TExES English as a Second Language (ESL) Supplemental (154) Instruction and Assessment

Mr. Feldman is providing a text to his class to read and discuss. Because of the large percentage of English learners in the class, he knows that he should provide additional scaffolds to turn the text into comprehensible input. Which of the following is a scaffolding technique that he could use? Select all that apply:

Add a word bank at the start of the text with key vocabulary to be reviewed before reading. This is a common scaffolding technique, as it aids English learners without altering the content of the lesson.

Many ELL students find listening to lectures very tiring. Which of the following describes why listening to lectures would be tiring for ELL students?

All of the above When language is spoken, the listener only gets to hear it once. When listening to oral language, an active listener is constantly decoding sounds. A lecture can be very one-sided.

Strategies that help ELLs internalize new vocabulary are:

All of the above. All three of these strategies help students learn new vocabulary. visual organizers. making associations with their L1 language. finding patterns in language.

Ms. Normans has prepared a content-based lesson for her ELL students. Before the lesson begins, she conducts a few exercises to familiarize the students with the new vocabulary. She presents the new vocabulary then has each student think of similar words in the primary language. This activity is likely to facilitate the student's acquisition of the English language primarily because the activity does which of the following?

Builds upon the student's current language knowledge and relates already known words to new words The activities use student's already known vocabulary of their first language to relate to the new, second language vocabulary.

An ELA teacher is creating groups for a literature circle assignment. The majority of reading will be completed independently, and the groups will meet multiple times a week for a combination of informal book chats and more structured teacher assignments. Which of the following is the best way for the teacher to support the ELL students in her class with this activity?

Create groups that contain a mixture of ELL and native speakers, but make sure the book is on level for all members. ELL students will benefit from these heterogeneous groups where they can learn from the strengths of others and participate in low-risk informal group discussions.

Maria is a beginner-level ELL from Mexico, with no former English education. She has joined Mrs. Davis' third-grade class. Mrs. Davis wants to help Maria with her reading comprehension skills. What should Mrs. Davis do first?

Determine whether Maria has learned the basic phonemic skills in her native language. The basic skills that serve as the foundation for reading, such as phonetic recognition, transfer from one language to another. If a student who is learning English has already acquired these skills in their first language, it is not necessary to learn them again in English. It is always a good idea to find out if the child knows these skills in their first language before beginning to teach them in English.

Based on current research, which of the following best describes quality English Language Learner instruction?

ELL instruction should create a meaningful framework of related skills instead of teaching all skills in isolation. Teaching skills in isolation is shown to be less beneficial for ELL students than creating a meaningful framework that groups skills appropriately.

During a science lesson, Ms. McNeil asked her students, including ELLs, to illustrate various vocabulary words that were included on a word wall. Using the think-pair-share method, they discussed the meaning of each vocabulary word before placing the cards on her word wall. Which research-based statement about second-language acquisition does Ms. McNeil's scenario demonstrate an understanding of?

Experiencing meaningful linguistic contexts is essential for the acquisition of a second language. Teachers demonstrate academic language by illustrating and discussing it, which is a research-based method of making the text meaningful.

Evaluate the statement below. Language learned through rote memorization without reference to a specific context or content is an efficient way to expand one's vocabulary.

False, language learned in context is retained more readily Learning vocabulary in context is more effective, because the mind seems to need reference points or hooks on which to hang the vocabulary label.

Mr. Sanders teaches a sixth-grade early-intermediate-level ELD class. Which of the following activities would be most beneficial in increasing his students' communicative competence?

Give students plenty of opportunities for student-to-student or group interactions in which they are required to use English. Communicative competence refers to a learner's ability to use language to communicate successfully. Students must do this when working together in groups.

Mr. George is a middle school math teacher who is teaching number prefixes to his ELL students. He asks each student to think of how to say "bicycle," "unicycle," and "tricycle" in their first language. Which of the following is a benefit of having students think of number prefixes in their first language during the activity? Select all answers that apply.

