ELPA21 - English Language Proficiency Assessment for the 21st Century Speaking Domain Skills Questions and Answers

Question 1

An English learner participating in an ELPA21 Speaking task is shown a picture of a science experiment and asked to describe what is happening. The student responds, "Boy pour water. Girl write. It blue." Which of the following speaking skills does this student most clearly need to develop to improve their proficiency level?

Accepted Answer

Using precise, content-specific vocabulary and expanding simple sentences.

Answer

The student is communicating basic actions but uses simple, general vocabulary ('pour water', 'write') instead of more precise, academic language (e.g., 'pouring the liquid into the beaker,' 'recording observations'). Expanding simple sentences into more complex ones (e.g., 'The boy is carefully pouring the blue liquid from the test tube into the beaker while the girl records the results in her notebook') is a key skill for moving to higher proficiency levels.

Question 2

A teacher is preparing a student for an ELPA21 Speaking task that requires them to compare and contrast two pictures. Which of the following instructional activities would be most effective for developing this specific skill?

Accepted Answer

Providing the student with sentence frames like 'In the first picture..., but in the second picture...' and 'Both pictures show...'.

Answer

Sentence frames provide structured support that guides students in forming comparative and contrasting statements. This directly targets the linguistic structures needed for the task, helping them organize their thoughts and use appropriate transition words and phrases to articulate similarities and differences, a key task type in the ELPA21 speaking domain.

Question 3

During a scenario-based speaking task, a student is asked to explain the rules of their favorite game to a friend. According to the ELPA21 performance descriptors, which characteristic would be expected from a student at an Intermediate level of proficiency?

Accepted Answer

Using simple language to interact socially, recounting a sequence of events, and connecting ideas with linking words, though some errors may be present.

Answer

Students at the Intermediate level can typically participate in social conversations, explain a process or sequence of events, and use linking words (e.g., 'first,' 'then,' 'next') to connect their ideas. While their language is functional, it may still contain grammatical errors and lack the precision of higher proficiency levels.

Question 4

Which of the following speaking tasks on the ELPA21 is designed to assess a student's ability to construct an oral argument or express an opinion with supporting reasons?

Accepted Answer

A task that presents a situation and asks the student whether they agree or disagree, and to explain why.

Answer

This type of task directly elicits persuasive or opinion-based language. It requires the student to go beyond simple description or narration and use language to justify a viewpoint, a key skill assessed in the speaking domain, particularly at higher proficiency levels.

Question 5

A student at a Beginning proficiency level is assessed on the Speaking domain. The student's response to a prompt asking them to describe their classroom consists of pointing to their desk and saying, "My desk." This response demonstrates which typical characteristic of the Beginning level?

Accepted Answer

Reliance on single words, gestures, and short, memorized phrases to communicate.

Answer

According to the ELPA21 Performance Level Descriptors, students at the Beginning level often communicate by using single words, common phrases, and non-verbal cues like pointing. Their productive language is very limited and tied to immediate contexts.

ELPA21 - English Language Proficiency Assessment for the 21st Century Practice Test

ELPA21 - English Language Proficiency Assessment for the 21st Century Practice Test

ELPA21 - English Language Proficiency Assessment for the 21st Century Speaking Domain Skills Questions and Answers