Praxis English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)

Which pair of words is the best example of a minimal pair for teaching English phonemes?

• Aship and sheep
• Btalk and discussed
• Cteacher and classroom
• Dwalk and walked

A student who speaks two languages from birth is best described as

• Asimultaneously bilingual
• Bsequentially bilingual
• Cmonolingual with transfer
• Dfossilized

Which scaffold best supports a beginning multilingual learner during a grade-level history discussion without lowering the rigor of the task?

• AExcusing the student from discussion entirely
• BProviding visuals, key vocabulary, and sentence frames for comparing historical events
• CReplacing the discussion with coloring sheets
• DAsking only yes-no questions for the entire unit

Which assessment is primarily formative?

• AAn end-of-year state content exam
• BA quick exit ticket used to plan tomorrow’s lesson
• CA final placement decision for next semester
• DA graduation qualification test

Which statement best shows deficit thinking about multilingual learners?

• A“Students bring cultural and linguistic resources that can support learning.”
• B“Students’ families care about education, even if communication looks different from what…
• C“These students cannot do grade-level work because they don’t speak English at home.”
• D“I should learn more about how students’ experiences shape participation.”

Which federal civil-rights principle most directly requires schools to take affirmative steps so English learners can access instruction meaningfully?

• ATitle VI national-origin protections as interpreted in Lau v. Nichols
• BThe Fourth Amendment only
• CA local dress-code policy
• DA district lunch schedule

A student says “He go to school every day.” Which explanation best identifies the language feature involved?

• AMissing third-person singular inflection
• BIncorrect derivational suffix
• CPragmatic failure
• DMisplaced intonation pattern

When a learner says “I have 15 years” because the first language uses a literal equivalent of “have” for age, the error is most likely caused by

• Apositive transfer
• Bnegative transfer
• Ccommunicative competence
• Dgenre awareness

A teacher wants students to talk more during an ESOL-supported math lesson. Which structure is most likely to promote meaningful student interaction?

• ATeacher lecture for the full period
• BThink-pair-share with a modeled explanation stem
• CIndependent silent copying from the board
• DA worksheet completed without discussion

Which statement best distinguishes language-proficiency assessment from content-achievement assessment?

• ALanguage-proficiency assessment measures how well students know science facts.
• BLanguage-proficiency assessment focuses on English language skills, while achievement ass…
• CThey are interchangeable labels for the same kind of test.
• DAchievement assessment should never be given to multilingual learners.

A family rarely makes direct eye contact with the teacher during conferences. Which response is most appropriate?

• AAssume the family is hiding something
• BInterpret the behavior cautiously because eye-contact norms differ across cultures
• CEnd the conference because respect is absent
• DReport the family for noncompliance

What is the most ethical response when an untrained student is asked to interpret a sensitive disciplinary meeting for a parent?

• AProceed, because any bilingual student interpreter is acceptable
• BRequest a qualified interpreter and avoid using the student for a sensitive situation
• CCancel all communication with the family
• DDiscuss the case in front of classmates instead

Which word contains a derivational morpheme rather than only an inflectional ending?

• Awalked
• Bdogs
• Chappily
• Dtalking

Which statement best reflects a common principle of second-language acquisition research?

• ALearners must master every grammar rule before meaningful communication begins
• BReceptive skills often develop before fully accurate productive skills
• CWriting always develops before listening
• DTransfer from the first language is always harmful

In sheltered instruction, which teacher move best builds background knowledge before reading a complex text?

• ABeginning immediately with silent independent reading of the full text
• BPreteaching essential concepts with visuals, brief discussion, and links to prior knowled…
• CSkipping key vocabulary because students can infer everything
• DCorrecting every pronunciation error before discussing the topic

A teacher collects oral reading recordings every two weeks to track whether a student’s phrasing and accuracy are improving. This is best described as

• Aprogress monitoring
• Bhigh-stakes summative testing
• Cplacement screening only
• Da one-time diagnostic unrelated to instruction

Which teacher action best reflects culturally responsive teaching?

• AUsing students’ experiences and community knowledge as assets in instruction
• BAssuming all students from one culture learn the same way
• CAvoiding any mention of students’ backgrounds in school
• DTreating home language and culture as distractions from learning

A school continues an English learner program year after year but never reviews outcomes. Which legal-professional concern is strongest?

• AThe school may be neglecting the evaluation component emphasized in Castañeda.
• BThe school is automatically compliant because the program still exists.
• CEvaluation is optional once a program begins.
• DOnly parents are responsible for checking results.

Why is the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) useful for ESOL teachers?

• AIt replaces the need for oral language practice
• BIt provides a consistent symbol system for representing speech sounds
• CIt shows students which words are academic vocabulary
• DIt determines the reading level of a text

Which statement best captures the difference between BICS and CALP?

