integration of language and content by supporting students’ understanding of the
content in the target language.Social/affective learning strategies: learning strategies where learners interact with
other persons or pay attention to the affective domain to improve learning (Chamot
and O’Malley 1994).
Strong and weak version of the communicative approach: in the weak version of the
communicative approach students are learning to use English; in the strong version,
students use English to learn it (Howatt 1984).
Synonym: a word with a similar meaning to another word, e.g. ‘sick’ is a synonym of
‘ill.’
Synthetic syllabus: a syllabus comprising linguistic units: grammar structures,
vocabulary items, functions, etc. It is the learner’s responsibility to synthesize the
linguistic units for the purpose of communication (Wilkins 1976).
Task: an activity, with a clear outcome, in which learners communicate meaningfully.
Task-supported teaching: teaching with meaningful communicative tasks, without
excluding the possibility of using tasks with a grammatical focus.
Top-down approach to reading instruction: a learning to read approach that begins
with students engaging with the general ideas of the text as a way in to
understanding the text.
Understanding response: a response from a listener that paraphrases what the speaker
has just said, without questions, opinions, or judgments.
Whole-person learning: teachers consider not only their students’ intellect, but they
also have some understanding about the relationship among students’ feelings,
physical reactions, instinctual protective reactions, and desire to learn.
Workplace literacy: the skill adult learners need at their workplace to read and write
about relevant content.
World ‘Englishes’: different varieties of English, each spoken in a country that was a
former British colony, e.g. Indian English.
World wide web (www or ‘the web’): a way of accessing information over the Internet.
Zone of proximal development (ZPD): an area of learning potential lying between the
learner’s ability to operate independently and the learner’s ability to operate with
the help of a teacher or a more competent peer (Vygotsky 1978).