Longman Dictionary of

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spiral approach n
also cyclical approach
a SYLLABUS in which items recur throughout the syllabus but are treated in
greater depth or in more detail when they recur. This may be contrasted
with a linear syllabus, in which syllabus items are dealt with once only.
spirant n
another term for FRICATIVE
split construction n
(in composition) a sentence in which the subject has been separated from
the verb, making it awkward to read. For example:
Teresa, after gathering together her clothes, books, and papers, left.
A less awkward sentence would be:
After gathering together her clothes, books and papers, Teresa left.
split-half reliability n
a measure of internal consistency reliability based on the CORRELATION
COEFFICIENT between two halves of a test (e.g. between the odd- and evennumbered
items of the test or between the first and second half of the
items of the test), which are assumed to be parallel. The resulting reliability
estimate is a PARALLEL-FORM RELIABILITY coefficient for a test half as
long as the original test. Usually the SPEARMAN-BROWN PROPHECY FORMULA
is applied to the resulting split-half reliability estimate in order to estimate
the reliability of the full-length test rather than its separate halves because
with all other factors being equal, the longer the test the higher the reliability.
see also INTERNAL CONSISTENCY RELIABILITY
split infinitive n
(in composition) a sentence in which the word to in an infinitive has been
separated from the base of the verb making the sentence awkward to
read. For example:
She asked me to as quickly as possible drop over to her house.
Without the split infinitive this would be:
She asked me to drop over to her house as quickly as possible.
In some sentences, however, the split infinitive is appropriate. For
example:
We expect to more than double profits this year.
spoonerism n
see SPEECH ERROR
spoonerism
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