• ABICS is academic language and CALP is playground language
• BBICS is conversational social language and CALP is the language of abstract academic tasks
• CBICS develops only after CALP is fully established
• DBICS and CALP are identical terms for the same skill set

Which lesson objective is written as a language objective rather than only a content objective?

• AStudents will explain the water cycle using sequence words such as first, next, and final…
• BStudents will identify the stages of the water cycle.
• CStudents will understand evaporation.
• DStudents will learn science.

Which teacher interpretation is most appropriate when a multilingual learner scores low on a content test written in dense academic English?

• AThe student definitely lacks the content knowledge
• BThe score should be interpreted cautiously because language load may have affected perfor…
• CThe student should be denied future content instruction
• DThe test automatically becomes invalid for every multilingual learner

A teacher realizes that she interprets “quietness” as disengagement, but some of her students come from school contexts where speaking without invitation is considered disrespectful. This realization is an example of

• Acultural self-reflection
• Bnegative transfer
• Cprogress monitoring
• Dphonological awareness

Which teacher statement best reflects professional responsibility for English learner services?

• A“Language support is only the ESOL teacher’s concern.”
• B“All teachers share responsibility for making grade-level content accessible to multiling…
• C“Students should wait until they are fluent before taking core classes.”
• D“Families are solely responsible for academic English development.”

Which statement best describes communicative competence?

• AThe ability to memorize grammar rules without using them
• BThe ability to use language accurately and appropriately for meaning in context
• CThe ability to spell every high-frequency word correctly
• DThe ability to translate every sentence word for word

Which teacher action best uses positive transfer to support English literacy?

• AIgnoring the student’s first-language literacy because English should stand alone
• BActivating cognates and familiar text-structure knowledge from the first language when ap…
• CPreventing students from discussing ideas with peers in another language
• DTeaching English spelling without any connection to meaning or print awareness

Which adaptation is an example of differentiation by support rather than by lowering content expectations?

• AReducing a science lab to unrelated vocabulary drills
• BGiving the same lab with a word bank, visuals, and a partially completed observation chart
• CRemoving all writing from the lab so students only watch
• DReplacing the lab with a cartoon video

Which accommodation preserves the content target while reducing unnecessary language barriers for many English learners?

• AExplaining the correct answer before the student responds
• BClarifying directions or key non-content vocabulary without changing the skill being asse…
• CReplacing the test with a much easier one on a different topic
• DRemoving all complex tasks from the unit

When a school celebrates only one dominant cultural narrative and never invites students to examine multiple perspectives, the most likely risk is

• Astudents develop stronger intercultural competence automatically
• Bmultilingual learners may feel invisible and the curriculum may reinforce bias
• Clanguage acquisition speeds up for everyone
• Dassessment becomes more valid

Which action is most appropriate when a general education teacher says an English learner should be removed from a lab because the directions are “too advanced”?

• AAgree immediately because language support belongs elsewhere
• BCollaborate to scaffold the directions and preserve the student’s access to the lab
• CSend the student to study hall instead
• DReplace the lab permanently with a simpler packet

A student writes, “Yesterday I buyed a snack.” What does the error most strongly show?

• AThe student has no concept of tense
• BThe student is overgeneralizing a regular past-tense rule
• CThe student is failing to recognize an idiom
• DThe student is using the wrong discourse register

Which learner behavior is the best example of interlanguage?

• AA fully target-like native English sentence
• BA developing language system with rule-based patterns that are not yet fully standard Eng…
• CIntentional refusal to use English in class
• DRandom mistakes with no pattern at all

Which task best integrates listening and speaking for English learners in a meaningful way?

• ACompleting a silent multiple-choice worksheet after lecture
• BListening to a partner’s explanation and then restating the idea using new vocabulary
• CCopying ten words from a glossary
• DUnderlining every verb in a paragraph

Which result would most strongly suggest that a student needs more oral-language support rather than decoding support?

• AThe student reads words accurately but cannot summarize or explain the text orally
• BThe student confuses b and d while reading
• CThe student cannot identify beginning sounds
• DThe student omits punctuation in copied writing

Which response from a teacher best addresses English stress and intonation?

• A“Just memorize the spelling and pronunciation will follow.”
• B“Let’s mark which syllable is stressed and practice how the pitch falls at the end of the…
• C“Ignore rhythm for now because grammar matters more.”
• D“Pronounce every syllable with exactly the same force.”

Which situation best illustrates why CALP usually takes longer to develop than BICS?

• AA student can chat comfortably with peers but struggles to explain a science process in w…
• BA student cannot greet classmates on the first day
• CA student pronounces “three” as “tree”
• DA student prefers speaking over listening

When planning instruction for multilingual learners, which step should come first?

• AList the linguistic supports before identifying the lesson purpose
• BClarify the content goal and the language needed for students to meet it
• CChoose a random worksheet that looks simple
• DAvoid grade-level standards to reduce pressure