Texas TExES ESL Supplemental (154) Book + Online

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TExES ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE (154)

Domain Reviews

PART I: DOMAIN I

Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

PART I: DOMAIN I

Language Concepts and Language Acquisition

Domain I addresses Competencies 001 and 002.

Competency 001: The ESL teacher understands fundamental language concepts and knows the structure and conventions of the English language.

The beginning ESL teacher:

A.   Understands the nature of language and basic concepts of language systems (e.g., phonology, morphology, syntax, lexicon, semantics, discourse, pragmatics) and uses this understanding to facilitate student learning in the ESL classroom.

B.   Knows the functions and registers of language (e.g., social versus academic language) in English and uses this knowledge to develop and modify instructional materials, deliver instruction and promote ESL students’ English-language proficiency.

C.   Understands the interrelatedness of listening, speaking, reading and writing and uses this understanding to develop ESL students’ English-language proficiency.

D.   Knows the structure of the English language (e.g., word formation, grammar, vocabulary and syntax) and the patterns and conventions of written and spoken English and uses this knowledge to model and provide instruction to develop the foundations of English mechanics necessary to understand content-based instruction and accelerated learning of English in accordance with the English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS).

Competency 002: The ESL teacher understands the processes of first-language (L1) and second-language (L2) acquisition and the interrelatedness of L1 and L2 development.

The beginning teacher:

A.  Knows theories, concepts and research related to L1 and L2 acquisition.

B.  Uses knowledge of theories, concepts and research related to L1 and L2 acquisition to select effective, appropriate methods and strategies for promoting students’ English-language development at various stages.

C.  Knows cognitive processes (e.g., memorization, categorization, generalization, metacognition) involved in synthesizing and internalizing language rules for second-language acquisition.

D.  Analyzes the interrelatedness of first- and second-language acquisition and ways in which L1 may affect development of L2.

E.  Knows common difficulties (e.g., idiomatic expressions; L1 interference in syntax, phonology and morphology) experienced by ESL students in learning English and effective strategies for helping students overcome those difficulties.

CHAPTER

Competency 001          1

Competency 001

The ESL teacher understands fundamental language concepts and knows the structure and conventions of the English language.

Chapter 1 will focus on Competency 001—the fundamental language concepts, structure, and conventions of the English language.

The English language is enormously rich and complex. Its multilayered structure is the by-product of invasion, conquest, and scientific advancement. English has been shaped over thousands of years by many different groups—Anglo-Saxon tribes, Viking invaders, Norman conquerors, Renaissance scholars, New World explorers, Native Americans, slaves from West Africa, Mexican ranch hands, and generations of immigrants. In terms of vocabulary, it is the richest language in the world. There are more than 500,000 words listed in unabridged dictionaries, and it is estimated that there are another half million technical and scientific terms (McCrum, 1986).

The Structure of English

Mastering the vocabulary, pronunciation, sentence structure, and working grammar of English is very challenging. Yet, beneath its confusing and often frustrating surface is an underlying structure that students can learn and educators must be prepared to explain. Research has shown that in addition to providing many opportunities to use English in meaningful and motivating situations, effective second-language instruction explicitly teaches the features of the second language—syntax, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and conventions of social use (Lyster, 2007; Genesee, 2006; Norris and Ortega, 2006).

Phonology

At its most basic level, English is comprised of individual sounds, or phonemes. A phoneme is the smallest unit of spoken language that makes a difference in a word’s meaning. The first phoneme in cap is /k/. Changing the phoneme /k/ to the phoneme /m/ creates a word with a different meaning: map.

Linguists do not agree on the precise number of phonemes in English. General estimates are between 42 and 44, depending on variables such as dialect and changes in stress (Honig et al., 2008). There are about 25 consonant phonemes in English. Eighteen are represented by a single letter such as /n/ spelled n. Seven consonant phonemes are represented by two letters such as /sh/ spelled sh.

Consonant phonemes can be classified according to how they are produced:

•   Place of Articulation—where the sound is produced in the mouth, position of the tongue, open or closed lips, open or closed throat

•   Manner of Articulation—how air flows through the mouth or nasal cavity

•   Voiced or Unvoiced—whether or not the vocal chords vibrate

Standard American English has 15 vowel phonemes represented by the letters a, e, i, o, u singly and in combination. The pronunciation of a vowel may differ between U.S. regions and dialects. Often, vowel combinations with the phoneme /r/ are considered vowel sounds. The three most common r-controlled vowels are /ûr/ as in her, /är/ as in far, and /ôr/ as in for (Moats, 2000).

