A glossary of English learning methods and approaches
Here are some language learning terms and concepts that past students found useful to research and understand.
Academic Word Lists (AWL)
Achievement tests vs proficiency tests
Written discourse vs spoken discourse
Prescriptive vs descriptive approaches to grammar
Text as linguistic object (TALO), transcript as linguistic object (podcast, video clip…)
Top down vs bottom up processing
Deductive approach (start with a grammar rule, and see examples) vs inductive approaches (look at examples first, notice patterns, infer the grammar rule)
Task-based learning and content-based language learning
The presentation, practice, production method (PPP)
French immersion programs in Canadian schools
International phonetic alphabet (IPA) used by dictionaries vs the 44 sounds of English as taught to native-speaking kids via the science of reading and structured literacy
Tense vs aspect
Grammar (subject and predicate) vs syntax (NPs, VPs, APs)
Guided discovery vs explicit instruction
Learning about a language vs acquiring measurable proficiency