CLAD (NI) 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A teacher uses visuals, gestures, and real objects during a science lesson for ELL students. This set of supports is best known as:
- Metalinguistic feedback
- Contextualization or context embedding (Correct answer)
- Decontextualized academic language instruction
- Phonemic awareness training
Correct answer: Contextualization or context embedding
Contextualization strategies embed language in meaningful, observable context, making input comprehensible without relying solely on linguistic knowledge.
Question 2: Which of the following best describes 'interactional modification' during classroom discourse?
- Adjusting only vocabulary, not sentence structure
- Any change in the structure of conversation to resolve communication breakdown (Correct answer)
- Exclusively using the learner's native language
- Providing written feedback on homework assignments
Correct answer: Any change in the structure of conversation to resolve communication breakdown
Interactional modification includes all conversational adjustments—repetition, rephrasing, comprehension checks—that repair communication breakdowns.
Question 3: According to research on negotiated interaction, which participant role produces the most language learning benefit?
- Observer who watches two native speakers converse
- Passive listener during teacher lectures
- Active negotiator who signals non-understanding and receives modified input (Correct answer)
- Student who only reads texts silently
Correct answer: Active negotiator who signals non-understanding and receives modified input
Research shows that learners who actively signal non-understanding receive tailored, comprehensible input at exactly the right level, maximizing acquisition opportunities.
Question 4: In Cummins' framework, which type of language is more dependent on contextual supports and shared physical environment?
- CALP (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency)
- BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills) (Correct answer)
- Metalinguistic awareness
- Decontextualized academic discourse
Correct answer: BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills)
BICS is context-embedded and cognitively undemanding, relying heavily on situational cues, gestures, and shared context for comprehension.
Question 5: A teacher pairs a native English speaker with an ELL student for a collaborative science experiment. The primary language acquisition benefit of this arrangement is:
- Reduced teacher workload
- The ELL receives natural, context-rich input and negotiated interaction with a peer (Correct answer)
- The native speaker learns the ELL's first language
- Both students avoid using academic vocabulary
Correct answer: The ELL receives natural, context-rich input and negotiated interaction with a peer
Peer interaction provides authentic, negotiated input in meaningful contexts, creating natural acquisition opportunities beyond what teacher-fronted instruction offers.
Question 6: Which of the following is NOT considered a characteristic of comprehensible input?
- It is slightly above the learner's current proficiency level
- It uses context, visuals, and gestures to support meaning
- It is delivered exclusively in the learner's native language (Correct answer)
- It is adjusted based on learner responses and comprehension signals
Correct answer: It is delivered exclusively in the learner's native language
Comprehensible input is provided in the target language with supports; exclusive use of the native language prevents exposure to the language being acquired.
Question 7: When an ELL student says 'I eated the lunch' and the teacher responds 'Oh, you ate your lunch—how was it?', the teacher is using:
- Metalinguistic correction
- Explicit error correction with grammar rule explanation
- Implicit corrective feedback through recast (Correct answer)
- Direct translation to the student's L1
Correct answer: Implicit corrective feedback through recast
The teacher's recast corrects the error by naturally embedding the correct form in a communicative response without disrupting conversational flow.
CLAD (NI) 4
A teacher uses visuals, gestures, and real objects during a science lesson for ELL students.
This set of supports is best known as: