Subarea 2/Objective 9: Second-Language and Content Learning Flashcards
Apply knowledge of instruction and assessment related to the development of English language learners' social and academic language proficiency and content area learning.
An ESL teacher wants to promote English language learners’ ability to use the cognitive learning
strategy of outlining the key ideas in content-area textbooks. Which of the following steps would
be most appropriate for the teacher to take first when teaching the strategy to students?
A. asking students to write a journal reflection about the impact of outlining on their
comprehension of a sample textbook passage
B. preparing a partial outline of a sample textbook passage for students to practice completing
as they read the passage silently
C. modeling for students the outlining process by thinking aloud while creating an example
outline of a sample textbook passage
D. having students work together in small groups to create an outline of a sample textbook
passage they have read aloud as a group
: C. Modeling for students while using the think-aloud strategy is particularly
beneficial for English language learners because it provides them with both visual and auditory support
as they are learning the steps of a new process such as outlining a textbook passage. Cognitive
learning strategies such as outlining involve deep thinking, and the think-aloud strategy allows the
teacher to model these thinking processes explicitly for students. A is incorrect because reflecting
about a cognitive strategy is important for reinforcing a new strategy that has already been introduced
and practiced, but would not be appropriate or beneficial as the first step in learning a new strategy. B
is incorrect because in this strategy the teacher does not show students how to develop or complete
the outline. Research suggests that English language learners learn best when the teacher models the
behaviors and processes they are expected to do to complete an academic task. Giving students a
partially completed outline does not help them learn how to develop or complete one themselves. D is
incorrect because the students first need to learn how to develop an outline. This activity would be
beneficial after learning how to use the outlining strategy
A tenth-grade expanding-level English language learner has a strong first-language background
in mathematics and a good grasp of grade-level mathematics concepts. However, the student
often performs poorly on mathematics tests in English because of difficulty comprehending story
problems. Which of the following teacher strategies would be most effective in addressing this
student’s difficulty while facilitating development of cognitive-academic language proficiency?
A. giving the student a list of important mathematics terms and abbreviations in English to
translate into the first language and then memorize
B. providing the student with individualized guided practice in breaking down and paraphrasing
mathematics story problems in English
C. offering the student the option to skip over story problems on mathematics tests or to
respond to story problems in the first language
D. arranging for the student to receive one-on-one mathematics tutoring from a bilingual aide
using a first-language mathematics textbook
B. Providing guided support is a best practice that gives scaffolding to students as
they practice a new skill. In this case, the student is receiving targeted instruction in paraphrasing and
breaking down English mathematics story problems. Breaking down a problem into smaller steps and
paraphrasing it (rephrasing it in one’s own words) are both strategies that enhance the problem’s
comprehensibility. A is incorrect because overreliance on translation into the first language is not going
to promote the student’s academic language development in English. C is incorrect because allowing
the student to skip over mathematics story problems does not help the student learn strategies for
comprehending this genre of text. Allowing the student to respond to the problems in the first language
does not help the student learn strategies for comprehending the problems in English. D is incorrect
because the student has strong mathematics skills in the first language, so tutoring the student with a
first-language mathematics textbook would not address the student’s needs, which are language
based.
A teacher wants to assess third-grade English language learners’ understanding of a sheltered
science unit on physical properties of matter. The teacher has students work in class to create
displays of objects that possess various physical properties and complete tables describing the
objects’ properties. The teacher evaluates the students’ work using a scoring rubric and takes
notes as students orally describe their displays. The primary benefit of this type of assessment is
that it provides:
A. a formal, quantifiable indicator of students’ academic progress.
B. an authentic, multidimensional indicator of students’ academic performance.
C. a global, comprehensive measure of students’ academic achievement.
D. an objective, standardized measure of students’ mastery of academic benchmarks.
B. An authentic assessment is an assessment that is based on observing students
as they engage in authentic learning tasks tied to a specific curricular goal or objective. In this case,
students have an opportunity to create their own displays to demonstrate their understanding of
physical properties of matter. This assessment is also multidimensional because students not only have
an opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of relevant content through the creation of a display
but also by orally describing their display. A is incorrect because a formal, quantifiable assessment is a
standardized test (typically multiple-choice) that summarizes a student’s performance numerically (e.g.,
as percent correct). In this case, the teacher’s use of notes does not result in a quantifiable (numberbased) result. C is incorrect because a global, comprehensive assessment is one that evaluates
students’ performance across content areas. In this scenario, the assessment is focused on evaluating
students’ performance with respect to a single science objective. D is incorrect because the
assessment described in the scenario is not standardized. A standardized test is a test that has specific
tasks and procedures that must be followed exactly. In this case, students have some flexibility in
demonstrating their understanding of target content.