It allows students to connect words and concepts they already know with the English language. Having students recall prefixes in their first language allows them to take already known concepts and build the English vocabulary upon these concepts. It allows students to build knowledge of English rules from what they already know in their first language. Having students recall prefixes in their first language allows them to take already known concepts and build the English vocabulary upon these concepts.

Mr. Lopez is a second-grade science teacher. As part of a lesson on animals, he creates an activity in which students create analogies using the new vocabulary words. He gives the students the analogy "bird:fly as fish:swim" as an example. What is the purpose of using this instructional strategy with ELLs?

It encourages ELLs to use critical thinking as a way of learning new vocabulary. Analogies are a great way to expose students to new vocabulary while also using critical thinking skills.

Which of the following is not a benefit of using WebQuests with ELL students?

It requires teachers to use technology in the classroom. This is neither a positive or a negative. In our quickly developing world, it is a good idea for teachers to incorporate technology in the classroom, but sometimes when resources are limited, it can be more of a burden than a help.

Students in Mr. Santiago's fourth-grade social studies class are taught content vocabulary using word maps. He has English language learners (ELLs) with varying proficiency levels. Students are expected to achieve the following objectives: Content objective: Students will identify different regions of Texas. Language objective: Students will explain new vocabulary words in small groups. Mr. Santiago divides the class into groups of three members and assigns each group a reading assignment. During the reading process, the students need to create a list of target words that they need to define and discuss as a group later on. Using the target words, students must then create vocabulary maps as illustrated below. After completing their maps, students present them to the class. An ELL completed the following word map: What part of the word map would help English-language learners internalize the new vocabulary word most effectively?

Part 5 The vocabulary words are most likely to be internalized during Step 5, when students use the word in a sentence to make a personal connection with it.

Ms. Denali, a sixth-grade English literature teacher has several English learners in her class. In today's class, the lesson is focused on figurative language. Ms. Denali starts the lesson by stating:"Today we're going to focus on the use of figurative language in poetry. Our first objective is to identify figurative language and wrap our heads around the reasons it is used. We will create our own examples of figurative language using sentence stems, and then we'll call it a day!"She writes the objectives on the board, enunciates clearly and speaks in a raised voice, but the ELLs look a bit confused when she finishes speaking.What does Ms. Denali do that is inappropriate or unnecessary? Select all that apply. Select all answers that apply.

She speaks in a raised voice. It is unnecessary for Ms. Denali to speak in a raised voice to English learners, as they don't have trouble hearing.

Before beginning a new unit, a teacher provides her class with a list of new vocabulary terms they will encounter. Other than defining the words as they are used and front loading lessons with new vocabulary, which activity would help students successfully identify and understand the words in context?

Sorting words based on similarities in structure, meaning, or parts of speech. Categorizing and sorting the vocabulary words based on these similarities will provide students with repeated exposure to the terms, making it easier to recognize them in context.

Mr. Durant is a science teacher. He implements a learning activity where the students break up into small groups after a class reading to discuss the material. After the small group discussion, Mr. Durant has the students write about their group's discussion in their journals. Mr. Durant best displays the knowledge of which of the following learning principles?

Student language development is integrated. The more students can express their thoughts in a new language, the more likely they are to retain and internalize the language. Reading, discussing, and then writing allows for these important language skills to be utilized.

A language objective is an important and explicit part of sheltered instruction. What is the best example of a language objective?

Students will be able to orally describe and categorize the different types of rocks. This is a language objective since it specifies the way students will use language to accomplish their goals.

Mr. Omelan includes instructional activities in his teaching that require students to use multiple senses and act out words, ideas, and concepts. Which of the following best describes the impact of Mr. Omelan's instructional strategies on bilingual and ELL students?

Students will better remember the meanings of words, ideas, and concepts. As students are required to involve multiple senses and physical action to communicate the meanings of words, ideas, and concepts, they are better able to reinforce the definitions. Because of this, students are better able to remember words, ideas, and concepts taught during the instructional activities.

Which of the following statements express a fact about the total physical response instructional method? Select all that apply: Select all answers that apply.

