Teachers' and Learners' Language Flashcards

When a learner does not know the word for 'scissors', they describe it as "the thing you use for cutting paper". Which communication strategy is the learner using?

Answer: Circumlocution

Circumlocution is a communication strategy where a speaker describes or 'talks around' a word they do not know, which is exactly what the learner is doing by describing the function and appearance of scissors.

A learner says, "I no have a pen." The teacher responds, "Oh, you don't have a pen. Here, you can borrow mine." Which correction technique is the teacher primarily using?

Answer: Recasting

Recasting, also known as reformulation, involves the teacher repeating the learner's utterance correctly without explicitly stating that an error was made. The teacher's response, "Oh, you don't have a pen," models the correct form in a natural, communicative way.

Which of the following teacher utterances has the main function of eliciting language from a learner?

Answer: "What's the opposite of 'hot'?"

Eliciting is the technique of drawing out information or language from students rather than giving it to them. Asking "What's the opposite of 'hot'?" is a direct attempt to get the learner to produce a specific word ('cold').

A Spanish-speaking learner of English says, "I have 25 years," instead of "I am 25 years old." This is a classic example of which type of error?

Answer: L1 interference

This error is caused by L1 interference (or negative transfer), where the learner directly translates a grammatical structure from their first language (Spanish: 'Tengo 25 años') into the second language. This is a common error for speakers of Romance languages.

Which of the following best defines 'interlanguage'?

Answer: The learner's own developing linguistic system, which has features of both their L1 and the L2.

Interlanguage refers to the unique linguistic system created by a second language learner at a specific stage of their development. This system is influenced by their first language (L1) and their evolving knowledge of the target language (L2), and it is systematic and dynamic.

A teacher, noticing a student is struggling to answer a question, says, "What's that thing we use to cook eggs in...? It's round... a frying...?" What is the function of the teacher's language?

Answer: Prompting

Prompting is when a teacher provides hints or clues to help a learner remember a word or produce a correct answer. By describing the object and providing the first part of the word, the teacher is prompting the student to say 'pan'.