FTCE ESOL EXAM QUESTIONS &
ANSWERS 2025/2026
Phonology - ANSWERSthe way in which speech sounds form patterns; characteristics include
phonemes, pitch, and stress
concept maps - ANSWERSstudents learn the relationship between the different elements of a
topic and how to organize them from the most general to the most specific
Surface Structure - ANSWERSwhat we say or write-literal meaning of words
Pitch - ANSWERSdetermines the context or meaning of words or series of words
Stress - ANSWERSoccurs at a "word" or "sentence" level
Dialect - ANSWERSa variety of speech characterized by its own particular grammar or
pronunciation - ANSWERSoften associated with a particular geographical region
Phonographemics - ANSWERSstudy of letters and letter combinations
Phonemes - ANSWERSsmallest units of sound in the human language, like consonants or vowels
Homonyms - ANSWERSword forms that have two or more meanings
,Homographs - ANSWERStwo or more words that have same spelling or pronunciation but
different meanings, e.g. stalk (part of plant)/stalk (follow)
different meanings - ANSWERSe.g. stalk (part of plant)/stalk (follow)
Homophones - ANSWERStwo or more words that have the same pronunciation but different
meanings and spelling e.g. wood/would, cite/sight
Heteronyms - ANSWERStwo or more words that have the same spelling, but have a different
pronunciation and meaning, e.g. Polish/polish.
Morphemic Analysis - ANSWERSrequires breaking a word down into its component parts to
determine its meaning
Sociolinguistics - ANSWERSthe study of how social conditions influence the use of language
these social factors include ethnicity, religion, gender, status, age, and education play a role in
how individuals use language
Morpheme - ANSWERSthe smallest unit of language system which has meaning; these smaller
units include the root/base word, prefix, and a suffix
Morphology - ANSWERSthe process of how the words of a language are formed to create
meaningful messages
Underlying Principles of Morphology - ANSWERS1. Morphemes may be free 2. Knowledge of
meanings of derivational morphemes 3. Provide grammatical rather that semantic information
for words and sentences (e.g. of, the, and) 4. Words can be combined to create new compound
words (e.g. keychain)
,Pragmatics - ANSWERSthe study of how the context impacts the interpretation of language;
dictate language choice, body language, the degree of
intimacy - ANSWERSand how meaning is interpreted
Syntax - ANSWERSthe order in which words are arranged to create meaning
Discourse - ANSWERSlinguistic units composed of several sentences; derivedfrom the concept
of "discursive formation" or communication that involves specialized knowledge of various kinds
Standardizer - ANSWERSa learner who successfully integrates the new knowledge
Simplifier - ANSWERSa learner that reverts to syntactical rules learned at easierstages they fail
to integrate the new knowledge
Code-switching - ANSWERSa person who intersperses one language with another or mixing
some words, phrases, or idioms from one language with another
Empty language - ANSWERShas little meaning but is important in social exchanges
Perfunctory speech - ANSWERShas little meaning but is important in social exchanges
Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills(BICS) - ANSWERSlearners must acquire to function in
social situations
Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency(CALP) - ANSWERSallows learners to participate in
informal discourses; the "language of learning"
, Common Underlying Proficiency(CUP) Skills - ANSWERSideas, and concepts that learners can
transfer from their first language to their English learning
Sentence - ANSWERSa group of words that has a subject and a predicate and expresses a
complete idea
Parts of speech - ANSWERSeight classifications for words (noun, verb, pronoun, adjective,
adverb, prepositions, interjection, conjunctions
Subject - ANSWERStells what or whom the sentence is about
Predicate - ANSWERSmakes a statement about what the subject is or does
Compound subject - ANSWERSwhen the subject consists o two or more pronouns, e.g.Books
and magazines filled the room.
Compound predicate - ANSWERSa predicate that contains more than one verb pertaining to the
subject, e.g. The boys walked and talked.
Simple sentence - ANSWERSan independent clause that is a complete thought consisting of a
subject and a predicate
Compound sentence - ANSWERSconsists of two independent clauses joined together by a
coordinator (and, or, nor, but, for, yet, so)
Complex sentence - ANSWERSa sentence consisting of a dependent clause and an independent
clause joined together using a subordinating conjunction
ANSWERS 2025/2026
Phonology - ANSWERSthe way in which speech sounds form patterns; characteristics include
phonemes, pitch, and stress
concept maps - ANSWERSstudents learn the relationship between the different elements of a
topic and how to organize them from the most general to the most specific
Surface Structure - ANSWERSwhat we say or write-literal meaning of words
Pitch - ANSWERSdetermines the context or meaning of words or series of words
Stress - ANSWERSoccurs at a "word" or "sentence" level
Dialect - ANSWERSa variety of speech characterized by its own particular grammar or
pronunciation - ANSWERSoften associated with a particular geographical region
Phonographemics - ANSWERSstudy of letters and letter combinations
Phonemes - ANSWERSsmallest units of sound in the human language, like consonants or vowels
Homonyms - ANSWERSword forms that have two or more meanings
,Homographs - ANSWERStwo or more words that have same spelling or pronunciation but
different meanings, e.g. stalk (part of plant)/stalk (follow)
different meanings - ANSWERSe.g. stalk (part of plant)/stalk (follow)
Homophones - ANSWERStwo or more words that have the same pronunciation but different
meanings and spelling e.g. wood/would, cite/sight
Heteronyms - ANSWERStwo or more words that have the same spelling, but have a different
pronunciation and meaning, e.g. Polish/polish.
Morphemic Analysis - ANSWERSrequires breaking a word down into its component parts to
determine its meaning
Sociolinguistics - ANSWERSthe study of how social conditions influence the use of language
these social factors include ethnicity, religion, gender, status, age, and education play a role in
how individuals use language
Morpheme - ANSWERSthe smallest unit of language system which has meaning; these smaller
units include the root/base word, prefix, and a suffix
Morphology - ANSWERSthe process of how the words of a language are formed to create
meaningful messages
Underlying Principles of Morphology - ANSWERS1. Morphemes may be free 2. Knowledge of
meanings of derivational morphemes 3. Provide grammatical rather that semantic information
for words and sentences (e.g. of, the, and) 4. Words can be combined to create new compound
words (e.g. keychain)
,Pragmatics - ANSWERSthe study of how the context impacts the interpretation of language;
dictate language choice, body language, the degree of
intimacy - ANSWERSand how meaning is interpreted
Syntax - ANSWERSthe order in which words are arranged to create meaning
Discourse - ANSWERSlinguistic units composed of several sentences; derivedfrom the concept
of "discursive formation" or communication that involves specialized knowledge of various kinds
Standardizer - ANSWERSa learner who successfully integrates the new knowledge
Simplifier - ANSWERSa learner that reverts to syntactical rules learned at easierstages they fail
to integrate the new knowledge
Code-switching - ANSWERSa person who intersperses one language with another or mixing
some words, phrases, or idioms from one language with another
Empty language - ANSWERShas little meaning but is important in social exchanges
Perfunctory speech - ANSWERShas little meaning but is important in social exchanges
Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills(BICS) - ANSWERSlearners must acquire to function in
social situations
Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency(CALP) - ANSWERSallows learners to participate in
informal discourses; the "language of learning"
, Common Underlying Proficiency(CUP) Skills - ANSWERSideas, and concepts that learners can
transfer from their first language to their English learning
Sentence - ANSWERSa group of words that has a subject and a predicate and expresses a
complete idea
Parts of speech - ANSWERSeight classifications for words (noun, verb, pronoun, adjective,
adverb, prepositions, interjection, conjunctions
Subject - ANSWERStells what or whom the sentence is about
Predicate - ANSWERSmakes a statement about what the subject is or does
Compound subject - ANSWERSwhen the subject consists o two or more pronouns, e.g.Books
and magazines filled the room.
Compound predicate - ANSWERSa predicate that contains more than one verb pertaining to the
subject, e.g. The boys walked and talked.
Simple sentence - ANSWERSan independent clause that is a complete thought consisting of a
subject and a predicate
Compound sentence - ANSWERSconsists of two independent clauses joined together by a
coordinator (and, or, nor, but, for, yet, so)
Complex sentence - ANSWERSa sentence consisting of a dependent clause and an independent
clause joined together using a subordinating conjunction
