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TExES ESL Supplemental 154 study materials
TExES ESL Supplemental 154 study resources

TExES ESL Supplemental 154 practice questions

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Question 1Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

In the study of language, the smallest sound unit that can distinguish one word from another is called a

  1. morpheme
  2. grapheme
  3. syllable
  4. phoneme Correct answer.

Explanation

A phoneme is an abstract sound category; substituting /p/ for /b/ changes 'pat' into 'bat', which shows that the contrast carries meaning. Phonemes are the minimal distinctive units of sound in a language.

Question 2Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

Which word is made up of two free morphemes?

  1. unhappy
  2. bookcase Correct answer.
  3. quickly
  4. replay

Explanation

Free morphemes can stand alone as words; 'book' and 'case' each occur independently, so their combination is a compound of two free morphemes. Bound morphemes such as un-, -ly, and re- cannot stand alone.

Question 3Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

English typically signals grammatical relationships such as subject and object mainly through

  1. case suffixes on nouns
  2. tone changes
  3. verb agreement alone
  4. word order and prepositions Correct answer.

Explanation

English is a relatively analytic language with little nominal inflection, so it relies on fixed word order (subject-verb-object) and prepositions to mark grammatical roles. Languages with rich case systems mark these roles on the nouns themselves.

Question 4Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

Words such as 'bank' (the side of a river) and 'bank' (a financial institution), which are spelled and pronounced alike but have unrelated meanings, are examples of

  1. homonyms Correct answer.
  2. homophones
  3. antonyms
  4. synonyms

Explanation

Homonyms share both spelling and pronunciation while carrying distinct, unrelated meanings, as with the two senses of 'bank'. Homophones sound alike but may be spelled differently, as in 'to', 'too', and 'two'.

Question 5Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

A student says, 'It's cold in here,' and the teacher responds by closing the window. The student's utterance functions primarily as

  1. a performative apology
  2. an indirect request Correct answer.
  3. a direct question
  4. a narrative statement

Explanation

The surface form is a declarative statement, but the intended illocutionary force is a request to close the window. Listeners routinely infer such indirect speech acts from context rather than from literal form.

Question 6Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

According to Krashen's input hypothesis, second language acquisition is best supported when learners receive input that is

  1. focused on decontextualized grammar drills
  2. slightly beyond their current level of competence Correct answer.
  3. limited to structures they have already mastered
  4. provided only in the learner's first language

Explanation

Krashen's i + 1 principle holds that acquisition occurs when input is just beyond the learner's present level but made comprehensible by context. Input restricted to already-mastered forms provides nothing new to acquire.

Question 7Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

Krashen's affective filter hypothesis suggests that second language acquisition is most likely to be hindered when a learner

  1. feels anxious or embarrassed in class Correct answer.
  2. receives abundant comprehensible input
  3. practices in low-stress settings
  4. has strong intrinsic motivation

Explanation

The affective filter is a metaphorical barrier raised by anxiety, low self-confidence, or low motivation. When the filter is high, comprehensible input is blocked from reaching the language acquisition device.

Question 8Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

Cummins's distinction between BICS and CALP implies that a student who is fluent in everyday conversation

  1. may still need several years to develop academic language proficiency Correct answer.
  2. has also fully mastered academic language
  3. can transfer all skills automatically
  4. needs no further language support

Explanation

BICS (basic interpersonal communicative skills) develops in roughly two years, whereas CALP (cognitive academic language proficiency) typically takes five to seven years. Conversational fluency therefore does not guarantee readiness for academic reading and writing demands.

Question 9Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

A newly arrived English learner listens attentively and responds mostly with gestures or single words for several months. This learner is most likely in the

  1. speech emergence stage
  2. advanced fluency stage
  3. preproduction (silent) stage Correct answer.
  4. intermediate fluency stage

Explanation

The preproduction or silent period is characterized by listening, gesturing, and minimal oral output while the learner builds comprehension. Expecting extended speech at this stage can raise anxiety and slow progress.

Question 10Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

A Spanish-speaking English learner says 'I have twenty years' instead of 'I am twenty years old.' This error most likely reflects

  1. a hearing or articulation disorder
  2. a developmental error unrelated to the first language
  3. a lack of comprehensible input
  4. transfer from a first-language pattern Correct answer.

