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1 Selection of items
vocabulary tests are designed in such a way that they test a knowledge of words which,
though frequently found in many English textbooks, are rarely used in ordinary speech.
The first task for the writer of a vocabulary test is to determine the
active or passive vocabulary. The next task is to decide whether the lexical items in the
test should be taken from the spoken or the written language. Selection of vocabulary
can thus be thought of as failing into the following rough-divisions according to the four
major language skills:
Listening: passive/spoken
Reading: passive/written
Speaking: active/spoken
Writing: active/written
All four divisions can be included in a single test, of course, but even
then careful consideration should be given to the different weighting each
division will carry in the test: for example, should there be a greater
concentration on those lexical items selected from the students' reading
material? Generally speaking, the more elementary the level of the test,
the greater the number of lexical items associated with the spoken
language.
The test constructor's task is made much easier if all the students have
followed a particular syllabus. Lexical items can then be selected from:
- the students' textbook (provided the items approximate to those used in natural
speech situations);
- the students' reading material (e.g. simplified readers, literary texts); and
- lexical errors taken from students' free-written work (or from students' incorrect
answers in a cloze test).
The following error, however, may be one of verb patterning or simply the wrong choice
of verb:
(a) the use of false synonyms (i.e. words with equivalent meanings to the
key word underlined or shown in italics in the sentence but
inappropriate in the particular context):
(b) contextually relevant items (i.e. words related to the context but
different in meaning to the key word in the sentence):
'Nine hundred yen, and a return is sixteen hundred yen. single = correct word
5.2 Multiple-choice
Group A Choose the letter of the word which is the nearest in meaning to
the word in italics.
Group B Choose the letter of the correct or best word to complete each
sentence.
A. running
B. jumping
C. standing
D. kicking
Type 2 Here the stem consists of a definition: the testees have to select th correct
option to which the definition refers. ,
Type 3 The stem consists of a lexical item: the testees have to select the
advocate
dilatory
recognition item is generally to be preferred to the previous three types ir. so far as the
'problem' word appears in context. Vocabulary is much more usefully tested in context
since it is the context that gives specific meaning and relevance to a word, thus creating
a situation which is as linguistically. valid as possible in the circumstances.
altering the meaning). However, where a word may be replaced by another in•a
particular context, testees may easily be misled into regarding
synonyms as being generally interchangeable.
items the stem should be kept simple. If, however, the problem area is included
in the stem (as in Types 3 and 4), the options themselves should be simple in so far as
they should contain only those vocabulary items which the testees can understand.
2 Each option should belong to the same word class as the word in the
stem, particularly when the word appears in the context of a sentence. If
this rule is observed, there will be less danger of the context providing
important grammatical clues for the testees. For example, although the
f i rst of the following test items is usable, options A. B and C in the second
item would be grammatically incorrect when put in the context.
contemptuous
Ian was contemptuous of the efforts of his friends to raise some money
theatrical
The converse also holds good. If the distractors are more difficult than the correct
option, the item may be equally unreliable. In such a case,
there will usually-be a tendency for the more able students to think that the correct
option is too easy and therefore wrong: they are thus tricked into select g one of the
more difficult options:
suffice
Item 1 Item-2
apparition apparition
A.skeleton A.scenery
B.ghost B.ghost
C.nightmare C.magician
D.corpse D.castle
If item 2 were set in a test, students who had read a few ghost stories
with the stories they had read. In item I. however, students are required tl
the correct option much longer than the distractors. This is particularly
true in a vocabulary test item in which the options take the form of
definitions: the item-writer tends to take great pains to ensure that the
option is absolutely correct, qualifying it at great length. However, the
item-writer rarely takes such trouble over the distractors, since they are
deliberately wrong and need not be qualified in any way.
a hitch-hiker
B. a person who travels about by asking motorists to give him free ride
C. an old-fashioned sailor
D. a boy who walks long distances
Any student who did not know `lie meaning of hitch-hiker would clearly
choose option B - and would be correct in doing so. Consequently, if it is
ever necessary to qualify a definition at some length, either one distractor
or all three or four distractors should be made equally long. In this way,
the correct option will be disguised a little more effectively.
The old woman was always courteous when anyone spoke to her.