Vowel phonemes can be classified according to the place of articulation:

•   Tongue Position—front to back, high to low

•   Lip Position—wide and smiling, rounded and wide open, rounded and partially open

Phonological awareness is the ability to detect, identify, and manipulate the various parts of spoken language: words, syllables, onsets and rimes, and phonemes. A syllable is a word or part of a word that is pronounced as a unit. Each syllable contains one vowel sound. A syllable has two parts: the onset and rime. The onset is the part of the syllable that comes before the vowel. The rime is the vowel and everything that comes after it. Phonogram is a nonlinguistic term that means the same thing as rime. The most common syllable division patterns in English are VC/CV (rab•bit), V/CV (ti•ger), VC/V (clos•et), VC/CCV (hun•dred), VCC/CV (ath•lete), and consonant-le, which forms a separate syllable.

Phonological awareness skills follow a developmental sequence from awareness of the larger units of spoken language to the smallest unit—the phoneme. Within each unit of focus, tasks vary in terms of difficulty. Blending spoken parts is easier than segmenting or counting them, which is easier than manipulating the parts by deleting, adding, or substituting them.

Phonemic awareness is the most sophisticated and most critical level of phonological awareness. Being able to blend individual sounds into words and segment words into individual sounds is both a predictor of and contributor to later reading achievement (National Reading Panel, 2000). As teachers plan activities, they need to be aware of these points:

•   Blending words with two phonemes (so) is easier than blending words with three phonemes (soap).

•   Blending words with continuous sounds such as /s/, /m/, /f/, and /l/ is easier than blending words with stop sounds such as /d/, /p/, and /k/.

•   For segmenting tasks, it is easier to isolate an initial phoneme in a word (/z/ in zoo) than a phoneme in the final = (/z/ in nose) or medial position (/z/ in easy).

Phonological Awareness: Blending and Segmenting Examples Across Levels

Phonological Awareness Instruction for English-Language Learners

The National Literacy Panel (August and Shanahan, 2000) found that just like their English-speaking peers, English-language learners benefit from structured, direct instruction in the essential components of literacy: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, text comprehension, and writing. To align instruction with best practice, teachers should do the following:

•   Plan activities that build phonological awareness and develop students’ appreciation for the rhythm and sounds of English. Keep the activities lively and fun. Focus on no more than one or two skills per lesson.

•   Progress from easier to more difficult tasks, helping students reach the point where they can blend and segment sounds in words.

•   Have students point to or place chips, buttons, and blocks as they count and manipulate sounds. The use of manipulatives has been shown to make sounds less abstract and more concrete.

•   Build on what students know. Skills, concepts, and knowledge transfer across languages. For example, if students already know that words are made up of sounds, they will transfer that understanding to English words and sounds.

•   Directly teach the sounds that make up English words. Know which sounds do not exist in students’ home languages and are therefore new. Teach students how to produce the sounds, and give ample opportunities for students to hear and say words that contain those sounds.

•   Capitalize on the many sounds that Spanish and English share. For example, when working with the sound /ch/, teachers should point out that it’s the same sound students hear and say in the Spanish words ocho and chaqueta.

•   Consider if students are making errors because they are correctly applying the rules of their home languages. For example, consonant clusters with s never appear at the beginning of Spanish words, so Spanish-speaking students may add the long vowel sound ā to the beginning of words like stop and scrape. It is important to work with students to identify these differences and build on their dual language skills.

Morphology

Morphemes are the meaningful parts of words. A morpheme may be an entire word like play or part of a word like –ful. Morphemes are the building blocks of English words. Most came from one of three ancient languages: Anglo-Saxon, Greek, and Latin. These different origins have had an influence on letter-sound correspondences, syllable patterns, and morpheme patterns. Teaching students to recognize these patterns improves their decoding, spelling, reading fluency, and comprehension (Henry, 2003).

There are two basic types of morphemes: free and bound. Free morphemes can stand alone as words. Bound morphemes must be attached to other morphemes to make words. Anglo-Saxon root words, or base words, are free morphemes. They are the short, common words used in everyday speech: help, night, dog, work, house, love, spell. They can stand alone, be combined into compound words (doghouse), or have prefixes and suffixes added to them (misspell, spelling).

