OSAT ESL (OK177) flashcards

32 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 receive language slightly beyond their current level and can use context to understand it.

Affective filter

An emotional barrier of anxiety, low motivation, or low self-confidence that can block learners from processing comprehensible input.

BICS

Basic interpersonal communicative skills: conversational fluency used in social, contextualized settings, usually developing within about two years of exposure.

CALP

Cognitive academic language proficiency: decontextualized school language needed for content learning, typically taking five to seven years to develop.

Interlanguage

The learner's evolving rule-governed language system between L1 and L2, showing systematic errors that reflect current hypotheses about the target language.

Contrastive analysis

A framework predicting learning difficulty by comparing features of the first and second languages, with differences assumed to cause interference.

Lau v. Nichols

1974 Supreme Court ruling that identical instruction does not provide equal opportunity when students do not understand English; schools must provide meaningful access.

Castañeda v. Pickard

1981 decision establishing a three-part test for EL programs: based on sound theory, implemented effectively, and evaluated for results.

Plyler v. Doe

1982 ruling that K-12 schools may not deny enrollment or charge tuition based on a student's immigration status.

Dual-language immersion

A program integrating English learners and fluent English speakers, delivering content in two languages with the goals of bilingualism, biliteracy, and cross-cultural competence.

Structured English immersion

A program in which all instruction is in English, sheltered for ELs, with the goal of rapid English proficiency and mainstream integration.

Title III

The federal ESSA program funding language instruction for English learners and requiring annual English proficiency assessment and accountability reporting.

Language objectives

Statements naming the language function and form students will practice in a lesson, such as describing with comparative adjectives.

Formative assessment

Ongoing evidence gathered during instruction, used to adjust teaching and give feedback rather than to assign a final grade.

Test validity

The degree to which an assessment measures the intended construct; a math test loaded with complex English may be invalid for ELs.

Test accommodations

Supports such as extended time, glossaries, or simplified directions that remove language barriers without changing what the test measures.

Backward design

A planning sequence that starts with desired results, then identifies acceptable evidence, and finally designs learning experiences and instruction.

Silent period

A normal pre-production stage in which a new language learner comprehends but does not yet produce speech, requiring low-anxiety input and no forced output.

Negotiation of meaning

Interaction moves such as clarification requests and comprehension checks through which learners modify language until understanding is reached, supporting acquisition.

Sentence frames

Partial sentence stems that supply academic syntax, letting learners focus on content while practicing target language structures in discussion or writing.

Total Physical Response

A method pairing spoken commands with physical movement, building receptive vocabulary and reducing anxiety before oral production is expected.

Suprasegmentals

Stress, rhythm, and intonation patterns above the level of individual sounds; they strongly affect intelligibility in a second language.

Phonemic awareness

The ability to hear and manipulate individual sounds in spoken words, a foundational skill that predicts later decoding success.

Miscue analysis

Examination of oral reading errors to determine whether a reader is relying on meaning, syntax, or visual cues.

Tier 2 words

Cross-content academic vocabulary such as analyze, contrast, or evidence, occurring across subjects and yielding high returns when taught explicitly.

Cognate awareness

Recognition that words in two languages share form and meaning, such as familia and family, which supports academic vocabulary learning.

Writing process stages

Prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing; ELs benefit from modeled and shared writing before independent production.

Sheltered instruction

Teaching grade-level content in English with scaffolds such as visuals and modified language, keeping content standards constant while supporting language.

Funds of knowledge

The skills, experiences, and cultural resources families and communities possess, which teachers can connect to curriculum and instruction.

Jigsaw structure

A cooperative learning arrangement in which each student masters one piece of content and teaches it to peers, building interdependence and academic talk.

Banks' transformation level

A multicultural curriculum level in which content is reframed to include multiple perspectives, changing how the subject is taught rather than adding isolated facts.

Discipline-specific literacy

The reading and writing conventions of a subject, such as passive voice and nominalization in science texts or multiple-meaning words in math.