conceptn
the general idea or meaning which is associated with a word or symbol in a
person’s mind. Concepts are the abstract meanings which words and other
linguistic items represent. Linguists believe all languages can express the
same concepts, although some languages may have fewer names for some
concepts than are found in other languages, or may distinguish between
concepts differently. The forming of concepts is closely related to language
acquisition, and the use of concepts to form propositionsis basic to
human thought and communication.
concept checkingn
in teaching the meaning of a new item, a term that is sometimes used to refer
to techniques for checking that students have understood its meaning. For
example after presenting the difference between the past perfect and the
perfect, the teacher may use questions or other techniques to see if students
have identified the correct time reference of a sentence in the past perfect.
concept formationn
(in child development) the process of forming concepts, and an important
part of the development of thought.
concept loadn
see lexical density
concept questionn
in teaching, a question that is used to find out if a learner has understood a
new item. The question is designed to check the key concepts of the item
and normally requires a yes/no or short answer.
seeconcept checking
conceptual frameworkn
also theoretical framework
in research, a theoryor set of theories linked to particular research
purposes that gives coherence to an empirical inquiry. For example, gen-
erative grammarconstitutes a conceptual framework that is appropriate
for certain kinds of research and is linked to preferred types of research
methods.
conceptualization n
see construal
conceptual meaningn
another term for denotation
concept