How to Study for the LOTE Spanish 613 Exam

How to Prepare for the LOTE Spanish 613 Exam

• First, be sure you know what the LOTE Spanish assesses.  The LOTE Spanish covers
•  Instructional Assessment (Pedagogy, plan, and essay)  34.6%
• Cultural Understanding  8%
• Interpretive Listening (listening comprehension) 16.7%
• Interpretive Reading (reading comprehension)  16.7%
• Written Expression (response to email, opinion/position essay, integrated writing)  12%
• Oral Expression  12%
• Be honest with yourself- are you completely fluent in all areas of Spanish (reading, writing, speaking, and listening)?
• If you are not, your first step should be to work on this.  You might need to take additional classes at a local community college, hire a tutor, or use an online program, websites, or textbooks.    
• If you feel pretty confident, but need to "brush up," I recommend that you buy the Barron's AP Spanish guide.
• Once you are confident in your Spanish abilities, begin preparing for the Instructional Assessment portion of the LOTE.  This section has 45 multiple choice questions over second language acquisition theories, models, instruction, assessment, etc.  You also must write a lesson plan and an essay in English.  To prepare for the multiple choice questions, I recommend that you purchase the Instruction and Assessment (Pedagogy) Guide on my website: http://www.texeshelp.blogspot.com/
• Many people are fluent in Spanish, but struggle with writing.  You can purchase the Writing Tasks Bundle on my website to see examples of responses that would earn a perfect score on the five writing tasks on the LOTE.
• Do you know where to put accent marks?  You will lose points on your writing tasks if you do not use accent marks correctly.  There are many websites that you can use to learn the rules.  If you prefer a lesson over the phone or on Skype, you may email me at courtneyschonefeld@hotmail.com to set up a tutoring session.
• Use formal, proper Spanish for the oral and writing tasks.  Avoid slang words, and use clear pronunciation.
• The listening section moves pretty fast, so be prepared, stay focused, and listen carefully. 
• Practice for the oral tasks ahead of time.  You have to be ready to have a simulated conversation and answer quickly.  You also have to do an integrated speaking task and do an oral presentation.
• Learn how to write an effective lesson plan.  You must write the lesson plan for the LOTE exam in English.  The ETS preparation manual has a sample task and shows what the required elements are for the lesson plan.  There is a sample lesson plan that would earn a perfect score on the LOTE for sale on my website: http://www.texeshelp.blogspot.com/
• You must also write an essay in English.  Be sure to use proper, Standard English.  If your written English needs improvement, practice ahead of time by writing responses to the task and asking someone that is skilled at English language arts to give you constructive feedback.
• According to the ETS registration bulletin, you are allowed to take ear plugs to the test center to block out noise.   You will be able to hear other test takers doing their oral/speaking tasks, so it is advisable to take ear plugs.  Be sure to tell the test proctor you have ear plugs.  The test proctor may require you to leave them at the front and provide you with ear plugs they have.
• If you have time left during the sections that allow you to review previous questions (pedagogy, reading comprehension, and cultural understanding), check your answers.

New FREE Resource for the TExES LOTE Spanish 613 Exam

I posted a new free resource to help you practice for one of the speaking/oral tasks for the TExES LOTE Spanish 613 exam.  To download it, click on FREE Study Material and Tips on the right hand side of this website. 

5 FREE Sample LOTE Pedagogy/Instruction and Assessment Questions

5 FREE sample pedagogy/instruction and assessment questions for the LOTE:

1. Jorge is a new student in Ms. Cantú's class, and Spanish is his first language. However, he has lived in the US for several years and prefers to speak English. He is reluctant to speak Spanish in Ms. Cantú's Spanish III class, and does not want to do class work or participate. What are some strategies she can use to encourage him to complete his assignments?
A. Ms. Cantú should require Jorge to participate and complete assignments, and plan consequences (verbal warning, extra assignment, call home, referral) if he does not comply.
B. Ms. Cantú should not force Jorge to participate, but should plan learner-centered activities and give students choices so they can do assignments that interest them.
C. Ms. Cantú should differentiate instruction so that Jorge is not bored with assignments, and allow him to choose from a variety of assignments so that he can do coursework on topics that interest him.
D. Ms. Cantú should request that he be placed in another world language program.
2. Jaime is in fifth grade, and he is learning Spanish three days a week. In his Spanish class, they learn vocabulary, grammar, and are expected to participate in conversations. He is most likely in:
A. A bilingual education program.
B. An immersion program.
C. A newcomer center program.
D. A FLES (Foreign Language in Elementary School) Program.
3. How are cognitive processes different in first and second language acquisition?
A. People naturally acquire their first language, but can never achieve near native proficiency in a second language due to cognitive processing limitations.
B. Children acquire their first language naturally from interaction with caregivers at a young age while their brain is quickly developing, whereas usually a second language is learned/acquired when a person is older, has an understanding of language, grammar, and structure, and has a longer attention span.
C. Children are born with a language acquisition device allowing them to learn L1 almost effortlessly, but these language skills do not easily transfer to L2, and direct instruction and correction must be used to teach L2.
D. Cognitive processes in L1 and L2 acquisition are largely the same, except that people usually learn L2 when their brain is more developed.
4. A third grade teacher is planning a unit for Hispanic Heritage month. What are some ways she can plan an interdisciplinary unit?
A. She can plan a unit about famous Hispanic figures from several Latin American countries, provide various texts about the famous people, and assign students an essay about their favorite figure.
B. She can collaborate with the Social Studies teacher to ask to do a unit together about important Hispanic figures throughout history, and ask the English Language Arts teacher to also include a reading assignment about Hispanic Heritage month. She can allow students to choose their favorite figure, do some research, and present their findings to the class in the target language.
C. She can plan a semester long unit involving Hispanic Heritage month and tie it in with other cultural months to compare and contrast those cultures. Students should choose two cultures and present the similarities and differences between those cultures.
D. She should allow students to choose their own topic related to Hispanic Heritage month and have them create a PowerPoint presentation.