An ESL teacher has English language learners maintain a daily learning log. Each day students
write about new concepts and words they learned in the day’s lessons and how the new concepts
and words relate to those learned in previous lessons. Which of the following additional learning
log tasks would most effectively promote the students’ self-assessment of their content-area
learning?
A. Students look up in a dictionary each new word from the day’s lessons and write a definition
and sample sentence for each word.
B. Students work with a partner to edit their learning log entry for grammatical errors and then
rewrite the entry using correct grammar.
C. Students record questions they still have about lesson material and describe learning
strategies they used during the day’s lessons.
D. Students transfer the new concepts and words they wrote about in their learning log to index
cards to be used in studying for class tests
C. Asking students to self-assess their content-area learning helps them take
ownership of what and how they learn. Having students record questions they still have about lesson
material and describe learning strategies they used during the day’s lessons are self-assessment
strategies that encourage reflection and self-monitoring, and thus promote students’ ability to evaluate
their own areas of strength and need with respect to the content and skills associated with a given
lesson. A and B are incorrect because these strategies do not promote students’ awareness or selfassessment of their learning with respect to a lesson’s content-area objectives but rather focus on
developing or reinforcing students’ vocabulary development (A) and grammatical competence (B). D is
incorrect because transferring the new concepts and words to index cards to be used in studying for
class tests is a test-preparation strategy. It does not promote students’ self-assessment of their contentarea learning because it does not encourage them to further reflect on their learning but rather to simply
recall it.
An ESL teacher asks bridging-level English language learners to read a content-area passage
and then write a summary of the passage. In this context, the teacher’s most important
consideration when evaluating a student’s summary should be the extent to which:
A. the student’s writing reflects command of grade-level academic vocabulary and language
structures.
B. the student used evidence from the text to support his or her arguments and analysis.
C. the student produced clear, coherent, and well-organized writing that is appropriate to the
task.
D. the student’s writing reflects comprehension of the text’s target concepts
D. Asking students to summarize, or write a short paragraph that describes a text’s
main ideas, is an informal way for teachers to assess students’ understanding of a text they have read.
A and C are incorrect because they focus on assessing the writing itself (e.g., using grade-level
academic vocabulary and language structures correctly, organizing ideas well). B is incorrect because
a summary is a not an expository text in which students take a position with respect to a text and then
support their thesis with evidence from the text.
A middle school ESL teacher will be co-teaching a sheltered English immersion (SEI)
mathematics class to expanding- and bridging-level English language learners. To determine
whether each student has mastered a target mathematics concept and is ready to receive
instruction in a new concept, the teachers plan to administer the weekly assessments provided in
the grade-level mathematics textbook. Which of the following steps would be most appropriate
for the ESL teacher to take to ensure the assessments achieve this goal?
A. determining whether the assessments were normed using a student group that included
English language learners
B. implementing appropriate linguistic modifications to the assessment items as needed
C. selecting assessment items from the textbook that are language neutral and contain only
numerical problems
D. administering the assessments orally to students and allowing them to respond orally
B. The teachers in this scenario plan to use published assessments to determine if
students have grasped target mathematical concepts. By providing appropriate linguistic modifications
to the assessments for English language learners in the class, the teachers can ensure that the
assessment is assessing these students’ understanding of the targeted mathematics concept and not
their language proficiency. A is incorrect because determining if the assessments were normed using a
student group that involved English language learners implies that the assessments are normreferenced, whereas the assessments in textbooks are almost always criterion-referenced. Also, even if
the assessments were norm-referenced, simply ensuring that the assessment items were normed using
a student group that included English language learners would not ensure that the language of the
assessments is appropriate for students at both the expanding and bridging levels. Content-area
assessments should be differentiated for students at different language proficiency levels. C is incorrect
because selecting assessment items from the textbook that are language neutral and contain only
numerical problems would not necessarily ensure that the assessment measured all the target
objectives of a given lesson. Also, simplifying the material to such an extent would not be appropriate
for students at the expanding and bridging levels. D is incorrect because administering the
assessments orally and allowing the students to respond orally is not appropriate for students at the
expanding and bridging levels. This strategy would be more appropriate for English language learners
at the emerging or entering level.