Explanation

The learner has mapped the Spanish construction 'tener años' onto English, producing a literal translation. Such first language transfer occurs when L1 and L2 patterns differ systematically.

Question 11Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

The claim that children are born with an innate capacity for language, supported by their production of novel utterances they have never heard, is central to

  1. connectionist theory
  2. nativist theory Correct answer.
  3. behaviorist theory
  4. social interactionist theory

Explanation

Nativism, associated with Chomsky, posits an innate language acquisition device and universal grammar that guide rule formation. Novel utterances such as 'goed' indicate children generate rules rather than imitate input.

Question 12Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

Vygotsky's zone of proximal development refers to the range of tasks a learner can accomplish

  1. after completing formal standardized testing
  2. with assistance from a more capable person Correct answer.
  3. independently without any help
  4. only after full mastery is demonstrated

Explanation

The ZPD spans what a learner cannot yet do alone but can do with scaffolding from a teacher or more capable peer. Instruction aimed at this zone promotes development more effectively than work that is already independent.

Question 13Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

A student produces grammatically accurate sentences but cannot adjust them for a job interview versus a conversation with friends. In Canale and Swain's model, this student lacks

  1. grammatical competence
  2. discourse competence
  3. strategic competence
  4. sociolinguistic competence Correct answer.

Explanation

Sociolinguistic competence is the ability to use language appropriately for setting, audience, and purpose, including register shifts. Grammatical competence concerns form accuracy, discourse competence concerns cohesion across utterances, and strategic competence concerns repairing communication breakdowns.

Question 14Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

Which pair of English words constitutes a minimal pair?

  1. cat / dog
  2. run / running
  3. ship / sheep Correct answer.
  4. book / books

Explanation

A minimal pair differs in exactly one phoneme in the same position; /ʃɪp/ and /ʃiːp/ differ only in the vowel. Such pairs are used to establish that the contrasting sounds are separate phonemes.

Question 15Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

Which pair of English suffixes contains one inflectional morpheme and one derivational morpheme, in that order?

  1. -ing (progressive) and -ed (past)
  2. -ed and -s (plural)
  3. -ness and -ment
  4. -s (plural) and -ness Correct answer.

Explanation

Plural -s is inflectional because it adds grammatical information without changing the word's category, while -ness is derivational because it creates a new noun, often from an adjective. The other pairs combine two morphemes of the same type.

Question 16Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

English speakers can embed clause within clause, as in 'the cat that chased the rat that ate the cheese ran away.' This capacity illustrates the property of language known as

  1. recursion Correct answer.
  2. displacement
  3. arbitrariness
  4. duality of patterning

Explanation

Recursion is the ability to apply a rule repeatedly to its own output, producing indefinitely embedded structures. Displacement refers to talking about non-present times and places, and arbitrariness to the unmotivated link between form and meaning.

Question 17Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

The words 'thrifty' and 'stingy' share a similar core meaning but differ in their

  1. denotation
  2. phonological form
  3. syntactic category
  4. connotation Correct answer.

Explanation

Connotation is the evaluative or emotional coloring a word carries beyond its referential meaning. Both words denote carefulness with money, but 'stingy' carries a negative judgment that 'thrifty' does not.

Question 18Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

A regional variety of a language distinguished by vocabulary, pronunciation, and some grammatical features, yet mutually intelligible with other varieties, is called a

  1. dialect Correct answer.
  2. pidgin
  3. creole
  4. register

Explanation

A dialect is a systematic regional or social variety of a language; speakers of different dialects of the same language can generally understand one another. Register instead refers to variation by situation, and pidgins and creoles are separate contact languages.

Question 19Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

The English word 'family' and the Spanish word 'familia' are examples of

  1. homophones
  2. false friends
  3. idioms
  4. cognates Correct answer.

Explanation

Cognates are words in two languages that derive from a common source and resemble each other in form and meaning. Recognizing cognates can support vocabulary development for English learners whose first language shares Latin roots.

