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TEFL/TESOL Certification Methodology and Approaches to ELT Flashcards
50 question-and-answer cards covering Methodology and Approaches to ELT as it is examined in TEFL/TESOL Certification. 24 of them are printed below, taken from across the deck — no signup, no paywall on the preview.
24 sample cards from the Methodology and Approaches to ELT deck
Sampled from the end of the deck, so these are different cards from the ones shown on the syllabus page.
What is the Input Hypothesis (i+1)?
Learners acquire language by understanding input slightly beyond their current level (i+1)—comprehensible input that is a little more advanced than what they already know.
What is the Affective Filter Hypothesis?
Emotional factors (anxiety, motivation, self-confidence) act as a filter; a high/strong filter blocks input, so a low-anxiety, supportive environment promotes acquisition.
In comprehension-based teaching, what is the 'silent period'?
An initial stage where learners receive input and develop comprehension without being forced to produce speech, allowing readiness to build before output.
What do the three stages of the PPP model stand for?
Presentation, Practice, Production.
What happens in each stage of PPP?
Presentation: teacher introduces the target language in context. Practice: controlled, accuracy-focused activities (e.g., drills, gap-fills). Production: freer, fluency-focused use of the language.
What is a common criticism of the PPP model?
It is teacher-centered, linear, and assumes language is learned in neat blocks; it may not reflect how acquisition actually happens and can limit genuine communication.
What are the three stages of the Test-Teach-Test (TTT) model?
Test (a task to diagnose what learners already know/can do), Teach (address gaps revealed), and Test again (a second task to check improvement).
What is the main advantage of TTT over PPP?
TTT diagnoses learners' existing knowledge first, so teaching targets actual gaps rather than assuming what learners need; it is more learner-responsive.
What is Guided Discovery in language teaching?
A technique where the teacher leads learners to work out language rules themselves through carefully designed examples and guiding questions, rather than being told the rule directly.
Contrast inductive and deductive approaches to teaching grammar.
Inductive: learners are given examples and discover the rule themselves (rule-from-examples). Deductive: the rule is stated first, then applied through examples/practice (rule-then-examples).
What does the ESA framework stand for, and who proposed it?
Engage, Study, Activate—proposed by Jeremy Harmer.
Describe the three elements of the ESA framework.
Engage: arouse learners' interest and emotional involvement. Study: focus on language and how it is constructed. Activate: learners use language freely and communicatively.
Name the three ESA lesson sequences/patterns Harmer describes.
Straight Arrow (E-S-A in order), Boomerang (E-A-S, activate then study based on needs), and Patchwork (elements in varied order, e.g., E-A-S-A-S-A).
What are the two main reading sub-skills of skimming and scanning?
Skimming: reading quickly to get the general idea/gist. Scanning: reading quickly to locate specific information/details.
Distinguish 'intensive' from 'extensive' reading.
Intensive reading: close, detailed study of short texts for specific language/comprehension. Extensive reading: reading longer texts widely for general understanding, fluency, and pleasure.
What are 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' processing in receptive skills?
Top-down: using background knowledge, context, and prediction to understand the whole. Bottom-up: building meaning from individual units (sounds, words, grammar) upward.
What is the typical staged procedure for teaching a receptive-skills (reading/listening) lesson?
Pre-stage (lead-in, schema activation, prediction), While-stage (gist task then detailed/specific-information task), and Post-stage (response, follow-up, productive task).
What is 'schema activation' and why is it used before reading or listening?
Activating learners' existing background knowledge about a topic to aid comprehension; it builds context and expectations so new input is easier to process.
What is 'prediction' as a sub-skill, and why is it valuable?
Anticipating the content of a text or listening based on titles, images, or context; it engages learners, activates schema, and supports top-down comprehension.
What is the difference between 'listening for gist' and 'listening for specific information'?
Listening for gist: understanding the overall main idea/general message. Listening for specific information: catching particular details such as names, numbers, or times.
What two broad categories of speaking activities support accuracy versus fluency?
Controlled/accuracy activities (e.g., drills, dialogues) build correct form; freer/fluency activities (e.g., role-plays, discussions, information gaps) build communicative ability.
What is the recommended teacher policy on error correction during a fluency speaking activity?
Avoid interrupting; let learners communicate, monitor and note errors, then give delayed correction/feedback after the activity to preserve fluency and confidence.
What is the 'process approach' to teaching writing, and what are its typical stages?
It treats writing as a recursive process focused on how a text is produced. Stages: brainstorming/pre-writing, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing/final version.
What is meant by 'integrating the four skills' in a lesson, and why is it done?
Combining listening, speaking, reading, and writing within one lesson so they reinforce each other, reflect authentic real-world language use, and create natural, meaningful communication.
What this deck covers
The Methodology and Approaches to ELT deck follows the TEFL/TESOL Certification Methodology and Approaches to ELT syllabus — 5 chapters and 18 topics — so questions land on material that is genuinely examinable rather than trivia around it. That works out to roughly 10.0 cards per chapter.
Answers are written to be recallable, not just readable — averaging about 157 characters, which is long enough to carry the reasoning and short enough to say out loud.
A deck like this earns its keep on the second and third pass. Read the syllabus first so you know the shape of the subject, then use the cards to find the specific facts that have not stuck.
Methodology and Approaches to ELT flashcards FAQ
How many Methodology and Approaches to ELT flashcards are in this TEFL/TESOL Certification deck?
50 cards. This page previews 24 of them, sampled evenly across the deck so you can judge the difficulty before installing anything.
Are these TEFL/TESOL Certification flashcards free?
Yes. The preview here is free to read with no signup, and the full 50-card deck is free inside the Examius app.
What do the Methodology and Approaches to ELT cards cover?
They follow the TEFL/TESOL Certification Methodology and Approaches to ELT syllabus — 5 chapters and 18 topics — so the questions track what is actually examinable.
How should I use these flashcards?
Read the syllabus first so you know the shape of the subject, then drill the deck. Examius schedules each card with spaced repetition, so cards you keep missing come back sooner and ones you know drift further apart.