Cambridge DELTA Module 1 / Terms/concepts for the Cambridge DELTA
Module 1 Exam. ELT terms from an A-Z of ELT by Scott Thornbury/ 327
Q&A.| 2025 LATEST UPDATED
Test-Teach-Test - (answers)A lesson design in which learners first perform a task, which the
teacher uses to assess learners' specific needs. They are then taught whatever they need in order
to re-do the task more effectively.
modality - (answers)The lexical and grammatical ways used by speakers to express their attitude
to what they're saying. For example: Maybe Sarah is a chef. (lexical _______: adverb)
cohesion - (answers)The use of grammatical and lexical means to achieve connected text, either
spoken or written.
induction - (answers)The process of working out rules on the basis of examples. Also called
discovery learning.
priming - (answers)The process by which a word gathers particular associations through repeated
encounters.
process writing - (answers)An approach to writing where learners are encouraged to brainstorm,
plan, draft, re-draft, review, and "publish" their written work.
word family - (answers)A group of words which share the same root but have different affixes, as
in care, careful, careless, carefree, uncaring, carer.
sentence - (answers)The largest purely grammatical unit in a language.
silent period - (answers)This refers to the fact that children learning their first language go
through a lengthy period simply listening before they say their first words.
,uptake - (answers)What learners report to have learnt from a language lesson. Typically this does
not match what the teacher intended to teach.
notional syllabus - (answers)A syllabus that is organised according to general areas of meaning
that are used in most grammars, such as frequency, location, duration and possibility.
deixis - (answers)The way language points to spatial, temporal and personal features of the
context. For example, I have been here three weeks now, the referents of I, here and now cannot
be identified without knowing the context.
phatic language - (answers)Language whose purpose is to smooth the conduct of social relations.
It has an interpersonal function.
phoneme - (answers)One of the distinctive sounds of a particular language. It cannot be replaced
with another sound without causing a change in meaning.
phonology - (answers)The study of a sound system of a particular language, which describes the
abstract system that allows the speakers of a language to distinguish meaning from mere verbal
noise.
polysemy - (answers)This refers to the case where one word has more than one related meaning.
prosodic features - (answers)The stress, rhythm, and intonation along with tempo, loudness and
voice quality of speech.
ellipsis - (answers)The leaving out of elements of a sentence because they are either unnecessary
or because their sense can be worked out from the immediate context.
display questions - (answers)Asked by teachers in order to find out what a learner can say in the
target language.
,face validity - (answers)Used to say that a test is acceptable to a learner, in that it meets the
learner's expectations of what a test should be like.
TALO - (answers)Text as a Linguistic Object
TAVI - (answers)Text as a Vehicle for Information
TASP - (answers)Text as a Stimulus for Production
Dictogloss - (answers)A classroom dictation activity where learners are required to reconstruct a
short text by listening and noting down key words, which are then used as a base for
reconstruction.
Diagnostic test - (answers)A test that helps the teacher and learners identify problems that they
have with the language.
Diglossia - (answers)A situation where a language that has two forms, one a 'higher' and more
prestigious form used by educated speakers in formal situations, and the other a 'lower',
vernacular form used more commonly.
Dipthong - (answers)A one-syllable sound that is made up of two vowels. In Received
Pronunciation English there are eight of these.
Discourse management - (answers)The ability to produce extended written and spoken texts, for
example conversations.
Achievement test - (answers)This test evaluates a learner's understanding of a specific course or
study programme.
Action research - (answers)A development tool for a teacher that involves observing or gathering
other data about a class through interviews, case studies, and questionnaires.
, Non-gradable adjectives - (answers)Adjectives that cannot be expressed in degrees and so cannot
be graded.
Backwash - (answers)The positive or negative impact of a test on classroom teaching.
Substitution - (answers)The replacing of a noun phrase or a clause by a single word in order to
avoid repetition or to make a text more cohesive.
Universal Grammar - (answers)The theory which claims that every speaker of a language knows
a set of principles which apply to all languages and also a set of parameters that can vary from
one language to another, but only within set limits.
Connotation - (answers)The attitudinal meaning of a word, which may be culturally determined,
such as whether it carries a positive or negative meaning.
Nuclear stress - (answers)The place in an utterance where the major pitch movement begins,
marking the focal point of the message.
Fossilisation - (answers)A process through which an error has become a permanent feature of a
learner's language use and is believed to be resistant to correction.
Adjacency pair - (answers)A sequence of two related utterances by two different speakers. The
first utterance leads to a set of expectations about the response.
Anaphoric reference - (answers)A word or phrase that refers back to another word or phrase
which was used earlier in a written or spoken text.
Collocation - (answers)Two or more words that co-occur in a language more often that would be
expected by chance.
