Teaching Language and Sheltering Content in the Classroom

Question 1

What are typical stages of first language learning? (childhood)

Answer 1

• Pre-speech (0-6 months): grunts and sighs
• Babbling (6-8 months): rhythmic sounds with repeated patterns
• One-word stage (10 - 18 months): first words (usually people or objects) to produce a desired outcome
• Two-word stage (18 - 24 months): two-word phrases that may not make sense
• Multiword stage (30 months): complete sentences, adding functional elements

Question 2

What is pivot grammar?

Answer 2

• How kids move from one-word stage to two-word stage
• They use a “pivot” or “anchor” word to express a need or want (all done, all gone or more milk, more TV)
• Martin Braine argued that this is when children start to determine the differences in word class/function

Question 3

What is a holophrase?

Answer 3

• A single word that is used to express a more complex thought
• “Up” may be meant to say “Please pick me up”

Question 4

What is the comprehension based approach to second language learning?

Answer 4

• The idea that we should build on a student’s receptive skills (listening and reading) before they are asked to produce language (speech or writing)
• Listening is viewed as the least stressful language skill and also one of the most fundamental

-Children should not be forced to speak until they are ready and a silent period is expected

Question 5

What is the communicative approach to second-language learning?

Answer 5

• The idea that we should provide students with genuine, experience-based interactions in the target language
• Believes that children don’t ACQUIRE knowledge but CONSTRUCT it through their own experiences
• Looks like students work in pairs or groups role playing situations

Question 6

What is grammar translation?

Answer 6

• Best for older students who have a strong understanding of grammatical structures in their first language
• Students read challenging texts in L2 and translate it from L2 to L1.
• Latin was traditionally taught this way

Question 7

What are silent way classrooms?

Answer 7

• Teacher speech is minimized
• Initially model an expression then teacher uses a series of props to help the student understand structures

Question 8

What is suggestopedia?

Answer 8

• Relies on music and rhythm to reinforce language patterns
• This may look like students reading scripts of L2 with games or music
• Encourages errors and risk tasking

Question 9

What is the total physical response method?

Answer 9

• Starts by giving basic commands in L2 (ex: stand up)
• Slowly adds more and more complexity to the commands until the children are give one another commands

Question 10

What are the stages of second-language acquisition? (5)

Answer 10

1. Silent period (pre-production stage) - Knows about 500 words, uncomfortable speaking. Teacher should allow for receptive skills to be built
2. Private speech (early production)- 1 or 2 word phrases, knows about 1000 words. Teachers should allow for abbreviated answers
3. Lexical chunks (speech emergent) - Forms short phrases and sentences with frequent grammatical errors, knows about 3000 words. Can have short conversations with peers and read simple stories
4. Formulaic speech (intermediate language proficiency) - knows about 6000 words, can make complex sentences and share thoughts. Teachers may shift to writing focus
5. Experimental or simplified speech (advanced language proficiency) - approaches fluency and understands grammar and semantics. May exit ESL program.

Question 11

What is the silent period and how can we support students during it?

Answer 11

• Student may not speak or speak very little (earliest stage of language development)
• Teachers can ask “yes” or “no” questions or accept head shakes or nods
• Teacher can ask student to draw to show understanding or use images
• Teacher should interact one-on-one and created a low-risk classroom environment

Question 12

What is code-switching and why might a student use it?

Answer 12

• Switching from one language to another in the same conversation or even same thought
• If a student is unable to think of a word in the language they are speaking, they may switch to their native language
• Sometimes there may not be a word in L2 to convey the meaning they are trying to say
• Students also may code switch to show familiarity and solidarity with the person they are speaking with

Question 13

What is interlanguage?

Answer 13

• When students are learning a new language, they may develop an interlanguage.
• This is when they are speaking elements and structures of both L1 and L2 but may differ significantly from either. It is almost as if a NEW language is being spoken

Question 14

What is fossilization? (related to interlanguage)

Answer 14

• When a student lacks the opportunity to improve upon their interlanguage, fossilization or reinforcement can sometimes happen.
• If a child can communicate effectively (although limited), fossilization has likely occurred

Question 15

What is overgeneralization?

Answer 15

• When a child extends a language rule beyond its actual scope
• Ex: universally adding -ed to create past tense verbs resulting in errors like swimmed

Question 16

What is contrastive analysis and how can it help students?

Answer 16

• The practice of analyzing similarities and differences between two languages
• Teachers can do this to anticipate transfer issues between languages
• For example, word order in Arabic and English differ. Adjectives typically follow nouns. This would allow teachers to anticipate students saying something like, “She is a woman smart.”

Question 17

What are some word orders in languages?

Answer 17

• English is Subject - Verb - Object
• Spanish is Subject - Verb - Object but often allows for subject / verb switching
• Japanese is Subject - Object - Verb

Question 18

What are phonemes?

Answer 18

• Phonemes are the sounds that individual letters make in isolation
• English has 44 phonemes
• Substituting one for another will result in change in meaning

Question 19

What are graphemes?

Answer 19

• Graphemes are individual letters or groups of letters that depict how a sound is written in a given language
• /t/ can be written as a single “t” (tall) or two t’s (better) so the phoneme /t/ has two graphemes “t” and “tt”

Question 20

What are onset and rime?

Answer 20

• Onset is the phoneme or sound that occurs at the beginning of a syllable
• In English only consonants can be onsets
• Rime is the vowels or any consonants that follow the onset
• Some words only have a rime like and or it
• In the word “bat” /b/ is the onset and /at/ is the rime.

Question 21

What are some examples of irregularities in English spelling?

Answer 21

• There are 26 letters that form 44 phonemes, which complicate the spelling process for ELLs. For example, the phoneme /k/ can be written as cat, kite, or tack.
• Diphthongs are combos of two or more vowels in a single syllable that create an unpredictable sound (examples include loud /ow/, coin /oy/, or fair /ay/.
• Consonant clusters occur when two or more consonants form a single sound. (examples include wreck /wr/)

Question 22

What are phrasal verbs?

Answer 22

• An idiomatic combination of a verb with a preposition or adverb
• Examples include blow up, break down, get away with, or add up
• These are challenging for ELLs to understand because they are idioms, they often cannot be split up

Question 23

What are tag questions?

Answer 23

• A declarative statement turned into a question with a question phrase added to the end
• Example includes: Portland is the capital of Maine, isn’t it?
• Challenging for ELs because the question is often rhetorical