A01_RICH4603_04_SE_A01.QXD

(Chris Devlin) #1

MLU^2
an abbreviation for Multi-Word Lexical Unit, a lexeme consisting of more
than one word. For example, compound nouns and phrasal verbs are MLUs.


mobile language learningn
language learning via mobile telephones and other means of wireless
communication.


modaln
also modal verb, modal auxiliary
any of the auxiliary verbswhich indicate attitudes of the speaker/
writer towards the state or event expressed by another verb, i.e. which
indicate different types of modality. The following are modal verbs in
English:
may, might, can, could, must, have (got) to, will, would, shall, should
Modal meanings are shown in the following examples; all are in contrast to
simple assertion:
I may be wrong. (may=possibility)
That will be Tom at the door. (will=prediction)
You can smoke here. (can=permission)
I can play the piano. (can=ability)
Modality can be expressed in other ways, too:
I may be wrong. =Perhaps Iā€™m wrong.


modalityn
see modal


moden
the most frequently occurring score or scores in a sample. It is a measure of
the central tendency of a distribution. For example, in the following test
scores, the mode is equal to 20.
score number of students
with the score
10 2
20 10
30 3
40 4
50 3
A frequency distribution with two modes is known as a bimodal distribu-
tion, as when the two most frequently occurring scores are 60 and 40. The


mode
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