Deck 5: Language Development, Language Diversity, and Immigrant Education

Question 1

Alberto speaks Italian with his grandmother and English with everyone else at home, but he is starting school and needs to use English at school. Based on research about bilingualism, what should Alberto be encouraged to do about developing skills in both languages?

A) Develop English only. Bilingual students tend to use code-switching, an indication of low-level language skills.
B) Speak English only. Avoid speaking Italian. The dual languages will interfere with his ability to read and write English correctly
C) Focus on developing English and teach his grandmother to speak English
D) Keep developing skills in both languages. Being bilingual increases cognitive abilities

Answer 1

Keep developing skills in both languages. Being bilingual increases cognitive abilities

Question 2

Which of the following is NOT true of Indigenous languages in Canada?

A) 20% of First Nations individuals report that they can speak an Indigenous language.
B) Residential schools denied Indigenous peoples the right to speak their first language.
C) Indigenous languages in Canada are disappearing.
D) Language revitalization projects are targeting both children and adults in school and at home.

Answer 2

Indigenous languages in Canada are disappearing.

Question 3

Susana says "my backpack was forgotted", which is an example of what problem of learning grammar?

A) She overregularized the word "forget" by applying a rule to every language situation.
B) She has a disability related to pragmatics.
C) She misuses monolingual educational strategies.
D) She shows evidence of being semi-lingual in her second language.

Answer 3

She overregularized the word "forget" by applying a rule to every language situation.

Question 4

Alexa yelled to her mother in the grocery store, "I want chips!" Her mother told her to use her small, indoor voice at the store. Alexa shows that she does not yet understand

A) expressive vocabulary.
B) receptive vocabulary.
C) metalinguistic awareness.
D) pragmatics of language.

Question 5

Colton is almost four years old and has an expressive vocabulary of about 1000 words. Based on milestones in early childhood language, what should Colton's parents be doing to encourage Colton's language development

A) Repeat new words and name body parts such as feet, hands, and tummy.
B) Talk about his interests and ask numerous "why" questions.
C) Help him tell stories and encourage him to play with others.
D) Talk with him as they would talk to an adult.

Question 6

Generally, students are not ready to study the rules of a language formally until about age five. This is when most students have started to gain

A) literacy.
B) metalinguistic awareness.
C) semantic speech.
D) syntax.

Question 7

An adolescent who knows how to keep a conversation going at an informal gathering is demonstrating good

A) emergent language development.
B) sheltered language.
C) pragmatics.
D) syntax

Question 8

Which one of the following statements is TRUE?

A) Decoding skills and oral language skills are important in emergent literacy.
B) By age 3, most children should be able to create sentences with an average of 5 words.
C) Teachers should encourage students not to use their Heritage language during school hours.
D) Pragmatics refers to overusing a grammatical rule in appropriate situations.

Question 9

Daniela is in the first grade. Her family left Mexico and moved to Vancouver one year ago. Daniela is having difficulty learning to speak and read in English. Based on bilingual emergent literacy research, what should her teachers prioritize to help Daniela at this stage of literacy?

A) Focus on growth in expressive language and speaking English only.
B) Focus on growth in literacy in Spanish first.
C) Focus on language growth in receptive vocabulary.
D) Focus on inconsistencies and irregularities in English language.

Question 10

Which of the following situations is an example of subtractive bilingualism?

A) Maurice grew up in Montreal. He heard a lot of French dialect spoken around him and on the radio, but he only speaks English.
B) Kim heard English and Mandarin from the time she was born. She speaks both languages fluently.
C) Marco learned Spanish as a child growing up in Mexico. He later learned English, moved to California for college, and continued to use his Spanish.
D) Jasmina learned Croatian as a child. When her family moved to Winnipeg, she became fluent in English and eventually forgot her Croatian.

Question 11

Which of the following most accurately represents research concerning the issue of critical periods for learning language?

A) There is a critical period for learning accurate language pronunciation.
B) There is a critical period for mastering the grammar and syntax of a language.
C) There is a critical period for vocabulary acquisition in a second language.
D) There is a critical period for English speakers to learn Mandarin and other tonal languages.

