher Talking Time (TTT)

The amount of talking done by the teacher in class. Too much is a bad thing, especially if it’s
extraneous (see Running Commentary for example). Contrast: Student Talking Time.

Test-Teach-Test

A systems lesson framework where the teacher first checks to see what students already know
about a language item, often by doing some sort of practice activity or ‘diagnostic test’. The teacher
then presents or clarifies the aspects which the students have problems with. Further practice of the
language item then occurs.
Text

A piece of reading or listening.

Text Based lesson

When new language is first encountered in a text before being analyzed and practiced.

Time Line

A visual representation of a tense; used for highlighting meaning, or concept checking.

Written Record

The stage in your presentation which involves writing the form onto the whiteboard for students to
copy. It's not always necessary to do this - a photocopy or an overhead transparency also works.

Visual FB

When collecting answers after an activity, writing the answers on the board to show the students
HOW their paper/worksheet should look. This is especially important to visual learners.