EATP 1 DOD Entries Fall 2007
English for Academic Teaching Purposes
Entry #1
Week of October 9
Compiled by Jennifer
| Word (Part of Speech) or phrase or idiom | Definition | Special Notes or Context |
|---|---|---|
| syllabus (n.) | the plan for a course, generally including basic information about learning outcomes, assessment, and assignments. | plural form = syllabi |
| litmus test (noun phrase) | a test to see whether or not something will function or is possible | "The lecturette is a good litmust test of your ability to teach to a non-specialist audience." |
| converge (v.) | coming together or being the same | Our ideas about the course goals converged in one beautifully written learning outcome. |
| diverge (v.) | to go apart or to be different | the opposite of converge (above) |
| jitters (n.) | nerves | I hope you don't have the jitters about taking an English test! |
| learning outcome (n.) | A statement which sets the course goal in a way that states the minimum threshold of learning for students taking the course. | |
| taxonomy (n.) | a list or classification of items | Bloom's taxonomy tells us about different kinds of learning |
| Lexis (n.) | vocabulary, a set of words for a language | |
| Lecturette (n.) | A mini-lecture | -ette is sometimes used as a diminutive suffix in English |
| Clip (n.) | A small section of a video or audio piece | We will use audio and video clips to enhance our learning opportunities in this class |
Entry #2
Week of October 16
Compiled by Marko and Ester
| Word (Part of Speech) or phrase or idiom | Definition | Special Notes or Context |
|---|---|---|
| to turn a corner | To change the subject. | Literal meaning is to change the direction of movement. „Does anybody have any questions or can we turn a corner now¬?“ |
| ground rules | Spoken or unspoken basic rules, that frame the activities. | May I ask you to comment the ground rules of the meetings in this company? |
| to hook in | To get enthusiastically involved in something.. | The audience was hooked in the lecturers charismatic presentation-style. |
| tolerance for ambiguity | The ability to accept the situations when meeting with the ideas different from ones own ideas. | (Also the ability to accept situations or outcomes which are not clear |
| bias | Preconceived notion, prejudice | Are you aware, how the possibility to understand the other person is largely influenced by the biases we have towards each-other. |
| conversational terrorism | CT is either conscious or unconscious tactics of “not listening what the other is speaking about” used in discussions, mostly in the form of insults but sometimes being unattentive and careless can likewise been seen as forms of CT The term was used when we discussed active speaking and listening skills. | There are various forms of conversational terrorism today, some people are just not able to listen to the other’s thoughts or shuts others up via using insults. |
| upbringing | Gr. Kinderstube, a way of bringing up a child | The term was used in my own discussion with a partner when we talked about certain acts of conversational terrorism. good upbringing – someone who has good manners, is well educated for life by her/his parents; sheltered upbringing – someone who has been taken ultimate care, kept away from all everyday troubles and worries |
| nit-picking | unjustified criticism in a discussion when somebody pays attention to unnecessary details | This is one form of conversational terrorism we discussed. There is no need to practice nit-picking at the thesis defense in the university, instead a referee should give a student a chance to defend his/her main ideas. |
| cheap shots | when somebody makes insult of an easy target (usually in a conversation), unfair attack | This is another form of conversational terrorism we discussed. Some lecturers make cheap shots at the first year students. |
| magnet schools | elite schools, schools with a certain speciality or for special students (e.g gifted students), usually pretest exams are used to get to these schools (used mainly in US context) | The term was used in a presentation that introduced educational system in US; Board members said the sibling preferences weren't in keeping with the magnet schools' focus on attracting students with particular interest or aptitude for the specialized programs. |
| liberal arts college | Encyclopædia Britannica: "LAC is a college or university curriculum aimed at imparting general knowledge and developing general intellectual capacities, in contrast to a professional, vocational, or technical curriculum." | The term was used in a presentation that introduced educational system in US.; Yet, it seems that the University of Tartu can also be regarded as a liberal arts college, although some of its sub-colleges give vocational education, as well. |
| savvy | sophisticated, knowledgeable (thinking) | The term was used while talking about educational context. Writing a good research paper requires a savvy mind. |
| tolerance for ambiguity | an ability to accept people who are different from us | The expression was used when we listed various premises that encourage a good discussion. For becoming a good listener one needs to develop one’s tolerance for ambiguity. |
| agility (adj. agile) | (one possible meaning): intellectual capacity of being flexible and adaptable | The term “intellectual agility” was used in the list of discussion benefits. Various aspects of mental agility can be improved by exercising puzzles. |
