ECL Test flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Skimming

Reading a text rapidly to capture its general meaning and structure, usually by reading titles, first sentences and headings before detailed work.

Scanning

Moving the eyes quickly across a text to locate a specific piece of information such as a date, name or figure, ignoring surrounding content.

Main idea question

An item asking for the overall point of a passage; the correct option must cover the whole text rather than a single paragraph detail.

False versus Not Given

False means the passage states the opposite of the statement; Not Given means the passage neither confirms nor contradicts it.

Inference item

A question whose answer is not written literally in the text but follows logically from the evidence the passage provides.

Cohesive reference

The use of pronouns and determiners such as this, they or it to point back to a previously mentioned noun phrase.

Partially true distractor

An answer option that restates something accurate from the passage but does not respond to the question actually asked.

Topic sentence

The sentence that states the controlling idea of a paragraph, most often its first sentence, which the remaining sentences support.

Previewing questions

Reading the test items during the pause before a recording in order to predict what information to listen for.

Correction distractor

A pattern in which a speaker first names one option and then revises it, so the second mention is the answer.

Gap-fill word limit

An instruction stating the maximum number of words allowed in an answer, for example NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS.

-teen and -ty stress

A pronunciation cue: numbers ending in -teen are stressed on the second syllable, while those ending in -ty are stressed on the first.

Dictated spelling

A listening task in which a name, street or email address is spelled out letter by letter and must be transcribed in order.

Listening signal words

Connectives such as but, however and actually that mark a change of direction and often introduce the real answer.

Monologue answer order

The convention that questions on a single-speaker recording are answered in the same sequence as the speech.

Single-play recording

Audio presented a fixed number of times without pause or rewind, which requires abandoning missed items immediately.

Register

The level of formality of a text, ranging from formal written language without contractions to informal language suited to friends.

Word-count tolerance

The acceptable margin around a required length, usually about ten per cent, beyond which content marks are lost.

Task achievement

The criterion measuring whether every element of the prompt, such as each bullet point, has been addressed and developed.

Cohesive devices

Linking words and phrases such as however, whereas and as a result that show relationships between sentences and paragraphs.

Yours sincerely

The formal British closing used when the recipient is named in the salutation, for example after Dear Mr Smith.

Yours faithfully

The formal British closing used when the recipient is unnamed in the salutation, as in Dear Sir or Madam.

Contractions in formal writing

Reduced forms such as don't or it's, which are avoided in formal letters and reports but accepted in informal messages.

Editing pass

A final rereading of a written answer focused on agreement, articles, tense consistency, plurals, spelling and punctuation.

Answer plus extension

A speaking pattern that gives the direct response and then adds a reason, example or detail to display range.

Fluency fillers

Neutral expressions such as well or let me think that hold the turn and buy planning time without creating silence.

Paraphrasing around gaps

Describing a missing word with simpler language, for example 'the thing you use to open a bottle', to keep speaking.

Communicative function

The purpose a spoken turn performs, such as requesting, apologising, complaining or suggesting, which role-plays are scored on.

Self-correction

Repairing one's own error mid-sentence; brief corrections are tolerated, while abandoned sentences and long pauses lower the rating.

Word stress

The syllable given greatest emphasis in a word, which can distinguish related forms such as PHOtograph and phoTOgraphy.

Speculating in picture tasks

Describing what is visible and then offering possibilities with might be, seems to or looks as if rather than stating facts.

Clarification request

A polite formula such as 'Could you repeat that, please?' used to repair comprehension and treated as normal interaction.