Order of acquisition - (answers)The order in which grammar/language items are thought to be
acquired.
Module 1 Exam. ELT terms from an A-Z of ELT by Scott Thornbury/ 327
Q&A.| 2025 LATEST UPDATED
Test-Teach-Test - (answers)A lesson design in which learners first perform a task, which the
teacher uses to assess learners' specific needs. They are then taught whatever they need in order
to re-do the task more effectively.
modality - (answers)The lexical and grammatical ways used by speakers to express their attitude
to what they're saying. For example: Maybe Sarah is a chef. (lexical _______: adverb)
cohesion - (answers)The use of grammatical and lexical means to achieve connected text, either
spoken or written.
induction - (answers)The process of working out rules on the basis of examples. Also called
discovery learning.
priming - (answers)The process by which a word gathers particular associations through repeated
encounters.
process writing - (answers)An approach to writing where learners are encouraged to brainstorm,
plan, draft, re-draft, review, and "publish" their written work.
word family - (answers)A group of words which share the same root but have different affixes, as
in care, careful, careless, carefree, uncaring, carer.
sentence - (answers)The largest purely grammatical unit in a language.
silent period - (answers)This refers to the fact that children learning their first language go
through a lengthy period simply listening before they say their first words.
,uptake - (answers)What learners report to have learnt from a language lesson. Typically this does
not match what the teacher intended to teach.
notional syllabus - (answers)A syllabus that is organised according to general areas of meaning
that are used in most grammars, such as frequency, location, duration and possibility.
deixis - (answers)The way language points to spatial, temporal and personal features of the
context. For example, I have been here three weeks now, the referents of I, here and now cannot
be identified without knowing the context.
phatic language - (answers)Language whose purpose is to smooth the conduct of social relations.
It has an interpersonal function.
phoneme - (answers)One of the distinctive sounds of a particular language. It cannot be replaced
with another sound without causing a change in meaning.
phonology - (answers)The study of a sound system of a particular language, which describes the
abstract system that allows the speakers of a language to distinguish meaning from mere verbal
noise.
polysemy - (answers)This refers to the case where one word has more than one related meaning.
prosodic features - (answers)The stress, rhythm, and intonation along with tempo, loudness and
voice quality of speech.
ellipsis - (answers)The leaving out of elements of a sentence because they are either unnecessary
or because their sense can be worked out from the immediate context.
display questions - (answers)Asked by teachers in order to find out what a learner can say in the
target language.
,face validity - (answers)Used to say that a test is acceptable to a learner, in that it meets the
learner's expectations of what a test should be like.
TALO - (answers)Text as a Linguistic Object
TAVI - (answers)Text as a Vehicle for Information
TASP - (answers)Text as a Stimulus for Production
Dictogloss - (answers)A classroom dictation activity where learners are required to reconstruct a
short text by listening and noting down key words, which are then used as a base for
reconstruction.
Diagnostic test - (answers)A test that helps the teacher and learners identify problems that they
have with the language.
Diglossia - (answers)A situation where a language that has two forms, one a 'higher' and more
prestigious form used by educated speakers in formal situations, and the other a 'lower',
vernacular form used more commonly.
Dipthong - (answers)A one-syllable sound that is made up of two vowels. In Received
Pronunciation English there are eight of these.
Discourse management - (answers)The ability to produce extended written and spoken texts, for
example conversations.
Achievement test - (answers)This test evaluates a learner's understanding of a specific course or
study programme.
Action research - (answers)A development tool for a teacher that involves observing or gathering
other data about a class through interviews, case studies, and questionnaires.
, Non-gradable adjectives - (answers)Adjectives that cannot be expressed in degrees and so cannot
be graded.
Backwash - (answers)The positive or negative impact of a test on classroom teaching.
Substitution - (answers)The replacing of a noun phrase or a clause by a single word in order to
avoid repetition or to make a text more cohesive.
Universal Grammar - (answers)The theory which claims that every speaker of a language knows
a set of principles which apply to all languages and also a set of parameters that can vary from
one language to another, but only within set limits.
Connotation - (answers)The attitudinal meaning of a word, which may be culturally determined,
such as whether it carries a positive or negative meaning.
Nuclear stress - (answers)The place in an utterance where the major pitch movement begins,
marking the focal point of the message.
Fossilisation - (answers)A process through which an error has become a permanent feature of a
learner's language use and is believed to be resistant to correction.
Adjacency pair - (answers)A sequence of two related utterances by two different speakers. The
first utterance leads to a set of expectations about the response.
Anaphoric reference - (answers)A word or phrase that refers back to another word or phrase
which was used earlier in a written or spoken text.
Collocation - (answers)Two or more words that co-occur in a language more often that would be
expected by chance.
Order of acquisition - (answers)The order in which grammar/language items are thought to be
acquired.
