OSAT ESL (OK177) study plan
OSAT ESL (OK177) · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Language and Language Acquisition
Distinguish the major first- and second-language acquisition theories (behaviorist, innatist, cognitive/developmental, sociocultural, interactionist) by writing a one-paragraph summary of each from memory
Map Krashen's five hypotheses to concrete classroom examples and identify which hypothesis each example illustrates
Explain the difference between BICS and CALP and predict how each develops across grade bands
Define key terms such as interlanguage, fossilization, comprehensible input, affective filter, and transfer, and use each correctly in a sentence
Your checkpoint
A two-page comparison table of at least six language-acquisition theories with theorist, core claim, classroom implication, and one critique each
Language and Language Acquisition & Foundations of ESL/Bilingual Education
Trace the historical sequence of ESL/bilingual program models in U.S. education and state the legal reasoning behind Lau v. Nichols and Castañeda v. Pickard
Compare transitional bilingual, developmental bilingual, dual-language immersion, sheltered English immersion, and ESL pull-out on goals, language use, and typical duration
Identify which program model fits a described student profile and justify the choice in two sentences
Explain the difference between language proficiency and academic achievement when interpreting assessment data
Your checkpoint
A decision guide matching five student scenarios to the most appropriate program model, with a one-sentence legal or pedagogical rationale for each
Foundations of ESL/Bilingual Education & Instructional Planning and Assessment
Write measurable language and content objectives for a single lesson using a published proficiency-level framework, ensuring each objective names an observable verb
Sequence a lesson using the SIOP components or the Echevarria sheltered-instruction model and label each component in your plan
Design three formative checks that reveal whether students met a language objective, not just a content objective
Differentiate one task at three proficiency levels without changing the underlying content standard
Your checkpoint
A complete 45-minute sheltered lesson plan with paired content and language objectives, labeled components, and three formative checks
Instructional Planning and Assessment
Classify a set of assessment items as formative or summative, norm-referenced or criterion-referenced, and formative-purpose or accountability-purpose
Evaluate the fairness of an assessment for ELs by identifying linguistic demand unrelated to the construct being measured
Apply the concepts of validity, reliability, and bias to two sample assessment descriptions
Interpret a sample score report and explain what it does and does not tell you about a student's English proficiency
Your checkpoint
An assessment critique of one sample test description, identifying at least four sources of construct-irrelevant difficulty and proposing a specific accommodation for each
Listening and Speaking
Distinguish academic listening demands from social listening demands and list the sub-skills each requires
Design a listening task with a pre-listening, during-listening, and post-listening stage, specifying the purpose of each stage
Plan scaffolding for speaking output that moves students from modeled to guided to independent production
Describe how to reduce the affective filter and increase wait time in a speaking activity, with two concrete teacher moves
Your checkpoint
A listening-and-speaking lesson segment with a full three-stage listening cycle and a scaffolded speaking progression, plus a rubric for oral production at two proficiency levels
Reading and Writing
Explain how phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension interact for an EL reader and where transfer from L1 helps or hinders
Select and justify three vocabulary instructional strategies that build depth rather than breadth
Design a writing scaffold that supports a student at an intermediate proficiency level through planning, drafting, and revising
Identify the difference between a spelling error caused by L1 interference and one caused by developmental spelling stage
Your checkpoint
A literacy lesson sequence for one short text that integrates vocabulary, comprehension strategy instruction, and a scaffolded writing response, with an error-analysis note on two sample student sentences
Content-Area Instruction and Cultural Responsiveness
Adapt a content-area text so that the cognitive demand stays intact while the linguistic demand is reduced, and articulate what you changed and why
Design a cooperative learning structure that requires both content talk and language practice, and specify the language functions students must use
Apply culturally responsive teaching principles to a described classroom scenario by naming two specific instructional changes
Explain how to distinguish a learning disability from a normal stage of second-language acquisition when referring an EL for special education evaluation
Your checkpoint
A content-area lesson adaptation with a before-and-after text sample, a cooperative structure with assigned language functions, and a written rationale citing at least three culturally responsive principles
Language and Language Acquisition & Foundations of ESL/Bilingual Education & Instructional Planning and Assessment & Listening and Speaking & Reading and Writing & Content-Area Instruction and Cultural Responsiveness
Complete a full-length timed practice test under exam conditions and record the score by domain
Review every missed item and write the underlying concept it tested, not just the correct answer
Re-teach your two weakest domains using your own notes and the comparison tables you built in weeks 1 through 7
Build a one-page quick-reference sheet of the facts, frameworks, and legal cases you are most likely to forget
Your checkpoint
A scored practice test with a domain-by-domain error log and a one-page quick-reference sheet
Milestones
Week 2: Can explain, without notes, the difference between BICS and CALP, name the five Krashen hypotheses, and match any described program model to its defining features
Week 4: Can write a paired content and language objective for an unfamiliar topic in under five minutes and identify at least three sources of construct-irrelevant difficulty in a sample assessment
Week 6: Can design a three-stage listening task and a scaffolded writing response for a given proficiency level without consulting reference materials
Week 8: Scores at or above your target on the timed practice test, with no domain below 70 percent and an error log showing each missed concept re-taught