- Innsbruck, Tirol, Austria
Benjamin Kremmel
University of Innsbruck, Faculty of Education, Department Member
- University of Nottingham, Centre for Research in Applied Linguistics, Graduate Studentadd
- Prof. Norbert Schmittedit
AbstractVocabulary test development often appears to be based on the design principles of previous tests, without questioning or empirically examining the assumptions underlying those principles. Given the current proliferation of... more
AbstractVocabulary test development often appears to be based on the design principles of previous tests, without questioning or empirically examining the assumptions underlying those principles. Given the current proliferation of vocabulary tests, it seems timely for the field of vocabulary testing to problematize some of those traditionalised assumptions, based on more current research. This article begins this process by challenging two common assumptions key to vocabulary test development: (1) the counting unit of word families, and (2) the 1,000-word band divisions in the use of frequency. Based on existing literature and an analysis of corpus-based coverage figures, the article frames future research agendas by arguing that the lemma may be a more useful counting unit for vocabulary assessment and pedagogy. Further, it argues that the traditional 1,000-item frequency bands are not optimal. Smaller 500-item bands would be more informative at the higher frequencies, and bands larger than 1,000 items would be adequate at lower frequencies. Because most vocabulary tests are aimed at beginner to intermediate learners of English as a foreign language, these new empirically informed conventions should facilitate the development of more informative vocabulary tests.
Research Interests:
This paper outlines the reform of the national school-leaving exam in Austria from a teacher-designed exam to a professionally developed and standardized exam for the foreign languages English, French, Italian and Spanish, evaluating the... more
This paper outlines the reform of the national school-leaving exam in Austria from a teacher-designed exam to a professionally developed and standardized exam for the foreign languages English, French, Italian and Spanish, evaluating the unexpected challenges met along the way from the project team's perspective. It describes the assessment context prior to the reform to illustrate the perceived need for change and outlines the steps taken to address this need. The paper explains how key features of the exam reform project were implemented step-by-step to raise awareness with stakeholders and convince authorities to support and adopt the new approach. Reporting on the various stages of the project, it evaluates its success in introducing one standardized CEFR-based test for all students nationwide. The paper in particular highlights the unexpected political, technical and practical challenges faced, and how these were addressed, overcome or endured and with what consequences. The paper concludes with reflections and recommendations on how comparable test development projects may be approached.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Foreign language (FL) knowledge has been shown to contribute significantly to FL reading performance. Studies have contrasted the contribution of FL vocabulary and syntactic knowledge, following a dichotomous view of these components,... more
Foreign language (FL) knowledge has been shown to contribute significantly to FL reading performance. Studies have contrasted the contribution of FL vocabulary and syntactic knowledge, following a dichotomous view of these components, producing mixed results. Despite the increasingly recognized formulaic nature of language, the contribution made by phraseological knowledge to reading ability has not been investigated systematically. This study examines the impact of a broader construct definition of linguistic knowledge—which includes a phraseological component—in explaining variance in reading performances. Test scores of 418 learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) were modeled in a structural equation model, showing that a phraseological knowledge measure outperformed traditional syntactic and vocabulary measures in predicting reading comprehension variance. Additional insights into the role of phraseological knowledge were gained through verbal protocol analysis of 15 EFL learners answering reading comprehension items that targeted the understanding of phrasal expressions within written context. The findings hint at an underestimated, but critical, role of phraseological knowledge in FL reading, and are relevant to both the assessment and the teaching of EFL ability.