NYSTCE ESOL (116) flashcards

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

Comprehensible input (i+1)

Krashen's claim that acquisition occurs when learners understand input slightly beyond their current level. Teachers make input comprehensible through visuals, gestures, repetition, and contextual support.

Affective filter

Krashen's mental block of anxiety, low motivation, or low self-confidence that reduces intake of comprehensible input. Lowering it through a supportive, low-stress classroom supports acquisition.

BICS versus CALP

Cummins' distinction: BICS is everyday conversational fluency, usually achieved in one to three years; CALP is academic language proficiency, typically taking five to seven years to develop.

Silent period

A pre-production stage in which new learners listen and comprehend but produce little speech. Forcing oral output too early can raise anxiety; allow nonverbal responses and wait time.

Interlanguage

Selinker's term for a learner's developing rule system between the first and target language. It is systematic and changes as learners receive input and feedback.

Fossilization

The stabilization of non-target-language forms in a learner's interlanguage, often from insufficient corrective feedback or limited output. It can persist despite continued exposure.

Language transfer

The influence of the first language on second-language learning. Positive transfer aids learning; negative transfer produces interference, such as L1 sound or word-order patterns.

Contrastive analysis

A method comparing L1 and L2 systems to predict learning difficulty. Differences are expected to cause interference; similarities are expected to ease acquisition.

Error analysis

An approach that examines learner errors as evidence of rule-governed interlanguage rather than mere failure. Errors are classified as interlingual (transfer) or intralingual (overgeneralization).

Communicative competence

Canale and Swain's framework of grammatical, sociolinguistic, discourse, and strategic competence. Effective ESOL instruction develops all four, not grammar alone.

Monitor hypothesis

Krashen's idea that conscious grammar knowledge only edits output when the learner has time, focuses on form, and knows the rule. It does not generate fluent speech.

Natural order hypothesis

Krashen's claim that grammatical morphemes are acquired in a predictable sequence regardless of teaching order. Instruction cannot reorder acquisition but can support it.

Total Physical Response

Asher's method in which learners respond physically to spoken commands before speaking. It suits pre-production learners by linking language to movement and lowering anxiety.

Sheltered instruction

Teaching grade-level content in English with scaffolds such as visuals, graphic organizers, and language objectives. It keeps content standards while making language comprehensible.

SIOP model

Echevarria, Vogt, and Short's eight-component lesson framework: preparation, building background, comprehensible input, strategies, interaction, practice/application, delivery, and review/assessment.

Language objective

A lesson objective naming the language function, structure, and vocabulary students will use, such as explaining a process with sequencing words. It must be observable and content-linked.

Scaffolding

Temporary, contingent support that lets a learner complete a task beyond independent ability. Supports such as sentence frames and models are faded as independence grows.

CALLA approach

Chamot and O'Malley's model that embeds learning strategies (metacognitive, cognitive, social-affective) in content lessons. It builds both content knowledge and strategic language learning.

Culturally responsive pedagogy

Instruction that draws on students' cultural knowledge and funds of knowledge, validates home languages, and examines bias in texts and assessments to support engagement and equity.

NYSESLAT

New York's annual English language proficiency test in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Results determine a student's English language proficiency level and program services.

Home Language Questionnaire

New York's screening tool completed by parents at enrollment to identify students whose home language is not English. Positive responses trigger English proficiency screening.

English as a New Language

New York's term for ESL services delivered in stand-alone or integrated co-teaching settings. Integrated ENL pairs an ENL teacher with a content teacher.

Transitional bilingual education

A program that teaches content in the home language while building English proficiency, then transitions students to English-only instruction. It is a permitted NY program model.

Dual language program

A model in which English learners and English-proficient peers learn in both languages, aiming for bilingualism and biliteracy. It is one of New York's approved program options.

Lau v. Nichols

A 1974 Supreme Court decision holding that identical instruction does not satisfy equal access for limited-English-proficient students. Districts must provide meaningful language support.

Castañeda standard

The three-part test for bilingual education programs: based on sound educational theory, implemented effectively, and evaluated for effectiveness with results used to modify the program.

Testing accommodations for ELLs

Permitted supports such as extended time, separate location, translated directions, and bilingual glossaries. They reduce language barriers without changing the content being tested.

SIFE

Students with Interrupted Formal Education, who have gaps in prior schooling and limited literacy in the home language. They need accelerated literacy and content support.

Language difference vs. disability

Accurate identification requires data across settings and languages. Normal second-language development features, such as errors and silent periods, must not be mistaken for a disability.

English articles

The a/an/the/zero system is high difficulty for many learners because many languages lack articles or use them differently. Teachers give explicit contrastive practice with countability.

Morphological acquisition order

English inflectional morphemes are acquired in a fairly predictable sequence, with -ing and plural -s early and third-person -s and irregular past later. Instruction should expect this.

Pragmatics

The study of language use in context, including speech acts, politeness, and implicature. Idioms and register choices require explicit teaching because meaning is not literal.

Formative assessment

Ongoing checks during instruction, such as exit tickets and observation, that inform immediate teaching adjustments. They differ from summative tests that measure end-of-unit achievement.