Question 20Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

An advanced English learner continues to omit third-person singular -s in speech despite years of exposure and instruction. In second language acquisition research, this persistent, stabilized error is best described as

  1. an overgeneralization of a rule
  2. a transfer error only
  3. fossilization in the interlanguage Correct answer.
  4. a communication strategy

Explanation

Fossilization refers to the stabilization of non-target forms in a learner's interlanguage that resist further change despite continued exposure. It is distinct from a one-time transfer or overgeneralization error, which typically resolves with development.

Question 21Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

A teacher asks students to write the same message once as a text to a friend and once as an email to a principal. This task primarily develops

  1. morphological knowledge
  2. syntactic ambiguity
  3. phonemic awareness
  4. register awareness Correct answer.

Explanation

Register is the variety of language chosen for a particular audience, purpose, and level of formality. Producing the same content in two formats requires students to adjust tone, vocabulary, and structure to the context.

Question 22Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

According to Krashen, the monitor is an internal editor that learners can use effectively when they

  1. are speaking quickly under time pressure
  2. know the rule and have time to apply it Correct answer.
  3. are focused entirely on communicating meaning
  4. have low anxiety and high motivation

Explanation

Monitoring requires both conscious knowledge of a grammatical rule and sufficient time to apply it during production. Under time pressure, or when the focus is purely on meaning, the monitor cannot operate effectively.

Question 23Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

The natural order hypothesis holds that

  1. older learners follow no predictable sequence
  2. grammatical structures are acquired in a predictable sequence Correct answer.
  3. all learners acquire structures in the order they are taught
  4. first language order always predicts second language order

Explanation

Krashen argued that learners acquire grammatical morphemes in a roughly predictable sequence regardless of the order in which they are taught. Instruction can affect conscious learning, but it does not reorder natural acquisition.

Question 24Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

The semantic relationship between 'rose' and 'flower' is one of

  1. polysemy
  2. homonymy
  3. hyponymy Correct answer.
  4. antonymy

Explanation

Hyponymy is a hierarchical relationship in which one term's meaning is included within a broader term; 'rose' is a hyponym of 'flower'. Antonymy involves opposition, homonymy involves distinct words sharing form, and polysemy involves multiple senses of one word.

Question 25Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

A teacher asks, 'Did you finish the homework?' and the student answers, 'I finished most of it.' The implicature that the homework is not complete arises because the reply flouts the Gricean maxim of

  1. relevance
  2. manner
  3. quality
  4. quantity Correct answer.

Explanation

The maxim of quantity requires speakers to be as informative as the situation demands; a weaker statement than the fully informative one invites the inference that the stronger statement is false. Listeners reason that if the homework had been completed, the student would have said so.

Question 26Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

In English, the /p/ in 'pot' is produced with a puff of air, while the /p/ in 'spot' is not. This difference shows that the two sounds are

  1. allophones of one phoneme conditioned by context Correct answer.
  2. distinctive features that create a minimal pair
  3. free variants that each speaker selects at random
  4. separate phonemes that contrast meaning in minimal pairs

Explanation

In English, aspiration of voiceless stops is predictable: /p/ is aspirated at the start of a stressed syllable and unaspirated after /s/. Because the two sounds never contrast in the same environment, they are allophones of the single phoneme /p/.

Question 27Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

Which English sound is a velar nasal?

  1. /ŋ/ Correct answer.
  2. /m/
  3. /l/
  4. /n/

Explanation

Nasals are classified by place of articulation: /m/ is bilabial, /n/ is alveolar, and /ŋ/ is velar, produced with the back of the tongue against the velum.

Question 28Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

How many morphemes are in the word 'unhappiness'?

  1. Two
  2. One
  3. Four
  4. Three Correct answer.

Explanation

The word breaks into three morphemes: the prefix un-, the free root happy, and the suffix -ness. Each contributes meaning or grammatical information.

Question 29Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

The word 'sunflower' is formed by which process?

  1. compounding of two free roots Correct answer.
  2. inflection of a verb for tense
  3. conversion from a verb to a noun
  4. derivation by adding a suffix

Explanation

A compound combines two or more free morphemes or roots into a new word; sun and flower can each stand alone. Derivation and inflection instead involve bound affixes.

