TExES Exam TExES English as a Second Language Supplemental 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A teacher notices an ELL student produces sentences like 'She go to school every day.' Which interlanguage feature does this illustrate?
- Code-switching
- Fossilization of subject-verb agreement (Correct answer)
- Semantic overgeneralization
- Register transfer
Correct answer: Fossilization of subject-verb agreement
Omitting the third-person singular -s is a common fossilized interlanguage feature in English learners.
Question 2: Which instructional strategy best supports ELLs during a content-area lecture by making abstract concepts concrete?
- Providing realia and graphic organizers (Correct answer)
- Requiring students to copy notes verbatim
- Assigning independent reading before the lesson
- Reducing wait time to maintain pace
Correct answer: Providing realia and graphic organizers
Realia and graphic organizers provide visual and tangible supports that bridge language gaps during content instruction.
Question 3: Under the BICS/CALP framework, which activity primarily develops CALP?
- Greeting a classmate in the hallway
- Discussing weekend plans with a friend
- Analyzing cause-and-effect relationships in a history text (Correct answer)
- Playing a board game with peers
Correct answer: Analyzing cause-and-effect relationships in a history text
CALP (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency) involves higher-order thinking tasks tied to academic content, such as textual analysis.
Question 4: A bilingual student frequently switches between Spanish and English mid-sentence while explaining a concept. The teacher should interpret this primarily as:
- Evidence of language deficiency
- A sign of confusion requiring remediation
- A natural communicative competence strategy (Correct answer)
- Proof of limited English vocabulary only
Correct answer: A natural communicative competence strategy
Code-switching is a sophisticated bilingual behavior that demonstrates communicative competence and should be viewed as a linguistic resource.
Question 5: Which assessment type is MOST appropriate for measuring an ELL's functional language use in authentic contexts?
- Multiple-choice grammar test
- Cloze procedure
- Performance-based assessment with role-play (Correct answer)
- Standardized norm-referenced vocabulary test
Correct answer: Performance-based assessment with role-play
Performance-based assessments evaluate how learners use language in realistic, meaningful situations, aligning with functional communicative goals.
Question 6: A student at the 'Intermediate' TELPAS level can most likely:
- Respond only with single words or memorized phrases
- Understand simple sentences and produce basic connected speech with some errors (Correct answer)
- Demonstrate near-native fluency across all domains
- Communicate only through gestures and drawings
Correct answer: Understand simple sentences and produce basic connected speech with some errors
At the Intermediate level, ELLs can process simple to somewhat complex language and produce connected speech, though with frequent errors.
Question 7: The affective filter hypothesis suggests that language acquisition is hindered when students experience:
- Extensive comprehensible input
- High anxiety, low motivation, or low self-confidence (Correct answer)
- Frequent interaction with native speakers
- Explicit grammar instruction
Correct answer: High anxiety, low motivation, or low self-confidence
Krashen's affective filter hypothesis states that negative emotions like anxiety raise the 'filter,' blocking comprehensible input from reaching the language acquisition device.
TExES Exam TExES English as a Second Language Supplemental 2
A teacher notices an ELL student produces sentences like 'She go to school every day.' Which interlanguage feature does this illustrate?