ESL 154 EXAM QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT ANSWERS LATEST UPDATE 2025/2026
Phonology - Answers the study of speech sounds in language; how sounds are organized and
used in natural languages
Morphology - Answers Units of meaning involved in word formation
Syntax - Answers Rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences
Semantics - Answers Set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and
sentences in a given language; also, the study of meaning
Pragmatics - Answers Appropriate use of language in different contexts; social use of language
What are two examples of critical components for the second language learner? - Answers Oral
language development and phonological/phonemic awareness
ELLs need ____________________ of L2 before they can make connections between letter and
sound. - Answers Phonology
___________________ awareness instruction focuses on the sounds in spoken language. It is
auditory and does not involve print. - Answers Phonological
Target Sound - Answers 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? - Answers The associated target sound
Phoneme - Answers The smallest distinctive sound unit
What are some best practices strategies to promote literacy development for ELLs? - Answers
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...? - Answers Write for sound - they learn to represent words phonetically in their
writing
Content Based Instruction + 3 Models - Answers 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
Why is combining sentences to make complex sentences an important exercise to help ESL
students advance in their writing abilities? - Answers Most of the sentences used in writing or in
continuous speech are complex.
Literal comprehension - Answers Understanding of the basic facts that the student has read;
grasping and interpreting text
Inferential comprehension - Answers 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? - Answers 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 - Answers 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 - Answers Main words or parts to which prefixes and suffixes can be added
Affixes - Answers Parts added to the beginning (prefix) or end (suffix) of a root word to create
new words.
Alphabetic Principle - Answers Understanding that letters and letter patterns represent the
sounds of spoken words.
Phonemic Awareness - Answers Being able to identify speech sounds
Example: student able to tell the difference between /b/ and /t/.
NOT related to the printed symbols representing those sounds
Structural Analysis - Answers Breaking a word down by isolating its prefixes and suffixes to
better identify the word
Phonics - Answers Matching the sound of letters to the printed symbols for those letters.
, Example: student sees the letter /t/ and knows the sound that letter makes;
Non-Tonal Languages - Answers Tone, not grammar, is used to distinguish words which would
otherwise be homonyms. Pitch is used to distinguish word meaning
Graphophonemic Knowledge - Answers Recognition of letters and the understanding of sound-
symbol relationships and spelling patterns; often referred to as phonics
Coordinating Conjunctions (FANBOYS) - Answers Join grammatically similar elements (2 nouns,
2 verbs, 2 modifiers, 2 independent clauses); for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so;
Infinitive phrase - Answers Phrases that begin with an infinitive. (to + simple form of the verb)
Subordinate clause - Answers Subject + Verb - cannot stand alone as a sentence because it
does not provide a complete thought.
Independent clause - Answers Expresses a complete thought and can stand alone as a
sentence. Has both a subject and a verb.
One of the most obvious types of ______________ cue ____________ by Spanish speakers acquiring
English as a second language is in the use of prepositions. It is easy for them to mix up the use
of corresponding English preposition because they are not differentiated in Spanish - Answers
Forward cue transfer
What is another name for prepositions? - Answers Satellites
Forward transfer - Answers The individual may apply knowledge from their native language (L1)
in the acquisition of their second language
English is a language of __________ irregularities (frequency with which the same symbols are
used to represent different sounds) - Answers Phonetic
Functionalist Perspective - Answers Communicative situation motivates, constrains, or
otherwise determines grammatical structure.
Their account of language development focus on language performance as driven by input from
the environment.
Which provides linguistic information that allows mappings between language forms and
language functions.
Cognitive explanation - Answers Knowledge of language arises out of language use and is
intimately tied to more general learning strategies.
Language development is supposed to be guided by these principles. The development of the
child's thinking determines when the child can learn to speak and what the child can say
Phonology - Answers the study of speech sounds in language; how sounds are organized and
used in natural languages
Morphology - Answers Units of meaning involved in word formation
Syntax - Answers Rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences
Semantics - Answers Set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and
sentences in a given language; also, the study of meaning
Pragmatics - Answers Appropriate use of language in different contexts; social use of language
What are two examples of critical components for the second language learner? - Answers Oral
language development and phonological/phonemic awareness
ELLs need ____________________ of L2 before they can make connections between letter and
sound. - Answers Phonology
___________________ awareness instruction focuses on the sounds in spoken language. It is
auditory and does not involve print. - Answers Phonological
Target Sound - Answers 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? - Answers The associated target sound
Phoneme - Answers The smallest distinctive sound unit
What are some best practices strategies to promote literacy development for ELLs? - Answers
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...? - Answers Write for sound - they learn to represent words phonetically in their
writing
Content Based Instruction + 3 Models - Answers 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
Why is combining sentences to make complex sentences an important exercise to help ESL
students advance in their writing abilities? - Answers Most of the sentences used in writing or in
continuous speech are complex.
Literal comprehension - Answers Understanding of the basic facts that the student has read;
grasping and interpreting text
Inferential comprehension - Answers 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? - Answers 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 - Answers 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 - Answers Main words or parts to which prefixes and suffixes can be added
Affixes - Answers Parts added to the beginning (prefix) or end (suffix) of a root word to create
new words.
Alphabetic Principle - Answers Understanding that letters and letter patterns represent the
sounds of spoken words.
Phonemic Awareness - Answers Being able to identify speech sounds
Example: student able to tell the difference between /b/ and /t/.
NOT related to the printed symbols representing those sounds
Structural Analysis - Answers Breaking a word down by isolating its prefixes and suffixes to
better identify the word
Phonics - Answers Matching the sound of letters to the printed symbols for those letters.
, Example: student sees the letter /t/ and knows the sound that letter makes;
Non-Tonal Languages - Answers Tone, not grammar, is used to distinguish words which would
otherwise be homonyms. Pitch is used to distinguish word meaning
Graphophonemic Knowledge - Answers Recognition of letters and the understanding of sound-
symbol relationships and spelling patterns; often referred to as phonics
Coordinating Conjunctions (FANBOYS) - Answers Join grammatically similar elements (2 nouns,
2 verbs, 2 modifiers, 2 independent clauses); for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so;
Infinitive phrase - Answers Phrases that begin with an infinitive. (to + simple form of the verb)
Subordinate clause - Answers Subject + Verb - cannot stand alone as a sentence because it
does not provide a complete thought.
Independent clause - Answers Expresses a complete thought and can stand alone as a
sentence. Has both a subject and a verb.
One of the most obvious types of ______________ cue ____________ by Spanish speakers acquiring
English as a second language is in the use of prepositions. It is easy for them to mix up the use
of corresponding English preposition because they are not differentiated in Spanish - Answers
Forward cue transfer
What is another name for prepositions? - Answers Satellites
Forward transfer - Answers The individual may apply knowledge from their native language (L1)
in the acquisition of their second language
English is a language of __________ irregularities (frequency with which the same symbols are
used to represent different sounds) - Answers Phonetic
Functionalist Perspective - Answers Communicative situation motivates, constrains, or
otherwise determines grammatical structure.
Their account of language development focus on language performance as driven by input from
the environment.
Which provides linguistic information that allows mappings between language forms and
language functions.
Cognitive explanation - Answers Knowledge of language arises out of language use and is
intimately tied to more general learning strategies.
Language development is supposed to be guided by these principles. The development of the
child's thinking determines when the child can learn to speak and what the child can say
