As in any specialized profession, the world of ESL/EFL/ELL has its own unique terminology. I quite regularly come upon words that I’m not familiar with.
I thought a short “The Best…” list might be useful for readers.
I haven’t found one glossary of these kinds of terms that I would consider “complete” and accessible, so I’m listing a few of them.
Here are my picks for The Best Guides To ESL/EFL/ELL Terminology:
ESL Glossary From Bogglesworld
ESL Terminology From State University of New York — Courtland
ELT Terminology, Abbreviations & Acronyms From TEFL.net
Common TEFL Confusions is sort of a glossary-plus for ESL/EFL teachers. It’s very good and is from TEFL.net. They also have a good glossary.
The American Institutes For Research has a good document titled Common ELL Terms and Definitions.
Colorin Colorado has a good glossary.
Get to know the ABCs of bilingual and multilingual learners #BMLs #EAL #ELL #ellchat pic.twitter.com/kABPTg96wM
— Alison Schofield (@educatorbmls) April 7, 2017
An ELT Glossary comes from An ELT Notebook.
The NILE ELT Glossary is also good, though you have to register (for free) to access it.
A SHORT GUIDE TO ACRONYMS IN ELT is from EFL Magazine.
Here’s a glossary of terms related to immigration and education.
Clarifying Multilingual Terminology is by Jana Echevarria.
Here are three Ed Week articles:
Map: How States Describe Their English Learners
The Debate Over English Learner Terminology, Explained
The Evolution of Terms Describing English Learners: An ELL Glossary
What is ESL – A Guide For Teachers is from We are Teachers.
📚 Today’s word is English learners with significant cognitive disabilities! View the definition and the terms, acronyms and jargon that are used by those who support multilingual learners with disabilities: https://t.co/rhmGalgfcH pic.twitter.com/gTrqTHFR0s
— WIDA™ (@WIDA_UW) July 25, 2024
In this #infographic from REL West, see how the terminology we use to describe and identify #multilingual learners can signal an asset-based approach, ensuring students' experiences are valued and incorporated. 📚 @REL_West
👉Download: https://t.co/I6W4TQoJC1 pic.twitter.com/2NYVJr6I6x
— ASKNCELA1 (@ASKNCELA1) July 30, 2024
Other suggestions are, as always, welcome.
If you found this post useful, you might want to look at previous “The Best…” lists and also consider subscribing to this blog for free.
Larry,
Helpful list and I’m glad to see the addition of Chris’ mostly complete list. This basic knowledge of “terminology” is so helpful. Yesterday, an administrator was asking me what “differentiated instruction” meant. I just winked and said, “student centered” learning. So many new buzz words abound…
I really do think that one of the most confusing things for a new teacher is our “alphabet soup”. I hate prescriptive measures but maybe it might be a good idea to have an ELT acronym overlord. 🙂
I tried to comment yesterday but my post was deleted because it contained a url…. I really must give a thumbs down on that one …. it is all about URLs! I understand the other issues but I don’t think you kill the cow because of the flies! However that’s another issue…
A couple more lists can be found at Annenberg media and at the BC’s (there’s another acronym Teacher knowledge wiki. The former is more academic and the later, more practical with helpful examples. Hit Teacher Training on my school’s page setiteachers.ning.com to get the links
Thanks,
David
A nice list. There are a lot of terms I came across in these lists that I was not aquainted with 🙂 Thx
Thanks Larry! That’s really useful! 🙂
There’s our Glossary here as well:
http://www.icaltefl.com/index.php/resources/glossary-of-tefl-terms
Hope this helps!