The Yes / No Vocabulary Test (YN test) and the Vocabulary Levels Test (VLT) have been widely used to measure the vocabulary size of EFL learners for more than two decades now. Also, there are many studies validating these test formats. These studies showed that there are advantages and disadvantages in both formats. However, there are no standardized vocabulary tests for Portuguese as a foreign language (PFL). The aim of this thesis is to elaborate and evaluate those two wellknown test formats for PFL. Thus, this thesis describes the attempt to elaborate and assess two receptive vocabulary tests, namely, Yes / No Vocabulary Test for Portuguese and Vocabulary Levels Test for Portuguese. The former is a checklist test and the latter uses a matching format. It is argued that guessing is one of the biggest concerns of these formats. Thus, distractors are included and they have important roles in both test formats. However, while in the YN test, the distractors are imaginary words, in VLT, they are real words. Four experiments were carried out: two on YN test and two on VLT. The subjects were Spanish and English-speaking students as well as Koreans. We conclude that both tests have significant potential as vocabulary assessment tools. Nevertheless, it is necessary to make some adjustments so that they can be used by teachers to measure the vocabulary proficiency of their learners, to diagnose the vocabulary problems learners may have as well as to place them in a course according to learners' vocabulary knowledge.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:564015 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | Morita, Marisa Kimie |
| Publisher | Swansea University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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