Your FREE CTEL 1 Flashcards 2026 – 200+ Cards

The smallest unit of sound that can distinguish meaning between two words. Swapping /p/ for /b/ in 'pat' vs 'bat' changes meaning, so /p/ and /b/ are separate phonemes in English.

A predictable, context-dependent variant of a single phoneme that does not change meaning. The aspirated [pʰ] in 'pin' and unaspirated [p] in 'spin' are allophones of /p/.

Two words that differ in exactly one phoneme yet have distinct meanings (e.g., 'pat' / 'bat'), proving those sounds are separate phonemes in the language.

The smallest written symbol (a letter or letter combination) that represents a phoneme in a writing system. English spelling is not strictly one grapheme per phoneme.

The study of the physical production, transmission, and perception of speech sounds, independent of any particular language's sound system.

The study of how sounds pattern and contrast within a particular language — which sound differences signal meaning and which are predictable variants.

The branch of phonetics that describes how speech sounds are physically produced by the vocal organs — the lips, tongue, teeth, and vocal folds.

Whether the vocal folds vibrate during a sound. /b/, /d/, /z/ are voiced; /p/, /t/, /s/ are voiceless, though otherwise articulated similarly.

A standardized system that assigns one consistent symbol to each distinct speech sound across languages, allowing pronunciation to be transcribed unambiguously.

Features that span more than a single sound — stress, pitch, rhythm, and intonation — that carry meaning above the level of individual segments.

The rise and fall of pitch across an utterance, which can signal sentence type (statement vs question), emphasis, and speaker attitude.

The relative prominence given to a syllable through greater loudness, length, or pitch; English uses stress to distinguish words like 'REcord' (noun) from 'reCORD' (verb).

A phonological process in which a sound becomes more like a neighboring sound, as when /n/ in 'input' becomes [m] before the bilabial /p/.

The insertion of an extra sound into a word, such as a Spanish-speaking learner saying 'eschool' for 'school' to fit the L1 syllable structure.

A phonological process that removes a sound from a word, such as dropping the /t/ in 'softly' in rapid speech.

A phonological process that reorders sounds within a word, as in pronouncing 'ask' as 'aks.'

The specific ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual phonemes in spoken words; a strong predictor of early reading success.

A systematic, rule-governed change a sound undergoes in a given environment, such as assimilation, deletion, epenthesis, or metathesis.

The smallest unit of language that carries meaning. 'Cats' contains two morphemes: the root 'cat' and the plural '-s.'

A morpheme that can stand alone as a word, such as 'book,' 'run,' or 'happy.'

A morpheme that cannot stand alone and must attach to another morpheme, such as the prefix 'un-' or the suffix '-ed.'

A bound morpheme that marks a grammatical feature (plural '-s,' past '-ed,' possessive '-'s') without changing the word's part of speech or core meaning.

A bound morpheme that creates a new word or changes part of speech, such as '-ly' turning the adjective 'quick' into the adverb 'quickly.'

The core morpheme of a word that carries its central meaning and to which affixes attach, such as 'happy' in 'unhappiness.'

A root that carries core meaning but cannot stand alone, such as '-ceive' in 'receive,' 'conceive,' and 'deceive.'

A bound morpheme attached to the beginning of a root, such as 'un-' in 'unkind' or 'pre-' in 'preview.'

A bound morpheme attached to the end of a root, such as '-ness' in 'kindness' or '-ed' in 'walked.'

Word formation that joins two or more whole words into one, such as 'blackboard,' 'sunlight,' or 'toothbrush.'

Word formation that fuses parts of two words into one, such as 'brunch' from 'breakfast' + 'lunch' or 'smog' from 'smoke' + 'fog.'

Word formation that shifts a word to a new part of speech without adding any affix, as when the noun 'email' becomes the verb 'to email.'

Applying a regular morphological rule to an irregular form, producing errors like 'foots' for 'feet' or 'runned' for 'ran' — a normal sign of rule learning.

The study of word structure — how morphemes combine to form words and how words inflect for grammatical features.

A word in two languages sharing a common origin and similar form and meaning, such as English 'family' and Spanish 'familia,' useful for vocabulary transfer.

The study of the rules that govern how words combine into phrases and sentences in a language.

The hierarchical way words group into phrases (noun phrase, verb phrase, prepositional phrase) that function as units within a sentence.

