media resourcesmedia resourcesn
in teaching, all resources involved in teaching and learning including tech-
nology, audio and video resources, computers, multi-media language labs,
projectors, films, and video.
mediumn
the means by which a message is conveyed from one person to another. For
example, an invitation to a party can be made in writing or in speech.
The plural of mediumis mediaor mediums.
see also message, decoding, encoding
medium of instructionn
the language used in education. In many countries, the medium of instruc-
tion is the standard varietyof the main or national languageof the
country, e.g. French in France. In some countries, the medium of instruc-
tion may be different in various parts of the country, as in Belgium where
both French and Dutch are used. In multilingualcountries or regions
there may be a choice, or there may be schools in which some subjects are
taught in one language and other subjects in another. The plural of medium
of instructionis media of instructionor mediums of instruction.
see also bilingual education
melting potn
used mainly in the US to describe how a variety of immigrant ethnic groups
have blended together and gradually assimilated into mainstream Amer-
ican culture. The melting pot view of immigration is sometimes used as an
argument against bilingual educationand in favour of the english
onlymovement.
membershippingnmembershipv
classifying a person as a member of a group or category, e.g. shop assistant,
student, or residents of a particular town. Once a category has been
assigned to a person, conversation with that person may be affected.
For example, a visitor to a town may ask a passer-by whom he or she,
correctly or incorrectly, memberships as a local resident: Could you please
tell me how to get to the station?Wrong membershipping may result in
misunderstanding or may cause annoyance, e.g. if a customer in a depart-
ment store is wrongly membershipped as a shop assistant.
In speaking, membershipping involves the ability to display credibility and
competence through familiarity or exploitation of discourse conventions
typically used in a group or speech community, e.g. such as the ability to use
the technical terms and concepts used by linguists or language teachers.