Deck 16: Language, Culture and English Language Learners

Question 1

Children who speak a language other than English as their first language:

A) are usually language disordered.
B) are usually mentally retarded.
C) may score more poorly on standardized tests because of bias.
D) learn best when taught with English only.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Dialects have a syntactic structure that is different from the main language from which they are derived.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

What are the three "threats" that Rueda and Chan associated with children with limited English proficiency and special needs?
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________

Answer 3

(code switching)

Question 4

Children learning two languages simultaneously do so at a rate similar to that of children learning just one language.

Question 5

Research on instructional programs for children who speak a language other than English as their first language has found that:

A) the "sink-or-swim" model has been found to be most effective for building English language skills.
B) bilingual education programs that combined instruction in a first language with instruction in a second language-have not been found to work.
C) students in bilingual programs progress perform worse than their monolingual peers in assessments of academic, cognitive, and social functioning.
D) Sheltered instruction (or sheltered immersion) programs have been found to be most successful programs for building both English language skills and content area
Knowledge in English language learners

Question 6

________________ programs seek to give children with dialect differences instruction in the "standard" dialect so they can be more successful in school and after school.

Question 7

Jaime has recently come to the United States from Chile, where he learned Spanish as his first language. He is ten years old and entering the fifth grade. He can read and write in Spanish at a level appropriate for his age, but he can neither read nor write in English and has a limited vocabulary in English. From this information, we can conclude that Jaime:

A) probably has a language disability.
B) has limited English proficiency and may benefit from an ESL or bilingual program.
C) should be placed in a special education classroom until he acquires enough English to be in a regular education classroom.
D) is bilingual in Spanish and English.

Question 8

Which of the following statements most accurately describes current thinking about social dialects (such as "Black English Vernacular")?

A) Such dialects are as complex linguistically as the "standard" dialect.
B) Social dialects such as "Black English Vernacular" are linguistically inferior to the "standard" dialect.
C) Children who have social dialect differences are culturally and linguistically deprived.
D) Children who have social dialect differences should be referred to special education.

Question 9

Shawnetta is a seven year old, African-American girl who lives in an urban, inner-city neighborhood. She sometimes drops endings (such as the plural "s") from words and uses the infinitival form of be as an auxiliary verb ("He be goin""). We can conclude that Shawnetta:

A) speaks English as a second language.
B) is language disordered.
C) speaks a different dialect of English.
D) requires special education placement.

Question 10

What are some of the impediments to fully implementing the mandates of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in regard to the assessment of children who speak a language other than English?

Question 11

Which of the following statements is true of English language learners with special needs?

A) They are overrepresented in special education classes.
B) They are underrepresented in special education classes.
C) They are not found in special education classes.
D) All of the above.
E) A and B only.

Question 12

When people change from using one dialect or language to another during a conversation, this is called ________________________.

Question 13

Children who learn two languages simultaneously:

A) learn each language more slowly than children learning one language.
B) learn each language more quickly than children learning one language.
C) learn each language at about the same rate as children learning one language.
D) lag behind in pragmatic development when compared to children learning one language.

Question 14

Black English Vernacular is an example of a ______________ of English.

Question 15

In ______________________ programs English language learners are placed in self-contained classrooms instruction is mainly in English.

Question 16

Should a child be referred to a speech/language specialist because he does not use "good" language? Why or why not.