Subarea 1/Objective 3: Foundations of English Language Instruction Flashcards
Evaluate and apply knowledge of ESL instructional approaches and best practices for promoting English language learners' English development.
A middle school social studies class includes several English language learners. Beforebeginning a new content unit, the social studies teacher works with the ESL teacher to informally assess the English language learners’ knowledge of key vocabulary and prerequisite concepts related to the unit and then preteach key information as needed. During the unit, the ESL teacher often conducts prereading activities with the English language learners before key reading assignments while the content teacher has all students engage in postreading, small-group
discussions of the assigned readings. Throughout the unit, the English language learners individual dialogue journals with the teachers about unit c the English language learners’ English language development primarily by:
A.
Exposing them to structured models of academic discourse.
B.
Helping them comprehend and use language at a higher level than they would without
scaffolding.
C.
Promoting their development of oracy within an academic setting.
D.
Enhancing their ability to self-edit their writing and self-monitor their oral production in group
discussions.
B. Preteaching key vocabulary and prerequisite concepts based on students’ needs and engaging students in pre- and postreading activities are research-based best practices that scaffold English language learners’ understanding of new content by supporting their academic language development related to a given unit. Research also suggests that oral- and written-language activities, such as the postreading discussions and the dialogue journal activity described in this scenario, play an important role in building and reinforcing academic language.
A is incorrect because the scenario does not state or imply that the teachers provided structured models of academic discourse during the unit. C is incorrect because, while some of the activities may support the students’ development of oracy, the goal of the activities is content development through integrated use of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. D is incorrect because the scenario does not suggest that a primary focus of the unit is to promote self-monitoring skills.
Sheltered English immersion (SEI) has been proven effective in promoting English language learners’ academic achievement primarily because this instructional model promotes teachers’
ability to:
A.
Provide students with intensive remedial instruction in core English language arts and
mathematics content.
B.
Improve students’ academic test scores by using content-based language activities.
C.
Identify students with specific learning disabilities earlier than other response-to-intervention
models.
D.
Address students’ needs by differentiating content instruction and intervention.
D. Sheltered English immersion (SEI) emphasizes differentiating content
instruction to provide English language learners with the scaffolds and language s upport they need to
develop content knowledge and related academic language.
A and C are incorrect because SEI is not
focused on providing intensive remedial instruction or early identification of disabilities. B is incorrect because, while use of SEI may ultimately improve students’ academic test scores, this is not the primary goal of the model. Also, there are differences between SEI and content-based language development as instructional models. For example, the former is taught by a content-area teacher who has received special training in SEI, while the latter is taught by an ESL teacher.
Use the statements below to answer the question that follows.
“The teacher talks too fast.”
“I don’t know the words the teacher says.”
“I am not sure what to do many times.”
These statements are typical of comments made by the English language learners in a contentarea classroom. According to best practices of effective SEI models, the content-area teacher could best address these issues by altering his or her speech and using visual aids that:
A.
Build background knowledge linked to students’ first language.
B.
Establish clear long-term content objectives and course goals.
C.
Provide explanations and examples of academic tasks.
D.
Prompt various opportunities for student interaction.
C. To address the difficulties expressed by the English language learners in the scenario, the teacher not only needs to alter his/her speech but also must employ strategies for clarifying requirements of academic assignments. By explicitly explaining the components and processes involved in completing an academic task and providing models of what a good completed product should look like, the content-area teacher can provide English language learners with the scaffolds they need to complete an assignment successfully.
A is incorrect because, while students’ first language may be used in some instances to support learning in an SEI classroom, SEI models do not rely on first-language instruction. B is incorrect because long-term content objectives and coursegoals are not focused on specific strategies for addressing students’ needs. D is incorrect because, though student interaction is an important component of an effective SEI model, it does not help a teacher adapt his/her speech or clarify an academic task.
Which of the following visual support strategies would be most effective to use in a literature lesson with English language learners who are beginning-level readers to promote their language
and content learning?
A. story mapping
B. cognitive mapping
C. using a vocabulary chart
D. using a cognate chart
A. Story mapping is a type of graphic organizer that uses words and/or pictures to represent important story elements. Story mapping is an effective strategy for English language learners who are beginning readers because they can demonstrate their understanding of a story through illustrations instead of written language.