Use the information below to answer the two questions that follow.
(next question is the same)
A high school ESL teacher regularly conducts instructional conversations with expanding-level
English language learners in a sheltered English immersion (SEI) class. During each instructional
conversation, the teacher leads a small group of students in a guided discussion of a contentarea topic.
95. The practice of conducting instructional conversations in the SEI classroom supports the goals of
SEI primarily because instructional conversations provide English language learners with
opportunities to:
A. receive corrective feedback on the accuracy of language output.
B. use content-area learning strategies to facilitate comprehension.
C. receive comprehensible input from proficient English speakers.
D. use academic English interactively in meaningful ways.
D. Conducting instructional conversations on a regular basis provides English
language learners with multiple exposures to and opportunities to use new English academic
vocabulary and language structures in relevant contexts; that is, in meaningful discussions related to
the content they are studying. A is incorrect because the focus of the conversations is on content, not
error correction, so students do not necessarily receive corrective feedback on their language output.
Instead, students are guided and supported during the discussion by the teacher. B is incorrect
because instructional conversations use an oral language strategy to promote content learning, not vice
versa. C is incorrect because in the scenario described, the teacher leads expanding-level English
language learners in the guided discussion, so the teacher is the only proficient English speaker in the
group.
A high school ESL teacher regularly conducts instructional conversations with expanding-level
English language learners in a sheltered English immersion (SEI) class. During each instructional
conversation, the teacher leads a small group of students in a guided discussion of a contentarea topic.
Which of the following guidelines should the teacher follow in implementing instructional
conversations in the SEI setting?
A. Ensure that the amount of student talk in instructional conversations is greater than the
amount of teacher talk.
B. Make active participation in instructional conversations optional according to a student’s
comfort level.
C. Give students primary responsibility for determining the direction and ultimate goal of
instructional conversations.
D. Limit student discussion of personal opinions or experiences during instructional
conversations.
A. Instructional conversations are gently guided by the teacher but should not be
dominated by one particular student or especially by the teacher. Instructional conversations are
intended to be discussions, not lectures, and should involve all students in the group. B is incorrect
because the goal of academic conversations is to provide students with opportunities to use new
academic language, so all students in the small group should be encouraged to participate. C is
incorrect because in an instructional conversation, it is the teacher’s role—not the students’—to guide
the discussion to ensure students’ language needs are supported and relevant content objectives are
addressed. D is incorrect because in instructional conversations students may be encouraged to
discuss experiences and opinions related to the designated topic to help them make connections
between prior knowledge and new learning.
Use the information below to answer the two questions that follow.
(same info for next question)
A middle school ESL teacher is beginning a multidisciplinary thematic unit about tropical rain
forests with developing-level English language learners.
97. The teacher has decorated the classroom with realia related to a rain forest, such as artificial
tropical trees and pictures of tropical animals, and has labeled objects with content-area
vocabulary related to the rain forest. The teacher wears safari attire and plays a recording of
sounds from a rain forest. This use of realia best demonstrates the teacher’s understanding of
how to:
A. facilitate content learning by lowering English language learners’ affective filters.
B. connect content to English language learners’ personal experiences.
C. scaffold English language learners’ comprehension of content-area concepts.
D. contextualize content for English language learners.
: D. Using realia, or real objects, is an effective teacher strategy for promoting
comprehension of new vocabulary and concepts. By associating new content with concrete realia (e.g.,
artificial tropical trees, safari attire, rain-forest sounds) the teacher provides context for new concepts
and thus makes learning more meaningful for the students in the class. A is incorrect because the use
of realia does not necessarily reduce a student’s affective filter, but is rather a strategy for making
learning more context embedded. B is incorrect because the students in the class may or may not have
had personal experiences related to a tropical rain forest. C is incorrect because scaffolding is an
instructional technique that provides students with additional support to develop a new skill or
understand a new concept that is just beyond their ability to learn independently. As the students
progress in their learning, the teacher gradually releases responsibility to them. In this scenario, the
teacher provides additional context but does not provide scaffolded instruction to promote
understanding of content-area concepts.
