MTTC English Second Language 126

What does it mean that language is dynamic?

Language is constantly changing over time as vocabulary, pronunciation, meanings, and grammar evolve.

What is a language system?

A structured system of rules and patterns that governs how a language's sounds, words, sentences, meanings, and communication are organized.

What is linguistic innateness?

The idea that humans have an inherent biological capacity for acquiring language.

What is linguistic universality?

The idea that certain characteristics or principles are shared across human languages.

What is language variation?

Differences in language use based on factors such as region, social group, culture, occupation, age, setting, and history.

What is a dialect?

A systematic variety of a language associated with a particular geographic or social group.

Is a dialect an incorrect form of a language?

No. Dialects are systematic and legitimate language varieties with their own vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation patterns.

What is a register?

A variety of language selected according to the situation, audience, purpose, and level of formality.

What is regional language variation?

Differences in vocabulary, pronunciation, or grammar that occur because speakers live in different geographic areas.

What factors can cause language variation?

Region, social group, occupation, age, culture, language contact, and physical or social isolation.

What is language contact?

Interaction between speakers of different languages that can lead to borrowing, pronunciation changes, or grammatical influence.

What is bilingualism?

The ability to use two languages, with proficiency potentially varying across languages and contexts.

What is multilingualism?

The ability to use multiple languages, often with different levels of proficiency across languages and situations.

What is code-switching?

Alternating between two or more languages or language varieties depending on the context, audience, topic, or purpose.

Does code-switching mean an English learner is confused?

No. Code-switching is a normal linguistic practice and can reflect communication needs, cultural identity, or context.

What is diglossia?

A situation in which two varieties of a language are used for different social or communicative purposes.

What is a language family?

A group of languages that developed from a common ancestral language.

What are examples of language families?

Romance, Germanic, and Slavic are examples of language families.

What is phonology?

The study of the sound system of a language and how sounds are organized and used.

What is a phoneme?

The smallest unit of sound that can distinguish meaning between words.

What is an example of phonemes changing word meaning?

/p/ and /b/ distinguish words such as "pat" and "bat."

What is intonation?

The rise and fall of pitch during speech that can communicate meaning, emotion, emphasis, or attitude.

How can teachers help English learners develop phonological skills?

Use pronunciation modeling, minimal pairs, listening discrimination, repetition, rhymes, songs, and explicit practice with English sounds.

What are minimal pairs?

Two words that differ by only one phoneme, such as "ship" and "sheep."

What is morphology?

The study of the structure and formation of words.

What is a morpheme?

The smallest unit of language that carries meaning or a grammatical function.

How many morphemes are in "cats"?

Two: "cat" + "-s."

What is an affix?

A meaningful element added to a word, such as a prefix or suffix.

What is a prefix?

An affix added to the beginning of a word, such as "un-" in "unhappy."

What is a suffix?

An affix added to the end of a word, such as "-er" in "teacher."

What are inflectional endings?

Word endings that express grammatical information without changing the basic word class, such as plural "-s," past "-ed," and progressive "-ing."

What is a root or base word?

The central part of a word that carries its primary meaning.

How can morphology instruction help English learners?

Teaching roots, prefixes, suffixes, and word families helps students decode unfamiliar words and expand vocabulary.

What is syntax?

The rules governing how words are arranged to form phrases and sentences.

What is the typical English sentence pattern?

Subject + Verb + Object, as in "The student reads books."

Why can syntax be challenging for English learners?

Different languages use different word orders and sentence structures, which can lead to language transfer errors.

How can teachers teach English syntax?

Use sentence frames, modeling, sentence unscrambling, sentence combining, color coding, and guided practice.

What is semantics?

The study of meaning in language.

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words that have more than one meaning depending on context, such as "bank."

What is an idiom?

An expression whose intended meaning cannot usually be understood literally from its individual words.

How should teachers teach idioms to English learners?

Explicitly explain the literal meaning, intended meaning, context, and cultural background when relevant.

What is discourse?

Language used beyond individual sentences in spoken or written communication.

What are discourse markers?

Words or phrases that organize communication and show relationships between ideas, such as "however," "therefore," and "for example."

What are speech acts?

Actions accomplished through language, such as requesting, apologizing, greeting, promising, or refusing.

What is participant structure?

The way participants interact during communication, including who speaks, when they speak, and how turns are taken.

Why should teachers compare English with students' first languages?

Comparing languages helps teachers identify similarities, differences, positive transfer, and potential areas of difficulty.

What is positive language transfer?

When knowledge of a student's first language helps them learn English because the languages share a feature.

What is negative language transfer?

When a feature of a student's first language interferes with learning English because the languages differ.

What is sociolinguistics?

The study of the relationship between language and society.

What is pragmatics?

The study of how language is used appropriately and meaningfully in social contexts.

What factors influence pragmatic language choices?

Audience, purpose, setting, social relationships, cultural norms, and level of formality.

What are pragmatic features?

Features such as tone, politeness, directness, turn-taking, formality, gestures, and nonverbal communication.

Why can pragmatic differences cause cross-cultural misunderstandings?

Cultures may have different expectations for eye contact, silence, personal space, turn-taking, gestures, directness, and politeness.

How can teachers teach pragmatic language?

Explicitly model appropriate language and use role-play to practice communication in different social and academic contexts.

Should teachers assume that one variety of English is inherently better than another?

No. English varieties and dialects are legitimate linguistic systems, although students may need to learn academic or standard forms for particular contexts.

