This glossary is made to understand uknown terms of the reading: Giving feedback to language learners.
By: Maria Jose Montoya Rivera
Accompanied
Verb
Provide (something) as a complement or addition to something else.
Example: Comments and prompts lead to more learning gains than providing scores, and are more likely to contribute to learning when they are not accompanied by scores.
en: Acompañado
Accuracy
Noun
How correct learners' use of the language system is, including their use of grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary.
Example: The objective is usually to facilitate improvements in a learner’s accuracy.
en: Precisión
Acquisition
Noun
The learning or developing of a skill, habit, or quality.
Example: Corrective feedback can be harmful to language acquisition.
en: Adquisición
Broad
Adjective
Covering a large number and wide scope of subjects or areas.
Example: The relative importance that is given to these broad purposes.
en: Amplia
Complexity
Noun
A factor involved in a complicated process or situation.
Example: Improving the fluency, accuracy or complexity of learners’ speaking and writing.
en: Complejidad
Constructive
Adjective
Serving a useful purpose; tending to build up.
Example: A greater quantity of more constructive feedback may be offered.
en: Constructivo
Context
Noun
The circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood and assessed.
Example: More generally, it can be said that feedback is most effective when it is given in the context of a supportive, non-threatening learning environment.
en: Contexto
Dilute
Verb
Make (something) weaker in force, content, or value by modifying it or adding other elements to it.
Example: This runs the risk of diluting the power of feedback on task and approaches to task.
en: Diluir
Discourage
Verb
Cause (someone) to lose confidence or enthusiasm.
Example: It may encourage students to overprioritize grammatical accuracy, at the expense of other aspects of their writing, and it may be confusing and discouraging.
en: Desalentar
Elicit
Verb
Evoke or draw out (a response, answer, or fact) from someone in reaction to one's own actions or questions.
Example: The teacher repeats the beginning of the phrase which contained the error, but stops before the error in order to elicit the correction.
en: Elicitar
Encourage
Verb
Give support and advice to (someone) so that they will do or continue to do something.
Example: It may encourage students to overprioritize grammatical accuracy, at the expense of other aspects of their writing, and it may be confusing and discouraging.
en: Alentar
Engage
Verb
Occupy, attract, or involve (someone's interest or attention).
Example: Actively engages with the feedback.
en: Comprometerse
Enhance
Verb
Intensify, increase, or further improve the quality, value, or extent of.
Example: In normal school classroom contexts, rewards (in the form of stickers or badges, for example) correlate negatively with both task performance and enhanced motivation.
en: Mejorar
Feedback
Noun
Feedback is information that a learner receives about their language learning and most commonly refers to information about their language production (speaking and writing), although it can also concern reading and listening, study skills, attitudes, effort and so on.
Example: The most common form of feedback in language classes is probably error correction (corrective feedback).
en: Retroalimentación
Fluency
Noun
The ability to speak or write a foreign language easily and accurately.
Example: The focus at first, for both the learners and for the teacher in giving feedback, is on content and fluency.
en: Fluidez
Formative
Adjective
Formative assessment is a process of evaluating the students' knowledge as they learn.
Example: This paper is concerned particularly with formative feedback.
en: Formativo
Guidelines
Noun
A general rule, principle, or piece of advice.
Example: Beyond these general guidelines, advice to teachers is usually less clear-cut.
en: Directrices
Instinctively
Adverb
Without conscious thought; by natural instinct.
Example: Many teachers instinctively feel that it is best to tone down the force of critical comments by using vague language or avoiding personal pronouns and imperatives.
en: Instintivamente
Interpersonal
Adjective
A person's ability to interact with and understand other people and social situations.
Example: Teachers have to balance different linguistic and interpersonal objectives when deciding what kind of feedback to give.
en: Interpersonal
Iterations
Noun
The repetition of a process or utterance.
Example: With written work, many students, however much they value a teacher’s corrections, are often reluctant to engage in second or further iterations of their work.
en: Repeticiones
Likelihood
Noun
The state or fact of something's being likely; probability.
Example: This increases the likelihood of learners’ paying attention to qualitative comments and of promoting a focus on future learning.
en: Probabilidad
Nudge
Verb
Coax or gently encourage (someone) to do something.
Example: One key role of effective feedback is to nudge learners towards greater autonomy
en: Impulsar
Overwhelm
Verb
Something that is overpowering, great in amount or strength.
Example: In practice, especially with feedback on spoken language, teachers will need to operate some sort of selection policy, because, without it, the feedback would be overwhelming.
en: Abrumar
Praise
Noun
The expression of approval or admiration for someone or something.
Example: Praise is one way in which teachers attempt to build a supportive learning environment.
en: Alabar
Proficiency
Noun
A high degree of competence or skill; expertise.
Example: Likewise, authoritarian feedback, which is negative in content and manner and which discourages discussion, will do little to motivate learners; nor will it help them develop their language proficiency.
en: Capacidad
Prompt
Verb
Assist or encourage (a hesitating speaker) to say something.
Example: In feedback during or immediately after speaking activities, there is very little delay between the teacher’s prompt and the selfcorrection.
en: Incitar
Summative
Adjective
Summative assessments are used to evaluate student learning, skill acquisition, and academic achievement at the conclusion of a defined instructional period
Example: Feedback can be both summative (an evaluation, typically given by a score, of a student’s work or at the end of a period of study) .
en: Sumativo
Tackle
Verb
Make determined efforts to deal with (a problem or difficult task).
Example: Conversely, the third, if it suggests ways that a similar task can be more successfully tackled on a subsequent occasion, offers the greatest potential.
en: Atajar
Unambivalent
Adjective
Not ambivalent; definite; certain.
Example: There are, however, two areas where researchers are unambivalent.
en: Unambivalente
Whilst
Conjunction
During the time that; at the same time as.
Example: This allows a video-capture of a teacher’s screen as they go through and annotate a student’s work whilst recording comments at the same time.
en: mientras que
Withholding
Noun
Refusal to give something that is due or desired.
Example: The possibility of withholding or delaying the reporting of scores should be considered.
