Job Discussion Forums

[usool]

Hi

I'm looking for a mutliple choice test/quiz for the most common English words for some research I'm doing. If you have one please can you PM me and I'll send you my email.

Thanks

[abufletcher]

Here's a place to start:

http://esl.about.com/library/vocabulary/bl1000_list1.htm

If you're planning to use this quiz for research purposes, you'll need to be certain that it is both valid and reliable. MC tests are among the most difficult to do a proper job on.

[Sherri]

Check out this one by Paul Nation.
It is great.
Sherri

http://www.er.uqam.ca/nobel/r21270/levels/

[abufletcher]

Sherri, I just went through a couple of the 1000 level quizzes myself and didn't get 100% either time. Some of these items seem to incorporate a strong cultural bias (e.g. what's a mountain vs. a hill, the length of male hair, etc.).

I agree these are nice for classroom use but I'm not sure these would stand up as reliable testing tools. I would also question what exactly is getting tested (i.e. the validity of the tests) as it seems to be more general comprehension of the stem than knowledge of one particular vocabulary item. For example "There are two little ones" above a diagram of two small squares and a larger square clearly requires more than just a knowledge of "little."

Still, there is probably a fairly good correlation between a student's score on this sort of test and general language level so these could probably be used in non-critical sorting such as class placement.

[abufletcher]

To the OP, if you do use these tests for research purposes, it would be a good idea to read through the the article by Nation linked to on the bottom of the webpage. It admits to several of the weaknesses I have mentioned but argues that trailing help eliminate the weaker items.

[Sherri]

Hi Abufletcher
I took the tests too. The others (5,000 words? I can't remember exactly) is rock hard and I found that I lost points because of my bad spelling. I see you found the article link which is useful for context.

I like this site because I can direct my students to it and have them take the tests on their own time and then report their results to me later. It has proved to be an accurate measure of their vocab level. And it helps me give them advice for self-study and vocab--probably in the top three most frequently asked questions (how can I improve my vocabulary?)

To the OP, Nation's book, Learning Vocabulary in Another Language, 2001 CUP and Read, Assessing Vocabulary 2000, CUP are must haves.

Best
Sherri

[abufletcher]

Sherri, actually I was thinking of using it in the same way next semester with a listening/speaking course -- that is, as self-access to get a rough idea on vocab level. So thanks very much for posting the link.

However, I'm already imagining how I can get the mammothly lazy students who typically occupy such university courses to actually take the test vs. just making up an imaginary score (or sharing one score among 5-6 students). I suppose I could arrange one day in a computer lab but even there I'd expect problems.

In various parts of my past life as an EFL instructor in the Gulf I was a very dedicated CALL advocate. All that changed when I came to Japan and saw students sitting like comitose slugs in front of computers with their hands neatly folded in their laps in between infrequent trips to the mouse.

[kdynamic]

Hey, thanks for the links! Neato! I scored 100% on the 10,000 level. w00t! Too bad my strengths in English are offset perfectly by how much I completely suck at math

Now I'm going to try and figure out how to use these in my English classes...