Two types of suffixes are added to Anglo-Saxon root words. Derivational suffixes often change the root word’s part of speech (playful, lovely). They may also alter the base word’s meaning (loveless), pronunciation, or spelling. Inflectional suffixes usually don’t change a word’s part of speech. They show possession or plurality (boxes), verb tense (helped), and comparison (louder).

Latin roots cannot stand on their own or be compounded. They must have a prefix and/or suffix added to them. For example, the Latin root struct is part of the affixed English word construction. The prefix con- and the suffix-ion were added to the root to make a complete word. Words with Latin roots abound in technical texts, English literature, and textbooks in general.

Greek roots are also bound morphemes. They are usually combined, not affixed. For example, microscope is made up of the two Greek combining forms micro and scope. Words with Greek roots primarily appear in scientific texts, though some like photograph and symphony are part of everyday speech.

Morphemic Analysis for English-Language Learners

Examining how words are put together helps students recognize recurring patterns and provides strategies for decoding, understanding, and spelling multisyllabic words (Moats, 2005). Rather than teaching English-language learners a set of rules and generalizations, teachers should develop students’ morphemic awareness through hands-on, interactive, and cooperative activities. The goal is for students to become word detectives who enjoy analyzing words and playing with language. To align instruction with best practice, teachers should do the following:

•   Focus on English morphemes that are useful to know because they occur most frequently. Limit the number of morphemes introduced at one time, and initially teach prefixes and suffixes in separate lessons.

•   Teach derivational suffixes when introducing parts of speech. For example, students can learn to recognize that the suffixes -y, -al, and-er are endings for adjectives, or words that describe.

•   Build on what students know. Many different languages have borrowed English scientific and technology terms. When Spanish-speaking students are shown how to look for cognates, they tap into an extraordinary storehouse of knowledge because Spanish is based on multisyllabic words with Latin roots. In fact, a two-syllable Anglo-Saxon compound like bathtub is far more daunting for Spanish speakers than a five-syllable word like educational.

•   Help students discover and remember patterns through multisensory, multimodal experiences. Ask students to write words on index cards, sort them, color-code the shared root words or affixes, and then read the words in each group aloud. Use graphic tools like semantic maps and word sums to show relationships between words’ structures, spellings, and meanings.

•   Guide students in using morpheme patterns to examine related words, pointing out how adding prefixes and suffixes can change the pronunciation and stressed syllable of the shared root (nation, national, nationally, international).

Syntax

Syntax refers to the rules of grammar that govern how sentences are formed, such as never splitting an infinitive or ending a sentence with a preposition. The term also refers to word-order patterns. Understanding how words, phrases, and clauses are combined into a meaningful sentence requires a great deal of knowledge—from sentence types and sentence structures to parts of speech function and the mechanics of written language.

A sentence is a group of words that express a complete thought. Every sentence has a subject (whom or what the sentence is about) and a predicate (what the subject is, has, or does). As English-language learners use their speaking skills in meaningful interactions, they construct four different sentence types:

•   A declarative sentence tells something. Students use declarative sentences when they identify objects, share prior knowledge, make comparisons, or describe people and places.

•   An interrogative sentence asks a question. Students use interrogative sentences when they ask for information, exchange greetings, make requests, or ask for clarification.

•   An exclamatory sentence shows surprise or strong emotion. Students use exclamatory sentences when they express gratitude, express likes and dislikes, or give opinions.

•   An imperative sentence gives a command. Students use imperative sentences when they give directions, conduct a transaction, or make a request.

Unlike spoken language, academic texts contain sophisticated sentence structures:

•   A compound sentence has two independent clauses that are joined with a conjunction such as or, and, or but. Example: The femur is the largest bone in the body, and the ossicle bones located in the middle ear are the smallest.

•   A complex sentence has one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses. Example with two dependent clauses: Nerve messages are sent from receptor cells to the brain, which interprets the messages as sounds

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Syntax Transfer Issues

Students’ home language experiences may affect how quickly and consistently they use correct English word order and sentence structures. Teachers can accelerate learning when they build on the ways that students’ home languages parallel English. At the same time, it is important to know sentence and word-order patterns that may transfer negatively to students’ learning of English so that teachers can provide focused support in those skill areas.

