CTEL key terms

The sound system of a language: which speech sounds exist, how they combine, and how stress and intonation work. Comparing a student's first-language sounds with English helps teachers anticipate pronunciation problems.

The study of the smallest units of meaning in words, such as roots, prefixes, and suffixes. Knowledge of word parts helps English learners decode unfamiliar words and build academic vocabulary.

The rules for ordering words into phrases and sentences. When a student's first language follows different patterns, those differences often appear as predictable grammar errors in English.

The meaning side of language: what words, phrases, and sentences mean, including multiple meanings, synonyms, and shades of difference. Meaning gaps can block comprehension even when a student reads accurately.

The social rules for using language, such as turn-taking, politeness, humor, and choosing a register for the audience. These conventions differ across cultures, so a student may seem rude while using correct grammar.

Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills: the everyday conversational fluency a student picks up in a new language, often within one to three years. Because it sounds fluent, it can hide gaps in academic language.

Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency: the language students need to compare, explain, analyze, and argue with text. It usually takes five to seven years or more of schooling to develop fully.

Spoken or written language that goes slightly beyond a learner's current level but is made understandable through visuals, gestures, context, and repetition. It is considered a main driver of second-language growth.

The emotional state that can block or allow language learning. Anxiety, embarrassment, or low motivation raises the filter; a welcoming, low-stress classroom lowers it and lets input in.

A normal stage in which a new English learner mainly listens and observes instead of speaking. Forcing early oral production can raise anxiety, so teachers should offer other ways to participate.

The influence of a student's first language on the second. It can help, as when word order matches, or produce errors, as when sounds or sentence patterns do not correspond to English.

Words in two languages that come from the same root and look or sound alike, such as 'family' and 'familia.' Teaching them gives Spanish speakers a fast route into academic vocabulary.

The vocabulary, grammar, and ways of organizing talk and writing used in school, such as explaining, comparing, and citing evidence. It includes how language functions in each subject, not just technical terms.

Moving between two languages within a conversation or even a single sentence. It is a normal, rule-governed skill of bilingual speakers, not a sign of confusion or language failure.

Teaching grade-level content in English with supports such as visuals, adapted text, modeling, and structured student talk, so English learners learn the subject and the language at the same time.

California's standards for how English learners develop English, organized by proficiency levels (emerging, expanding, bridging) and linked to the language demands found in the content standards.

Ongoing checks during teaching, such as questioning, observation, or exit tickets, used to adjust instruction right away. It informs teaching decisions rather than producing a final grade.

An evaluation at the end of a unit, course, or school year that measures how much students have learned, such as a final exam or the annual English proficiency test.

The English Language Proficiency Assessments of California, the statewide test used to identify students as English learners and to show yearly progress toward reclassification.

The process of changing a student's status from English learner to fluent English proficient. It draws on state test results, teacher judgment, and parent input, and it does not happen automatically.

Temporary support, such as sentence frames, models, organizers, or guided practice, that lets students complete a task they cannot yet do alone. It is gradually removed as competence grows.

A statement of the language students will use or learn during a lesson, such as explaining cause and effect with 'because.' It is planned alongside the content objective.

The extent to which a test measures what it claims to measure and supports the decisions made from it for a particular group of students. A test can be valid for one purpose and not another.

The consistency of test scores across repeated administrations, different forms, or different scorers. A reliable test gives similar results under similar conditions, though it is not necessarily valid.

Judging learning through realistic tasks such as projects, portfolios, presentations, or performances. It shows what students can do with language rather than only what they recognize on a test.

A program model in which English learners receive content instruction and English language development mostly in English, with materials and pacing matched to their proficiency levels.

The pause a teacher allows after asking a question and after a student begins to answer. Longer pauses give English learners time to process the question and form a response.

Planning varied materials, groupings, texts, or tasks so that students at different proficiency levels can work toward the same learning goal rather than a watered-down one.

The shared beliefs, values, customs, language, and ways of interacting that a group passes on to its members. It is learned, changes over time, and varies within any group.

The ability to understand and respond appropriately to people from different cultural backgrounds, including awareness of one's own biases and a willingness to keep learning.

Judging other cultures by the standards of one's own and treating one's own as normal or superior. In schools it can lead to misreading students' behavior and family practices.

The process of adapting to a new culture while keeping parts of one's original culture. It can be gradual and uneven, and students may move back and forth between cultural worlds.

An oversimplified, fixed generalization applied to all members of a group. Stereotypes can shape teacher expectations and lead to inaccurate judgments about individual students.

Planning instruction that connects content, examples, and participation structures to students' cultures and experiences, while holding high expectations for every learner.

The skills, knowledge, and resources families and communities develop through work, traditions, and daily life. Teachers can draw on these to make lessons meaningful and to build home-school connections.

Adding a second language while maintaining and valuing the first. Students in additive settings tend to show stronger academic outcomes and a more secure sense of identity.

Explaining a student's struggles as personal or cultural shortcomings rather than as a mismatch between school expectations and the student's experience. It lowers expectations and can lead to inappropriate referrals.

Providing each student what they need to succeed, which may mean different supports and resources rather than identical treatment. Equity focuses on removing barriers, not on treating everyone the same.