ELL ELL Vocabulary Development 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which tier of vocabulary, according to Beck, McKeown, and Kucan, is most important to explicitly teach ELL students for academic success?
- Tier 1 (everyday conversational words)
- Tier 2 (high-frequency academic words) (Correct answer)
- Tier 3 (domain-specific technical words)
- Tier 4 (slang and informal words)
Correct answer: Tier 2 (high-frequency academic words)
Tier 2 words appear frequently across academic texts and disciplines (e.g., analyze, compare, evaluate), making explicit instruction in these words critical for ELL academic achievement.
Question 2: What is the Academic Word List (AWL) and why is it useful for ELL instruction?
- A list of slang terms ELLs should avoid
- A research-based list of high-frequency academic vocabulary words found across disciplines (Correct answer)
- A list of sight words for beginning readers
- A list of words banned from standardized tests
Correct answer: A research-based list of high-frequency academic vocabulary words found across disciplines
The Academic Word List, developed by Averil Coxhead, contains 570 word families that appear frequently in academic texts across disciplines, making it a targeted resource for ELL vocabulary instruction.
Question 3: Which strategy best supports ELL vocabulary development by connecting new words to known concepts?
- Memorizing definitions from a dictionary
- Using cognates to link English words to home language equivalents (Correct answer)
- Only using the new word in writing drills
- Avoiding the home language entirely
Correct answer: Using cognates to link English words to home language equivalents
Cognates are words that share similar spelling and meaning across languages (e.g., 'family' and 'familia'), allowing ELLs to leverage home language knowledge to acquire English vocabulary.
Question 4: What does 'word consciousness' mean in ELL vocabulary instruction?
- Awareness of how words are spelled
- An interest in and awareness of words and their meanings and uses (Correct answer)
- Ability to decode unfamiliar words phonetically
- Memorization of high-frequency words
Correct answer: An interest in and awareness of words and their meanings and uses
Word consciousness refers to students' awareness, curiosity, and appreciation of words, which motivates them to notice, explore, and use new vocabulary in meaningful ways.
Question 5: Which instructional tool uses visual representations to show relationships between a target word and related concepts?
- Phonics worksheet
- Semantic word map / concept map (Correct answer)
- Spelling test
- Cloze passage
Correct answer: Semantic word map / concept map
A semantic word map or concept map visually organizes a target word's definition, synonyms, examples, and related concepts, deepening ELL students' understanding and retention.
Question 6: Why is wide reading particularly beneficial for ELL vocabulary development?
- It eliminates the need for direct vocabulary instruction
- It provides repeated exposures to words in varied, meaningful contexts (Correct answer)
- It only helps native speakers build vocabulary
- It is effective only when texts are below grade level
Correct answer: It provides repeated exposures to words in varied, meaningful contexts
Wide reading exposes ELLs to vocabulary in authentic, varied contexts repeatedly, which research shows is essential for incidental vocabulary acquisition and retention.
ELL ELL Vocabulary Development 1
Which tier of vocabulary, according to Beck, McKeown, and Kucan, is most important to explicitly teach ELL students for academic success?