Jargon [jahr-guhn, -gon], (n)

Week 2 - Beginning of the Week

The topic of the course for this week is the ABCD model. This is yet another acronym in the Education Jargon. Well, technically it is not really an acronym because an acronym is an word formed by combining parts (usually the first letters) of some other terms. For example, "modem" is the acronym derived from modulator/ demodulator. ABCD is not a real word and, although in modern speech also called an acronym, it is actually an initialism, which is the combination of letters representing a longer term. The A stands for Audience (who are we teaching), the B for Behavior (what do we want them to be able to do), C for Condition (what tools do they have or what information are they given) and D for Degree (how well do we want them to do this).

Education theories nowadays seem to be full of acronyms, initialisms, blurred terms such as "top-down and bottom-up processes" or "metacognitive knowledge" and other edubabble. My students at teacher in-service courses and teachers colleges often ask me why we make simple stuff seem so complex by using this jargon. They are not the only ones to ask this question. A few years ago the Guardian asked "Are Teachers Using too much Jargon?". This topic has even merited official research such as work done by Philip Kerr in the ETJ Journal Volume 59/ 2 April 2005. And that it is not specifically a problem of the English teaching field can be seen here:

The etymology of the word jargon itself seems to indicate its uselessness. Jargon comes from O.Fr. jargon "a chattering of birds" also in language "idle talk or the language used by thieves". The term came into use in the mid-14th century and today means "mode of speech full of unfamiliar terms". Other similar terms are "pidgin, lingo and slang".

So why do we use so much Jargon or shouldn't we? Here the two reasons for using jargon which I usually give my students:
1. Using Education Jargon gives teachers a feeling of professional pride. They are in-the-know, they can talk about their profession using a lingo no one else understands. This in itself would already be a good enough reason because raising the self-esteem of teachers who often feel and are seen by others as being at the lowest level of professionalism should be important.
2. The Edubabble also has a very practical point. Here we are for example in this course, teachers from all over the world and from many different cultures with more native languages than there were in the Tower of Babel. The only way for us to hold a professional discussion and exchange of ideas, is if we agree on a common language and agree on the same precise technical terms for what we mean. And that is the Jargon we need to learn and practice.

Can any of you find additional reasons?

Here a Dictionary of Educational Jargon


ABCD model

Etymology of jargon
Definition of Acronym and Initialism

Overwhelming [oh-ver-hwel-ming, -wel-] (adj)

Week 1 - Towards the End
Read this, do that, react here, create there. Pfew, after three days without Internet access it is suddenly raining assignments - quite overwhelming.

Did you know that the antonym of "overwhelm" is "underwhelm"? Never seen that one in print. Just for the fun of it, I ran a comparison through Googlefight (http://www.googlefight.com). The results were overwhelmingly in favor of "overwhelm", 1.080.000 results as opposed to 12.800 results for "underwhelm". Where does the "whelm" in overwhelm come from, you ask? Well, believe it or not, it comes from O.E. hwielfan (W.Saxon), meaning "to cover over" and this apparently led to O.E. "helmian" (to cover) which is the origin of the "helmet", a head covering we might all need if it continues raining assignments.

Did I really complain earlier that this course started too slowly? Well, I am taking my words back. I have a lot to do now and need to plan my time carefully. Are others feeling overwhelmed as well? Here is something that might help:

I would have liked to write some more but I have to post on the class forum, react to the posts of others and read the blogs of fellow bloggers so there is not much time. Let me close this post with an overwhelming quote from Robert Coleman:

"Unless I accept my virtues, I will be overwhelmed by my faults"

Googlefight
Etymology overwhelm
overwhelm quote

Impatient [im-pey-shuhnt] (adj)

Week 1 - Off We Go
After the long wait and anticipation of Week 0, I expected a quick start and lots to do from the word go. The course, however, starts off too slowly for me. I know that Robert explained the need for this (newbies who have never done anything online) but I am one of those who has taught online courses, so I am only too eager to sink my teeth in some real tasks and the current speed makes me feel impatient.

I once asked my students for the meaning of "impatient". One smart aleck answered "healthy". When I asked him how he got to this answer he replied: 'From the prefix "im", which means "not" and "patient". He is no longer a patient so apparently he is healthy!' It took me a while to explain that "patient" comes from "to suffer" and "to be able to bear suffering". So impatient means "not being able to endure the suffering any longer".

But that is a bit too strong a description for my feelings. It's just that I will not have much time later this week, so I would like to do as much as possible without having to wait. I know, I know - impatience is a bad habit and it can sometimes blow up in your face like the following clip examplifies:

Therefore, instead of getting annoyed, I am keeping myself busy with writing my second blog post and will exercise some patience because the tasks that we did get until now were fun to do. So I will be "able to endure this suffering"; a bit longer :-)

etymology of "impatient"

Anticipation [an-tis-uh-pey-shuhn] (n)

Week 0 - About to start the course.
Full of expectation and hoping this will be time well-invested. Still don't quite know what to expect. I have never written a blog so don't really know how this will proceed...

Anticipation and to anticipate are words that often confuse my students because of the misleading prefix. They feel the word must have a negative connotation as they misinterpret the "anti". The etymology of the word is actually from "ante" (before) "capere" (to take), meaning "taking into possession beforehand". Only later (in the 1640s) did this come closer to "expect, looking forward to". It is, however, not a synonym for "expect" because it has the additional meaning of "prepare for". And this is indeed something I am trying to do while writing my first post.

Anticipation for me means wanting to start already. Therefore I have started playing around with this blogger site even before the course officially started. If we may believe the classic Heinz ketchup TV add from1979, anticipation is the "taste that's worth the wait". Let's hope that is right.

Some words that go well with "anticipation":
"contemplation" - yeah, I'm doing that a lot these days
"apprehension" - ok, I'll admit, I do feel some fear. Will I be able to finish this course? Or have I taken too much upon myself?
"premonition" - pretty much the same as apprehension. Also with negative connotation. Hmm, need some more positive connotations because I am not THAT afraid...
"realization" - yes! that's a good one. Just realized I have in fact finished my first-ever blog post and am still alive. Can't imagine people actually following my blog (still haven't figured out how that will work) but sure am mighty proud of myself!

etymology of "anticipation"
"anticipation" on dictionary.com