ESL practice test 1

A teacher is reviewing classroom data reflecting EL students' performance in a middle school science class. The teacher reviews the following notes about a recent immigrant currently categorized as an intermediate EL.

-Never ask questions when I introduce a ew assignment; instead, speaking in Spanish, turns to ask a classmate.

-During informal class activities, interacts comfortably with classmates but speaks in Spanish.

-When asked a question during class discussions, responds monosyllabically.

-In group work, sits quietly, non-participatory, but seems to understand what her group members are saying.

-When asked about incomplete homework assignments, she shrugs her shoulders. If I ask for details, she usually says, "Didn't do it."

*This teacher's notes will be useful in making an informal assessment about the student's proficiency in which of the following areas?*

• Academic language proficiency

• Listening and speaking

• Content-area knowledge

• General language proficiency

Which of the following adjustments should the teacher make in teaching activities to promote EL students' language development?

• Whenever El students are speaking in Spanish, the teacher should interrupt them, tell them they have to speak in English, and have them come up to the desk for reteaching.

• During lectures, the teacher should stop occasionally and ask an advanced EL student to translate the information for classmates who are having trouble understanding the content.

• The teacher should model think aloud that illustrate how to express understanding, confusion, questions, need for more explanation, and other responses to typical class situations.

• The teacher should have a question and answer session at the end of each lecture, requiring every student in the class to ask one question.

A high school biology teacher is starting a unit that addresses state assessment standards on knowledge of interactions among biological systems in plants. Which of the following instructional activities would most effectively promote EL students' achievement in this area?

• The teacher assigns a group project: each group identifies a specific plant and uses visuals and props to demonstrate how various systems contribute to growth.

• The teacher has students fill in a graphic that identifies parts of a plant's ecosystem.

• The teacher takes his students on a walk around the campus to point out different types of plants growing on the school grounds.

• The teacher shows students the state assessment standards in biology and explains the concepts and defines all the content-specific terms in each standard.

Which of the following statements best summarizes the way an ESL teacher can use results of mandated assessment to improve student achievement in the classroom?

• Although scores on mandated state exams provide summative assessment data, teachers can use information about performance in discrete areas of the exams to devise formative assessments embedded in day-to0day class activities.

• Because mandated state exams create a great deal of anxiety among teachers and students, the teacher should concentrate on improving students' comprehension of academic content instead of integrating state testing requirements.

• Because state exams are high stakes for students and teachers, teachers should revise their curriculum to cover only material included on the mandated exams.

• Teachers should adapt all course content to reflect the format of state assessments and administer benchmarks every few weeks.

Which THREE of the following conditions explain how students in Texas are identified as LEP/EL students?

• The student does not meet English proficiency requirements as indicated by the state-approved English language proficiency test.

• The student is unable to respond readily to instructions in English.

• The parents provide written approval for entry into the recommended language program.

• The home language survey indicates that a language other than English is the primary language.

• The student has had no classroom instruction in the United States.

A middle school science teacher is reading a set of students lab reports The following is in Remi's report:

-I knew that if I just had too more minutes, I could of finished.

*Remi's sentence demonstrates difficulty in which of the following areas?*

• Using past tense forms correctly

• Distinguishing between the oral and written forms of homonyms

• Using modals correctly

• Spelling

A middle school science teacher is reading a set of students lab reports The following is in Remi's report:

-I knew that if I just had too more minutes, I could of finished.

**In response to the last report item, "Explain your major understandings about lab procedures in completing this experiment," Remi writes:

-You should never feel bad just cuz u didn't finish.

** Which of the following feedback strategies should the teacher use to help Remi understand how to present his content-area knowledge in completing the science experiment report?**

• The teacher should mark an X through cuz and u and write "misspelled" in the margin.

• The teacher should use Remi's sentence in the next day's Daily Oral Language exercise and have the students try to correct the sentence.

• The teacher should affirm the learner's frustration over not completing the experiment, explaining that next time, he should use science terms to explain why he didn't finish.

• The teacher should leave the sentence as is since writing is not the focus of the science class.

A fifth grade teacher's class includes beginning and intermediate ESL students. The teacher has students keep a section in their writing notebooks to jot down words that they encounter in their independent reading. The teacher calls these "Wow Words." There are only three "rules" for Wow Words: (1) jot down new words that you want to learn; (2) jot down words you already know but have never used and you want to use in your writing or speech; (3) jot down the sentence in which you found the word. This activity focuses on which of the following areas of language?

• Phonology

• Lexicon

• Morphology

• Pragmatics

Which THREE of the following strategies represent effective practices in delivering instruction in a content-based math class?

• The teacher has students write a summary of the class lesson at the end of each class.

• The teacher defines key vocabulary words on the whiteboard, breaking them into syllables, and asking learners to repeat the words as he pronounces them.

• The teacher administers a quiz based on a problem from last night's homework to determine the students' weak areas.

• The teacher defines key vocabulary at the beginning of the day's lesson.

• The teacher picks a problem from last night's homework and has three student volunteers do a think aloud to demonstrate how they solved the problem.

Which TWO of the following scenarios illustrate why ESL teachers need a strong foundation in the structure of English?

• A math student is having a lot of trouble pronouncing quadrilateral.

• A science teacher administers homework quizzes at the beginning of each class period, but 90% of the students consistently fail.

• A history teacher wants students to memorize the names of the presidents of the United States.

• A social studies teacher wants students to write sentences that show cause-and-effect outcomes triggered by runoff in areas with limited vegetation.