Question 30Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

The phrase 'old men and women' can be interpreted in two ways because

  1. the conjunction 'and' can act as either a preposition or a conjunction
  2. the adjective 'old' is gradable rather than complementary
  3. the noun 'women' always requires a plural modifier in English
  4. 'old' may modify only 'men' or the whole coordinate phrase Correct answer.

Explanation

The phrase is structurally ambiguous because old can attach to men alone or to the whole coordinate phrase men and women. Different constituent boundaries yield the two readings.

Question 31Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

Which pair consists of complementary antonyms?

  1. happy / sad
  2. hot / cold
  3. big / large
  4. alive / dead Correct answer.

Explanation

Complementary antonyms are absolute opposites: if one applies, the other cannot, and there is no middle ground. Alive and dead exhaust the possibilities for a living thing.

Question 32Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

The word 'bank' in 'river bank' and 'bank account' is an example of

  1. polysemy, because the meanings are historically related
  2. homonymy, because the meanings are unrelated Correct answer.
  3. antonymy, because the meanings contrast
  4. hyponymy, because one meaning includes the other

Explanation

Homonyms are words with the same form but unrelated meanings, as with the two senses of bank. Polysemy involves multiple related senses of one word.

Question 33Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

A student says to a classmate, 'Can you pass the salt?' The utterance is best described as

  1. a direct question about the classmate's ability
  2. an indirect request performed through a question Correct answer.
  3. a performative that changes a social state
  4. a conversational implicature with no literal meaning

Explanation

The literal form is a question about ability, but the intended function is a request. Speech act theory calls this an indirect speech act.

Question 34Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

A pidgin becomes a creole when

  1. it acquires native speakers and a full grammar Correct answer.
  2. it loses all vocabulary from its source languages
  3. it is written down in a dictionary
  4. it is used only in formal education

Explanation

A creole arises when a pidgin becomes the native language of a community and develops a full, stable grammar and vocabulary.

Question 35Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

According to a behaviorist account of language learning, children acquire language mainly through

  1. a critical period for syntactic development
  2. imitation, repetition, and reinforcement Correct answer.
  3. an innate universal grammar
  4. negotiation of meaning with caregivers

Explanation

Behaviorism explains language as learned behavior shaped by imitation, practice, and reinforcement. It downplays innate grammatical knowledge.

Question 36Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

Speech addressed to infants that uses higher pitch, exaggerated intonation, and simplified vocabulary is known as

  1. contrastive stress
  2. telegraphic speech
  3. academic language
  4. child-directed speech Correct answer.

Explanation

Child-directed speech is the simplified, melodic register adults use with infants. It is thought to support attention and early language learning.

Question 37Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

The critical period hypothesis for language acquisition predicts that

  1. language learning becomes easier after puberty
  2. adults cannot learn any aspect of a new language
  3. all learners acquire a second language natively before age five
  4. first-language acquisition succeeds best in early childhood Correct answer.

Explanation

The critical period hypothesis holds that first-language acquisition is easiest and most complete during early childhood, with declining outcomes after puberty. It does not claim adults cannot learn any language.

Question 38Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

Contrastive analysis predicts that a Spanish-speaking learner of English will have difficulty with

  1. features that appear late in the natural order
  2. any feature that is identical in Spanish and English
  3. English features that differ from their Spanish counterparts Correct answer.
  4. features learned through reinforcement only

Explanation

Contrastive analysis compares the first and second languages and predicts difficulty where features differ. Similar features are predicted to cause little difficulty.

Question 39Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

A child says 'I goed to the park.' This error is best explained as

  1. a random mistake with no pattern
  2. overgeneralization of the past-tense rule Correct answer.
  3. a sign of a language disorder
  4. transfer from the child's first language

Explanation

The child has applied the regular -ed rule to an irregular verb, producing goed. This overgeneralization shows rule learning rather than simple imitation.

Question 40Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

An English learner's interlanguage is best characterized as

  1. a random mixture of first- and second-language forms
  2. a systematic rule system that develops over time Correct answer.
  3. the target language as described in a grammar textbook
  4. a fixed set of habits carried over from the first language

Explanation

Interlanguage is the learner's own rule-governed system, which is systematic at any moment but changes as the learner receives input and produces output. It is not a random mix or simply the target grammar.

