Full Description
In teaching second language (L2) vocabulary, it is useful to have a way of prioritizing words to teach from among the multitude available. Word frequency, i.e. how often various words appear in written and spoken discourse, has typically been used to inform the emphasis taken. This volume explores the need for word lists based on direct tests of learner knowledge to inform L2 pedagogy. The Knowledge-based Vocabulary Lists (KVL) are introduced, and a description of the theoretical and practical basis for their development is given, highlighting pedagogical and assessment situations in which it is beneficial to know whether learners are likely to be able produce and correctly spell the words they know. A focus on L2 learners of English from Chinese, German, and Spanish L1 backgrounds resulted in three ranked lists of English-language word knowledge. The comparative probability of learners from these language backgrounds knowing each word are presented, and the correspondence with existing information about word frequency, word acquisition sequence, and word difficulty is explored. The value of the KVL is discussed in terms of providing one of the few evidence-based descriptions of L2 form-recall vocabulary knowledge available to teachers and researchers.
Contents
1.The Need for Knowledge-based Vocabulary Lists (KVL)
2. Creating a List of Lemmas to Test
3. Developing the Vocabulary Test
4. Piloting the Online Test
5. Writing and Revising the Test Items, Developing the Online Test, and Main Data Collection
6. Analysis and Ranking of Lemmas
7. Comparison of the KVL with Frequency Lists
8. Effects of Cognateness on KVL Rankings
9. Comparison of the KVL with Alternative Lists
10. Assessing and Using the KVL
11. Further Research Directions
Appendix 1: Instructions to the Item Writers
Appendix 2: List of Offensive Words Removed
Appendix 3: Screenshots from the Vocabulary Challenge Website
Appendix 4: Technical Explanation of the General Linear Mixed Modeling (GLMM) Rankings
Appendix 5: Technical Explanation of the Precision of the GLMM Rankings
Appendix 6: Interlanguage Comparision of Incorrect/Missing Spanish responses to Higher Frequency Lemmas that were Less Well Known than Expected
Appendix 7: Patterns of Incorrect/Missing German responses to Higher Frequency Lemmas that were Less Well Known than Expected
Appendix 8: Patterns of Incorrect/Missing Chinese responses to Higher Frequency Lemmas that were Less Well Known than Expected
Appendix 9: Lemmas for which the Spanish Test Prompt was Exactly the Same as the English Test Answer (Cognate)
Appendix 10: Lemmas for which the German Test Prompt was Exactly the Same as the English Test Answer (Cognate)
Appendix 11: Comparison of the 114 Words Known by All Respondents in Brysbaert, Keuleers, and Mandera (2020) with KVL Results
Appendix 12: Best-known 30 Lemmas on the Spanish-KVL
Appendix 13: Best-known 30 Lemmas on the German-KVL
Appendix 14: Best-known 30 Lemmas on the Chinese-KVL
Appendix 15: Sample of the KVL-Spanish-Technical Spreadsheet