A group of words built around a head noun that functions as a unit, such as 'the tall student' serving as a sentence subject.

A group of words built around a main verb, including the verb and its objects or complements, such as 'read the book.'

A phrase beginning with a preposition and its object, such as 'in the morning' or 'on the table,' often functioning adverbially or adjectivally.

A word or group of words that functions as a single syntactic unit and can be moved, replaced, or coordinated as a whole.

The canonical basic word order of English, as in 'The girl (S) kicked (V) the ball (O).'

The syntactic property of embedding structures within structures of the same type indefinitely, as in 'I know that she said that he left.'

In transformational grammar, the underlying abstract syntactic representation of a sentence before transformations apply.

In transformational grammar, the final form of a sentence as it is actually spoken or written, derived from deep structure by transformations.

A syntactic rule that converts an underlying (deep) structure into a surface structure, such as forming a question or a passive from a declarative.

A clause with a subject and verb that cannot stand alone because it is introduced by a subordinator, as in 'Because it was raining.'

A clause that contains a subject and verb and can stand alone as a complete sentence.

Ambiguity that arises because a sentence has two possible grammatical structures, as in 'Visiting relatives can be boring.'

The conventional sequence of subjects, verbs, and objects in a language; languages differ (English SVO, Japanese SOV), a frequent source of L1 transfer.

The grammatical matching of features such as number or person between words, as in subject-verb agreement: 'she walks' vs 'they walk.'

The study of meaning in language — how words, phrases, and sentences convey meaning, independent of context of use.

A word's direct, literal dictionary meaning, as opposed to its emotional or cultural associations.

The emotional or cultural associations a word carries beyond its literal meaning; 'thrifty' is positive while 'stingy' is negative though both relate to saving.

The semantic relation in which different words have the same or very similar meaning, such as 'big' and 'large.'

The semantic relation of opposite meaning between words, such as 'hot' and 'cold' or 'big' and 'small.'

Opposites that lie on a scale and allow comparison and intermediate degrees, such as 'big' / 'small' (something can be 'bigger' or 'fairly big').

The semantic relation in which a specific term (hyponym, e.g., 'rose') falls under a broader category term (hypernym, e.g., 'flower').

A superordinate term whose meaning includes that of more specific terms, such as 'flower' relative to 'rose' and 'tulip.'

A single word form with multiple related meanings, such as 'head' (of a body, of an organization, of a bed).

A single word form with multiple unrelated meanings, such as 'bank' (financial institution) and 'bank' (side of a river).

Words that sound the same but differ in meaning and often spelling, such as 'their,' 'there,' and 'they're.'

Words that are spelled the same but differ in meaning and sometimes pronunciation, such as 'lead' (to guide) and 'lead' (the metal).

The role a participant plays in the event a verb describes, such as agent, patient, instrument, or goal.

The semantic role of the participant that intentionally performs an action, such as 'the chef' in 'The chef cooked the meal.'

The semantic role of the participant that undergoes or is affected by the action, such as 'the meal' in 'The chef cooked the meal.'

Ambiguity caused by a single word having more than one meaning, such as 'bank' or 'bat,' resolvable through context.

A set of words grouped by a shared area of meaning, such as colors, kinship terms, or cooking verbs.

A fixed multi-word expression whose meaning cannot be predicted from its individual words, such as 'kick the bucket' meaning 'to die.'

Figurative language that describes one thing in terms of another to suggest a likeness, such as 'time is money.'

The study of how context, speaker intention, and social factors shape the meaning and use of language beyond literal sentence meaning.

An utterance used to perform an action — requesting, promising, apologizing — as when 'Can you pass the salt?' functions as a request, not a question.

An utterance whose form matches its function, such as using an imperative ('Pass the salt') to make a request.

An utterance whose form differs from its function, such as using a question ('Can you pass the salt?') to make a request.

Meaning a listener infers from context and the cooperative principle beyond the literal words, as inferring 'no' from 'I have to work.'

Grice's principle that speakers and listeners cooperate by following maxims of quantity, quality, relation, and manner to communicate efficiently.

Grice's maxim that speakers should give as much information as required for the exchange, but no more.

Grice's maxim that speakers should be truthful — not say what they believe false or lack evidence for.

Grice's maxim that contributions to a conversation should be relevant to the topic at hand.

Grice's maxim that speakers should be clear, brief, and orderly, avoiding obscurity and ambiguity.