Syntax in Academic Texts

In order to read and respond to content area texts, English-language learners need strategies for unpacking the meaning of long sentences with multiple ideas. To develop their content knowledge, they can’t merely read for the gist of the text or look for discrete pieces of information. They have to learn how to dig into long sentences to analyze the hierarchical relationships between clauses and figure out the main idea of the sentence (Scarcella, 2002; Snow et al., 1998). Best practice suggests that teachers do the following:

•   Discuss English syntax in the context of real reading and writing. Model how to break long sentences into chunks, interpret the chunks, and then sum up the main idea. Teach students how to look for and use words that introduce a dependent clause and signal certain relationships. For example:

Cause: because, since, due to, as a result, therefore

Time: when, before, after, as, until, during, throughout

Location: above, below, across, under, between, within

Condition: if, unless, although

Relative Pronouns: that, which, who, whom, whose

•   Teach students how to identify long strings of words that make up noun groups and analyze what they mean. Example: This intricate branched network of increasingly smaller tubes

ends in clusters of tiny airbags called alveoli.

•   Teach students how to identify the passive voice and restate the idea in active voice or paraphrase it in their own words. Example: Smooth muscle is located in the walls of some internal organs vs. There is smooth muscle in the walls of some internal organs.

•   Encourage students to incorporate complex sentence structures into their own writing by providing sentence frames or graphic organizers that guide them in building basic sentences and then extending the sentences with dependent clauses.

Semantics and Pragmatics

Semantics is the study of the meaning of language—the meaning of words, phrases, sentences, passages, and entire texts. It includes the study of word origins, words with multiple meanings, how word meanings change over time, and shades of meaning differences among words (cool, cold, freezing). Pragmatics is a branch of semantics. It focuses on the language choices people make in social contexts and the effects those choices have on other people.

English-language learners are engaging with semantics and pragmatics every day. They are not only learning the meanings of new English words, they are also learning how and when to use those words appropriately in their own speaking and writing. The same word or sentence may convey a different message depending on the situation and the speaker and listener. English-language learners may be so focused on the literal meaning that they don’t understand how a speaker’s tone of voice and emphasis can change a message such as That guy’s a real genius! from heartfelt praise to criticism.

Word Choice and Norms of Social Usage

Finding just the right word for the right social context is a complex task. It involves knowing the difference between a word’s dictionary definition (denotation) and the feelings it evokes in other people (connotation). On the surface, the phrases an inexpensive dress and a cheap dress both mean the same thing (the dress does not cost much money). However, for fluent English speakers, the word cheap has a negative connotation that suggests poor quality. Selecting appropriate language also requires understanding how people will interpret and react to word choice and levels of formality based on their relationship with the speaker/writer and the situation.

Phrasal Verbs

For English-language learners, phrasal verbs are one of the most confounding features of the English language. A phrasal verb is the combination of a verb and a preposition or adverb such go out, go over, go about, go on. Phrasal verbs are abundant in spoken language and informal writing. They’re problematic for English-language learners for several reasons:

•   The meanings of many phrasal verbs can’t be inferred from their individual elements. Examples: come off, make up.

•   They often have more than one meaning. Example: go on can mean continue to do, happen, speak at length, participate in, or begin to operate.

•   When students use them in a sentence with an object, they aren’t sure where to position the adverb or preposition.

Other Figurative Language

Phrasal verbs are one example of figurative language, which is words and phrases that have meanings beyond their literal definitions. Figurative language makes oral and written language rich and interesting. English-language learners grapple with several types of figurative language, including the following:

•   Idiom—a set phrase that expresses an idea in a colorful way (for example, hit the books, a piece of cake, rain cats and dogs)

•   Simile—the comparison of two things using the word like or as (for example, Your hands are like ice. The lake is as still as a statue.)

•   Metaphor—a comparison of two things without the words like or as (for example, The sun shone fire red. That football player is an absolute machine!)

Accelerating Students’ Semantic Knowledge

For most English as a Second Language learners, it takes years of experience to fully understand and use all the nuanced features of the second language. There are, however, proven ways to accelerate students’ learning and help them incorporate what they learn in their own speaking and writing. To align instruction with best practice, teachers should do the following:

•   Plan clear content and language outcomes for each lesson, which is the essence of effective content-based learning. Structure lessons around content-based tasks and interactions that require students to negotiate meaning through the four modalities: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. This develops their ability to understand and produce discourse styles specific to particular content areas (Robinson & Ellis, 2008).

