ESL Certification Test Prep

Homonyms

Words that have 2 or more meanings

Homographs

2 words that have the same spelling and/or pronunciation but different meanings (bat/bat)

Homophones

2 words that have the same pronunciation but different spelling and meanings (wood/would)

Heteronyms

2 words that have the same spelling but have different pronunciations and meanings (Polish/polish)

Orthography

Writing words with the proper letters. The way in which the words of a language are spelled.

Minimal Pairs

A pair of words that are different only by a single sound (desk/disk, fan/van, sit/seat, wet/wait)

Relative Pronouns

Connects a clause or phrase to a noun or pronoun (that, which, whose, who, whom)

Possessive Pronouns

Show ownership (mine, hers, his, yours, ours, theirs, my)

Reflexive Pronouns

When we refer back to the subject of the sentence or clause (end in -self or -selves: myself, herself, ourselves, themselves)

Indefinite Pronouns

Doesn't refer to any specific person, thing, or amount (all, another, any, anybody, few, many, one, some, several)

1981 Castaneda vs. Pickard

Roy Castaneda vs. Raymondville ISD. Claimed RISD was discriminating against his kids because of their ethnicity. Courts established a 3-pronged test for evaluating programs serving ELL's (Castaneda Standard): 1. base programs on educational theory 2. implement programs 3. evaluate programs

1982 Plyler vs. Doe

Undocumented children have the right to go to school

1974 Lau vs. Nichols

Case by Chinese American students in San Fran who had LEP. Claimed they were not receiving special help due to inability to speak English. They said it violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Phonology (language systems)

Study of the system and pattern of speech sounds of a language.

Phoneme (language systems)

A speech sound identified by a native speaker (phonemic awareness)

Phonetics (language systems)

How phonemes are physically produced

Phonics (language systems)

How phonemes are represented in written language

Morphology (language systems)

How words are structured and how they are put together from smaller parts known as morphemes

Morpheme (language systems)

The smallest linguistic unit that has a meaning or grammatical function (stem, suffix, prefix)

Creating Sentences

Combine

phonemes into morphemes,

morphemes into words,

words into sentences

Syntax (language systems)

The way in which sentences are constructed and how sentences are related to each other.

English syntax is taught by grammar study.

Semantics (language systems)

The study of linguistic meaning, including the meaning of words, morphemes, phrases, and sentences.

Encompasses the ways in which the meanings of words change and develop.

Lexicon (language systems)

The vocabulary of a language including information about the meaning, grammatical function, and pronunciation.

Lexical Ambiguity- a situation when one word has 2 or more meanings.

Cognate

A word in the second language that has a similar meaning to a word in the first language (rose- rosado, monument- monumento)

Pragmatics (language systems)

The study of how the meaning conveyed by a word or sentence depends on the context in which it is used (time, place, social relationship)

Discourse (language systems)

A continuous stretch of speech or written text

Tonal/Language Register

The pitch or stress at which syllables in a word are pronounced (frozen, formal, consultative, casual, intimate)

Dialect

A variety of a language defined by both geographical factors and social factors (class, religion, ethnicity).

Standard dialect- understood by all speakers, educated speech, and language of the group in power.

Dialectal differences- phonological, lexical, and syntactical

BICS= Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills (Dimension of language)

Social, conversational, everyday situations

Context- embedded

2 or more years to reach same level of proficiency as a native speaker

CALP= Cognitive and Academic Language Proficiency (Dimension of language)

Academic, higher order thinking skills

Context- reduced

5- 7 years to reach same level of proficiency as a native speaker

Krashen

5 Hypothesis of L2 Acquisition-

1. Comprehensible Input: need to comprehend what is being communicated.

2. Acquisition vs. Learning: natural/subconscious and formal/conscious

3. Natural Order: essential to expose students to natural, meaningful situations

4. Monitor

5. Affective Filter: components that influence the acquisition of language (culture, self-image, interest and motivation, and anxiety

Chomsky

Believes children are born with an inherited ability to learn any human language.