| facilitate, facilitator | to help something happen, to direct delicately a process that is happening | The term was used in the exercise about discussions in academic community where one had to fill the gaps with the right words. Facilitator monitors the timing of a discussion. |
Entry #4
Week of October 30
Compiled by Mari and Ave
| Word (Part of Speech) or phrase or idiom | Definition | Special Notes or Context |
|---|---|---|
| Sophisticated | (Too) complicated, not very easy to understand. Savvy, knowledgeable. | Look DOD Entry #2! Word sophisticated is used there to explain the word savvy, but I haven’t acquired (learned) it jet. This is now the second try – hopefully it comes through now. |
| Assume (v) | To take something for granted or true | |
| By and large (ad) | On the whole, generally | |
| Reluctantly | You are acting with hesitation, not enthusiastic way. You are not very eager to do something. | |
| Fair (adj) | Honest, correct, clean | Compare: fair play |
| Convince (v) | Persuade of/that | |
| Confer with (v) | Ask for advice, discuss together with… | |
| Navigate | Guide through…; move. | Originally: navigate a ship/plane |
| Gist (n) | Main point, essence, main feature | |
| Fraud (n) | Something is legally or factually wrong, something is not true, but a person wants you to think (believe) that it’s true. | |
| Alleged (adj) | Something is asserted to be true or to exist; something is questionably true. Somebody is accused but not proven | Questions: Could the words fraud and alleged be used as synonyms? Teacher's note: No, I don't think so. Fraud is something that is wrong and has been proven, usually. Fraud may be alleged, if we don't know whether or not it was actually committed. If something is alleged, it is assumed or supposed to be true, but we don't know if it actually is or not. "She said that her colleague had committed an alleged fraud in the company." Could alleged and assumed be used as synonyms? Yes, I think this is more accurate. |
| Obnoxious (adj) | Unpleasant, disgusting. | We felt obnoxious after interrupting each other in rude and impolite way. |
| Intimidate (v) | To frighten people, to make smb feel unsure/unsecure. | You intimidate others through threats, insults, or aggressive behavior. The word was used after we practiced interrupting in a really aggressive way and we all were totally intimidated. |
| Remote (ad) | in distance, far in space or time | Heli and Rodolphe used it in their presentation when talking about e-voting. |
| Butt in (v) | Interrupt | |
| Alienation | To become a stranger to smb/sth; not feeling familiar to smb/sth any more |
Entry #5
Week of November 6
Compiled by Clotilde
| Word (Part of Speech) or phrase or idiom | Definition | Special Notes or Context |
|---|---|---|
| to hold | to organize | elections must be held |
| fair | right, honest | fair elections |
| to threaten | to have bad projects for somebody or something, to promise an attack for instance | She threatened moves against the president |
| restraint | control of ourself, of the emotions | |
| to broker | to arrange or negotiate | to broker a political alliance |
| to tackle | to attack and immobilize like in rugby; to fight | A strong government will be able to tackle extremism |
| to forge a compromise | to reach an agreement | |
| remote | having little possibility | however remote the chances may seem |
Vocabulary came from a piece from BBC Learning English: J. McGivering What options for Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan?
Compiled by Rodolphe
| Word (Part of Speech) or phrase or idiom | Definition | Special Notes or Context |
|---|---|---|
| piece of evidence (n) | an indication that makes something evident or an information that gives reason for believing something. | Organizing the discussion |
| annoyance (n); to annoy | a thing that annoys; to disturb or bother a person in a way that troubles or slightly irritates. | Way to interrupt somebody |
| brain drain (n) | the loss of experts (of intellectual and technical personnel) to another country that offers greater opportunity. | Brain drain of foreign born scientist to the United States. |
| graduate student (n) | a student who holds the bachelor's degree and is studying for an advanced degree. | |
| enhancement (n); to enhance (v) | an improvement that makes something more agreeable. to raise to a higher degree. | Rituals of enhancement |
| to waver (v) | to feel or show doubt or indecision. | Eye contact wavered between notes and the side wall while talking. |
| to take (v) the floor | To rise to deliver a formal speech, as to an assembly. | The floor is the right of one member to speak from such a place in preference to other members. |
| cross (adj.) | angry | When he says “I was a bit disappointed that …”, he means “I am most upset and cross”. Expression: Don't be cross with me! |
| to cast | to throw or send; to deposit or give (a ballot or vote). | Estonian voters cast ballots via the Internet. |
| booth | a small, temporary structure used by voters at elections. | E-voters use a virtual polling booth. |
Entry #6
Week of November 13
Compiled by Heli
| Word (Part of Speech) or phrase or idiom | Definition | Special Notes or Context |
|---|---|---|
| Overachiever (n) | someone who works very hard to be successful and is very unhappy if they do not achieve everything they want do | Teachers note: A person who overachieves is someone who does more than what is required. They achieve more than expected or "over" do their work. I don't know if they are necessarily unhappy if they do not do this, but it may be condition that is a common side-effect for overachievers. |
