g Glossary
abbreviation A shortened form of a word or phrase, often used in notes or spoken English to save time, e.g., UN is an abbreviation of United Nations.
Academic Word List A list of some of the most wide-ranging and frequently used English words used in academic contexts. Students can use the AWL to find the most useful academic words that they need to know when they study at an English-speaking university.
anecdote A short account of an incident that is amusing or interesting.
approach (to a subject) A way of thinking about or dealing with something. An approach is less clearly defined or strict than a method.
authentic Authentic texts are texts from the real world, e.g., listening to the BBC News is an example of authentic listening practice, rather than listening to a text designed especially for a language learner.
background noise Sound that is not what you want to listen to and may prevent you from listening effectively to something else, e.g., if you are listening to someone talking to you in the street, you may find it difficult because of the background noise from the traffic.
constraint Something that limits what you are doing or want to do, e.g., there may be constraints of time, age or language.
content word A word that carries meaning – usually a noun, verb, and sometimes an adjective or adverb, e.g., the content words are underlined in the following sentence: My family is large.
digress/digression To move away from/a movement away from the main point you are talking or writing about. Speakers sometimes digress when they are giving a lecture (often to tell a short story or personal anecdote) and then return to the central topic.
70 English for Academic Study
embedded word A word that appears to form part of a longer word, e.g., cap in captain. Embedded words may be confusing for learners because they may have no connection with the topic under discussion.
excerpt A short extract or part of a recording or written text.
function word A word that connects content words grammatically, but has little or no meaning by itself. Examples include articles, prepositions and conjunctions, e.g., the function words are underlined in the following sentence: My family is large.
illustrate To clarify using examples, comparisons or visual images.
issue A problem, topic or area for discussion or that needs to be worked on.
linear notes Notes that are arranged so that the ideas are set out one after the other. The writer starts at the top of the page and works down to the bottom.
macroskills Larger, more generalized skills that may consist of several different smaller skills (or sub-skills) that are used together. Listening is often referred to as a macroskill itself, but it also involves the macroskills of predicting and using background knowledge, recognizing how a lecture is structured, note-taking, etc.
microskills Skills that enable the learner to piece together small pieces of information to build a bigger picture and make sense of something. Listening microskills include hearing which words are stressed or not stressed, recognizing where words begin and end in a stream of speech, etc.
mind map A diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks or other items linked to and arranged radially around a central key word or idea.
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