Study Guide

Field 119: Spanish 
Sample Selected-Response Questions

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Test Directions for the Selected-Response Questions

This section of the test is a reading section with selected-response questions, each of which has four answer choices. Read each question and answer choice carefully and choose the  start uppercase ONE end uppercase  best answer.

Try to answer all questions. In general, if you have some knowledge about a question, it is better to try to answer it. You will  start uppercase NOT end uppercase  be penalized for guessing.

Sample Selected-Response Questions

 start bold Lea el siguiente pasaje de  start italics Vivir para contarla end italics  (2002) de Gabriel García Márquez; luego conteste las preguntas. end bold 

El ingreso de Camilo al seminario había coincidido con mi decisión íntima de no seguir perdiendo el tiempo en la facultad de derecho, pero tampoco tuve ánimos para enfrentarme de una vez por todas a mis padres. Por mi hermano Luis Enrique –que había llegado a Bogotá con un buen empleo en febrero de 1948– supe que ellos estaban tan satisfechos con los resultados de mi bachillerato y mi primer año de derecho, que me mandaron de sorpresa la máquina de escribir más liviana y moderna que existía en el mercado. La primera que tuve en esta vida, y también la más infortunada, porque el mismo día la empeñamos por doce pesos para seguir la fiesta de bienvenida con mi hermano y los compañeros de pensión. Al día siguiente, locos de dolor de cabeza, fuimos a la casa de empeño a comprobar que la máquina estaba allí todavía con sus sellos intactos, y asegurarnos de que seguía en buenas condiciones hasta que nos cayera del cielo el dinero para rescatarla. Tuvimos una buena oportunidad con lo que me pagó mi socio el dibujante falso, pero a última hora decidimos dejar el rescate para después. Cada vez que pasábamos por la casa de empeño mi hermano y yo, juntos o separados, comprobábamos desde la calle que la máquina seguía en su lugar, envuelta como una joya en papel celofán y con un lazo de organdí, entre hileras de aparatos domésticos bien protegidos. Al cabo de un mes, los cálculos alegres que habíamos hecho en la euforia de la borrachera seguían sin cumplirse, pero la máquina estaba intacta en su sitio, y allí podía seguir mientras pagáramos a tiempo los intereses trimestrales.

Competency 0003 
Demonstrate literal comprehension of a variety of authentic texts from across the Spanish-speaking world.

1. Los padres le enviaron la máquina de escribir al narrador después de que este:

  1. empezó a trabajar con su hermano.
  2. tuvo éxito en sus estudios.
  3. decidió convertirse en novelista.
  4. entró al seminario en Bogotá.

Correct Response: B. The text recounts the sad fate of the narrator's first typewriter, which languished in a pawn shop for at least one month after he received it as a surprise gift from his parents. In the second sentence of the passage, he says that, according to his brother Luis Enrique, the gift was in honor of his success in his start italics bachillerato end italics examinations and in his first year of law school. ("Por mi hermano Luis Enrique…supe que ellos [mis padres] estaban tan satisfechos con los resultados de mi bachillerato y mi primer año de derecho, que me mandaron de sorpresa la máquina de escribir").

Competency 0003 
Demonstrate literal comprehension of a variety of authentic texts from across the Spanish-speaking world.

2. La máquina de escribir queda en la casa de empeño porque el narrador:

  1. se siente culpable por abandonar sus estudios de derecho.
  2. se olvide de la máquina después de una semana.
  3. prefiere usar la máquina en la oficina de su hermano.
  4. gasta la mayor parte de su dinero en salidas y fiestas.

Correct Response: A. The narrator and his brother went by the pawn shop several times and checked on the typewriter, and had at least one opportunity to buy it back, but decided to put it off. Since it was pawned to cover the cost of the "fiesta de bienvenida" it is most likely that the brothers continued to spend their spare money on parties as indicated in Response D.

Competency 0004 
Infer meaning and analyze information from a variety of authentic texts from across the Spanish-speaking world.

3. En la oración, "[fuimos a] asegurarnos de que [la máquina] seguía en buenas condiciones hasta que nos cayera del cielo el dinero para rescatarla", ¿qué indica el uso del verbo "caer" en el imperfecto del subjuntivo?

  1. un evento seguro
  2. un evento en el futuro
  3. un evento hipotético
  4. un evento en el pasado

Correct Response: C. The subjunctive is used to express uncertain, hypothetical events as well as events colored by emotion or doubt. In this case, the narrator uses the subjunctive to talk about the money falling from the sky to pay for retrieving the typewriter from the pawn shop, an event that is at best hypothetical left paren Response C right paren.

