MTLE English as a Second Language (Grades K-12) flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Phoneme

The smallest unit of sound that can distinguish meaning in a language, such as /p/ versus /b/ in the words pat and bat.

Morpheme

The smallest unit of meaning in a language. Free morphemes can stand alone as words; bound morphemes must attach to other morphemes, such as the plural -s.

Syntax

The set of rules governing how words combine into phrases and sentences in a language, including word order and sentence structure such as English subject-verb-object order.

Pragmatics

The study of how context, speaker intent, and social norms shape meaning in communication, including indirect requests, politeness, and conversational implicature.

Phonological awareness

The ability to detect and manipulate the sound structure of spoken language, including syllables, rhymes, and individual phonemes. It predicts early reading success.

Register

A variety of language used for a particular purpose or social setting, such as formal academic language versus casual conversational speech, involving differences in vocabulary and grammar.

BICS

Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills: conversational language proficiency that is context-embedded and cognitively undemanding, typically developing in one to three years.

CALP

Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency: context-reduced, cognitively demanding academic language needed for school success, typically taking five to seven years to develop.

Affective filter

A Krashen construct describing emotional factors such as anxiety, motivation, and self-confidence that can block or allow comprehensible input to be processed for acquisition.

Interlanguage

The evolving rule system a second language learner constructs between the first language and the target language, reflecting systematic errors and gradual approximation to target norms.

Fossilization

The persistence of non-target language forms in a learner's interlanguage despite continued exposure and instruction, often due to stabilized errors or insufficient corrective feedback.

Silent period

A stage in early second language acquisition when a learner listens and comprehends but speaks little. It is normal and should not be forced into premature production.

Comprehensible output

Swain's hypothesis that producing language pushes learners to process syntax, notice gaps in their knowledge, and modify output, thereby promoting second language development.

Language transfer

The influence of a learner's first language on second language acquisition. Positive transfer facilitates learning; negative transfer, or interference, produces errors.

WIDA standards

English language development standards organized around social and instructional language and the language of language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies, with Can Do descriptors.

SIOP model

Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol: eight components for planning and delivering content instruction that supports English learners, including comprehensible input, interaction, and review.

Sheltered instruction

An approach that teaches grade-level content in English using scaffolds such as visuals, graphic organizers, and sentence frames so English learners can access curriculum while developing language.

Formative assessment

Ongoing, low-stakes checks of student understanding during instruction, such as exit tickets or observations, used to adjust teaching and provide feedback rather than to assign final grades.

Backward design

A planning framework that begins with identifying desired learning results, then determines acceptable evidence of learning, and finally designs learning experiences and instruction.

Language objective

A statement of the language functions, vocabulary, or structures students will use to demonstrate content learning in a lesson, written explicitly alongside the content objective.

Differentiation

Adjusting content, process, product, or environment to match students' readiness, interests, and language proficiency, often through tiered tasks, flexible grouping, and multimodal input.

Accommodations for ELLs

Assessment supports such as extended time, simplified directions, bilingual glossaries, or oral administration that remove language barriers without reducing content expectations or changing what is measured.

Lau v. Nichols

1974 U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that schools must take affirmative steps to help students who do not understand English, as English-only instruction can violate Title VI.

Castañeda v. Pickard

1981 decision establishing a three-part test for English learner programs: sound educational theory, effective implementation with resources, and evaluation showing effectiveness with adjustments.

Plyler v. Doe

1982 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that states may not deny free public education to children based on immigration status, and schools should not require immigration documents for enrollment.

Title III

A federal program under the Every Student Succeeds Act that funds English language acquisition services and requires annual English proficiency testing and accountability for English learners.

Dual-language immersion

A program model in which students learn content in two languages, with the goal of bilingualism and biliteracy for both English learners and native English speakers.

Culturally responsive teaching

An approach that uses students' cultural backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives as resources for learning, and incorporates diverse content and inclusive instructional practices.

Deficit thinking

An inaccurate perspective that frames students' language and culture as problems to fix rather than assets. It can lower expectations and harm English learners' academic outcomes.

Home language support

Maintaining and using a student's first language in school and at home, which supports second language development, identity, and family engagement rather than hindering English acquisition.

Program evaluation

The systematic review of an English learner program's effectiveness using student achievement and language proficiency data, required under Castañeda's third prong and federal accountability.

Professional collaboration

ESL teachers working with content teachers, families, and interpreters to coordinate instruction, share strategies, and advocate for English learners' academic and linguistic needs.