Question 12

Reese is a deaf one-year-old child. Her parents have been learning and using signed language since Reese's birth. What might they expect about their daughter's language skill development?

A) Reese's receptive language will be delayed and will likely fall six months behind hearing children.
B) Reese will probably "say" her first words at a much later time than hearing children speak their first words.
C) Reese will develop language skills at the same rate hearing children develop language skills.
D) Reese will experience different milestones and develop language on a different schedule than children with normal hearing.

Question 13

Children who are raised bilingual from birth can be expected to:

A) reach the language milestones in both languages at about the same time.
B) to learn the pragmatics of one language before the other language.
C) develop a receptive vocabulary set in only one language.
D) to develop inside-out skills in one language before their second language.

Question 14

Ken believes reading is very important and is teaching his four-year-old son the letters of the alphabet. Knowing the letters of the alphabet is what type of foundational skill for reading

A) Oral language skill
B) Skill in understanding codes
C) Knowledge of syntax
D) Metalinguistic awareness

Question 15

The area of language that specifically deals with the ordering of words is called

A) awareness.
B) scaffolding.
C) semantics.
D) syntax.

Question 16

Receptive vocabulary refers to:

A) how open the student is to learning a second language.
B) the words a student can understand in spoken or written words.
C) words that change over time due to culture.
D) words children learn as a result of scaffolding.

Question 17

By what age do most children master the sounds of their native language?

A) 5 years
B) 9 months
C) 7 years
D) 2 years

Question 18

At home in Iqaluit, Nunavut, Shawn only speaks Inuktitut with his grandmother who has lived her entire life in Nunavut. When speaking with his grandmother in Nunavut, Shawn is using his

A) emergent language development.
B) sheltered language.
C) Heritage language.
D) second dialect.

Question 19

Researchers have found the best time for one to learn a second language on one's own is

A) during middle childhood
B) adolescence
C) early childhood
D) adulthood when cognitive skills are developed

Question 20

Which one of the following statements is TRUE of emergent literacy?

A) There has been no research on understanding the relations between oral language, code skills, and reading achievement.
B) Preschool teachers are encouraged to teach code skills before oral language skills in order to promotes reaching achievement.
C) Oral language has been found to interfere with preschool children's reading fluency.
D) Preschool children's oral language skills play an important role in predicting reading in the transition to school.

Question 21

Which one of the following students is NOT part of the large group often called Generation 1.5? Based on the characteristics of Generation 1.5, which student does NOT fit?

A) Cindy was born in Ottawa and lives with her grandmother who immigrated to Canada as a child.
B) Sierra was born in Germany and spends most of her time in Canada. She goes back to Germany with her family when her dad has work there.
C) Sasa was born in Serbia, but his parents sent him to Canada to get an education when he was in high school.
D) Jose was born in Lisbon and lives in a Portuguese community in Toronto where everyone speaks Portuguese.

Question 22

Which one of the following statements is TRUE?

A) Contemporary educational psychologists reject the cultural deficit model.
B) Researchers have just started to investigate the cultural deficit model in Canada during the past five years.
C) The cultural deficit model is useful for designing bilingual education programs.
D) Educational psychologists today rely upon the cultural deficit model to understand student achievement.

Question 23

Scott, who is a grade 12 student and a native English speaker, is starting to learn French. According to the text, which activity will likely be the most difficult for him to successfully engage in?

A) watching a television program in French
B) having a conversation in French with his friend Richard
C) reading a history book written in French
D) listening to the news on a French radio station

Question 24

Hamid had to leave his home country for Canada as his family feared their safety. Hamid would be considered a(n)

A) immigrant.
B) refugee.
C) vacationer.
D) transient worker.

Question 25

What is the average amount of time it takes for a student to master academic language in a second language?

A) 1 year.
B) 2-3 years
C) 5-10 years.
D) more than 10 years.

Question 26

What is the term to describe moving between two speech forms such as informal talk with friends and formal speech for professional communications?

