Study Guide

Field 121: German 
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 Lesen Sie den folgenden Auszug aus einem Artikel aus der online-Ausgabe von 20 Minuten; beantworten Sie dann die anschließenden Fragen. end bold 

Der Europäische Bison, auch Wisent genannt, war früher in West-, Zentral-, Südosteuropa und im Kaukasus weit verbreitet. Dann nahmen die Bestände stark ab, weil zunehmend Wald gerodet, die Landschaft verbaut und die Tiere intensiv gejagt wurden. Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts gab es nur gerade noch zwei Wisentpopulationen. Diesen Tieren in der Wildbahn gab die Russische Revolution und der Erste Weltkrieg den Rest – und sie starben aus.

Einzig in den Zoos überlebten 54 Bisons, die den Grundstock für das heutige Zuchtprogramm und die Wiederansiedlungen legten. Seit 1956 werden die Wisente ausgewildert, ihre aktuelle Population beträgt rund 2500 Tiere in freier Wildbahn und etwa 2000 in Zoos. Zur Erhaltung der Bisons trägt auch der Natur- und Tierpark Goldau bei, der im ehemaligen und erweiterten Wolfsgehege seit 2002 Wisente züchtet, wie der «Bote der Urschweiz» berichtete. Seit 2004 wurden fünf Tiere in die Freiheit entlassen. Im April soll eine weitere Kuh nach Frankreich umgesiedelt werden.

Wisente sollen auch in der Schweiz wieder in Freiheit leben können. So hat etwa die Bürgergemeinde Solothurn 2017 beschlossen, einen Quadratkilometer Landfläche für die Auswilderung einer Wisentherde zur Verfügung zu stellen. Während das Projekt noch immer auf Papier besteht, ist man im Kanton Waadt schon weiter. Dort haben die Behörden grünes Licht gegeben für die Ansiedlung einer Wisentherde im Wald von Suchy.

Competency 0003 
Demonstrate literal comprehension of a variety of culturally authentic texts (e.g., e-mails, posters, Web sites, maps, graphs, periodicals, literature).

1. Welcher der folgenden Faktoren trug laut der Passage zum Aussterben der wilden Wisente im 19. und im frühen 20. Jahrhundert bei?

  1. ihre Verfolgung von Wolfsrudeln
  2. das Abholzen von Wäldern
  3. ihre Einsperrung in Zoos
  4. der Klimawandel in Europa

correct response: b. the passage explicitly lists several reasons why the european bison gradually died out in the wild over the course of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. all of the reasons named were the direct result of human activity like excessive hunting practices ("die tiere [wurden] intensiv gejagt") and political unrest ("die russische revolution und der erste weltkrieg"). the passage also attributes the wild bison's demise to human manipulation of the bison's habitat through overdevelopment of land ("die landschaft [wurde] verbaut") and increased deforestation ("die bestände [nahmen] stark ab, weil zunehmend wald gerodet [wurde]").

Competency 0004 
Infer meaning and analyze information from a variety of culturally authentic texts (e.g., e-mails, posters, Web sites, maps, graphs, periodicals, literature).

2. Aus der Passage kann man schließen, dass:

  1. die öffentlichen Parks in Goldau nach dem Jahr 2002 Schutzgebiete für Bäume wurden.
  2. die in Zoos gezüchteten Kühe in Zukunft hauptsächlich nach Frankreich geschickt werden.
  3. Wisente im 20. Jahrhundert öfter in russischen als in schweizerischen Zoos gehalten wurden.
  4. Wisente im Kanton Waadt wahrscheinlich früher als in der Gemeinde Solothurn frei leben werden.

correct response: d. the third paragraph of the passage turns its attention to the prospect of bison being reestablished in the wild in switzerland and refers to the fact that the municipality of solothurn has decided to make a square kilometer of land available for this purpose ("so hat . . . solothurn 2017 beschlossen, einen quadratkilometer landfläche für die auswilderung einer wisentherde zur verfügung zu stellen"). the passage then points out that solothurn's plans for this project exist as yet only on paper ("das projekt [besteht] noch immer auf papier"), whereas the canton of vaud is further along in making the project a reality ("man [ist] im kanton waadt schon weiter") because authorities there have already "given the green light" to actively establish a herd of bison specifically within the forest of suchy ("grünes licht gegeben für die ansiedlung einer wisentherde im wald von suchy"). a logical conclusion to draw is that bison will likely be living in the wild in vaud sooner than in solothurn.

Competency 0004 
Infer meaning and analyze information from a variety of culturally authentic texts (e.g., e-mails, posters, Web sites, maps, graphs, periodicals, literature).

3. Das Wort "während" in dem Satz "Während das Projekt noch immer auf Papier besteht, ist man im Kanton Waadt schon weiter" funktioniert als:

  1. eine Präposition, die einen bestimmten Zeitpunkt feststellt.
  2. ein Partizip, das als Adjektiv das Subjekt näher beschreibt.
  3. eine Konjunktion, die auf einen Kontrast zwischen zwei Vorgängen zeigt.
  4. ein Adverb, das weitere Auskünfte über den Ort eines Geschehens gibt.

correct response: c. the word "während" within the context of the cited sentence acts as a subordinating conjunction that highlights a difference between the municipality of solothurn and the canton of vaud regarding their respective progress toward achieving the goal of reestablishing bison in the wild. the phrase "noch immer" in the first part of the sentence and the comparative phrase "schon weiter" in the second part further help to contrast the two situations.

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 1960s and early 1970s, 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 German immersion program in elementary school in another state joins a first-year German class at a new middle school. The new student speaks German 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 german was at an elementary school-age level of cognitive development, it is to be expected that the student has a stronger mastery of spoken german. this disparity is not evidence of a learning difference or of an inability to build on prior knowledge of german. 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.

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

6. The teacher of an intermediate-level German 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 the target language in meaningful and authentic ways and that promote students' ability to make connections and comparisons and to participate in community life.

7. In an intermediate-level German class, students analyze the progress report for a student in a high school in Germany, 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 german culture.

Acknowledgments

Passage:

214-word excerpt from Daniela Gigor's "Goldau Hilft Bisons in Die Freiheit Schweizer Wälder." 20 Minuten. Reprinted with permission.