Expressions like 'here,' 'now,' 'this,' and 'you' whose reference depends entirely on the context of the utterance (who is speaking, where, and when).

The ability to use language appropriately in social context, including politeness, turn-taking, register, and making requests.

Background information a speaker assumes to be true for an utterance to make sense, as 'My brother is here' presupposes the speaker has a brother.

The variety of language a speaker selects according to the social situation and degree of formality, such as formal academic wording versus casual speech.

Language above the level of the single sentence — connected spoken or written text such as a conversation, narrative, or essay.

The study of how sentences and utterances connect into coherent, organized stretches of spoken or written language.

The grammatical and lexical links that tie a text together, such as pronoun reference, conjunctions, and repetition of key words.

A cohesive tie in which a word such as a pronoun points back to an earlier noun, as 'she' and 'them' refer to 'Maria' and 'her keys.'

The underlying logical and meaningful connectedness of a text that makes it sensible to a reader, beyond surface cohesive ties.

Cohesion created by connectives such as 'however,' 'therefore,' and 'in addition' that signal logical relationships between ideas across a text.

A word or phrase such as 'well,' 'so,' 'anyway,' or 'you know' that organizes talk and signals how upcoming text relates to what came before.

The organized system by which speakers in a conversation alternate, knowing when to start, yield, and hold the floor.

The study of how language varies and changes in relation to social factors such as region, class, ethnicity, gender, and context.

A regional or social variety of a language with its own systematic vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation; all dialects are rule-governed.

The unique, individual way a single person uses language, including personal word choices and speech habits.

A language variety associated with a particular social class or group rather than a geographic region.

The prestige dialect codified for formal, academic, and public use (e.g., Standard English); one dialect among many, not linguistically 'better.'

Alternating between two languages or varieties within a conversation or even a single sentence, typically reflecting bilingual skill, not deficiency.

The principle that all languages vary systematically across speakers and contexts, and that every dialect is rule-governed and equally valid linguistically.

A simplified contact language that develops so speakers of different native languages can communicate; it has no native speakers.

A stable, fully developed language that arises when a pidgin becomes the native language of a community and expands in vocabulary and grammar.

A systematic, rule-governed dialect of English; teachers should validate it while adding the standard academic variety (an additive approach).

Distinguishes acquisition (a subconscious process of picking up language through meaningful communication) from learning (conscious study of rules).

The subconscious, natural process of internalizing language through meaningful interaction, similar to how children gain their first language.

The conscious process of studying and knowing grammar rules; for Krashen it produces a 'monitor' but not spontaneous fluency.

Holds that acquisition occurs when learners understand input slightly beyond their current level ('i + 1'), made comprehensible through context and support.

Language a learner can understand though it is slightly beyond their current level, made clear through visuals, gestures, realia, and context.

Says the learned system acts as an 'editor' (the monitor) that checks and corrects output when the learner has time, focus, and knowledge of the rule.

Claims grammatical structures are acquired in a predictable sequence that does not match the order in which they are taught.

Proposes that high anxiety, low motivation, or low self-confidence raise a mental filter that blocks comprehensible input from being acquired.

A metaphorical mental barrier raised by negative emotions (anxiety, low motivation) that impedes the intake of comprehensible input; lowering it aids acquisition.

Swain's idea that producing language (speaking and writing) pushes learners to notice gaps and refine their developing system, complementing input.

Argues that producing language, not just receiving input, is necessary for acquisition because it forces learners to process language for production.

Basic interpersonal communicative skills — the context-embedded, conversational language ELs typically develop within about one to three years.

Cognitive academic language proficiency — the decontextualized, cognitively demanding academic language that typically takes about five to seven years to develop.

The expected difference between an EL's developed conversational fluency and still-developing academic language; not a deficit or learning disability.

Cummins's view that languages share an underlying cognitive proficiency, so skills and concepts learned in the L1 transfer to the L2.

A matrix crossing cognitive demand (undemanding to demanding) with contextual support (context-embedded to context-reduced) to plan instruction.

A task supported by abundant contextual cues — gestures, visuals, shared situation — making language easier to understand, ideal for early ELs.

A task with few contextual cues that relies on language alone, such as reading a textbook; cognitively demanding and typical of academic work.

Proposes that learners must reach a threshold of proficiency in their languages to gain the cognitive benefits of bilingualism and avoid disadvantages.