5. Mrs. Johnson teaches Spanish II, and plans real-world lessons based on subject material (math, science, social studies, etc). She is most likely influenced by:
A. Content-based approaches.
B. Lev Vygotsky's interactionist theory.
C. Noam Chomsky's universal grammar theory.
D. The audiolingual method.

#LOTEPedagogyQuestions #LOTEInstructionandAssessmentQuestions

The answers and explanations to the answers are in the LOTE Pedagogy/Instruction and Assessment Guide.  I recently updated it to include these sample questions.  If you previously purchased the guide, check your email with information about downloading the new guide.

Studying for the BTLPT Spanish or LOTE Spanish Tests

This is a great, FREE resource to help you prepare for the LOTE or BTLPT Spanish.  This is a released AP Spanish exam, so it does not follow the BTLPT or LOTE preparation manual, but it has great resources to help you practice for your test.  http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/exam/exam_information/4554.html

LOTE test takers- keep in mind that instruction and assessment (pedagogy) is the largest part of the test, and the hardest for many people.  Check out my Instruction and Assessment Guide by going to the link  "Buy LOTE Study Material Here."

#BTLPTSpanish #LOTESpanish

LOTE and BTLPT Score Release Date

Are you wondering when you will get your LOTE or BTLPT scores?  If you took it in the last administration window (late Sept/early Oct), the scores will be released October 27.  A lot of times people get their scores a couple of days early, so check your ETS account around October 25.

#LOTEscore #BTLPTscore

If you still need to take the test and need to buy study material, you can purchase it at:
www.texeshelp.blogspot.com

Are You Ready for the LOTE Pedagogy Part 2

Some of you would like more questions to check your understanding of the LOTE pedagogy/instruction and assessment material. Here are some additional questions. The answers to these questions (except number 1) are in the Instruction and Assessment/Pedagogy Guide available on my website.

1. What is the difference between language learning and language acquisition?
For the answer, go to: http://www.everythingesl.net/inservices/language_acquisiti_vs_language_02033.php
2. Who developed the nativist perspective and stated that humans have a language acquisition device (LAD)?
3. What are some factors that affect how quickly and how well students acquire L2?
4. What is the grammar-translation method?
5. What is language transfer?
6. What is schema?
7. What is language interference?
8. What is "i +1" or "comprehensible input +1?"
9. What are the TEKS?
10. What is overgeneralization?
11. What language acquisition theory is Lev Vygostsky associated with?
12. What is interlanguage?

#LOTE #LOTESpanish #LOTESpanish613 #LOTESpanishPedagogy #LOTESpanishInstructionandAssessment

LOTE Spanish/Are You Ready for the Pedagogy Section?

Are you taking the LOTE Spanish 613 exam soon?

If so, are you ready for the Instruction and Assessment/Pedagogy section?  See if you know the terms/concepts/people in the questions below.  If you don't, you need to study the LOTE Spanish Instruction and Assessment Guide.

1.  What are L1 and L2?

2. What is cognitive academic language proficiency, and how is it different than basic interpersonal communicative skills?

3. What is the nativist theory?

4. What is the interactionist theory?

5. What are content-based approaches?

6. What are the factors that affect a students' second language acquisition?

7. What is the difference between formal and informal assessments?

8. What are metacognitive strategies?

9. Who is Stephen Krashen?

10. What is comprehensible input?

11. Should lessons and activities be teacher-centered, or student-centered?

#LOTEPedagogy #LOTESpanishPedagogy #LOTEInstructionandAssessment #LOTESpanishInstructionandAssessment