A) Genderlect
B) Dialect
C) Code-switching
D) Morphology

Question 27

Which of the following is the best recommendation for a teacher who has a student who speaks using a different dialect?

A) The teacher should correct the student's grammar and ask him or her to repeat the grammatical rule.
B) The teacher should instruct the student to speak formal English at all times in the classroom.
C) The teacher should accept the dialect as valid system, but they should also teach the alternative forms to be used in formal settings.
D) The teacher should provide special instruction for the student and help him recognize the negative stereotypes associated with using dialect.

Question 28

Damian is an ELL student in high school. He is able to converse enough to make friends and play games, but he does not understand academic language very well. Based on guidelines for providing emotional support for ELL students, which one of his teachers seems to be most effective in working with Damian?

A) "Damian, you will probably do best working on this assignment alone while other students work in groups."
B) "This is science class. I don't want you to worry about English in this class. Just try to get the science concepts."
C) "Who can help Damian learn how to punctuate sentences correctly? He needs help from someone who is good in English."
D) "I talked to Damian about this event in history, and he created a timeline that compares events in his country with events in Canada at that time."

Question 29

Which of the following is a recommended approach to balanced bilingualism in schools today?

A) Divide students into separate language classes according to the primary language that they speak.
B) Try to make students fluent in both languages.
C) English-only immersion at school with heritage language spoken at home.
D) Try to make students at least semi-lingual in their second language.

Question 30

In which of the following situations is the SIOP model being used?

A) Native English speakers and ELL students are mixed for instruction in two-way immersion.
B) A checklist is used during observation to assess teaching of ELL students.
C) ELL students are paired with a native English-speaker for math lessons.
D) Bilingual teachers teach ELL students in the content areas.

Question 31

An English language learner who has difficulty with academic learning but converses well in both languages may be described as which of the following?

A) Monolingual/preliterate.
B) Balanced bilingual.
C) Semilingual.
D) Limited bilingual.

Question 32

Mrs. Harper is teaching English language learning and wants to help her students progress with language skills and succeed academically. Which of the following strategies is LEAST likely to help?

A) Mrs. Harper thinks aloud as she models how to practice using a new procedure.
B) Mrs. Harper teaches ELL students new vocabulary for a unit before teaching the concepts in the unit.
C) Mrs. Harper involves ELL students in group work and working in pairs.
D) Mrs. Harper corrects grammar errors as the ELL students answer questions and present reports.

Question 33

What is the term that is defined as the different ways of talking for males and females?

A) genderlects
B) sheltered language.
C) Heritage language.
D) code-switches

Question 34

Which of the following is a myth about bilingual students?

A) Learning a second language takes little time and effort.
B) It takes great effort and attention to maintain high-level skills in both languages.
C) Children must be tested in both languages to determine language disorders.
D) Children need to use both languages in many contexts.

Question 35

Ms. Jovanovich works with several gifted students who are English language learners. She sees all of the following characteristics in these students EXCEPT

A) Without a large English vocabulary, the child takes risks in trying to communicate in English.
B) The child practices new words and phrases by using them in conversation and trying to establish them in his memory.
C) The child frustrates easily when feedback from the teacher indicates lack of understanding.
D) The child looks for similarities between English words and words in her native language.

Question 36

Research on bilingual education shows that teaching some subjects in a students' native (non-English or non-French) language

A) helps students achieve in those subject areas.
B) slows their English development.
C) depresses self-esteem.
D) has negative effects on reading comprehension.

Question 37

Mr. Karnes scheduled individual meetings with parents of each of his immigrant students and asked them about the jobs, skills, traditions, religion, and other information that was important to them in their heritage countries. Later Mr. Karnes used this information in teaching to help students relate their new learning to things that were familiar. Mr. Karnes is using which of the following?

A) Student-led conferencing
B) Sheltered instruction
C) Funds of knowledge
D) Welcome centre

Question 38

Mrs. Adams is going to refer an ELL student for testing. She is not pleased with the girl's progress in second grade reading and suspects the child may have a learning disability. What information probably tipped Mrs. Adams and helped her identify the need to refer the student?

