| informant | someone who gives information to another person or organization | | a police/secret informant |
| utterance | something that someone says | | Politicians are judged by their public utterances. |
| translation | something that is translated, or the process of translating something, from one language to another | translate v. 翻译 | Students will do one Spanish translation a week. |
| comment | something that you say or write that expresses your opinion | comment v. 表达意见 | He made negative comments to the press. |
| correctness | the quality of being in agreement with the true facts or with what is generally accepted | correct adj. 正确的 | He quickly proved the correctness of his findings. |
| judgment | the ability to form valuable opinions and make good decisions | | show good/sound/poor judgment |
| usage | the way that words are used in a language | | a guide to common English usage |
| conversation | an informal talk in which people exchange feelings and thoughts | | hold/carry on a conversation |
| formality | attention to polite behaviour and language in formal situations | formal adj. 正规的；正式的 | She found the formality of the occasion rather daunting. |
| relevant | connected with what is happening or being discussed | | Education should be relevant to the child's needs. |
| fluency | the ability to speak or write a language easily, well, and quickly | fluent adj. 流利的 | improve/lack fluency |
| consistency | the quality of always behaving or performing in a similar way, or of always happening in a similar way | consistent v. 一贯的；始终如一的 | It's important to show some consistency in your work. |
| scientific | relating to science, or using the organized methods of science | | a scientific discovery/experiment/theory |
| substantial | large in size, value, or importance | | She inherited a substantial fortune from her grandmother. |
| lexical | relating to words | | the commonest lexical items in English |
| technical | "relating to the knowledge, machines, or methods used in science and industry" | | a few technical problems |
| prescriptivism | "the belief that there are correct and wrong ways to use language and that books about language should give rules to follow" | descriptivism n. 描述主义 | the sharp distinction between descriptivism and prescriptivism |
| grammar | the rules about how words change their form and combine with other words to make sentences | | Schools here put great emphasis on grammar. |
| pronunciation | how words are pronounced | pronounce v. 发（音）；读（音） | There are two different pronunciations of this word. |
| infant | a baby or a very young child | | a newborn infant |
| adult | a person or animal that has grown to full size and strength | | Adults pay an admission charge but children get in free. |
| speech | the ability to talk, the activity of talking, or a piece of spoken language | | Children usually develop speech in the second year of life. |
| gather | to collect several things, often from different places/people | | I went to several libraries to gather information about the plans. |
| native | relating to or describing someone's country or place of birth | | native tongue |
| tongue | a. a language | | an ancient tongue |
| frequent | happening often | | a frequent visitor to the US |
| dramatically | suddenly or obviously | dramatic adj. 骤然的；巨大的 | Your life changes dramatically when you have a baby. |
| boost | to improve or increase something | | The theatre boosted its audiences by cutting ticket prices. |
| vocabulary | all the words known and used by a particular person | | a wide/limited vocabulary |
| bilingual | (of a person) able to use two languages equally well, or (of a thing) using or involving two languages | | a bilingual dictionary |
| activation | the act of making something start or making it start working | | You will be sent an account activation email. |
| auditory | of or about hearing | | This is an olfactory, not an auditory, problem. |
| input | something such as energy, money, or information that is put into a system, organization, or machine so that it can operate | input v. 输入信息 | I didn't have much input into the project. |
| cognitive | connected with thinking or conscious mental processes | | cognitive behaviour/development |
| sensory | connected with the physical senses of touch, smell, taste, hearing, and sight | | sensory information/experience |
| process | to subject to a routine procedure; handle | processing n. 加工；处理 | process information |
| acquire | to get something | acquisition n. 获得 | He acquired the firm in 2008. |
| monolingual | speaking or using only one language | | a monolingual country |
| master | to learn how to do something well | mastery n. 熟练；精通 | master a technique |