•   To ensure that students at all language proficiency levels are engaged and challenged, modify learning outcomes, tasks, and grouping configurations accordingly.

•   Provide robust vocabulary instruction that goes beyond a student-friendly explanation of a word or its dictionary definition. Create opportunities for students to explore the word in multiple contexts so that they truly learn it: when to use it and with whom, its level of formality, how its meaning changes in different contexts or subject areas, its connotations, and how it differs from words with similar meanings.

•   Use graphic aids to deepen and consolidate what students are learning. These include the following:

•  photographs, videos, picture dictionaries, props and other visual representations

•  semantic webs, word maps, synonym scales

Academic English

Academic English is the language of school and the pathway to educational and occupational opportunity. It refers to the abstract, challenging language that enables students to fully participate in the classroom experience. It involves understanding and actively using the content vocabulary, complex sentence structures, and discourse styles specific to mathematics, science, literature, and social studies. It also involves understanding and carrying out complex directions such as comparing and contrasting events, explaining causal relationships, inferring motivation, developing a persuasive argument, and writing a procedural text.

Although young English-language learners can reach fairly high levels of conversational English in just two to three years, research has shown that proficiency in academic English may require six, seven, or more years (Genesee et al., 2006). This underscores the importance of content-based learning, which accelerates students’ content-area knowledge while supporting their English-language development. For detailed information about aligning subject-area instruction and assessment to English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS), see Educator Guide to TELPAS: Grades K-12 at www.tea.state.tx.us. Search under Student Assessment Division.

Language Functions

According to Halliday’s Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) approach (Halliday, 1994), language is both content and a resource that allows students to participate in new academic contexts and build discipline-specific knowledge. In an academic setting, students use oral and written language for a number of purposes. As teachers plan opportunities for students to practice these language functions in authentic contexts, they should identify the specific vocabulary and grammatical structures that students will need to learn. For example, in order to make comparisons, they will need to know words such as both, also, similar, different, and unlike. They will also need to know how to form comparative (smaller, more colorful) and superlative adjectives (smallest, most colorful).

Examples of Academic Language Functions

Language Register and Levels of Formality

Register refers to the variety of language appropriate in a given situation. Most fluent speakers are able to communicate in a variety of registers: formal with strangers, informal with friends, technical in the workplace, and slang on the basketball court. Most English-language learners understand the concept of adapting language as a sign of respect for older family members and adults. In Spanish, there are different words for you as a form of address—tú is used only to address children and close friends and family. Usted is used when addressing everyone else. In Japanese, levels of formality are shown through the choice of verbs, which have honorific and humble forms.

Although English-language learners may understand the concept, they do not have the same intuitive sense as native speakers about the appropriateness of specific English words and grammatical structures in a given situation with certain people. That is why it is important to teach students explicitly when and with whom to use the vocabulary and sentence patterns they are learning.

Integrating Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing

Initially, English-language learners’ listening and speaking vocabularies are much larger than their print vocabularies. They understand more words when they hear the words spoken or read aloud than they can understand when reading on their own. They also initially use more words when they speak than they use in their writing. As students’ reading and writing skills develop, their print vocabularies begin to play a more important role. At this point, they know the meanings of many words in print that are not part of their oral vocabularies.

Effective instruction gives English-language learners ongoing, targeted practice listening, speaking, reading, and writing as they learn new subject matter. To prepare students for academic success, teachers need to plan content-based instruction carefully so that it will support the development of two sets of discourse skills: content-specific and general.

Mathematics: Language Development in All Domains

Based on Sherris, 2008

Review Questions

Use the information below to answer questions 1 and 2.

Jose is a middle school student whose family recently emigrated from Argentina. He has limited English-language skills and has difficulty explaining to his teacher why he did not complete his homework. He has the following conversation with his teacher regarding a missed homework assignment.

Jose: Is because I lose . . . uhmmmm . . . my notebook. Is no finish. Uhmmmmm . . . the homework.

Teacher: You were unable to complete your assignment, Jose? [speaking slowly and clearly enunciating]

Jose: Yes. No do