A) The child had access to books in Spanish as a toddler, but not books in English.
B) The child contracted a serious illness as a baby but recovered after several weeks.
C) The child's parents both speak Spanish and very little English.
D) The child attended a bilingual program as a preschooler but has not been in ESL classes.

Question 39

Based on information about genderlects, which of the following statements is most likely made by Calli, a middle school girl, and not one of the boys in her class?

A) We have to beat the other team today and regain our status as the best in the league.
B) I saw your sister at the ball game, and she seemed to be getting around on her crutches without a problem.
C) I think it's unfair for the other groups to get more time to work on their projects.
D) I have a right to sit in this chair. I got the top score on the test last week.

Question 40

A language variation spoken by a particular group is called a

A) dialect.
B) language disorder.
C) pronunciation problem.
D) standard speech.

Question 41

The area of language that deals specifically with word order is called ________.

Question 42

Subtractive bilingualism describes the process of losing one's first language when adding a second one.

Question 43

When a student understands language and how it works, the student is said to have ________.

Question 44

Metalinguistic awareness begins to develop at about the age of puberty.

Question 45

Most likely, biological and cultural factors both play a role in language development.

Question 46

Early childhood is the best time for a child to learn a second language on his/her own.

Question 47

Between the ages of 2 to 3, most children's expressive vocabulary consists of approximately 2,000 words.

Question 48

Critical periods and sensitive periods are synonymous terms in reference to language acquisition.

Question 49

Code-switching is a term that describes the different ways of talking for males and females.

Question 50

Overregularization is the practice of using words out of order to create new meanings.

Question 51

"The toy is broked" is an example of overregularizing.

Question 52

Most young children prefer to use the words they can easily pronounce.

Question 53

The assumption underlying the cultural deficit model was that many ethnic groups did not want to assimilate completely into mainstream Canadian society.

Question 54

Funds of knowledge include familial and community sources of knowledge that are usually excluded from the classroom because they are outside the scope of curriculum requirements.

Question 55

Recent studies show that speaking two languages is detrimental to cognitive development.

Question 56

Signed languages differ from spoken languages in that they have much smaller vocabularies and less complex grammar structure.

Question 57

At around age 6, children have a larger ________ vocabulary than expressive vocabulary.

Question 58

Proponents of the native language maintenance approach for bilingual education believe that valuable learning time is lost when students are taught in their native language.

Question 59

How to enter a conversation or how to tell jokes are examples of semantics.

Question 60

Individuals who speak only one language are referred to as ________.

Question 61

Moving between two speech forms such as professional communication and informal talk with friends is called __________________.

Question 62

The assumption that students' home culture is inferior because it has not prepared them to fit well into schools is called the ________ model.

Question 63

People who are inadequate speakers of both their native language and their second language are called ________.

Question 64

A widely used system for checking that each element of sheltered instruction is present for a teacher is the ____________________.

Question 65

Two competing approaches for teaching bilingual education are _______ language programs and ________ language programs.

Question 66

A person who is capable of communicating both in a spoken language and a signed language are considered to be _____________.

Question 67

While immigrants leave their home country voluntarily, ______________ leave their country because their home country is not safe.

Question 68

Discuss the benefits of bilingualism as it pertains to heritage languages. Make specific reference to Indigenous languages in Canada in your answer.

Question 69

Compare alternative approaches to teaching bilingual children. Should a child's use of his/her first language in classroom learning be discouraged or directly integrated with learning in English?

Question 70

Identifying students who have a learning disability or students who have giftedness can be very difficult when the students do not speak English. Describe steps teachers might take to identify each of these groups of students before referring them.

Question 71

Mrs. O'Connor teaches middle school in a school where many students in her class speak dialects rather than formal English. Describe appropriate attitudes and approaches for teaching these students effectively.

Question 72

______________ refers to children who were not born in Canada but immigrated here with their first-generation parents, typically before adolescence.

Question 73

Define culture and discuss the issues that prompted belief in the cultural deficit model. What are the prevailing beliefs of educational researchers and theorists today about this issue?

Question 74

_________ bilingualism refers to adding a second language without losing one's heritage language.