| Remedy (v) (n) | to deal with a problem or improve a bad situation; a way of dealing with a problem or making a bad situation better | To remedy the situation: the water must be chemically treated. The problems in our schools do not have a simple remedy. |
| Recruit (v) | to find new people to work in a company, join an organization, do a job etc | Many government officials were recruited from private industry. |
| Plausible (adj) | apparently true or likely; reasonable and likely to be true or successful | A plausible explanation. His story certainly sounds plausible. |
| Boost (n) (v) | Push upward or ahead, increase; Lift by or as if by pushing up behind or from below, Increase; raise, Promote vigorously, aid | The new resort area has boosted tourism. |
| Hitherto (adv) | Until this time | Quite formal vocabulary item |
| Adroit (adj) | Skillful; dexterous | These and a host of other questions will need some adroit answers from the politicians and business people. |
| Redress (n) (v) | Compensation, indemnification. Satisfaction for wrong or injury; reparation, Correction or reformation; Set right; remedy or rectify make amends to or for | Little could be done to redress the situation. The only hope of redress is in a lawsuit. |
| Surveillance (n) | Monitoring, supervisory. When the police, army, etc watch a person or place carefully because they may be connected with criminal activities; when doctors, health departments etc watch an ill person … | Surveillance authorities in each EU country are responsible for making sure that products meet the safety requirements |
| Bargain (n) | Something you buy cheaply or for less than its usual price. Agreement between parties fixing obligations that each promises to carry out. Agreement establishing the terms of a sale or exchange of goods or services, Property acquired or services rendered as a result of such an agreement, something offered or acquired at a price advantageous to the buyer. Negotiate the terms of a sale, exchange, or other agreement, Arrive at an agreement, Exchange; trade | Management and unions have struck a bargain over wage increases. |
Entry #7
Week of November 20
Compiled by Mihhail
| Word (Part of Speech) or phrase or idiom | Definition | Special Notes or Context |
|---|---|---|
| adversity (n.) | a state, condition, or instance of serious or continued difficulty | In spite of detailed planning of investments many companies faced adversities after the beginning of war. |
| to give credit (v.) | to refer to something, to give a reference | Both paraphrase and summary always give credit to original source. |
| to google (v.) | to look up for word or definition in internet using the powerful search service Google | If you want to know what ‘zoetrope’ means, just google this word. |
| prosperity (n.) | the condition of being successful; economic well-being | This is not always true that being smart leads to prosperity. |
| rendition (n.) | interpretation | Your own rendition of essential information may slightly differ from original source. |
| stretches of time (n.) | amount of time |
Entry #8
Week of November 27
Compiled by Tamara and Riina
| Word (Part of Speech) or phrase or idiom | Proverb | Special Notes or Context |
|---|---|---|
| Action | Actions speak louder than words | Great cry little wool |
| Age | An old dog will learn no new tricks | |
| Ambition | Pride goes before a fall | |
| Amusement | All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy | |
| Ancestry | What is bred in the bone will come out in the flesh | You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow`s ear |
| Anger | Anger blows out the lamp of the mind | |
| Appearance | Appearances are deceptive | All is not gold that glitters |
| Business | Don`t put all your eggs in one basket | |
| Change | Never swap horses crossing a stream | |
| Conscience | A guilty conscience is a self-accuser | |
| Contentment | A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush | |
| Experience | Don´t teach your grandmother to suck eggs | |
| Duct tape | Kind of broad (usually grey) tape suitable to fix not only broken pipes but great variety of domestic items | People use duct tape to fix everything at home |
| Gem | Jewel in ring or necklace; something good or precious; good like a diamond | She is a real gem. |
| To babble | To chat, to prate. to shoot the breeze, to shoot the bull, tittle-tattle | The word was used in citation of Jaan Kross about Estonians who do not care about what world is babbling about…. |
| Self-absorption | related to being absorbed with yourself, or a kind of egotistism in which someone is singularly focused on everything about himself/herself and not others; narcissism | |
| Guinea pig | Meaning used as an idiom: Somebody who goes first, someone who tries something new and not known for the first time while others watching and waiting for outcome (to run if dangerous, to imitate if safe | The expression was used by teacher: Gabriel is a guinea pig as he is the first in the class who is going to give his lecturette. |
| Hooligan | Scoundrel, villain | 1890s, of unknown origin, first found in British newspaper police-court reports in the summer of 1898, almost certainly from the surname Houlihan, supposedly from a lively family of that name in London (who figured in music hall songs of the decade). Internationalized 20c. in communist rhetoric as Rus. khuligan, opprobrium for "scofflaws, political dissenters, etc." |
page revision: 21, last edited: 04 Dec 2007 09:10