Competency 0005 
Apply knowledge of the process of language acquisition and how it relates to the language learner in the classroom.

4. In their studies of second-language learners, Stephen Pit Corder and Larry Selinker used, respectively, the terms "idiosyncratic dialect" and "interlanguage" for:

  1. the addition of borrowed lexical items that occurs in multilingual communities and workplaces.
  2. an individual learner's systematic and evolving understanding of the target language.
  3. a set of strategies that native speakers develop for communication with nonnative speakers.
  4. the simplified form of the target language that teachers and students use in a classroom.

Correct Response: B. In the late 1960's and early 1970's, Pit Corder worked with error analysis to develop hypotheses about second language acquisition. He coined the term "idiosyncratic dialect" to represent a language learner's mastery of a new language at a given point in the language acquisition process: idiosyncratic in that it was unique to the individual learner and a dialect in that it possessed many characteristics of the target language. Selinker introduced the term "interlanguage" in a 1972 article, further developing Pit Corder's work on cognitive theory of language acquisition. Response B is an accurate summary of both concepts.

Competency 0005 
Apply knowledge of the process of language acquisition and how it relates to the language learner in the classroom.

5. At the beginning of the school year, a student who participated in a Spanish immersion program in elementary school in another state joins a first-year Spanish class at a new middle school. The new student speaks Spanish comfortably but performs poorly on the first few written assignments and assessments. Which of the following strategies would best help the student succeed?

  1. presenting techniques to improve writing to the whole class and then following up individually with the student
  2. asking the student to model correct pronunciation for the rest of the class when new material is presented orally
  3. recommending that the student move into a first-year class in a different language
  4. requesting that the student be evaluated for learning differences as soon as possible

Correct Response: A. Response A describes the best approach because it applies understanding of patterns of language acquisition and the role of affective factors in language learning. Since the student's prior experience in Spanish was at an elementary school-age level of cognitive development, it is to be expected that the student has a stronger mastery of spoken Spanish. This disparity is not evidence of a learning difference or of an inability to build on prior knowledge of Spanish. The teacher should work with the whole class on writing at the level expected in the course and follow up with students who need extra help in order to meet expectations in any case left paren Response A right paren.

Competency 0006 
Select and apply teaching and assessment strategies that provide students with opportunities to communicate in Spanish in meaningful and authentic ways and that promote students' ability to make connections and comparisons and to participate in Spanish-speaking community life.

6. The teacher of an intermediate-level Spanish class at the high school level wants to help students learn to negotiate meaning in authentic situations. Which of the following activities would best allow the teacher to promote the development of this aspect of communication?

  1. having students write and perform role-playing skits in which they play tourists asking for directions
  2. leading a "20 Questions" type activity in which students must ask questions and guess the identity of a fellow classmate
  3. having students take turns interviewing their classmates about weekend plans and favorite activities
  4. leading an in-class discussion about common questions that are used to get information or clarify meaning

Correct Response: C. In the process of talking with each other about their weekend plans and favorite activities, students must not only communicate information to their classmates but also use questioning and clarification strategies in order to get information from their classmates. In this situation, they are using their communicative skills to negotiate meaning with one another in a situation that resembles one they might encounter outside of the classroom.

Competency 0006 
Select and apply teaching and assessment strategies that provide students with opportunities to communicate in Spanish in meaningful and authentic ways and that promote students' ability to make connections and comparisons and to participate in Spanish-speaking community life.

7. In an intermediate-level Spanish class, students analyze the progress report for a student in a high school in Spain, noting the grading scale and comments that the student received for each course as well as any instructions given to students or families on the report card. Once the students have shared their observations, they speculate about the reasons for features of the document that they found surprising or puzzling. Which standard from the Oklahoma Standards for World Languages does this activity promote?

  1. Presentational Communication
  2. Acquiring Information and Diverse Perspectives
  3. Interpersonal Communication
  4. Relating Cultural Products to Perspectives

Correct Response: D. A school progress report is a document—a product—that contains evidence of cultural perspectives and values. During their analysis the students will encounter comments and styles of communication as well as evaluative criteria that are unfamiliar and may seem unusual or illogical. The process of seeking to understand these aspects of the document should reveal perspectives that influence the form, style, and content of this product of Spanish culture.

Acknowledgments

 start bold Items 1–2 end bold  
By Gabriel García Márquez. VIVIR PARA CONTARLA  Copyright  2002 Gabriel García Márquez and Heirs of Gabriel García Márquez.