Foundations of ELD Instruction Flashcards

A newly enrolled English learner can respond to questions with single words or short phrases like "yes," "no," and "pencil." The student can understand simple directions when accompanied by gestures and has an active listening vocabulary of about 1,000 words. This student is most likely in which stage of second language acquisition?

Answer: Early Production

The Early Production stage is characterized by the use of one- or two-word phrases, short sentences, and the ability to answer simple questions. [15, 20] The student has moved beyond the purely receptive 'silent period' of Preproduction but has not yet reached the Speech Emergence stage, where they would begin to use longer phrases and simple sentences. [5, 12]

Which of the following best describes the primary purpose of Designated ELD instruction within California's public school system?

Answer: To provide a protected time during the school day for instruction that is specifically focused on developing students' English language skills based on the CA ELD Standards.

Designated ELD is defined as a protected time for focused instruction on the state-adopted ELD standards to help English learners develop critical English language skills. [8, 18, 26] This is distinct from Integrated ELD, which involves using ELD standards in tandem with grade-level content instruction. [8, 18]

A high school teacher has a student who is a proficient reader and writer in their native language, Vietnamese. The teacher observes that the student quickly grasps complex academic concepts in English, even if they struggle with conversational fluency. Which linguistic theory best explains the student's ability to transfer their academic knowledge from Vietnamese to English?

Answer: The Interdependence Hypothesis (CUP)

Jim Cummins's Interdependence Hypothesis, also known as the Common Underlying Proficiency (CUP) model, posits that academic skills, literacy knowledge, and concepts learned in the first language (L1) are transferable to the second language (L2). [3, 10, 13] The student's strong academic foundation in Vietnamese supports their learning of academic content in English. [16]

An advanced English learner from Germany has been living in the U.S. for several years. Despite having a wide vocabulary and high grammatical accuracy in most areas, he consistently omits the '-s' on third-person singular verbs (e.g., "He go to the store"). This specific error has persisted over time, despite instruction and correction. This phenomenon is best described as:

Answer: Fossilization

Fossilization is a process in second language acquisition where an incorrect linguistic feature becomes a permanent part of the way a person speaks or writes a language, resisting further correction. [7, 17, 21] The learner's interlanguage has stabilized, and this particular error has become a persistent feature. [6, 29]

The U.S. Supreme Court case *Lau v. Nichols* (1974) was a landmark decision that fundamentally impacted the education of English learners by establishing that:

Answer: school districts must take affirmative steps to overcome language barriers to ensure students have a meaningful opportunity to participate in the educational program.

The unanimous Supreme Court ruling in *Lau v. Nichols* determined that providing students with the same facilities, textbooks, and curriculum does not constitute equal treatment if they cannot understand the language of instruction. [2, 30] The decision, based on the Civil Rights Act of 1964, requires schools to take affirmative action to provide English learners with a meaningful education. [9, 27, 28]

A history teacher is designing a lesson on the American Revolution for a class with several intermediate-level English learners. Which of the following strategies is a core component of Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English (SDAIE)?

Answer: Providing an advance organizer with key vocabulary and using visuals, such as a timeline and maps, to support the main lecture.

A key feature of SDAIE is making grade-level content comprehensible through various scaffolding techniques. [11] This includes activating prior knowledge, pre-teaching vocabulary, and using multimodal strategies like visuals, gestures, and graphic organizers to support understanding without watering down the curriculum. [14, 22, 24]