A middle school ESL teacher is beginning a multidisciplinary thematic unit about tropical rain
forests with developing-level English language learners. (same info as above)
The teacher introduces the rain-forest unit by reading aloud the picture book The Great Kapok
Tree, a story in which animals of the Amazon rain forest convince a man not to cut down a native
kapok tree. This use of literature as part of sheltered content instruction promotes the English
language learners’ content learning primarily by:
A. scaffolding their use of cognitive learning strategies.
B. building their knowledge of content-specific vocabulary.
C. developing their cognitive-academic language proficiency.
D. exposing them to content-specific language structures.
B. By reading aloud a picture book that is set in a rain forest at the beginning of
the unit, the teacher provides an opportunity for students to develop valuable schema related to new
vocabulary and concepts that will be studied in the unit. A is incorrect because the teacher does not
model cognitive strategies during the read-aloud and the students are not asked to use cognitive
learning strategies. C is incorrect because, although the read-aloud provides students with a contextembedded introduction to new vocabulary, the read-aloud in itself merely introduces new vocabulary
but does not provide students with explicit instruction in academic language. Finally, since the book is a
work of literature and not an informational text, the read-aloud is not likely to expose the students to
content-specific language structures, making D incorrect
Use the information below to answer the two questions that follow.
(add graph)
A fifth-grade expanding-level English language learner is halfway through the student’s second
year of schooling in the United States. The student’s first year was in a sheltered English
immersion (SEI) class. Now the student is in a general education class and is receiving average
grades in the class. Following is a score report summarizing the student’s performance on the
state standardized content-area assessment administered in EnglishWhich of the following conclusions would be most appropriate for a teacher to draw about this
student given these assessment results?
A. The student is performing within the expected range for the student’s level of English
proficiency but has had limited exposure to the content being tested.
B. The student is performing below the expected range for the amount of time the student has
been in U.S. schools and should be monitored for indicators of possible cognitive or
language delays or difficulties.
C. The student is performing within the expected range for the student’s age and grade level but
could benefit from additional practice in the area of civics.
D. The student demonstrates stronger performances in subjects that measure content
knowledge rather than skill application, which is appropriate given the amount of time the
student has spent in U.S. schools.
A. An expanding-level English language learner has developed some technical
language in the content areas but has not yet developed language proficiency comparable to Englishproficient peers. The student in this scenario is making adequate progress, since the student is now at
the expanding level after only one and a half years in the United States and is receiving “average
grades” in the class. However, according to the assessment results, the student received a “needs
improvement” in Science and Technology and History and Social Science, suggesting that the student
needs additional exposure to the content assessed on these tests. B is incorrect because, as
mentioned above, the student’s level of language proficiency and class grades indicate that the student
is making adequate progress in both language development and content learning in relation to what is
being taught in class. C is incorrect because the student needs additional instruction in several content
areas, not just in civics. D is incorrect because the student performed at the proficient level in
mathematics, a subject focused more on skill application than on content knowledge, whereas the
student scored “needs improvement” in both science and social science, thus the student does not
demonstrate stronger performances in subjects that measure content knowledge.
Use same info as above:
Given the information provided about this student, which of the following strategies would likely
best promote the student’s content-area learning?
A. placing the student in a self-contained English immersion class to facilitate the student’s
development of cognitive-academic language proficiency
B. teaching the student a variety of test-taking strategies to use when taking academic
achievement tests
C. seating the student with an academically advanced peer who can help with class
assignments when necessary
D. providing the student with individualized, differentiated academic instruction in the student’s
specific areas of weakness
D. Using assessment data to drive instruction represents best practice. By
carefully analyzing assessment data, the teacher would be able to identify the student’s specific areas
of need and provide individualized, differentiated instruction to address those needs. A is incorrect
because self-contained English immersion classes are typically provided to English language learners
at the entering and emerging levels. A student at the expanding level has already developed some
academic language proficiency in English, so this student would thrive in a sheltered English immersion
class and would not be sufficiently challenged in a self-contained English immersion class. B is
incorrect because the assessment results indicate that the student needs to gain content knowledge, as
evidenced by the student’s score of “needs improvement” in Science and Technology and in History
and Social Science. The fact that the student scored at the proficient level in mathematics indicates that
the student is capable of performing adequately on a standardized achievement test as long as the
student is adequately prepared in that content area. C is incorrect because the student is already
receiving average grades on class assignments.