TPR focuses on language acquisition rather than explicit language learning. TPR is not focused on explicitly teaching grammar structures and correct language usage, but more concerned with the immersive experience of learning a language. TPR supports retention of vocabulary. TPR is most often used to teach vocabulary and expressions, as it has been found that associating a physical movement with a word or phrase results in stronger retention.

Mr. Reed would like to integrate more technology into his ESL classroom. Before doing this, he should be aware of which of the following facts about technology in education? Select all that apply. Select all answers that apply.

Technology enables students to be more independent, as they are controlling how they access information. Technology, when used correctly, can allow students to perform tasks on their own. With technology, learning materials are always available, so students can control when, where, and how they access the information, partially assuming the role of teacher. Educational studies have shown that technology plays a significant role in increasing engagement and motivation in the classroom. Technology, when used correctly, can have a positive impact in the classroom as a way to make learning more fun, and as a result, increase student engagement and motivation. There are many ways to personalize lessons for each student using adaptive technology. Adaptive technology helps students to have a more customized learning experience, as it can adapt to their strengths and weaknesses.

Mr. Rodriguez is teaching an instructional unit on supply and demand to his ELL students. He gives each student the choice of reading an article about supply and demand and filling out a worksheet or researching how a favorite video game is made and marketed. He notices an overwhelming majority of the students choose to do the research activity. Which of the following is the most likely reason the students chose this activity?

The activity has a real and applicable purpose to their everyday lives. Students respond much better to "authentic" activities or activities that they can apply to their lives.

Mrs. Glass, a new teacher, notices the literature the English language learners are required to read has many difficult words. She discusses the situation with her mentor teacher, who has been teaching English language learners for many years and is experienced with the laws and requirements for English language learner education. Of the following, what is the most appropriate response by the mentor teacher?

The teacher should work with the students to help explain the meaning of the words. It is the role of the teacher to work with the students to build the students' vocabulary.

A middle school teacher teaches a group of intermediate-level English learners about prefixes and suffixes. How is this activity most likely to promote students' English language development?

This activity will increase vocabulary and syntactic understanding. Teaching the meanings of prefixes and suffixes helps students to understand new words and change the tense and/or part of speech.

Sixth-grade social studies teacher Mr. Smith plans to teach a lesson on the American Revolution. About half of his class is made up of ELLs of varying levels of proficiency in English. Before the lesson begins, what can a teacher do to build ELLs' background knowledge on the American Revolution?

Use a PowerPoint to explain key events of the American Revolution. Slides portraying the critical events will be especially helpful to ELLs of all language proficiency levels in understanding the details of the American Revolution.

Mr. Ramsey wants to promote vocabulary expansion among his English language learners. Which of the following would be the best engaging strategy to promote this goal?

Use activities to internalize language Activities that are engaging and give students the opportunity to internalize language are the most beneficial in the classroom.

Mrs. Holland breaks her ELL/ESL class into small groups and provides each group a list of words about animals at the zoo. She instructs each group to discuss the words and decide what each word has or does not have in common with the other words. Which of the following is this activity most likely to promote?

Vocabulary about animals Students will be discussing various animals and the characteristics of the vocabulary words.

The upcoming lesson is on the physics of skateboarding. The teacher should prepare which of the following as a pre-teaching step, before showing the students the text from the magazine?

a list of words and jargon specifically related to physics and skateboarding. Especially with a popular activity such as skateboarding, there are likely to be idiomatic expressions and jargon that will come up. For example, did you know that a 'fakie' is when you are riding backward on the skateboard?

To ensure that ELL students are acquiring the knowledge and skills that are considered essential at different levels of schooling, what program model is the most appropriate?

a scaffolded standards-based curriculum It is most appropriate to make content-based instruction understandable to ELLs by using a standards-based program.

Which of the following program models integrates English-as-a-Second-Language instruction with subject matter instruction that focuses not only on learning English, but using English as a medium to learn other academic subjects?

content-based ESL model Content-based ESL models integrate English-as-a-Second-Language instruction with subject-matter instruction. There are several different types of content-based models, each with their own characteristics.

English learners (ELs) in early childhood environments often require direct instruction in literacy development. One pedagogical strategy a teacher can use to improve academic language outcomes in young children is to:

create activities that incorporate language that will be used outside of the classroom. By incorporating academic language that students can utilize in other environments, a teacher can provide effective direct instructions to ELs in the classroom.

A new teacher observes a veteran teacher using street signs and bus schedules as reading material in her ESL class. Authentic tasks like this used in the classroom are effective because they:

give students a chance to learn about real-life tasks. When a student learns to read street signs or the city bus schedule it is an authentic task that many citizens are involved in on a daily basis. Practicing these activities in the classroom will help students when they encounter them in real life.

An ESL teacher takes her class to the language lab so they can listen to recordings of an everyday vocabulary in English. She hands each student a recording sheet and informs them to place a check on the line for each phrase they hear. Below is the recording sheet: Directions: Listen to the tape and place a check on the line for each phrase you hear. ____ The lemons are on aisle nine. ____ The apples are not good. ____ The oranges are not ripe. ____ The bread is on the right side of the store. ____ The milk is on the left side of the store. Which of the following everyday activities is the teacher most likely preparing for?

going grocery shopping correct All the phrases are most likely to be said in a supermarket.

English learners (ELs) in the early elementary grades benefit from systematic, explicit instruction in reading and literary skills. To complement this type of instruction, which of the following strategies should a teacher implement on a regular basis?

include frequent academic and social opportunities for English learners to practice vocabulary words These types of activities would help English learners develop the necessary vocabulary skills they need to communicate more effectively with their grade-level peers.

When providing content and language instruction, which of the following should not be done for the ELL students?

lower the level of the academic content The level of academic content should not be lowered for ELL students, although the manner of instruction might need to be adjusted. ELL students should not fall behind their classmates academically.

An ESL teacher has each of her students highlight at least two key words from each paragraph they read. As the ELL students are reading, they paraphrase what they read using the highlighted words to guide them. This strategy benefits the ELL students by increasing their skills in which of the following?

metacognitive thought processes that help synthesize information Metacognition is being aware of your thought process. In this activity, the students highlighting key words and paraphrasing what they read helps them retain information because they use the key words as points of reference. Paraphrasing as one reads the passage allows the student to acquire and internalize the information.

In order to effectively acquire a second language, which of the following factors is most important?

participating in meaningful social interactions and activities The easiest way for a second language to be acquired is through meaningful interaction in a social setting.

It is the beginning of the school year and a prekindergarten teacher is teaching her students daily classroom routines. There are several beginning English learners (ELs) in her classroom this year. Which of the following strategies should the teacher implement to meet the needs of this group of students?

place procedure cards with pictures and the written steps to follow around the room for students to reference English learners benefit from visual cues. Providing beginner students with pictures and written steps describing classroom procedures will help them internalize classroom routines and gain independence in the classroom.

A student who uses imperative statements to ask for things, such as saying to the teacher, "Give me a pencil," is displaying a lack of which of the following competencies?

pragmatic Pragmatic competence is the ability to use language effectively in different situations. In phrasing the statements toward the teacher as an imperative, or an order, the student demonstrates a lack of pragmatic competence.

A third-grade ESL teacher is starting a new science unit on the physical properties of matter. Students will be expected to determine how to classify different objects. She will give students brown paper bags with 5 objects inside each one. The students must write down the properties and figure out what each object is without looking. In order for the children to be successful, the teacher must do which of the following prior to this activity?

preview and discuss texture vocabulary and allow students to provide examples This is correct because if the teacher previews different types of texture vocabulary, it will activate students' schema. ESL students benefit from this because they can use their native language and prepare to associate it with their new language.

A middle-school teacher is choosing a lesson for intermediate-level learners for a content-based ELD lesson on evolution.Which of the following is an appropriate modification for the teacher to make for the ELLs in his class?

providing glossaries Glossaries of terms can be provided to all students, as a way to ensure that ELL students are not limited by vocabulary.

Mrs. Yates, a fifth-grade science teacher, sees that the ELLs in her class are having trouble understanding a new unit about electricity and magnetism. What can she do to help her students better comprehend the learning material?

show students an image related to the topic at the start of class and ask them to state everything that they can about the image This is an effective strategy because it taps into students' prior knowledge and helps them build upon what they already know.

