Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Second Edition

reading laboratory A box of graded exercises, scientifically tested, to
develop reading skills, and printed on separate cards so that they can be
used for individual work.
realia Common, everyday objects, e.g. bus tickets, menu cards, fruit,
brought into the classroom to assist language work.
redundancy A feature of all languages whereby some information is
provided more than once. Thus in the sentence ‘She met her son
yesterday’ both she and her mark her sex, and both the past form of the
verb, met, and yesterday mark the event as being in the past.
register A widely used but imprecise term for variation in language
associated with the use to which it is being put. Sometimes called
‘functional dialect’, it reflects features like formality (q.v.), e.g.
addressing superiors, addressing friends; topic, e.g. legal v. religious
language; and mode, e.g. letter-writing v. telegram-composing.
reinforcement In EFL, provision of extra language use and learning
opportunities to enable items which have been presented and practised
to be fully internalised.
remedial work In language teaching, generally all work which is aimed at
putting right existing mistakes—hence most work after the earliest
stages is arguably remedial. Often, used outside language teaching only
for work for particularly backward learners.
restricted code In Bernstein’s early work, a mode of language use heavily
dependent on situation, marked by, e.g., much use of pronouns, and
used in situations where explicit linguistic indication of precise
meaning is unnecessary. Allegedly, all groups use it some of the time,
but working-class groups more, so that they have more difficulty
adjusting to the school environment, which demands extensive use of
elaborated code. This is language suitable for precise and wide-ranging

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expression of meanings and functions allegedly used by educated
speakers. Still frequently cited, this distinction is lacking in empirical
evidence, and would be accepted in simple form by no linguist.
rhetoric Traditionally the study of how to speak or write persuasively.
Relates to discourse studies (q.v.) in its concern with the functional
organisation of texts.
rhythm The pattern of sound length and stress in speech.
role play An activity, either for teaching or therapeutic purposes, in
which someone acts out a role in a more or less improvised fashion;
sometimes distinguished from simulation (q.v.) in that people may be
asked to act as a person with a different sex, age, or function from
their own.
RP Received pronunciation, ‘generally used by those who have been
educated at “preparatory” boarding schools and the “Public Schools”’
(Daniel Jones, 1918).
RSA Royal Society of Arts, 18 John Adam Street, London. The main
examining body for certifying teachers of EFL/ESL outside the formal,
full-time certification by the British Department of Education and
Science; also sets English Language examinations.
scale and category An earlier name for what is now usually called systemic
grammar. There were four fundamental categories (unit, structure,
class, system) and three scales (rank, exponence and delicacy).
scheme of work A plan for a sequence of lessons, within a syllabus. It may
be based on time units, e.g. a term, a year, or on some kind of
organisation through topics.
segment An isolable sound unit in the stream of speech. Segmentation, i.e.
the dividing up of material into minimal units, may also be used in
analysis of grammar or semantics. See componental analysis;