ESL Certification Test

BICS (Cummins)

Playground Language that is used in social situations and everyday interactions, typically acquired by children in informal settings.

CALP (Cummins)

Academic Language that is used in formal educational settings, requiring higher-level cognitive skills for understanding and production.

Context- Embedded

Includes communication that uses gestures, visuals, and shared experiences that are clear and accessible to language learners. (Face-to-face conversation, everyday vocabulary, develops faster than academic language.)

Content Specific Vocabulary

content centered in vocabulary from the lesson

Complete Syntax

The grammatical arrangement of words

Context- reduced

communication relies solely on words, offering few external clues, typical of academic texts and telephone calls. Needed for reading textbooks, writing essays, and testing.

What develops first? BICS or CALPS?

BICS develops before CALP. Social fluency does not mean academic readiness.

What does CUP mean?

Common Underlying Proficiency

How does L1 help L2 development?

Strong first language development helps second language learning development.

Opposing theory of CUPS is?

Separate Underlying Proficiency

What are the Stages of Language Acquisition?

Pre-Production, Early Production, Speech Emergence, Intermediate Fluency, Advanced Fluency

What does Pre-production/ Silent Period involve?

Listening only, may last up to 6 months, understands 500 words.

What are the best supports for silent period?

Visuals, gestures, and manipulatives

What does Early Production involve?

One or two word responses, roughly 1000 receptive words, simple questions

What does Speech Emergence involve?

Short phrases/sentences, begins conversation, some grammar errors

What does Immediate Fluency involve?

More complex sentences, fewer grammatical errors and academic conversations begin

What does Advanced Fluency involve?

Near Native Proficiency and Academic Success increases

Monitor Hypothesis (Krashen Theories)

Language learning influences editing/ self correction

Affective Filter Hypothesis (Krashen’s Theory)

Stress, fear, and embarrassment block learning; safe classroom affect the affective filter

Comprehensible Input

Provide language slightly above the current level

Communicative Competence

Grammar competence, sociolinguistic competence, discourse competence, strategic communication skills.

What are examples of ESL instruction strategies?

Scaffolding, Visual Aids, Modeling, Sentence Stems, Hands on learning, prior knowledge activiation, Vocabulary pre-teaching, SDAIE strategies, Read objects/manipulatives, context clues.

What is “CALLA”?

Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach

What does “CALLA” involve?

Content learning plus academic language and strategies

What is “TPR”

Total Physical Response

What does “TPR” involve?

Students responding physically to teachers commands (great for beginners)

What does “Language Experience Approach” involve?

Students tell personal stories.

The teacher writes exact words.

Students reread their own language.

Builds literacy from oral language.

What do dialogue journals involve/do?

Students write freely.

The teacher responds using correct English.

Models language naturally.

What does TELPAS measure?

It measures English proficiency, in areas such as listening, speaking, reading and writing.

What does LAS links do?

It is a language proficiency screening.

What does “STAAR” measure

It measures academic readiness and academic content achievement.

What does “HLS” stand for?

Home Language Survey

What does “HLS” measure/screen?

It measures/identifies a students home language background.

What is “BSM” stand for?

Bilingual Syntax Measure

What does “BSM” measure?

it assesses language proficiency, creating language-rich classrooms

What are some best practices for “BSM”?

Label classroom items in L1 and English, Display student work, include multicultural books. Use visuals, and Build vocabulary walls.