CTEL CTEL Second Language Acquisition Theories 3 ā Questions and Answers
Question 1: Cummins' distinction between BICS and CALP suggests that ELL students who appear fluent in everyday conversation may still struggle academically because:
- They lack motivation to learn academic content
- CALP takes significantly longer to develop than BICS (Correct answer)
- Their teachers do not provide comprehensible input
- They have not yet reached the silent period
Correct answer: CALP takes significantly longer to develop than BICS
BICS can develop in 1ā3 years while CALP may take 5ā7+ years, so conversational fluency does not indicate readiness for unscaffolded academic tasks.
Question 2: The 'Output Hypothesis' proposed by Merrill Swain argues that language production helps acquisition by:
- Reinforcing silent period benefits
- Forcing learners to notice gaps in their linguistic knowledge (Correct answer)
- Replacing comprehensible input with comprehensible output
- Eliminating the need for affective filter reduction
Correct answer: Forcing learners to notice gaps in their linguistic knowledge
Swain's Output Hypothesis holds that producing languageānot just receiving itāpushes learners to notice gaps and test hypotheses about the target language.
Question 3: A teacher who praises an ELL student's attempt to communicate but gently recasts an error is applying which SLA principle?
- Explicit error correction to build metalinguistic awareness
- Implicit negative feedback through corrective recast (Correct answer)
- The silent period protocol to reduce anxiety
- Transfer-appropriate processing
Correct answer: Implicit negative feedback through corrective recast
A recast is an implicit corrective feedback move where the teacher reformulates the learner's erroneous utterance correctly without interrupting communication.
Question 4: Which SLA theory most directly supports using cooperative learning groups with mixed language proficiency levels?
- Behaviorist audiolingual theory
- Nativist Universal Grammar theory
- Sociocultural theory and ZPD (Correct answer)
- Monitor Model's natural order hypothesis
Correct answer: Sociocultural theory and ZPD
Sociocultural theory holds that higher-proficiency peers can scaffold lower-proficiency learners within their ZPD, making mixed-level cooperative groups theoretically justified.
Question 5: The 'natural order hypothesis' in Krashen's Monitor Model predicts that:
- L2 grammar is acquired in random order unique to each learner
- All morphemes are acquired simultaneously through input
- Grammatical morphemes are acquired in a predictable, universal sequence (Correct answer)
- Morpheme acquisition mirrors the sequence of formal instruction
Correct answer: Grammatical morphemes are acquired in a predictable, universal sequence
Based on Dulay and Burt's morpheme studies, Krashen proposed that learners acquire grammatical morphemes in a predictable order regardless of their L1 or the order taught.
Question 6: An ELL student who says 'I goed to the store' is demonstrating:
- Negative transfer from the L1
- Overgeneralization of an L2 rule (Correct answer)
- A fossilized error from the silent period
- Code-switching between registers
Correct answer: Overgeneralization of an L2 rule
Overgeneralization occurs when learners apply a target language rule (regular past tense -ed) too broadly, including to irregular verbsāa sign of active L2 hypothesis testing.
Question 7: Which instructional approach is most aligned with Ellis's Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) within an SLA framework?
- Drilling grammar patterns before introducing reading texts
- Having students complete real-world communicative tasks that require language use (Correct answer)
- Teaching vocabulary lists in isolation before conversation practice
- Providing explicit rules before any student output
Correct answer: Having students complete real-world communicative tasks that require language use
TBLT is grounded in SLA research showing that meaningful task completionānot form-focused drillsādrives acquisition by creating genuine communicative need.
CTEL CTEL Second Language Acquisition Theories 3
Cummins' distinction between BICS and CALP suggests that ELL students who appear fluent in everyday conversation may still struggle academically because: