ESL Practice Test UPDATED Exam
Questions and CORRECT Answers
Which of the following best explains why English language learners need to receive direct
instruction in the use of nonverbal elements of English? - CORRECT ANSWER - Every
culture interprets gestures and body language differently.
A middle school with a high percentage of ELLs notices that only a small percentage of the ELL
parents have been participating in school meetings. What is the most reasonable cause that the
school could work on solving? - CORRECT ANSWER - The meetings are held in English,
and there are no translators available.
A second-grade teacher and an ELL have the following conversation during a science
experiment demonstrating changes from heat.
[...]
Based on the student's weakness in oral communication, which instructional task can best
increase the student's oral language development? - CORRECT ANSWER - working with
a partner to discuss what is happening in a series of photos of different states of matter (i.e.,
solid, liquid, and gas)
A second-grade teacher and an ELL have the following conversation during a science
experiment demonstrating changes from heat.
[...]
Based on the conversation, which instructional strategy is the teacher most likely using to
increase the student's comprehension? - CORRECT ANSWER - using key vocabulary in
context to connect with the student's current knowledge
Which of the following is true about building a lesson based on the Cummin's Quadrants? -
CORRECT ANSWER - An activity using complex language and a familiar subject for an
ELL should be used second in a lesson.
,Anton, a sixth-grade ELL, struggles to read and comprehend texts in his content area classes.
What is the best way that Mrs. Langston, his ESL teacher, could help support him? - CORRECT
ANSWER - by providing his content-area teachers with strategies to help him succeed
What is the best definition of assimilation? - CORRECT ANSWER - An adaptation in
which a minority group or culture adopts the values, behaviors, and beliefs of a majority group,
fully or partially.
The students are studying politics and are given the hypothetical task to prepare a speech to
present to the president asking for social change. Pamela, an intermediate student from Chile,
begins her speech with the following:
"What's up Mr. President? It's awesome that you invited me here today."
What does Pamela need some assistance with? - CORRECT ANSWER - language register
While discussing a read-aloud, an intermediate-level ELL shared her favorite part of the story
with her classmate.
Sara: The fishes were my favorite.
Sara's mistake can be best described as an error in: - CORRECT ANSWER - morphology
Antonio is a second-grader who began schooling for the first time this year in the US. He has a
beginner level of English and struggles with reading comprehension of simple texts. Which of
the following techniques can Antonio's teacher use to help him progress at an increased pace? -
CORRECT ANSWER - INCORRECT:
providing sentence prompts to focus and organize his thoughts
An elementary bilingual teacher is at the end of her science unit, and the students are working
with a partner to read science concepts in Spanish and look for patterns as they translate them
into English. As they are reading, an ELL student notices the ending of two cognates
positivamente - positively and legalmente - legally. The ELL student says, "Teacher, adverbs in
Spanish end in -mente, so adverbs in English must end in -ly, but I notice the adverb comes
before the verb in Spanish in this passage." How does this activity help ELLs expand their
vocabulary? - CORRECT ANSWER - This activity aids student understanding of
vocabulary and syntax through metalinguistic analysis.
, ELLs must simultaneously learn a language and gain knowledge in core content areas. Recent
studies indicate that because of the additional challenges they face: - CORRECT
ANSWER - ELLs may do twice as much work as the native English speakers in the same
school.
A middle-school ESL teacher is working with a group of ESL students whose English-language
abilities vary. Which of the following would be the most appropriate strategy for evaluating the
progress of students who are at different proficiency levels in English? - CORRECT
ANSWER - using multiple measures, such as observations, test scores, and samples of
daily work
How many morphemes does the word unbreakable contain in total? - CORRECT
ANSWER - three
What is one objective of the cognitive academic language learning approach (CALLA)? -
CORRECT ANSWER - learning content knowledge and language skills that are most
important for their future academic success
A high school English teacher has been thinking of ways to support his English-language-
learning students. To do this, he wants to involve families in the students' learning process.
Which of the following activities would best facilitate this? - CORRECT ANSWER -
inviting parents to a school event in which they can learn different strategies to use at home to
support their student
An ELL student wrote the following in her journal for class:
"My parents grew up in the small town in Mexico. They moved to United States when I was one
year old."
The student makes a mistake in her use of: - CORRECT ANSWER - articles
An ELL student volunteers to participate in a read-aloud. It appears that the ELL is flustered and
struggles to speak clearly. In response, the teacher praises the student for offering to participate.
The teacher's actions most clearly show her understanding of which of the following? -
CORRECT ANSWER - INCORRECT:
improving reading fluency
Questions and CORRECT Answers
Which of the following best explains why English language learners need to receive direct
instruction in the use of nonverbal elements of English? - CORRECT ANSWER - Every
culture interprets gestures and body language differently.
A middle school with a high percentage of ELLs notices that only a small percentage of the ELL
parents have been participating in school meetings. What is the most reasonable cause that the
school could work on solving? - CORRECT ANSWER - The meetings are held in English,
and there are no translators available.
A second-grade teacher and an ELL have the following conversation during a science
experiment demonstrating changes from heat.
[...]
Based on the student's weakness in oral communication, which instructional task can best
increase the student's oral language development? - CORRECT ANSWER - working with
a partner to discuss what is happening in a series of photos of different states of matter (i.e.,
solid, liquid, and gas)
A second-grade teacher and an ELL have the following conversation during a science
experiment demonstrating changes from heat.
[...]
Based on the conversation, which instructional strategy is the teacher most likely using to
increase the student's comprehension? - CORRECT ANSWER - using key vocabulary in
context to connect with the student's current knowledge
Which of the following is true about building a lesson based on the Cummin's Quadrants? -
CORRECT ANSWER - An activity using complex language and a familiar subject for an
ELL should be used second in a lesson.
,Anton, a sixth-grade ELL, struggles to read and comprehend texts in his content area classes.
What is the best way that Mrs. Langston, his ESL teacher, could help support him? - CORRECT
ANSWER - by providing his content-area teachers with strategies to help him succeed
What is the best definition of assimilation? - CORRECT ANSWER - An adaptation in
which a minority group or culture adopts the values, behaviors, and beliefs of a majority group,
fully or partially.
The students are studying politics and are given the hypothetical task to prepare a speech to
present to the president asking for social change. Pamela, an intermediate student from Chile,
begins her speech with the following:
"What's up Mr. President? It's awesome that you invited me here today."
What does Pamela need some assistance with? - CORRECT ANSWER - language register
While discussing a read-aloud, an intermediate-level ELL shared her favorite part of the story
with her classmate.
Sara: The fishes were my favorite.
Sara's mistake can be best described as an error in: - CORRECT ANSWER - morphology
Antonio is a second-grader who began schooling for the first time this year in the US. He has a
beginner level of English and struggles with reading comprehension of simple texts. Which of
the following techniques can Antonio's teacher use to help him progress at an increased pace? -
CORRECT ANSWER - INCORRECT:
providing sentence prompts to focus and organize his thoughts
An elementary bilingual teacher is at the end of her science unit, and the students are working
with a partner to read science concepts in Spanish and look for patterns as they translate them
into English. As they are reading, an ELL student notices the ending of two cognates
positivamente - positively and legalmente - legally. The ELL student says, "Teacher, adverbs in
Spanish end in -mente, so adverbs in English must end in -ly, but I notice the adverb comes
before the verb in Spanish in this passage." How does this activity help ELLs expand their
vocabulary? - CORRECT ANSWER - This activity aids student understanding of
vocabulary and syntax through metalinguistic analysis.
, ELLs must simultaneously learn a language and gain knowledge in core content areas. Recent
studies indicate that because of the additional challenges they face: - CORRECT
ANSWER - ELLs may do twice as much work as the native English speakers in the same
school.
A middle-school ESL teacher is working with a group of ESL students whose English-language
abilities vary. Which of the following would be the most appropriate strategy for evaluating the
progress of students who are at different proficiency levels in English? - CORRECT
ANSWER - using multiple measures, such as observations, test scores, and samples of
daily work
How many morphemes does the word unbreakable contain in total? - CORRECT
ANSWER - three
What is one objective of the cognitive academic language learning approach (CALLA)? -
CORRECT ANSWER - learning content knowledge and language skills that are most
important for their future academic success
A high school English teacher has been thinking of ways to support his English-language-
learning students. To do this, he wants to involve families in the students' learning process.
Which of the following activities would best facilitate this? - CORRECT ANSWER -
inviting parents to a school event in which they can learn different strategies to use at home to
support their student
An ELL student wrote the following in her journal for class:
"My parents grew up in the small town in Mexico. They moved to United States when I was one
year old."
The student makes a mistake in her use of: - CORRECT ANSWER - articles
An ELL student volunteers to participate in a read-aloud. It appears that the ELL is flustered and
struggles to speak clearly. In response, the teacher praises the student for offering to participate.
The teacher's actions most clearly show her understanding of which of the following? -
CORRECT ANSWER - INCORRECT:
improving reading fluency
