Hostname: page-component-7dd5485656-zlgnt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-10-31T19:51:55.284Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE ON THE LIMITATIONS OF SIZE AND LEVELS TESTS OF WRITTEN RECEPTIVE VOCABULARY KNOWLEDGE

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 July 2021

Stuart Webb Open the ORCID record for Stuart Webb [Opens in a new window]
Stuart Webb*
Affiliation:
University of Western Ontario
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Stuart Webb, University of Western Ontario, Faculty of Education, 1137 Western Road, London, ON N6G 1G7, Canada. E-mail: swebb27@uwo.ca
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content.
Image of the first page of this content. For PDF version, please use the ‘Save PDF’ preceeding this image.'

Information

Type
Critical Commentary
Information
Studies in Second Language Acquisition , Volume 43 , Issue 2 , May 2021 , pp. 454 - 461
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

Footnotes

I am grateful to Frank Boers, Batia Laufer, Ruslan Suvorov, Elke Peters, Ana Pellicer-Sánchez, and Paul Nation for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this article.

References

Aviad-Levitzky, T., Laufer, B., & Goldstein, Z. (2019). The new computer adaptive test of size and strength (CATSS): Development and validation. Language Assessment Quarterly, 16, 345–368.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beglar, D. (2010). A Rasch-based validation of the Vocabulary Size Test. Language Testing, 27, 101–118.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brezina, V., & Gablasova, D. (2015). Is there a core general vocabulary? Introducing the new general service list. Applied Linguistics, 36, 1–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, D., Stoeckel, T., McLean, S., & Stewart, J. (2020). The most appropriate lexical unit for L2 vocabulary research and pedagogy: A brief review of the evidence. Applied Linguistics. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amaa061CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coxhead, A., Nation, P., & Sim, D. (2015). Measuring the vocabulary size of native speakers of English in New Zealand secondary schools. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, 50, 121–135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dang, T. N. Y., & Webb, S. (2014). The lexical profile of academic spoken English. English for Specific Purposes, 33, 66–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feng, Y., & Webb, S. (2020). Learning vocabulary through reading, listening, and viewing: Which mode of input is most effective? Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 42, 499–523.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grabe, W. (2009). Reading in a second language: Moving from theory to practice. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Haladyna, T. M., & Rodriguez, M. C. (2013). Developing and validating test items. Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horst, M., Cobb, T., & Meara, P. (1998). Beyond A Clockwork Orange: Acquiring second language vocabulary through reading. Reading in a Foreign Language, 11, 207–223.Google Scholar
Hu, M., & Nation, I. S. P. (2000). Vocabulary density and reading comprehension. Reading in a Foreign Language, 13, 403–430.Google Scholar
Kremmel, B. (2016). Word families and frequency bands in vocabulary tests: Challenging conventions, TESOL Quarterly, 50, 976–987.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laufer, B. (1989). What percentage of text lexis is essential for comprehension? In Lauren, C. & Nordman, M. (Eds.), Special language: From humans thinking to thinking machines (pp. 316–323). Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Laufer, B., & Aviad-Levitzky, T. (2017). What type of vocabulary knowledge predicts reading comprehension: Word meaning recall or word meaning recognition? The Modern Language Journal, 101, 729–741.Google Scholar
Laufer, B., & Goldstein, Z. (2004). Testing vocabulary knowledge: Size, strength, and computer adaptiveness. Language Learning, 54, 399–436.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laufer, B., & Ravenhorst-Kalovski, G. C. (2010). Lexical threshold revisited: Lexical text coverage, learners’ vocabulary size and reading comprehension. Reading in a Foreign Language, 22, 15–30.Google Scholar
Laufer, B., & Sim, D. D. (1985). Taking the easy way out: Non-use and misuse of clues in EFL reading. English Teaching Forum, 23, 405–411.Google Scholar
Laufer, B., Webb, S., Yohanan, B., & Kim, S. K. (2021). How well do learners know derived words in a second language? The effect of proficiency, word frequency, and type of affix. ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1075/itl.200020.lauCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martinez, R., & Murphy, V. A. (2011). Effect of frequency and idiomaticity on second language reading comprehension. TESOL Quarterly, 45, 267–290.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McLean, S. (2018). Evidence for the adoption of the flemma as an appropriate word counting unit. Applied Linguistics, 39, 823–845.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McLean, S., Stewart, J., & Batty, A. O. (2020). Predicting L2 reading proficiency with modalities of vocabulary knowledge: A bootstrapping approach. Language Testing, 37, 389–411.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meara, P., & Fitzpatrick, T. (2000). Lex30: An improved method of assessing productive vocabulary in an L2. System, 28, 19–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nakata, T. (2016). Effects of retrieval formats on second language vocabulary learning. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 54, 257–289.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nation, I. S. P. (1983). Testing and teaching vocabulary. Guidelines, 5, 12–25.Google Scholar