Question 41Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

A Spanish-speaking English learner often places adjectives after nouns, as in 'the car red.' This error is most likely caused by

  1. a developmental stage found in all learners
  2. overgeneralization of an English rule
  3. a phonological constraint on English word order
  4. transfer of Spanish adjective-noun order Correct answer.

Explanation

Spanish places most descriptive adjectives after nouns, so the learner is transferring an L1 word-order pattern into English. This is negative transfer.

Question 42Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

A student can connect ideas across sentences in a paragraph using appropriate transitions and pronouns. This ability reflects

  1. strategic competence
  2. phonological competence
  3. discourse competence Correct answer.
  4. grammatical competence

Explanation

Discourse competence is the ability to connect utterances into coherent text through cohesive devices such as pronouns and transitions. It operates above the sentence level.

Question 43Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

A Spanish-speaking English learner pronounces 'school' as [esˈkul]. This pronunciation pattern is best explained by

  1. vowel epenthesis before an /s/ cluster Correct answer.
  2. transfer of English stress-placement rules
  3. deletion of one consonant from a cluster
  4. substitution of /k/ for the sound /s/

Explanation

Spanish phonotactics disallow word-initial /s/ plus consonant, so speakers insert an epenthetic vowel to make the cluster pronounceable. This is a phonological transfer effect.

Question 44Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

The plural suffix in 'cats' is pronounced /s/, while in 'dogs' it is pronounced /z/. This variation is determined by

  1. the number of syllables in the noun
  2. the voicing of the preceding consonant Correct answer.
  3. the stress pattern of the noun
  4. the grammatical gender of the noun

Explanation

The plural suffix assimilates in voicing to the preceding sound: /s/ after voiceless consonants and /z/ after voiced ones. The choice is phonological, not semantic.

Question 45Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

English declarative sentences typically follow which basic word order?

  1. verb-subject-object
  2. subject-object-verb
  3. subject-verb-object Correct answer.
  4. object-verb-subject

Explanation

English is an SVO language: the subject precedes the verb, and the object follows it in basic declarative clauses.

Question 46Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

The sentence 'The rock laughed loudly' is odd mainly because

  1. it uses an adverb where an adjective is required
  2. it violates a selectional restriction on the verb Correct answer.
  3. it contains an intransitive verb with an object
  4. it lacks a subject noun phrase

Explanation

The verb laugh selects an animate subject, and rock does not meet that semantic requirement. The oddness is semantic rather than purely grammatical.

Question 47Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

A toddler calls every four-legged animal 'doggie.' This is an example of

  1. telegraphic speech
  2. underextension
  3. code-switching
  4. overextension Correct answer.

Explanation

Overextension is applying a word too broadly, as when doggie is used for all four-legged animals. Underextension would be using it too narrowly.

Question 48Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

A child who is exposed to Spanish at home from birth and to English at school starting at age five is best described as

  1. a heritage language attriter
  2. a sequential bilingual Correct answer.
  3. a monolingual learner
  4. a simultaneous bilingual

Explanation

A sequential bilingual develops a first language and later adds a second, often on school entry. Simultaneous bilinguals acquire both languages from infancy.

Question 49Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

Subtractive bilingualism is most likely to occur when

  1. the child receives instruction in both languages throughout schooling
  2. the home language is replaced by the school language without support Correct answer.
  3. the home language is valued and maintained while the school language is added
  4. the child learns two languages simultaneously from birth

Explanation

Subtractive bilingualism occurs when the school language displaces the home language without support, often reducing overall bilingual proficiency. Additive bilingualism maintains the home language.

Question 50Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

According to Swain's output hypothesis, producing language helps learners because

  1. it supplies comprehensible input from teachers and peers
  2. it pushes learners to process syntax more deeply Correct answer.
  3. it lowers the learner's affective filter during interaction
  4. it follows a fixed natural order of acquisition

Explanation

Swain argued that producing output forces learners to notice gaps and process grammatical form more deeply than listening alone. Output also invites feedback and modification.