An ESL teacher plays a video clip of a dinner conversation in English and has learners compare the interaction, such as choice of topic and turn-taking, with their own interactions. Then, in small groups, the students create their own dialogues and role-play for the class. The teacher is performing this activity in order to increase the students':

sociolinguistic competence. Sociolinguistic competence is the ability to use language and respond appropriately based on the setting, the topic, and the social situation. A student with sociolinguistic competence knows how to be courteous, how to be friendly, how to respond to authority, and how to show respect when needed. This activity is designed to develop this competence.

Carla, an ELL student from Colombia, is at the intermediate level. Despite lacking some grammar knowledge, she is very good at getting her message across. She has no trouble using communication techniques such as gesturing and circumlocution to convey her ideas. Based on the information, it seems Carla has a high level of:

strategic competence. Strategic competence is the ability to express ideas when there is a lack of knowledge of the right word (verb, noun, etc). A person with a high level of strategic confidence knows how to clarify things when there are misunderstandings. Carla is demonstrating this competence.

Which of the following terms is used to describe a learning environment in which students incorporate their interests and skills into the learning process?

student-centered Student-centered or learner-centered environments pay close attention to the needs of the student.

A risk-free environment in a classroom means that the:

students feel supported to learn. When students are in a risk-free environment, they do not feel bad about making mistakes. They are encouraged to take chances in expressing themselves and they know they will not be laughed at. They feel supported to learn and to make mistakes along the way.

Mr. Price is a teacher who speaks Spanish. He has some English language learners (ELLs) from Mexico in his class. Mr. Price has given his class a research project which involves doing research, reading texts, and writing a report. He wants to find a way to use the students' native language to scaffold their learning in English but isn't sure of the best way to do it. What can Mr. Price do to scaffold the assignment in a way that supports the students' English literacy?

supplement the English texts with research in the ELLs' native language and have them present their findings in English The use of native-language research to supplement English texts will help the ELLs to understand the academic content, and presenting their findings in English will help them practice their English writing skills. This is an appropriate way to use a student's native language to scaffold English learning.

Which is an appropriate activity for ELLs who are lacking in vocabulary development?

teaching them how to identify context clues and use them effectively to interpret meanings It is important for ELL students to know how to figure out the meaning of unfamiliar words by using context clues.

Communicative competence requires an advanced speaker of English to behave in the following manner:

to be comfortable using English in all situations. Communicative competence refers to a language user's ability to use a language to communicate successfully.

A prekindergarten teacher is planning her daily read-aloud during group instruction. To improve the understanding and engagement of her EL students during read-alouds, the teacher can:

use props or pictures to assist in understanding important parts of the story. By using props or pictures to understand the story, the student is presenting ELs with non-verbal cues that will help to fully grasp the content.

An ESL teacher divides her students into groups. There are ELLs in each group. The teacher gives each group 1 dice, 36 cubes and 6 plates. The students will roll the dice to determine how many groups and roll once again to determine how many cubes in each group. The students are given a sentence stem and will record their rolls on a sheet of paper, for example 4 groups and 2 in each group equals 8 cubes. This will later transfer to multiplicative form of 4 x 2 = 8. This activity demonstrates the teacher's awareness of the purpose of which of the following best practices?

using manipulatives to gain a deep understanding of concepts By using manipulatives, the teacher is helping the students move toward a deep understanding of concepts. The students have a concrete model and are able to make connections with the abstract model of written equations.

Mr. Robbins would like to incorporate more technology into his ESL classroom. All of the following would be an efficient use of technology during class time except:

using multimedia equipment to show full-length movies in the classroom. This is an activity that can be done outside of class time. Discussing parts of a video clip is a much more efficient use of class time.

Students who are given contextual writing assignments (such as journal writing in mathematics) have a chance to better develop content-area language because they are: Select all answers that apply.

using/selecting their own words to convey their solution. This explains how the learning occurs linguistically. writing about a problem they have to solve. This explains how the learning occurs conceptually.