Nation, I. S. P. (1990). Teaching and Learning Vocabulary. Heinle and Heinle.Google Scholar
Nation, I. S. P. (2006). How large a vocabulary is needed for reading and listening? The Canadian Modern Language Review, 63, 59–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nation, I. S. P. (2008). Teaching vocabulary: Strategies and techniques. Heinle.Google Scholar
Nation, I. S. P. (2016). Making and using word lists for language learning and testing. John Benjamins Publishing Company.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nation, P., & Beglar, D. (2007). A vocabulary size test. The Language Teacher, 31, 9–13.Google Scholar
Nation, I. S. P., & Webb, S. (2011). Researching and analyzing vocabulary. Heinle.Google Scholar
Peters, E. (2020). Factors affecting the learning of single-word items. In Webb, S. (Ed.), The Routledge handbook of vocabulary studies (pp. 125–142). Routledge.Google Scholar
Qian, D. D. (1999). Assessing the roles of depth and breadth of knowledge in reading comprehension. Canadian Modern Language Review, 56, 282–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Qian, D. D. (2002). Investigating the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and academic reading performance: An assessment perspective. Language Learning, 52, 513–536.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Read, J. (2000). Assessing vocabulary. Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sasao, Y., & Webb, S. (2017). The word part levels test. Language Teaching Research, 21, 12–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sasao, Y., & Webb, S. (2018). The guessing from context test. ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 169, 115–141.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmitt, N., Jiang, X., & Grabe, W. (2011). The percentage of words known in a text and reading comprehension. The Modern Language Journal, 95, 26–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmitt, N., Nation, P., & Kremmel, B. (2020). Moving the field of vocabulary assessment forward: The need for more rigorous test development and validation. Language Teaching, 53, 109–120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmitt, N., Schmitt, D., & Clapham, C. (2001). Developing and exploring the behaviour of two new versions of the Vocabulary Levels Test. Language Testing, 18, 55–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, M. A., & Karpicke, J. D. (2014). Retrieval practice with short-answer, multiple-choice, and hybrid tests. Memory, 22, 784–802.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stæhr, L. S. (2008). Vocabulary size and the skills of listening, reading and writing. Language Learning Journal, 36, 139–152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stoeckel, T., McLean, S., & Nation, P. (2021). Limitations of size and levels tests of written receptive vocabulary knowledge. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 43, 181–203.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Zeeland, H., & Schmitt, N. (2013). Lexical coverage in L1 and L2 listening comprehension: The same or different from reading comprehension? Applied Linguistics, 34, 457–479.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Webb, S. A., & Chang, A. C.-S. (2012). Second language vocabulary growth. RELC Journal, 43, 113–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Webb, S., & Chang, A. C.-S. (2015). How does prior word knowledge affect vocabulary learning progress in an extensive reading program? Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 37, 651–675.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Webb, S., & Macalister, J. (2013). Is text written for children appropriate for L2 extensive reading? TESOL Quarterly, 47, 300–322.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Webb, S., & Nation, I. S. P. (2017). How vocabulary is learned. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Webb, S., & Paribakht, T. S. (2015). What is the relationship between the lexical profile of test items and performance on a standardized English proficiency test? English for Specific Purposes, 38, 34–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Webb, S., & Rodgers, M. P. H. (2009). The vocabulary demands of television programs. Language Learning, 59, 335–366.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Webb, S., Sasao, Y., & Ballance, O. (2017). The updated Vocabulary Levels Test: Developing and validating two new forms of the VLT. ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 168, 34–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar