ELL ELL Listening and Speaking Skills 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the key difference between BICS and CALP for ELL students?
- BICS is used only in written form; CALP is only spoken
- BICS refers to everyday conversational language; CALP refers to academic language proficiency (Correct answer)
- BICS is learned in school; CALP is acquired at home
- BICS applies to listening only; CALP applies to speaking only
Correct answer: BICS refers to everyday conversational language; CALP refers to academic language proficiency
BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills) covers social conversational language, while CALP (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency) refers to the academic language needed for school success.
Question 2: Why is 'wait time' especially important when working with ELL students during speaking activities?
- It allows the teacher to prepare the next grammar drill
- It gives ELL students extra time to process language and formulate responses (Correct answer)
- It prevents native English speakers from dominating discussions
- It signals to students that the question was too difficult
Correct answer: It gives ELL students extra time to process language and formulate responses
ELL students need additional processing time to comprehend a question, mentally formulate an answer, and translate it into English before speaking.
Question 3: What is 'interactional competence' in the context of ELL speaking skills?
- The ability to memorize and recite vocabulary definitions
- The ability to manage turn-taking, repair, and co-construct meaning in conversation (Correct answer)
- Proficiency in writing formal business correspondence
- The capacity to translate between two languages accurately
Correct answer: The ability to manage turn-taking, repair, and co-construct meaning in conversation
Interactional competence is the ability to participate in conversation by managing social rules such as turn-taking, initiating topics, and negotiating meaning with a partner.
Question 4: Which error correction approach is generally recommended during fluency-focused speaking activities for ELL learners?
- Stopping the student immediately to correct every error
- Ignoring all errors to avoid discouraging the student
- Providing delayed, indirect feedback after the activity (Correct answer)
- Having the class vote on whether the error was serious
Correct answer: Providing delayed, indirect feedback after the activity
During fluency practice, delayed and indirect feedback preserves communication flow and reduces anxiety, making students more willing to take speaking risks.
Question 5: What does 'oral language proficiency' encompass for ELL students?
- Only the ability to pronounce words correctly
- Phonology, vocabulary, grammar, and discourse skills used in speaking and listening (Correct answer)
- The ability to pass standardized multiple-choice tests
- Proficiency exclusively in academic vocabulary
Correct answer: Phonology, vocabulary, grammar, and discourse skills used in speaking and listening
Oral language proficiency is multidimensional, including pronunciation (phonology), word knowledge (vocabulary), sentence structure (grammar), and the ability to organize spoken discourse.
Question 6: Which instructional activity BEST supports academic listening skills in ELL students?
- Listening to unedited native-speed podcasts without support
- Watching movies for entertainment with no comprehension tasks
- Guided note-taking with structured listening guides during content lectures (Correct answer)
- Memorizing lists of academic vocabulary words in isolation
Correct answer: Guided note-taking with structured listening guides during content lectures
Guided note-taking with structured listening guides provides scaffolds that help ELL students focus on key information during academic listening tasks.
Question 7: What is the purpose of using 'sentence frames' during ELL speaking activities?
- To eliminate any creative expression from student responses
- To provide a linguistic scaffold that supports structured oral production (Correct answer)
- To replace the need for vocabulary instruction
- To test whether students can memorize phrases accurately
Correct answer: To provide a linguistic scaffold that supports structured oral production
Sentence frames scaffold oral production by giving ELL students a grammatical structure to fill in, reducing the cognitive load so they can focus on content.
ELL ELL Listening and Speaking Skills 2
What is the key difference between BICS and CALP for ELL students?