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Descriptive Statements:
- Demonstrate understanding of the TESOL Pre-K–12 English Language Proficiency Standards Framework and apply strategies for establishing grade-level-appropriate academic and language development goals and expectations for English learners at various levels of proficiency that are aligned with relevant student learning standards.
- Apply knowledge of strategies for designing appropriate and sustainable standards-based instruction and co-teaching instruction (e.g., co-teaching models) that build on assessment results and knowledge of students and that incorporate grade-level-appropriate linguistic goals and expectations for English learners at various levels of proficiency.
- Apply knowledge of strategies for identifying and incorporating in lesson planning key academic and content-specific language needed for English learners at various levels of proficiency to engage successfully in grade-level content learning, including as part of specific lessons, curriculum units, projects, or activities and in co-teaching contexts, and for incorporating appropriate related scaffolds, visual aids, differentiation, and assessments as part of lesson planning.
- Apply knowledge of strategies for contextualizing content and vocabulary (e.g., through demonstrations; using realia and visual scaffolding such as illustrations and graphic organizers; relating to students' background knowledge) and modifying language without simplifying content (e.g., providing comprehensible input by repeating key concepts, breaking up long sentences, and/or paraphrasing) to make content-area lessons accessible to English learners.
- Apply knowledge of strategies for implementing appropriate and sustainable instruction and co-teaching instruction that leverage and validate English learners' funds of knowledge as assets and resources for making connections with and accessing grade-level content.
- Apply knowledge of appropriate and sustainable instruction and co-teaching instruction that promote English learners' use of their full linguistic repertoires (e.g., code-switching; translanguaging practices) to successfully engage in grade-level content learning, collaborative problem solving, and meaningful communication.
- Apply knowledge of strategies for selecting appropriate and sustainable materials, resources, and technologies that effectively promote English learners' access to standards-based and grade-level language and content learning.
- Apply knowledge of strategies for promoting English learners' engagement in self-directed language and content learning through the use of problem-solving and cognitive-learning skills (e.g., note-taking skills, organizational skills, study skills, research skills, test-taking skills) and strategies (e.g., categorizing words and concepts, integrating prior knowledge with new ideas, self-reflection and self-monitoring).
- Apply knowledge of appropriate and effective scaffolding strategies, such as verbal scaffolding (e.g., prompting, questioning, elaborating), procedural scaffolding (e.g., explicit teaching, modeling), and metacognitive scaffolding (e.g., planning, regulating, evaluating), for promoting English learners' language and content learning and verifying comprehension.
- Apply knowledge of strategies for developing, scaffolding, and implementing a variety of ongoing classroom assessments and common assessments (e.g., formative, summative, self-assessments) that effectively and appropriately measure English learners' language development and academic progress.
- Apply knowledge of techniques for analyzing, interpreting, and synthesizing classroom assessment results to reflect on, inform, and make purposeful adjustments to language, literacy, and content instruction for English learners at various levels of proficiency.
Sample Item:
Use the information below to answer the question that follows.
An EL teacher engages a first-grade student in a conversation about a story following a whole-class read-aloud.
Teacher: What was your favorite part of the story?
Student: Bear! Bear say, "I not scared, you scared!"
Teacher: When Bear is feeling scared, he says, "I'm not scared, you're scared!"
Student: (laughing) Bear scared of everything!
Teacher: Let's look at this illustration. What is Bear scared of here?
Student: The bridge. Look! It is old. Bear scared to fall in.
Teacher: I would be scared just like Bear! Bear doesn't want to fall through the old, rickety bridge.
Student: I scare too! But look here! (points to the illustration) Bear save Rabbit from falling.
Teacher: Yes! Bear saved Rabbit when the bridge broke. Bear was scared, but he saved Rabbit.
The EL teacher supports the student's engagement in the conversation by incorporating primarily which instructional strategy?
- providing corrective feedback about grammatical production
- using multiple prompts to scaffold expressive production
- building on prior knowledge and personal interests
- integrating comprehensible input with visual aids
Correct Response and Explanation (Show Correct ResponseHide Correct Response)
D. Comprehensible input refers to communication with English learners designed to both provide supports for understanding language and strategically incorporating language slightly above their current proficiency level. The teacher uses visuals from the story as a reference for eliciting statements from the student about their understanding of the read-aloud. Additional comprehensible input strategies the teacher uses to facilitate student engagement in the conversation include repetition of key language (e.g., "to be scared [of]") in different contexts, building on and paraphrasing student output, and introducing higher-level words (e.g., "rickety").
Descriptive Statements:
- Apply knowledge of strategies for designing appropriate and sustainable standards-based instruction and co-instruction (e.g., co-teaching models) that build on assessment results and knowledge of students and that incorporate grade-level-appropriate interpretive language development goals and expectations for English learners at various levels of proficiency.
- Apply knowledge of appropriate and sustainable research-based methods (e.g., engaging students in close reading, including rereading; scaffolding access to texts for students reading below grade level; choosing academic and literary texts that reflect students' home heritage and interests) and resources for differentiating and scaffolding instruction for English learners at various levels of proficiency related to reading and constructing meaning from grade-level-appropriate literary and informational texts in English (e.g., determining the meaning of words and phrases, determining a central idea or theme, explaining how central ideas or themes are developed by supporting ideas or evidence, summarizing a text, analyzing and describing elements of fiction and nonfiction texts).