LAD (language acquisition device)- encodes the major principles of a language and its grammatical structures into the childs' brain

Result Types of Motivation

Instrumental- subtractive bilingualism; L1 is given up for L2

Integrative- additive bilingualism; L1 is maintained while L2 is acquired

Pre Production (ESL proficiency stage 1)

silent/receptive, 500 words or less, gestures, 6 months

Early Production (ESL proficiency stage 2)

1,000 words, 1 or 2 phrases, 6 months to 1 year

Speech Emergence (ESL proficiency stage 3)

7,000 words, short sentences and simple questions, 1 year

Intermediate Fluency (ESL proficiency stage 4)

12,000 words, complex statements, 1 year or more

Total Physical Response (TPR; teaching method)

Early stages, teacher gives commands and physical movement, focus on listening and comprehension, body movements

Natural Approach (teaching method)

subconscious acquisition, context in the classroom, encourages speech through low anxiety situations (low affective filter), sees difference between BICS and CALP

Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (CALLA; teaching method)

Learning language through academic content, emphasis on all 4 language learning skills and vocab building, useful for students with developed BICS, teaches learning strategies as well as content

Sheltered Instruction

SIOP- Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol

Instruction driven by content and language objectives

Incorporates background knowledge, dynamic student interaction, and meaningful activities

English is not taught as a language with a focus on learning the language, but content knowledge and skills are the goal

ESL Best Practice

Best to incorporate all these strategies: visuals, vocab development, active learning, interaction, learning strategies (self-monitoring, self-correcting, self-directed learning)

One-Way Communication (stage 1 of development in communication skills)

Student listens but doesn't speak, silent period, acquiring knowledge of vocab, syntax, and content

Partial Two-Way Communication (stage 2 of development in communication skills)

Student listens and responds with gestures or in L1, shows comprehension by nodding, pointing, drawing, etc.

Full Two-Way Communication (stage 3 of development in communication skills)

Student listens and responds effectively in L2

Oral Language

Listening and speaking before reading and writing

Environments with rich conversation and invites response

Will speak when ready

Fluency precedes accuracy

Teacher acceptant of all attempts (right or wrong)

LPAC= Language Proficiency Assessment Committee

Placement- Assessment- Annual Review

Members: admin, teacher, parent, other (counselor)

Responsibilities: if HLS indicates another language, review it, determine if student is LEP, recommend appropriate program, notify parents

HLS

Home Language Survey

Cueing Systems

Graphophonic- letters/sounds/visual clues

Semantics- sense, meaning

Syntax- structure, grammar

OLPT (language test)

Oral Language Proficiency Test

Determines if student is FES, LES, LEP, NES

ITBS (language test)

Iowa Test of Basic Skills

Achievement test

Assessment Related Issues

Validity

Reliability

Cultural Bias

WMLS

Woodcock Munoz Language Survey

Provides information on students cognitive and academic language proficiency (CALP)

RPTE

Reading Proficiency Test of English

FES

Fluent English Speaker

LES

Limited English Speaker

NES

Non English Speaker

LEP

Limited English Proficient

CEW

Competent English Writer

CER

Competent English Reader

Acculturation

The process of becoming adjusted to another culture

1. Euphoria

2. Culture Shock

3. Tentative Recovery

4. Assimilation/Adaptation

Code-Mixing

The mixing of 2 languages at the word level (one word in the sentence is in a different language)

Code-Switching

Any switch among languages in the course of a conversation (at level of words, sentences, or blocks of speech)

Communicative-based ESL (functional approach/communicative approach; Baker)

Theory that language is acquired through exposure to meaningful and comprehensible messages rather than formal learning

Content-based ESL (Crandall)

Instructional materials, learning tasks, and classroom techniques from academic content areas are the vehicle for developing language, content, cognitive, and study skills

NEP

Non English Proficient

TESOL

Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages

A professional association of teachers, admin, researchers, and others