A fourth-grade English learner is able to speak in short complete English sentences when engaging in casual conversations with other students and teachers. However, the student has difficulty using academic language and is sometimes reluctant to participate verbally in class learning activities. Which of the following statements accurately provides a research-based explanation for this variability in the student's communication abilities?
  1. Second-language learners who acquire social language in the target language too quickly may develop gaps in knowledge of usage and syntax.
  2. Like many English learners, the student's receptive language skills are much stronger than the student's expressive language skills.
  3. Core content-area concepts that English learners have already learned in the first language must be relearned in English.
  4. English learners may take longer to acquire academic language skills than they do social language skills.
Explanation
Correct Response: D. Social language is usually highly contextualized, features relatively short utterances and repetitious vocabulary, and is produced during interactions with others during which people can effectively convey meaning despite imperfect/imprecise language. In contrast, academic language is often context-reduced and relatively complex and varied. Successfully comprehending and producing academic language requires English learners to become acquainted with words, phrases, and grammar that they typically do not encounter in everyday life and to convey abstract ideas with precision and accuracy. As a result, it often takes longer to develop academic language. A is incorrect because the student in the scenario is able to communicate effectively with others in complete sentences and thus does not display gaps in knowledge of usage or syntax. Additionally, according to research, acquisition of social language skills in a second language, however rapidly it occurs, does not impede acquisition of academic language skills. B is incorrect because the student displays strong expressive skills in social situations. Research has shown that, in regard to C, exactly the opposite is true: conceptual understanding gained in the first language transfers quite readily to content-area learning in a second language, thereby enhancing acquisition of academic English.
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