technical writingtechnical writing n
specialized genres of writing that occur in technical fields, such as computer
science, engineering or mechanics.
see genre
technique n
in teaching, a specific procedure for carrying out a teaching activity, such as
the ways a teacher corrects students’ errors or sets up group activities.
see approach
TEFL n
an acronym for Teaching English as a Foreign Language, used to describe
the teaching of English in situations where it is a foreign language. This
term is becoming less frequently used than TESL, or TESOL.
telegraphic speech n
a term sometimes used to describe the early speech of children learning their
first language, so called because children’s early speech lacks the same sorts
of words which adults leave out of telegrams (e.g. prepositions, auxiliary
verbs, articles). For example:
Baby no eat apple.
tenor of discourse n
see social context
tense^1 n
the relationship between the form of the verb and the time of the action or
state it describes.
In English, verbs may be in the pastor present tense. However, the
present tense form of the verb is also used in:
atimeless expressions: The sun rises in the east.
bfor future events: I leave/am leaving next Monday.
c past events for dramatic effect: Suddenly she collapses on the floor.
The past tense form of the verb may also occur in conditional clauses (see
conditional): If you worked harder, you would pass the exam.
see also mood
tense^2 /lax adj
features that divide vowels into two classes on phonological grounds. Tense
vowels are produced with a comparatively greater degree of muscular ten-
sion and movement and are slightly longer in duration and higher in tongue
position and pitch than the corresponding lax vowels. In English, the tense