ESL 154 EXAM QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS. VERIFIED 2026.
Phonology - ANS the study of speech sounds in language; how sounds are organized and
used in natural languages
Morphology - ANS Units of meaning involved in word formation
Syntax - ANS Rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences
Semantics - ANS Set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and
sentences in a given language; also, the study of meaning
Pragmatics - ANS Appropriate use of language in different contexts; social use of language
What are two examples of critical components for the second language learner? - ANS Oral
language development and phonological/phonemic awareness
ELLs need ____________________ of L2 before they can make connections between letter and
sound. - ANS Phonology
@COPYRIGHT 2026/2027 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
1
,___________________ awareness instruction focuses on the sounds in spoken language. It is
auditory and does not involve print. - ANS Phonological
Target Sound - ANS Sound to be transcribed
An English language learner is experiencing difficulty with an aspect of English phonology. In
order to address a difficulty in this area, the student's teacher should initially focus instruction
on what? - ANS The associated target sound
Phoneme - ANS The smallest distinctive sound unit
What are some best practices strategies to promote literacy development for ELLs? -
ANS Teach phonics in context
Use hands on activities to help teach letter-sound relationships
Have students write for sound
Help students make a connection between their L1 and English.
The approach of teachers making students see them writing down their exact words to reinforce
their understanding of the relationship between written and oral language trains students to...?
- ANS Write for sound - they learn to represent words phonetically in their writing
Content Based Instruction + 3 Models - ANS CBI: requires students to practice language skills
in a highly integrated, communicative way while learning content
3 Models:
1) theme-based - language skills are integrated in the study of themes or broad topics
2) adjunct - language and content courses are taught separately but closely coordinated
3) sheltered - English is simplified to ELL's level of proficiency while teaching content
@COPYRIGHT 2026/2027 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
2
, Why is combining sentences to make complex sentences an important exercise to help ESL
students advance in their writing abilities? - ANS Most of the sentences used in writing or in
continuous speech are complex.
Literal comprehension - ANS Understanding of the basic facts that the student has read;
grasping and interpreting text
Inferential comprehension - ANS Understanding of information that isn't explicitly given, but
rather implied in a written passage. (make predictions); make inferences
What are sentence stems and why are they used? - ANS Sentence starters followed by blank
lines.
Provide scaffolding to help students get started in speaking or writing without the added
pressure of thinking about how to correctly formulate a response.
Academic language and sentence structure is difficult for ELLs. Stems help with proper sentence
structure. They help build an understanding of syntactic structure
Decoding - ANS Reader's ability to use knowledge of the relationships between letters in
print and the speech sounds they represent in order to identify an unfamiliar word.
Word roots - ANS Main words or parts to which prefixes and suffixes can be added
Affixes - ANS Parts added to the beginning (prefix) or end (suffix) of a root word to create
new words.
Alphabetic Principle - ANS Understanding that letters and letter patterns represent the
sounds of spoken words.
@COPYRIGHT 2026/2027 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
3
ANSWERS. VERIFIED 2026.
Phonology - ANS the study of speech sounds in language; how sounds are organized and
used in natural languages
Morphology - ANS Units of meaning involved in word formation
Syntax - ANS Rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences
Semantics - ANS Set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and
sentences in a given language; also, the study of meaning
Pragmatics - ANS Appropriate use of language in different contexts; social use of language
What are two examples of critical components for the second language learner? - ANS Oral
language development and phonological/phonemic awareness
ELLs need ____________________ of L2 before they can make connections between letter and
sound. - ANS Phonology
@COPYRIGHT 2026/2027 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
1
,___________________ awareness instruction focuses on the sounds in spoken language. It is
auditory and does not involve print. - ANS Phonological
Target Sound - ANS Sound to be transcribed
An English language learner is experiencing difficulty with an aspect of English phonology. In
order to address a difficulty in this area, the student's teacher should initially focus instruction
on what? - ANS The associated target sound
Phoneme - ANS The smallest distinctive sound unit
What are some best practices strategies to promote literacy development for ELLs? -
ANS Teach phonics in context
Use hands on activities to help teach letter-sound relationships
Have students write for sound
Help students make a connection between their L1 and English.
The approach of teachers making students see them writing down their exact words to reinforce
their understanding of the relationship between written and oral language trains students to...?
- ANS Write for sound - they learn to represent words phonetically in their writing
Content Based Instruction + 3 Models - ANS CBI: requires students to practice language skills
in a highly integrated, communicative way while learning content
3 Models:
1) theme-based - language skills are integrated in the study of themes or broad topics
2) adjunct - language and content courses are taught separately but closely coordinated
3) sheltered - English is simplified to ELL's level of proficiency while teaching content
@COPYRIGHT 2026/2027 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
2
, Why is combining sentences to make complex sentences an important exercise to help ESL
students advance in their writing abilities? - ANS Most of the sentences used in writing or in
continuous speech are complex.
Literal comprehension - ANS Understanding of the basic facts that the student has read;
grasping and interpreting text
Inferential comprehension - ANS Understanding of information that isn't explicitly given, but
rather implied in a written passage. (make predictions); make inferences
What are sentence stems and why are they used? - ANS Sentence starters followed by blank
lines.
Provide scaffolding to help students get started in speaking or writing without the added
pressure of thinking about how to correctly formulate a response.
Academic language and sentence structure is difficult for ELLs. Stems help with proper sentence
structure. They help build an understanding of syntactic structure
Decoding - ANS Reader's ability to use knowledge of the relationships between letters in
print and the speech sounds they represent in order to identify an unfamiliar word.
Word roots - ANS Main words or parts to which prefixes and suffixes can be added
Affixes - ANS Parts added to the beginning (prefix) or end (suffix) of a root word to create
new words.
Alphabetic Principle - ANS Understanding that letters and letter patterns represent the
sounds of spoken words.
@COPYRIGHT 2026/2027 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
3