A context in which a second language is added while the first language and culture are maintained and valued, associated with cognitive benefits.

A context in which the second language replaces the first, leading to L1 loss and often weaker outcomes than additive bilingualism.

Selinker's term for the learner's evolving, systematic language system that has features of both the L1 and L2 and its own internal rules.

The permanent stabilization of non-target-like forms in a learner's interlanguage even with continued exposure and instruction.

The influence of the L1 on the L2; positive transfer aids learning when structures align, while negative transfer (interference) causes errors.

When an L1 feature that matches the L2 helps acquisition, such as cognate vocabulary easing word learning between Spanish and English.

When an L1 feature that differs from the L2 produces errors, such as applying Spanish syllable rules to say 'eschool' for 'school.'

An approach that compares L1 and L2 structures to predict where differences will cause learning difficulty; useful but an incomplete predictor of errors.

The systematic study of learners' errors to reveal their developing interlanguage rules, distinguishing developmental errors from transfer errors.

An error reflecting the natural sequence of acquiring the L2 (e.g., overgeneralizing '-ed'), made regardless of a learner's first language.

One of Selinker's interlanguage processes, in which features of how a learner was taught show up as non-target-like patterns in their output.

Chomsky's theory that humans are born with innate, universal principles underlying all languages that guide first-language acquisition.

Chomsky's hypothesized innate mental mechanism that enables children to acquire language rapidly from limited and imperfect input.

The view that language ability is largely innate; children are biologically predisposed to acquire language, as argued by Chomsky.

Chomsky's argument that the language input children receive is too limited and imperfect to explain how fully they acquire grammar, implying innate knowledge.

The idea that there is an optimal window in early life for acquiring language natively, after which full native-like attainment becomes harder.

The view (associated with Skinner) that language is learned through imitation, habit formation, and reinforcement of correct responses.

Behaviorist mechanisms of language learning: children copy adult speech and are reinforced for correct forms; critiqued for not explaining novel utterances.

The view that language develops through the interplay of innate ability and meaningful social interaction with more competent speakers.

A perspective (linked to Vygotsky) emphasizing that language develops through socially supported, meaningful interaction rather than innate structure alone.

A theory that language is learned as the brain detects statistical patterns and strengthens associations through repeated exposure, without innate rules.

Vygotsky's gap between what a learner can do alone and what they can do with guidance from a more capable peer or teacher.

Temporary, adjustable support (modeling, visuals, sentence frames, questioning) that helps a learner perform within the ZPD and is gradually removed.

The view that learning is socially mediated; higher mental functions, including language, develop first through interaction, then become internalized.

In sociocultural theory, the use of cultural tools — especially language — and interaction with others to support and shape cognitive development.

In Vygotsky's framework, a teacher, peer, or adult with greater skill who guides a learner through the zone of proximal development.

The widely cited sequence: preproduction, early production, speech emergence, intermediate fluency, and advanced fluency.

An early stage in which learners absorb language and respond nonverbally before producing much speech; developmentally normal, not a deficit.

An SLA stage in which learners produce one- or two-word responses and short memorized phrases while still relying heavily on context.

An SLA stage in which learners produce simple sentences and longer phrases, with growing vocabulary but still frequent errors.

An SLA stage in which learners produce more complex sentences, express opinions, and use language for academic tasks with fewer errors.

An SLA stage approaching native-like proficiency across social and academic contexts, often requiring several years to reach.

The process by which children naturally acquire their native language through exposure and interaction, typically completing core grammar by about age five.

The process of learning an additional language after the first; influenced by age, L1, motivation, input, and affective and social factors.

An early L1 stage in which children produce short utterances using mainly content words ('want cookie'), omitting function words and inflections.

An early L1 stage in which infants produce repeated consonant-vowel sounds ('bababa'), practicing the sounds of their language environment.

An early L1 stage in which a child uses single words to convey whole ideas, such as 'milk' to mean 'I want milk.'

Influences such as memory, attention, prior knowledge, and metalinguistic awareness that shape how efficiently a learner acquires a language.

Influences from the learner's L1 and the target language, including how similar or different their sound systems, grammar, and writing systems are.

Influences such as hearing, vision, articulation ability, and overall health that can affect a learner's language development.

Emotional influences on language learning — motivation, attitude, anxiety, and self-confidence — that can raise or lower the affective filter.

A key affective factor: integrative motivation is the desire to join a language community; instrumental motivation is learning for practical goals like a job.

Tension and apprehension specific to using a second language, which can raise the affective filter and impede both performance and acquisition.

A learner's belief in their ability to succeed in the target language; higher self-confidence lowers the affective filter and supports risk-taking.

A factor in SLA: younger learners tend to reach more native-like pronunciation, while older learners often learn faster initially in some domains.

Influences such as a learner's cultural background, community attitudes, family support, and the status of their L1 that shape language development.

Influences such as language policies, official-language laws, and program funding that affect ELs' access to and support for language development.

The process of adapting to a new culture; Schumann argued that greater social and psychological distance from the target culture slows SLA.

Proposes that L2 acquisition success depends on the social and psychological distance between the learner and the target-language community.

An individual's preferred way of taking in and processing information (e.g., visual, auditory, kinesthetic), which teachers can accommodate to support ELs.

An individual's natural capacity for learning languages, including phonemic coding, grammatical sensitivity, and rote memory ability.

A learner's education and literacy in their first language; strong L1 literacy transfers and accelerates L2 academic development (CUP).

The accumulated knowledge, skills, and cultural resources a student brings from home and community, which teachers can draw on to support learning.

Norton's idea that learners invest in a language when they see it building a desired identity and social membership, shaping their engagement and success.

Acquiring two languages from birth or very early childhood, developing both as first languages rather than learning one after the other.

Acquiring a second language after the first is already established, the typical situation for school-age English learners.

The ability to think about and reflect on language as an object — its sounds, structures, and rules — which bilingual learners often develop strongly.

The practice of bilinguals fluidly drawing on their full linguistic repertoire across languages to make meaning, increasingly valued as a classroom resource.

Receptive skills (listening, reading) involve understanding language; productive skills (speaking, writing) involve generating it, often developing later.

A student who has been in U.S. schools for many years yet has not reached English proficiency, often due to inconsistent or interrupted support.

A learner with a personal or family connection to a language other than English, often with strong listening/speaking but limited literacy in it.

A recently arrived English learner in the early stages of acquiring English, who benefits from a supportive, low-anxiety, comprehensible-input environment.

Input is the language a learner is exposed to; intake is the portion the learner actually processes and internalizes, which input alone does not guarantee.

Interactional work — clarification requests, confirmation checks, rephrasing — through which speakers adjust language to make input comprehensible.

The simplified, exaggerated, repetitive speech adults use with young children, thought to support first-language acquisition.

The simplified speech native speakers often use with non-native speakers, which can make input more comprehensible when not oversimplified.

Teaching that draws learners' attention to specific language forms (grammar, vocabulary) within meaningful communication to support accuracy.

Hymes's concept of the knowledge needed to use language appropriately, encompassing grammatical, sociolinguistic, discourse, and strategic competence.

The ability to use communication strategies — paraphrasing, gestures, asking for help — to overcome gaps and keep communication going.

The ability to use language appropriately across social situations, registers, and cultural norms, part of communicative competence.

A learner's readiness to enter into communication in the L2 when free to do so, influenced by confidence, anxiety, and the situation.

The principle, seen in both L1 and L2 development, that learners understand language before they can produce it, justifying a silent period.

The ability to understand a language well (listening, reading) while having limited ability to produce it (speaking, writing).

The contrast between Chomsky's view that language is largely innate and Skinner's view that it is learned through imitation and reinforcement.

Fluency is producing language smoothly and meaningfully; accuracy is producing it correctly. Effective instruction balances both rather than over-correcting.

Long's Interaction Hypothesis extends Krashen by arguing that conversational interaction and negotiation make input comprehensible and drive acquisition.

Because high anxiety and low motivation raise the affective filter, building motivation and a safe climate directly increases the input that gets acquired.

Acquisition-Learning, Natural Order, Monitor, Input (i + 1), and Affective Filter — together Krashen's Monitor Model of second-language acquisition.

Developmental errors reflect the natural acquisition sequence regardless of L1; interference errors stem from negative transfer of the learner's first language.

Cummins's core distinction: conversational BICS develops in 1–3 years, while academic CALP needed for school success takes about 5–7 years.

Using a learner's first language strategically — for clarification, concept development, and transfer — to advance both content learning and L2 development.