OAE ESOL 121 cheat sheet

Krashen's five hypotheses: acquisition-learning distinction, natural order, monitor, input (i+1), and affective filter; the monitor hypothesis limits conscious editing to conditions of time, focus on form, and rule knowledge.

Cummins' BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills) typically develops in about 2 years; CALP (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency) typically takes 5-7 years and depends on context-reduced, cognitively demanding tasks.

Chomsky's LAD (Language Acquisition Device) and Universal Grammar posit innate syntactic knowledge; contrast with Skinner's behaviorist imitation-reinforcement account and Piaget's cognitive constructivism.

Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development defines the gap between independent performance and assisted performance; scaffolding is temporary support withdrawn as competence grows.

Interlanguage (Selinker) is a learner's rule-governed transitional system; fossilization is persistent stabilization of non-target forms, often from insufficient or skewed input.

Transfer: positive transfer facilitates L2 learning where L1 and L2 rules align; negative transfer (interference) produces errors such as L1 phonological or syntactic patterns in L2 output.

Error analysis distinguishes errors (systematic, developmental) from mistakes (performance slips); contrastive analysis predicts difficulty from L1-L2 differences but overpredicts in practice.

The Critical Period Hypothesis (Lenneberg) holds that native-like phonological and grammatical attainment declines after puberty; evidence is strongest for accent, weaker for syntax and literacy.

English phonology: 24 consonant phonemes (including /θ/ /ð/ /ʃ/ /ʒ/ /tʃ/ /dʒ/), about 12-14 vowel phonemes depending on dialect; English is stress-timed, unlike syllable-timed languages such as Spanish or Mandarin.

Morphology: inflectional morphemes (plural -s, past -ed, comparative -er) do not change word class; derivational morphemes (un-, -ness, -tion) create new words and often change class.

Syntax: English is SVO; relative clauses, passive voice, and article use (a/an/the/zero) are high-frequency error sources for learners whose L1 lacks articles or uses different word order.

Semantics and pragmatics: denotation versus connotation; speech acts (requests, apologies) and politeness strategies vary by culture, so pragmatic failure can occur despite grammatical accuracy.

WIDA/ELD proficiency levels (Entering, Emerging, Developing, Expanding, Bridging) describe what learners can do with language; instruction and assessment should be differentiated by level and content-area language demands.

Sheltered instruction (SIOP) integrates content and language objectives; key components include comprehensible input, building background, interaction, practice/application, and review/assessment.

Assessment: distinguish formative from summative and language proficiency from content knowledge; test bias, cultural load, and linguistic complexity in item stems can depress scores independent of content mastery.

Culturally responsive pedagogy: funds of knowledge, additive bilingualism, and home-language support strengthen identity and achievement; subtractive models that replace L1 correlate with lower academic outcomes.