Even such near synonyms as glad and pleased are sufficient to indicat,
to intelligent students that the choice must be between polite and kind,
since if glad were correct, pleased would probably also be correct.
It is also dangerous to `pair off' options by providing an antonym as :
distractor. Options A and C in the following vocabulary item immediatel,
stand out; again, clever students will be able to narrow their choice down
to two options once they realise that A means the opposite of C.
ascend
5.3 Multiple-choice
The guidelines given in 5.2 for constructing vocabulary items apply equally
items (B) for the Group B items now being treated. In certain ways, the items
shown
in this section are more difficult to construct than those in the previous
section. The problem is chiefly one of context: too little context is
insufficient to establish any meaningful situation, while too much context
may provide too many clues (both grammatical and semantic).
were ...
It is sometimes argued that mar.' iTiuiiipl c CuviCc vocabulary tests consist largely of
items such as the following and that these test only a knowledge of collocation.
8. The television station was ... . with letters and phone calls
Since this item ignores the ability to create unexpected collocations, it can also be
argued that an imaginative use of the language is discouraged.
Although there may be some truth in this argument, unexpected
collocations result from a creative and intuitive handling of language,
which in turn demands an implicit understanding of everyday collocations. It is usually
the writer's very awareness of the degree of incongruity which makes a new collocation
vigorous and meaningful.
If separated from such contexts as the preceding ones, these test items would read:
9. charge a fee/profit/salary/payment
reaction and takes no account of cultural differences. For example, in the following item
B or D would be correct in certain societies since it is
impolite to accept a gift without first vehemently refusing it.
Emma cried out with ... at the beautiful present Mrs White
gave her.
provide a context for this particular kind of item. The following is a Lypical
example of this type of multiple-choice item as it appears in several
tests. The dialogue takes place in a doctor's surgery which has a
pharmacy.
PAUL LEE: Can you tell me what time the doctor's (1) ... . opens?
MRS KING: It's open now. The (2) ... . will help you.
MRS KING: Here it is. This should soon (6) ... . your bad cough.
5.4 Sets (associated Many of the difficulties arising from the testing of
collocations are avoided
words) by the testing of word sets. In such tests the students' familiarity with a
Type 1: Recognition
Read each of the following lists of four words. One word does not
belong in each list-:-Put-a cTrele round the odd word in each list.
Type 2: Production
5.5 Matching items Type I of the foliuwing lest items suffers from testing
lexical items from
different word classes, while Type 2 tests a mixed hag, of tense forms. etc.
The result is that for both types of test items grammatical clues assume
great importance, since they are instrumental in imiting the range of
choices facing the testees for each blank. For example. although there may
appear to be 20 words for selection for blank (1) in Tvpe t . in practice
there are only three which would fit grammatically: turned (down), broken
(down), knocked (down). Similarly, in the first sentence of Type 2 there are
only two options (pull through, get way), since all the other options are
either past tense forms or participles. Both items need to he rewritten,
therefore, if a higher degree of reliability is to he obtained.
Type I
Write the correct word from the following list at the side of each number on your
answer sheet. Use each word once only.
Poor Tom Wright was (1) down by a (2) last week when he was crossing the (3). He was
quite badly (4) and he-had to go into hospital for a few days. His left leg was (5) and
both his arms were cut. While he was (6) in. bed in the hospital, a (7) came to (8) to him.
'Was the lorry (9) very quickly?' he asked Tom. Tom told him all about the (10).
'I was (11) home from school and 1 (12) the road. 1 (13) right but 1 (14) to look (15). In
the (16) of the road I suddenly saw a lorry. I didn't (17) what to do, so I began to run to
the other (18) of the road. The lorry (19) but it hit me when I was near the (20).'
Type 2
Complete the following sentences with the most suitable verb phrase from the list.
came about pull through broken out falling out
1. 'Did the prisoner manage to ... ?' 'Yes, the police are still
operation.
(etc.)
It is much more efficient to test words from the same word class (e.g.
nouns only in Type 1), or parallel tense forms (e.g. the past simple tense in Type 2). Thus
the Type 2 item could be rewritten as follows:
1. 'I hear the prisoner ... . yesterday and the police are still
operation.'
