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Testing Vocabulary Knowledge: Size, Strength, and Computer Adaptiveness
Author(s) -
Laufer Batia,
Goldstein Zahava
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
language learning
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.882
H-Index - 103
eISSN - 1467-9922
pISSN - 0023-8333
DOI - 10.1111/j.0023-8333.2004.00260.x
Subject(s) - vocabulary , recall , hierarchy , psychology , test (biology) , modality (human–computer interaction) , modalities , linguistics , memorization , vocabulary development , meaning (existential) , cognitive psychology , natural language processing , artificial intelligence , computer science , philosophy , paleontology , social science , sociology , economics , psychotherapist , market economy , biology
In this article, we describe the development and trial of a bilingual computerized test of vocabulary size, the number of words the learner knows, and strength, a combination of four aspects of knowledge of meaning that are assumed to constitute a hierarchy of difficulty: passive recognition (easiest), active recognition, passive recall, and active recall (hardest). The participants were 435 learners of English as a second language. We investigated whether the above hierarchy was valid and which strength modality correlated best with classroom language performance. Results showed that the hypothesized hierarchy was present at all word frequency levels, that passive recall was the best predictor of classroom language performance, and that growth in vocabulary knowledge was different for the different strength modalities.