B is incorrect because cognitive or concept mapping is more appropriate to use with informational texts. C and D are incorrect because vocabulary and cognate charts could be used to promote development of vocabulary related to a story, but they would not necessarily promote students’ understanding of key story elements, such as the story’s sequence of events.
Which of the following statements best describes the stance most researchers of sheltered English immersion (SEI) have taken toward the use of students’ first language in the SE classroom?
A. Students’ English language development can be severely hindered by any use of the first language.
B. Students need to receive most content-area instruction in the first language to support the ongoing development of academic concepts.
C. Students should be encouraged to develop their first-language skills outside of school but to use only English in school.
D. Students can benefit from some use of their first language to clarify communication and to enhance motivation and self-esteem.
D. Most researchers of sheltered English immersion (SEI) acknowledge that a student’s first language provides an important foundation for language and content learning in the second language. While English is the language of instruction in content-area classes that follow an SEI model, SEI teachers may use students’ first language if needed to clarify communication. Research also strongly suggests that valuing students’ first language builds confidence and motivation within students.
A is incorrect as the statement is not supported by research. On the contrary, research shows that a strong foundation in the first language benefits students in learning additional languages. B is incorrect because English is the primary language of instruction in an SEI model. Conversely, C is incorrect because SEI does not prohibit use of students’ first language in the classroom.
Principles of sheltered English immersion (SEI) are primarily based on the assumption that second-language learners learn best when:
A.
They are allowed to acquire language proficiency naturally over time.
B.
Instruction is adjusted to accommodate students’ level of language proficiency.
C.
They are offered opportunities for self-expression and identity formation.
D.
Instruction is organized according to a sequence of discrete language forms.
B. Differentiating content-area instruction to address students’ varied linguistic needs. An SEI classroom can have English language learners at multiple levels of English language proficiency, and an emerging-level English language learner requires different scaffolds and supports than a bridging-level student.
A is incorrect because research has shown that students require explicit instruction in academic language in order to develop the vocabulary and language skills needed to support content learning in a new language. C is incorrect because, while SEI teachers need to be cognizant of psychological factors affecting students’ learning, the primary focus of SEI models is on students’ development of content knowledge and academic language. D is incorrect because SEI promotes language development to support content learning; its focus is not exclusively on language development.
The main goal of sheltered English immersion (SEI) instruction is to develop English language learners’:
A.
Academic language proficiency in English to achieve grade-level academic learning standards.
B.
Basic oral and written communication skills in English to participate in everyday language situations.
C.
Language ego and cultural identity in English to overcome inhibitions in language learning.
D.
Subskills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in English to comprehend and produce fluent, accurate language.
A. Sheltered English immersion (SEI) programs differ from other programs for English language learners because the purpose of SEI is to help English language learners develop academic language proficiency for academic achievement.
B and D are incorrect because they focus exclusively on achievement of language development goals and do not incorporate achievement of grade-level academic goals. C is incorrect because it focuses on reducing students’ affective filters but does not mention academic achievement in the content areas or language development.
Which of the following questions should be a teacher’s most important consideration when developing language objectives for a sheltered English immersion (SEI) mathematics lesson?
A.
Which grade-level mathematics content standards are addressed in the lesson?
B.
What approaches (e.g., visual, kinesthetic) to mathematics instruction do the students prefer?
C.
Which language structures and functions support the mathematics content of the lesson?
D.
What is each student’s current level of achievement in mathematics?
C. In a sheltered English immersion (SEI) content lesson, language objectives relate specifically to the content objectives of the lesson. They seek to integrate instruction in vocabulary development and oracy, reading, and writing to support English language learners’ ability to achieve the content objectives of the lesson.
A and D are incorrect because they only relate to the content objectives and not to the development of relevant language objectives. B is incorrect because it focuses on possible strategies for implementing an SEI lesson but does not contribute information that would be helpful in developing the lesson’s language objectives.
