DELTA Module One key terms

A question the teacher asks to confirm learners have understood the meaning of a new item, usually answerable with yes/no or short answers, e.g. 'Is this in the past or the present?'

Adjusting the complexity of teacher talk to learners' level: shorter sentences, common vocabulary, present tenses, clearer articulation, and concrete examples, while keeping the language natural and not distorting it.

The proportion of a lesson in which the teacher rather than the learners speaks. Often measured against student talk time (STT); high TTT can reduce learner practice and participation.

Technique of drawing language, ideas or answers from learners through prompts, questions, mime or pictures instead of simply telling them, so they activate existing knowledge.

An inductive approach in which learners examine examples and work out a rule or pattern themselves with teacher support, rather than receiving the rule explained first.

A lesson staging model in which the teacher presents a language item, learners practise it in controlled exercises, then use it more freely in a communicative task.

A lesson shape where learners first attempt a task to reveal what they can and cannot do, the teacher then addresses gaps, and learners retry the task or a similar one.

An approach organised around meaningful tasks rather than discrete language items; learners complete the task, then focus on language that emerged, typically in a task-planning-report cycle.

Practice in which learners use a target item with limited choice, such as gap-fills, drills or matching, so that accuracy and correct form can be checked.

Practice in which learners use target language with more choice and personal content, such as discussion or role-play, prioritising fluency and meaningful communication over tightly controlled form.

Repeating a model of a language item chorally or individually, often to improve pronunciation, stress and rhythm, and to make a new form memorable.

Two words that differ by only one phoneme, such as 'ship' and 'sheep', used to raise awareness of and practise distinguishing or producing specific sounds.

A grid of the phonemes of a language, arranged by vowel, consonant and diphthong, used to teach pronunciation, show sounds independently of spelling, and transcribe words.

The relative prominence given to one syllable in a word through loudness, length and pitch, e.g. the first syllable in 'record' (noun) but the second in 'record' (verb).

The pattern of stressed and unstressed words in an utterance, typically falling on content words while function words are weakened, which carries meaning and rhythm.

The rise and fall of pitch across an utterance, used to signal meaning, attitude and discourse function, such as distinguishing a statement from a question.

The way sounds change when words are spoken in sequence, including features such as assimilation, elision and catenation, which affect how learners hear and produce natural English.

Listening and reading: the abilities involved in decoding and understanding spoken or written text, including subskills such as skimming, scanning and listening for gist.

Speaking and writing: the abilities involved in generating and conveying meaning through language, requiring control of grammar, lexis, pronunciation or spelling, and discourse organisation.

A mental framework of prior knowledge and experience that a reader or listener uses to interpret a text and predict its content; activating it before reading or listening supports comprehension.

Introducing key words before learners read or listen to a text, so that unfamiliar lexis does not block comprehension of the overall message.

Reading quickly for the main idea or gist of a text, without attending to every word or detail, often used to decide whether a text is worth reading closely.

Reading quickly through a text to locate specific information such as a name, date or number, ignoring surrounding content that is not needed.

A category of text or spoken event with recognisable conventions, purpose and audience, such as a recipe, a formal letter or a news report; these conventions shape how it is organised and written.

The variation in language according to social setting, purpose and relationship between participants, ranging from formal to informal and involving choices of lexis, grammar and tone.

The way a text is linked together through devices such as pronouns, conjunctions, referencing and lexical repetition, so that sentences connect into a coherent whole.

The overall logical unity of a text, achieved when ideas are organised and connected in a way the reader or listener can follow, supported by but not identical to cohesion.

The ways participants are grouped during an activity, such as whole class, individual work, pairwork or groupwork, each affecting participation, talk time and classroom management.

An activity in which learners act out a scenario in a specified role, often to practise functional language and fluency in a realistic communicative context.

An activity in which learners hold different pieces of information and must communicate to complete a task, creating a genuine reason to speak and listen.

The amount of mental effort a task demands of learners; if too high, attention is diverted from the target language, so tasks and instructions need careful staging.

Temporary support the teacher provides, such as models, prompts, frames or staged steps, which is gradually withdrawn as learners become able to perform independently.

Difficulties a teacher predicts learners may have with language, tasks or materials, together with planned solutions, usually recorded in a lesson plan before teaching.

A clear statement of what learners should be able to do by the end of a lesson, expressed from the learner's perspective and distinct from the activities used to achieve it.

Texts or recordings produced for real communication rather than for language teaching, such as news articles, menus or podcasts, offering natural language but often needing adaptation.

The capacity of learners to take responsibility for their own learning, setting goals, selecting strategies and monitoring progress with decreasing dependence on the teacher.

Teaching learners how to learn: raising awareness of strategies, study skills and resources so they can manage their own progress inside and outside the classroom.