Book contents
- Learning Vocabulary in Another Language
- The Cambridge Applied Linguistics Series
- Learning Vocabulary in Another Language
- Copyright page
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1 The goals of vocabulary learning
- 2 Knowing a word
- 3 Teaching vocabulary and the roles of the teacher
- 4 Vocabulary and listening and speaking
- 5 Vocabulary and reading and writing
- 6 Learning vocabulary out of class
- 7 Vocabulary in specialised areas
- 8 Vocabulary-learning strategies and autonomy
- 9 Learning words from context
- 10 Word parts
- 11 Deliberate vocabulary learning from word cards
- 12 Finding and learning multiword units
- 13 Testing vocabulary knowledge and use
- 14 Designing the vocabulary component of a language course
- Book part
- References
- Author index
- Subject index
13 - Testing vocabulary knowledge and use
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 June 2022
- Learning Vocabulary in Another Language
- The Cambridge Applied Linguistics Series
- Learning Vocabulary in Another Language
- Copyright page
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1 The goals of vocabulary learning
- 2 Knowing a word
- 3 Teaching vocabulary and the roles of the teacher
- 4 Vocabulary and listening and speaking
- 5 Vocabulary and reading and writing
- 6 Learning vocabulary out of class
- 7 Vocabulary in specialised areas
- 8 Vocabulary-learning strategies and autonomy
- 9 Learning words from context
- 10 Word parts
- 11 Deliberate vocabulary learning from word cards
- 12 Finding and learning multiword units
- 13 Testing vocabulary knowledge and use
- 14 Designing the vocabulary component of a language course
- Book part
- References
- Author index
- Subject index
Summary
Testing vocabulary is similar to testing in other areas of language knowledge and use. The same criteria of reliability, validity, practicality, and washback need to be considered when designing and evaluating vocabulary tests. In some ways testing vocabulary is easier than testing grammatical knowledge or control of discourse because the units to test are more obviously separate. It is not too difficult to identify what a word type is. However, there are problems and issues and we look at these in this chapter. This chapter has two major divisions. The first major division looks at the purposes of vocabulary tests, covering diagnostic, placement, achievement, and proficiency tests. The second major division looks at different test formats, answering questions like: Should choices be given? Should words be tested in context? How can I measure words that learners don’t know well? This section covers a wide range of vocabulary test formats, along with comments on their design and use.
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- Information
- Learning Vocabulary in Another Language , pp. 469 - 508Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022