An ESL teacher teaches developing-level English language learners in a sheltered English immersion (SEI) program. At the beginning of each lesson, the teacher creates a graphicorganizer, such as a s emantic map, on the board to review concepts from previous lessons. The teacher then refers to content from the graphic organizer when introducing important conceptsfrom the current lesson. This practice best illustrates which of the following key components of SEI?
A. metacognitive development
B. teacher modeling
C. content adaptation
D. schema building
D. Schema theory asserts that knowledge is organized and represented in one’s mind in units called schemata, which include both contextual knowledge and language skills related to a concept. When teaching a new content lesson, an SEI teacher needs to be aware that English language learners may lack the conceptual knowledge required to make sense of a new lesson, or theymay lack the language skills, or both. By reviewing relevant concepts and related language prior to a new lesson, the teacher in the scenario helps students build requisite schemata so that they can make connections between prior knowledge and the new information and concepts being introduced.
A is incorrect because metacognitive development refers to thinking about one’s thinking and learning processes. The strategies the teacher uses in this scenario are not metacognitive strategies. B is incorrect because the teacher creates the graphic organizer for use throughout the lesson, not simply to model how to make a graphic organizer. C is incorrect because, in this scenario, the teacher does not adapt or change the content but rather helps students connect the content to prior learning.
The Natural Approach to second-language instruction is primarily based on the theory that:
A.
Language consists of a set of universal natural principles that are learned through direct instruction and immediate error correction.
B.
Language acquisition is a subconscious process that occurs when language is used for natural, meaningful interaction.
C.
Language is learned through habit formation by imitating and practicing sounds and patterns in the natural environment.
D.
Language learning is a social, inductive process of natural growth within a supportive and empathetic learning community
B. The Natural Approach is based on Krashen’s Monitor Model, which suggests that language acquisition is most successful when a language learner receives comprehensible input in meaningful contexts such as conversations, hands-on activities, and games, and when lessons are focused primarily on meaning rather than on explicit language forms.
A is incorrect because direct instruction and error correction are not tenets of the Natural Approach. C is incorrect because it is closer to earlier behaviorist methods that emphasized language drills. Although D refers to “natural growth” in a positive learning environment, it does not emphasize using language within meaningful interactions, which makes it incorrect.
Which of the following methods of second-language instruction would be most appropriate to use
with middle school English language learners who are at the expanding level of English language
proficiency?
A. sheltered content teaching
B. Natural Approach
C. readers theatre
D. Total Physical Response
A. Expanding-level English language learners have already developed a strong base of language skills and have acquired some academic language related to the content areas with a need for further development of technical language. Thus,expanding-level English language learners at the middle school level would benefit most from sheltered content instruction in which academic language development is embedded in content instruction.
B and D are incorrect because the Natural Approach and Total Physical Response are methods typically used with learners at less advanced levels of language development. C is incorrect because readers theatre, an activity in which students develop a script for a narrative text and practice reading it aloud and acting it out, is a strategy primarily designed for improving reading fluency and would not be the best method for promoting academic content and language learning among expanding-level middle school students.
An ESL teacher who is planning to implement the Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (CALLA) with developing- and expanding-level English language learners decides to begin with lessons that address science content. Which of the following best describes the primary rationale for this decision?
A.
Students tend to require more time to comprehend science concepts because the language is more complex and abstract than that of other content areas.
B.
The vocabulary of science tends to be more universal than that of other content areas, which
facilitates linguistic and conceptual transfer from students’ first language.
C.
Science concepts tend to be more concrete than those of other content areas and therefore lend themselves to a contextualized, hands-on learning environment.
D.
The language of science tends to be less academic than that of other content areas, which eases students’ transition from social language to academic language.
C. The Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (CALLA) emphasizes explicit instruction in learning strategies (i.e., metacognitive, conitive, and social-affective) in additionto promoting language development alongside content instruction. This approach works well for English language learners who have already developed social English language skills, such as the developingand expanding-level English language learners in this scenario. In CALLA, content topics are introduced gradually and initially emphasize those that have extensive contextual supports and/or reduced language demands, making science an ideal area of the curriculum with which to begin.
A and B are incorrect because the language of science is neither more complex and abstract nor more universal than the language of other content areas. Conversely, the language of science is not less academic than the language of other content areas, making D incorrect as well.