How can a teacher be a good language model?

Provide clear, comprehensible, rich English and expose students to a variety of English speakers and authentic communication situations.

What is culture?

A shared system of values, beliefs, behaviors, traditions, communication patterns, expectations, and social practices.

What is cultural relativism?

Understanding a culture within its own cultural context rather than judging it according to another culture's standards.

What is cultural universalism?

The idea that some aspects of human life are shared across cultures, even though they may be expressed differently.

What is acculturation?

The process of adapting to aspects of another culture while potentially maintaining aspects of one's original culture.

What is assimilation?

The process of increasingly adopting another culture's practices, potentially reducing aspects of one's original cultural identity.

What is accommodation?

Adjusting behaviors, expectations, or practices to function successfully within another cultural environment.

What is culture shock?

The emotional and psychological discomfort that can occur when someone encounters an unfamiliar culture.

What is culture fatigue?

Stress or exhaustion resulting from prolonged effort to function in an unfamiliar cultural and linguistic environment.

What factors affect cultural adjustment?

Language proficiency, social support, personality, previous experiences, family relationships, community support, and similarities or differences between cultures.

What are internal elements of culture?

Values, beliefs, expectations, attitudes, worldviews, and cultural identity.

What are external elements of culture?

Communication patterns, social roles, status, traditions, behaviors, institutions, and social practices.

How does valuing students' cultural identities affect learning?

Respecting cultural identities can increase engagement, belonging, motivation, participation, language development, and academic achievement.

Do all students from the same cultural group have the same cultural identity?

No. Students within the same cultural group can have very different experiences, beliefs, language use, traditions, and levels of cultural identification.

What is the relationship between language and culture?

Language reflects and communicates culture, while culture influences vocabulary, communication styles, discourse, and interpretation of meaning.

How can world events affect English learners?

Immigration policies, political events, conflicts, and events in students' home countries can affect students' families, educational experiences, language use, and adjustment.

How can racism and discrimination affect English learners?

They can negatively affect belonging, motivation, self-esteem, participation, language development, and academic achievement.

How should teachers address stereotypes?

Challenge stereotypes, provide diverse perspectives, create an inclusive classroom, and avoid making assumptions about students based on culture, race, ethnicity, or language.

Why should teachers use diverse literary and cultural texts?

They provide representation, expose students to multiple perspectives, promote empathy, and help students connect learning to their own experiences.

What is culturally responsive teaching?

Teaching that uses students' cultural and linguistic backgrounds as assets to support learning.

How can teachers connect curriculum to students' cultures?

Incorporate students' experiences, communities, cultural traditions, family knowledge, languages, and diverse texts into instruction.

Why should teachers reflect on their own cultural beliefs?

Teachers' assumptions and cultural perspectives can influence expectations, communication, discipline, and interpretations of student behavior.

What is cross-cultural communication?

Communication between people from different cultural backgrounds.

What are examples of cross-cultural communication differences?

Eye contact, gestures, personal space, silence, turn-taking, directness, interruptions, and greeting practices.

Should lack of eye contact automatically be interpreted as disrespect?

No. Eye contact expectations vary across cultures, so teachers should consider cultural and individual differences.

How should teachers view students' home languages?

As valid communication systems and valuable linguistic resources that can support learning.

What is second language acquisition?

The process of developing the ability to understand and use a language in addition to one's first language.

What is interlanguage?

A developing, systematic language system that an English learner creates while acquiring English.

What is comprehensible input?

Language that learners can understand with support even when some of the language is slightly beyond their current proficiency.

How can teachers make input comprehensible?

Use visuals, gestures, demonstrations, modeling, context, realia, repetition, and background knowledge.

What is comprehensible output?

Language that learners produce to communicate meaning and develop their ability to use the new language.

Why is meaningful interaction important in second language acquisition?

Interaction allows students to hear and produce English, negotiate meaning, ask questions, clarify misunderstandings, and develop communicative competence.

What is scaffolding?

Temporary support that helps students successfully complete tasks they cannot yet complete independently.

What are examples of language scaffolds?

Sentence frames, word banks, visuals, graphic organizers, modeling, gestures, guided practice, and partner work.

What is the difference between social and academic language?

Social language is used for everyday communication, while academic language is used for school-based learning, analysis, explanation, and content-area communication.

Can a student be socially fluent but struggle academically?

Yes. Social and academic language develop differently, so conversational fluency does not necessarily indicate academic English proficiency.

What is overgeneralization?

Applying a learned language rule too broadly, such as saying "goed" instead of "went."

What is metacognition?

Awareness and monitoring of one's own thinking and learning processes.

What language-learning strategies promote metacognition?

Self-monitoring, self-assessment, asking for clarification, making connections, elaborating, and reflecting on learning.

What is error analysis?

The systematic examination of language errors to identify patterns and understand a learner's developing language system.

What is performance analysis?

Examining a student's overall language performance rather than focusing only on the number of errors.

Should teachers correct every language error?

No. Teachers should consider proficiency, instructional goals, communication, and whether an error meaningfully interferes with understanding.

How can teachers distinguish language acquisition difficulties from learning disabilities?

Use multiple sources of evidence, consider first-language development and educational history, monitor progress, and collaborate with specialists rather than assuming limited English proficiency indicates a disability.

What is language transfer?

The influence of a student's first language on learning a second language.

Why is first-language literacy important for English literacy?

Strong literacy skills in the first language can provide transferable reading, writing, vocabulary, and metacognitive skills for learning English.