MTEL Sheltered English Immersion & Second Language Acquisition 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: According to Krashen's Input Hypothesis, language acquisition is most effective when learners receive input that is:
- Below their current level of proficiency
- Exactly at their current level
- Slightly above their current level (i+1) (Correct answer)
- Far above their current comprehension level
Correct answer: Slightly above their current level (i+1)
Krashen's i+1 formula states that learners acquire language when they understand input just one step beyond their current level, making it challenging but comprehensible.
Question 2: BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills) typically takes English language learners approximately how long to develop?
- Less than 6 months
- 6 months to 2 years (Correct answer)
- 5 to 7 years
- 8 to 10 years
Correct answer: 6 months to 2 years
BICS, the conversational fluency used in everyday social interactions, typically develops within 6 months to 2 years for most ELL students.
Question 3: Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP), as defined by Jim Cummins, typically requires how long to develop in a second language?
- 1 to 2 years
- 2 to 3 years
- 5 to 7 years (Correct answer)
- 10 to 12 years
Correct answer: 5 to 7 years
CALP, the academic language needed for school success, takes 5 to 7 years to develop because it requires mastery of abstract, discipline-specific vocabulary and complex text structures.
Question 4: Which researcher proposed the 'Affective Filter Hypothesis,' suggesting that emotional factors such as anxiety and low motivation can block language acquisition?
- Lev Vygotsky
- Noam Chomsky
- Stephen Krashen (Correct answer)
- Jim Cummins
Correct answer: Stephen Krashen
Stephen Krashen proposed the Affective Filter Hypothesis, which holds that high anxiety or low motivation creates a mental block that prevents comprehensible input from being internalized.
Question 5: The 'silent period' observed in some second language learners is best understood as:
- A sign of a learning disability requiring formal assessment
- A refusal to participate that requires behavioral intervention
- A natural phase of internalizing language before producing output (Correct answer)
- A symptom of inadequate instruction that must be corrected
Correct answer: A natural phase of internalizing language before producing output
The silent period is a recognized developmental phase in second language acquisition during which learners absorb and process input before they feel ready to produce spoken output.
Question 6: Cummins' Common Underlying Proficiency (CUP) model, visualized as an iceberg, suggests that:
- Each language a person knows is stored in a completely separate cognitive system
- Surface fluency in two languages is the best predictor of academic success
- Academic skills and knowledge developed in one language transfer to support another language (Correct answer)
- Students should be immersed in English only to avoid cognitive confusion
Correct answer: Academic skills and knowledge developed in one language transfer to support another language
The CUP model holds that while surface features of languages differ, there is a shared underlying proficiency through which skills developed in a first language support acquisition of a second language.
Question 7: When an ELL student alternates between their home language and English within the same conversation or sentence, this phenomenon is known as:
- Language interference that an educator should immediately correct
- Code-switching, a natural and purposeful bilingual communication behavior (Correct answer)
- A sign of language regression requiring specialized intervention
- Semantic confusion resulting from insufficient English exposure
Correct answer: Code-switching, a natural and purposeful bilingual communication behavior
Code-switching is recognized by linguists as a sophisticated, intentional behavior that bilingual speakers use to communicate most effectively, not a sign of linguistic deficiency.
MTEL Sheltered English Immersion & Second Language Acquisition 1
According to Krashen's Input Hypothesis, language acquisition is most effective when learners receive input that is: