Utterance

A complete unit of speech in spoken language. An utterance can be shorter than a sentence, e.g. A: When’s he coming? B: Tomorrow. ‘Tomorrow’ is an utterance here.

V, W

Visual aid

A picture, a diagram or anything else the learners can look at which can help teachers illustrate form or meaning. See aids, realia.

 

Wait time

The time that teachers wait in order to give learners time to respond to questions rather than

expecting an immediate response. This is the time between the asking of a question and the solicitation of a response.

 

Warmer(n.), warm up(v.)

An activity that a teacher uses at the beginning of a lesson to give the class more energy. See energy levels.

 

Whole class

See open class.

 

Whole language

A teaching method that focuses on reading for meaning in context

 

Whole-word-method

A method for teaching children to read in the mother tongue, in which children are taught to recognize whole words rather than letter-names (as in the alphabetic method) or sounds (as in phonics). It usually leads to the use of the sentence method, where whole sentences are used.

 

Word bank

A list of key words required for learning subject concepts which can be used to pre-teach, to support input and to help learners remember key subject vocabulary.

 

Word map, mind map

A diagram which is used to make a visual record of vocabulary on the same topic, e.g. car bus transport train plane

 

Word snake

A reading or writing activity involving words written in the shape of a snake. Each new word begins with the first letter of the previous word, e.g. Dog giraffe elephant tiger.

Wordsearch

A grid in which each square has a letter of the alphabet. Words are hidden in the grid and learners have to find them.

 

Workbook

A book which contains extra practice activities for learners to work on in their own time. Usually the book is designed so that learners can write in it and often there is an answer key provided in the back of the book to give feedback to the learners. See book.