(etc.)
Type 3
From the list of words given, choose the one which is most suitable for each blank. Write
only the letter of the correct word after each number on your answer sheet. (Use each
word once only.).,
'No, you haven't,' answered the teacher. 'You haven't (5) ...
finished until you've ruled a line at the end.' Meanwhile, the boy sitting
This type is satisfactory in many ways because all the lexical items
tested are adverbs. However, like the other two types, this type gives the student-too
little choice. For instance, there will be only one word left for the last number. Thus, it
could be improved considerably by the addition of a few other adverbs. The list might
then read as follows:
The first attempt to construct this list included the adverbs silently and already, but it
was then found that either of these could be used at (6)
instead of the correct option busily. This illustrates one of the dangers of this particular
testing device: clearly the more distractors there are, the
greater is the chance that one of the distractors might be a correct option for at least
one of the other items.
Type 4
the end of the passage and required to find words of similar meaning in the passage.
Since a detailed context is provided by the passage and little
additional material is required, this is an economical method of testing
vocabulary. The chief. risk. here, however, is the duplication of questions: if one of the
reading comprehension questions depends for its answer on a knowledge of the
meaning of a particular word, care must be exercised not to test that word again in the
vocabulary section.
In most well-known tests in which this type of item is included, a
different reading text from the comprehension text is used as the basis for the matching
vocabulary test. Thus, the reading text contains only
questions on vocabulary and does not include comprehension questions as such. In this
way the test constructor can be sure that the ability to answer the comprehension
questions does not depend on a knowledge of the
individual words selected for the vocabulary test.
replace the words listed below with the appropriate words contained in the passage
without changing the meaning.
groups
owned
specific• • • • • • • •• •
made up • • ••
chief
knowledge
similarly • • • ••
work together
THE TEHUELCHES
items appeared in certain tests. While Types 1 and 2 are useful for classroom
testing. Types 3 and 4 are rather artificial, and should be avoided where
possible.
(a) Write a word in each blank. The word you write must be the correct
(b) Rewrite the following paragraph putting in each blank the correct
MOMENT
Can you spare a ... ?' Peter asked his brother. He thought he
'I'm very busy at the ... .' his elder brother said.
(b) In each space write one word that means almost the same as the
word on the left. The word you write must rhyme with the word on
the right.
Rearrange the following letters to make words. Then use each word in a sentence of
your own so as to show the meaning of the word.
As can be seen, this item is little more than a crossword puzzle. It may, perhaps, be of
some use in an intelligence test, but it is of doubtful use in a language test.
following phrases.
These item types are of very little use. They test writing ability in addition to a
knowledge of word meanings. Furthermore, it is extremely difficult even for native
speakers to produce sentences `to show the
meaning' of words - and it is certainly not a useful task. A student maybe familiar-with-
the meaning-of aword and may.us?,.it.uorrectly, without being able to express this
meaning clearly in a sentence (especially under test
conditions).
The following types of completion items can be used for the testing of vocabulary. Tests
which present such items in a context are generally preferable to those which rely on
single words or on definitions.
Type 1
words. Write each completed word on your answer sheet at the side of
Snakes are one of the (1) d-m-n--t groups of (2) r-pt----: there
are at least 2,000 different (3) sp-c--s of snakes (4) sc-t----d over
a wide area of the earth. Not all snakes are (5) p--s- n--s: in fact, the
(11) in--ct poison into their, (12) vi----'s body by (13) b-t--g him
Type 2
(a) Complete each blank with the most appropriate word to replace each
performance).
-role of gravity on the way cells function. Even in the first manned space-
flights doctors were largely unaware of the various
fluids from the legs to the top of the body. They were able
swelled during the first few days of space flight. Moreover, doctors had
These test items come close to the kind of item often used to test
reading comprehension (described in Chapter 8). Clearly, a degree of
comprehension is necessary before each of the blanks can be completed.
The items have been included in this chapter because there is a deliberate
attempt to concentrate on the testing of vocabulary - in the first cas- the
vocabulary associated with information about the time and date, and in the
second case with the language of research and inquiry.
Quarterly 11
pp. 54-57.
3 North Western Regional Advisory Council for Further Education, April 1983,