- Apply knowledge of appropriate and sustainable research-based methods and resources for differentiating and scaffolding instruction for English learners at various levels of proficiency related to listening and viewing skills (e.g., constructing meaning from oral presentations, determining a theme or central idea and how it is conveyed through particular details, determining the meaning of words and phrases in oral presentations, integrating and evaluating information presented in multiple media and formats, delineating a speaker's argument and specific claims).
- Apply knowledge of appropriate and sustainable research-based strategies for promoting English learners' use of listening, reading, and viewing skills to gain understanding (e.g., focusing attention, observing, gaining and interpreting information, checking for understanding), conduct research, evaluate findings, and analyze and critique the arguments of others.
Sample Item:
An EL teacher and a tenth-grade classroom teacher identify strategies to promote English learners' understanding of scientific concepts during an introductory lesson. Which instructional strategy would most effectively support the teachers' goal?
- previewing with students the questions they will be asked following the lesson to promote active listening
- recording videos of the lesson so that students can review them when they are unclear about new information
- having students take notes recording the main idea and key details that they can reference following the lesson
- asking students to note questions they have about the topic to ask in a question-and-answer session at the end of the lesson
Correct Response and Explanation (Show Correct ResponseHide Correct Response)
A. Because English learners need to process both new language and concepts during oral content learning activities, they benefit from strategies that help them focus their attention and provide them with increased exposure to relevant language. A research-based strategy for facilitating students' participation in an introductory oral content lesson is frontloading questions that students will be asked to answer at the end of the lesson. This practice allows for student engagement with new vocabulary and language structures necessary to access the content while providing them with clues about where to focus their listening.
Descriptive Statements:
- Apply knowledge of strategies for designing appropriate and sustainable standards-based instruction and co-instruction (e.g., co-teaching models) that build on assessment results and knowledge of students and that incorporate grade-level-appropriate expressive language development goals and expectations for English learners at various levels of proficiency.
- Apply knowledge of appropriate and sustainable research-based methods and resources for differentiating and scaffolding instruction for English learners at various levels of proficiency related to speaking skills (e.g., preparing for and engaging effectively in a range of discussions on grade-level-appropriate complex literary and informational texts and topics; following rules for collegial discussions; constructing claims and supporting them with reasoning and evidence; making counterclaims; adapting language choices to purpose, task, and audience; using appropriate register to communicate, inform, explain, argue, or persuade in grade-level-appropriate speech).
- Apply knowledge of appropriate and sustainable research-based methods and resources for differentiating and scaffolding instruction for English learners at various levels of proficiency related to writing processes to produce texts for a variety of purposes in English (e.g., producing clear and coherent writing appropriate to task, purpose, and audience; constructing a claim about a variety of grade-level-appropriate complex topics; providing compelling and logically ordered evidence that effectively supports a claim; providing reasoning to explain how the evidence supports a claim; providing a concluding statement; acquiring and accurately using grade-level-appropriate general-academic and domain-specific words and phrases; writing narratives to develop experiences or events using effective techniques, details, and sequencing; using English structures to communicate context-specific messages, inform, explain, argue, or persuade; developing and strengthening the writing process; using technology to produce and publish writing).
- Apply knowledge of appropriate and sustainable research-based methods and resources for differentiating and scaffolding instruction for English learners at various levels of proficiency related to producing written text-based responses and research-based writing from sources in English and other languages (e.g., developing personal, textual, and thematic connections within and across genres; conducting research projects to answer a question or solve a problem; gathering relevant information from multiple print and digital sources; using search terms effectively; drawing evidence from informational or literary texts to support reflection, analysis, and research; quoting or paraphrasing the data and conclusions of others using charts, diagrams, or other graphics; citing sources using a recognized standard format, such as APA or MLA).
- Apply knowledge of appropriate and sustainable strategies for creating multiple opportunities for English learners to engage in authentic and meaningful oral, written, and multimedia exchanges of information, ideas, and analyses; respond to peer, audience, or reader comments and questions; and analyze and critique the arguments of others.
Sample Item:
An EL teacher overhears a kindergarten student at Level 3 (developing) of English-speaking proficiency tell a peer a story while engaging in imaginative play. Following is an excerpt of the student's narrative.
I dream about this. [Student points to an illustration of a unicorn.] It fly up to me, "Do you want to come fly … jump on!" [Student pretends to gallop like a horse.] I feel happy and a little scare. It was pink and sparkles—here. [Student points to the wings of the unicorn in the illustration.] It jump up and out come a rainbow. [Student gestures an arc in the shape of a rainbow.] I jump on. We fly over the town. I see people. They small, like ants. We fly to the moon. I say "It so late. Time for bed!" It bring me home.
To continue to promote the student's oral narrative skills, the teacher could primarily work with the student on which language skill?
- incorporating characters' thoughts and responses to events
- including adjectives to expand on descriptive details
- using cohesive devices to link a series of events in the story
- including verbs describing mental states and conditions
Correct Response and Explanation (Show Correct ResponseHide Correct Response)
C. The student is able to clearly narrate a series of events in a linear way. The next step in promoting the student's narrative skills would be to learn about and apply the use of cohesive devices indicating time and sequence, (e.g., "first," "next," "then," "finally") to promote clarity and flow of ideas.
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