Vocabulary-size test of controlled productive ability - Language Testing 1999 - Issue 16

Sep 28, 2026

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Vocabulary-size test of controlled productive ability used items drawn from five frequency levels and a completion item type to measure learners’ vocabulary knowledge in a teaching and research context. The study evaluates the controlled-production vocabulary-levels test’s reliability, construct validity across proficiency groups, and practical usability, and reports satisfactory equivalence between two test forms. The work situates vocabulary testing within diagnostic and placement needs and motivates the use of frequency-based vocabulary measures.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages20

Reading Time50 min

AccessFree to download

Vocabulary testing

Vocabulary testing significance and prior research

Vocabulary-item types and dimensions of knowing a word

Vocabulary frequency levels

Vocabulary Levels Test rationale

Frequency distributions and practical implications

A vocabulary-size test of controlled productive ability Batia Laufer English Department, University of Haifa Paul Nation English Language Institute, Victoria University of Wellington It is important in the design of the vocabulary component of a teaching program that teachers are able to discover the state of their learners’ vocabulary knowledge. It is also important that researchers can draw on a variety of vocabulary measures to investigate the nature of vocabulary growth. This study focuses on a controlled production measure of vocabulary consisting of items from ﬁve frequency levels, and using a completion item type like the following. The garden was full of fra ﬂowers. The controlled-production vocabulary-levels test was found to be reliable, valid (in that the levels distinguished between different proﬁciency groups) and practical. There was a satisfactory degree of equivalence between two equivalent forms of the test. I Vocabulary testing Vocabulary knowledge is considered by both ﬁrst-language and second-language researchers to be of great signiﬁcance in language competence (Grabe, 1991; Frederiksen, 1982) and vocabulary testing is now receiving the attention it deserves, with studies of the construct validity of some vocabulary tests (Chapelle, 1994; Perkins and Linville, 1987), examination of the effectiveness of particular item types (Henning, 1991; Laufer and Nation, 1995), and a comprehensive examination of the ﬁeld of vocabulary testing in preparation (Read, forthcoming) . The present study attempts to contribute to this knowledge. This increased interest can be interpreted to mean that there is considerable value in gaining knowledge about speciﬁc parts of language learners’ proﬁciency because it can be used effectively for diagnostic, Address for correspondence: Paul Nation, English Language Institute, Victoria University of Wellington, PO Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand; e-mail: [Paul.Nation](Paul.NationKvuw.ac.nz)[K](Paul.NationKvuw.ac.nz)[vuw.ac.nz](Paul.NationKvuw.ac.nz) Language Testing 1999 16 (1) 33–51 0265-5322(99)LT160OA 􀃓 1999 Arnold 34 Vocabulary-size test placement and curriculum-design purposes. For example, the Vocabulary Levels Test (Nation, 1983; 1990) has proved to be useful in helping teachers to determine the kind of attention they should be giving to vocabulary for particular groups of learners. This is an important decision in terms of the cost-effectiveness of the use of class time, because high-frequency vocabulary development requires a different program from low-frequency vocabulary development. Following is a sample of three items tested by the Vocabulary Levels Test. The learners have to match three of the six words on the left with the meanings given on the right. 1 2 3 4 5 6 business clock horse pencil shoe wall 6 part of a house 3 animal with four legs 4 something used for writing Similarly, Meara’s Eurocentres Vocabulary Size Test (Meara and Buxton, 1987) has been very useful as a quickly administered placement test. Vocabulary tests are useful diagnostic and placement tests largely because they tap very important ‘enabling’ knowledge and they test a large number of items at one time, allowing reliable decision-making. An important ﬁnding arising from the research on vocabulary-item types is that different item types appear to be tapping different aspects and degrees of vocabulary knowledge (Paul et al., 1990) . It has long been recognised that there are many dimensions to ‘knowing a word’(Richards, 1976; Nation, 1990), and many degrees of knowledge. The receptive/productive distinction is the best known of these. Other aspects of vocabulary knowledge include, for example, collocations, associations, use in context and related meanings. In order to gain arounded picture of a learner’s vocabulary knowledge, it is necessary to have a range of vocabulary measures to draw on. A variety of vocabulary measures is useful diagnost

FAQs

What is the controlled production measure used to assess vocabulary knowledge?

The study uses a controlled production vocabulary measure based on completion items drawn from five frequency levels to gauge learners’ vocabulary knowledge.

What evidence supports the test’s usefulness?

The controlled-production vocabulary-levels test is reported as reliable, valid in distinguishing proficiency groups, practical, and showing satisfactory equivalence between two forms.

Why are vocabulary frequency levels important in the test design?

Vocabulary is viewed as organized into frequency-based levels, where different levels require different instructional attention, making frequency-based measures useful for diagnostic and curriculum-design decisions.

Sep 28, 2026

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