ESL CERTIFICATION EXAM ACTUAL EXAM QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS
Affective Filter - ANSWER: the filter through which ELLs receive language input,
which is impacted by how the student feels about him/herself and the situation.
Assimilation - ANSWER: the blending of cultural minorities into the dominant cultural
group where cultural differences are not maintained; full assimilation occurs when
new members of a society become indistinguishable from older members.
Acculturation - ANSWER: the exchange of cultural features that results when groups
come into continuous first-hand contact; the original cultural patterns of either or
both groups may be altered, but the groups remain distinct.
Additive Bilingualism - ANSWER: the current philosophy where the second language
is acquired without detriment to the first; students are encouraged to maintain their
native language.
BICS: Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills - ANSWER: social language that is
necessary for basic, everyday conversation; conversational language.
CALLA: Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach - ANSWER: an approach
that capitalizes on the knowledge and skills that learners already posses, while
encouraging the learners to develop new and more effective strategies for learning.
CALP: Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency - ANSWER: a highly developed level
of proficiency that allows a person to use abstract, decontextualized language
competently and confidently to perform challenging academic work; academic
language.
Chunking - ANSWER: putting words together into meaningful phrases
Cloze Notes - ANSWER: a reading or listening technique that leaves a blank (usually
about every 10th word) in a passage to test mastery of comprehension of written or
spoken language; students fill in the blanks with or without a word bank.
Comprehensible Input - ANSWER: refers to meaningful, context-supported language
that is clearly understood by the learner.
Discourse - ANSWER: linguistic term referring to language longer than a single
sentence.
EAP: English for Academic Purposes - ANSWER: focusing on advanced reading,
technical writing, and comprehending college lectures.
, EFL: English as a Foreign Language - ANSWER: occurs in a country in which English is
not the primary language.
ELL - ANSWER: English Language Learner
ESL: English as a Second Language - ANSWER: occurs in a country in which English is
the primary language.
ESOL: English for Speakers of Other Languages - ANSWER: the preferred term for
ESL; this is the title of the only state-recognized high school courses for ELLs.
Ethnocentrism - ANSWER: the tendency to believe that one's ethnic or cultural group
is centrally important and that all other groups are measured in relation to one's
own.
Etymology - ANSWER: the study of word origins; the study of the historical
development of languages.
Graphophonics - ANSWER: phonics; the linguistic term referring to the system of
sound-letter relationships in a language.
HLS: Home Language Survey - ANSWER: a survey conducted (only once) in English
and the native language to determine the language normally used in the home and
the language used by the student.
Idiom - ANSWER: a figurative phrase that is culturally bound and must be understood
as a meaningful chunk; i.e., It's raining cats and dogs.
Interference - ANSWER: also known as negative transfer, which occurs when the
speakers and writers must transfer items and structures that are not the same in
both languages.
L1 - ANSWER: the learner's first or native language.
L2 - ANSWER: the learner's second language.
LEP: Limited English Proficient - ANSWER: the term used in elementary and
secondary education for students whose English language skills are insufficient for
success in the regular curriculum. This classification is based on a combination of
criteria including a Home Language Survey, language proficiency and/or dominance
test scores, and English achievement test scores.
Lexicon - ANSWER: a list of the vocabulary of a language or domain.
CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS
Affective Filter - ANSWER: the filter through which ELLs receive language input,
which is impacted by how the student feels about him/herself and the situation.
Assimilation - ANSWER: the blending of cultural minorities into the dominant cultural
group where cultural differences are not maintained; full assimilation occurs when
new members of a society become indistinguishable from older members.
Acculturation - ANSWER: the exchange of cultural features that results when groups
come into continuous first-hand contact; the original cultural patterns of either or
both groups may be altered, but the groups remain distinct.
Additive Bilingualism - ANSWER: the current philosophy where the second language
is acquired without detriment to the first; students are encouraged to maintain their
native language.
BICS: Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills - ANSWER: social language that is
necessary for basic, everyday conversation; conversational language.
CALLA: Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach - ANSWER: an approach
that capitalizes on the knowledge and skills that learners already posses, while
encouraging the learners to develop new and more effective strategies for learning.
CALP: Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency - ANSWER: a highly developed level
of proficiency that allows a person to use abstract, decontextualized language
competently and confidently to perform challenging academic work; academic
language.
Chunking - ANSWER: putting words together into meaningful phrases
Cloze Notes - ANSWER: a reading or listening technique that leaves a blank (usually
about every 10th word) in a passage to test mastery of comprehension of written or
spoken language; students fill in the blanks with or without a word bank.
Comprehensible Input - ANSWER: refers to meaningful, context-supported language
that is clearly understood by the learner.
Discourse - ANSWER: linguistic term referring to language longer than a single
sentence.
EAP: English for Academic Purposes - ANSWER: focusing on advanced reading,
technical writing, and comprehending college lectures.
, EFL: English as a Foreign Language - ANSWER: occurs in a country in which English is
not the primary language.
ELL - ANSWER: English Language Learner
ESL: English as a Second Language - ANSWER: occurs in a country in which English is
the primary language.
ESOL: English for Speakers of Other Languages - ANSWER: the preferred term for
ESL; this is the title of the only state-recognized high school courses for ELLs.
Ethnocentrism - ANSWER: the tendency to believe that one's ethnic or cultural group
is centrally important and that all other groups are measured in relation to one's
own.
Etymology - ANSWER: the study of word origins; the study of the historical
development of languages.
Graphophonics - ANSWER: phonics; the linguistic term referring to the system of
sound-letter relationships in a language.
HLS: Home Language Survey - ANSWER: a survey conducted (only once) in English
and the native language to determine the language normally used in the home and
the language used by the student.
Idiom - ANSWER: a figurative phrase that is culturally bound and must be understood
as a meaningful chunk; i.e., It's raining cats and dogs.
Interference - ANSWER: also known as negative transfer, which occurs when the
speakers and writers must transfer items and structures that are not the same in
both languages.
L1 - ANSWER: the learner's first or native language.
L2 - ANSWER: the learner's second language.
LEP: Limited English Proficient - ANSWER: the term used in elementary and
secondary education for students whose English language skills are insufficient for
success in the regular curriculum. This classification is based on a combination of
criteria including a Home Language Survey, language proficiency and/or dominance
test scores, and English achievement test scores.
Lexicon - ANSWER: a list of the vocabulary of a language or domain.
