5 Testing Vocabulary

英语测试词汇，包括项目选择多项选择题——完整语句，多项选择题——不完整语句，集合（关联词），匹配项，更客观的项目。

5 Testing Vocabulary

• 5.1 Selection of items
  • To determine the degree to which the writer of the test wishes to concentrate on testing the students' active or passive vocabulary.
  • To decide whether the lexical items in the test should be taken from the spoken or written language.
  • Listening: passive/spoken Reading: passive/written Speaking: active/spoken Writing: active/written
  • Generally speaking, the more elementary the level of the test, the greater the number of lexical items associated with the spoken language.
  • The most powerful distractors in vocabulary tests are:
    • the use of false synonyms
    • contextually relevant items
  • For testees using same syllabus, lexical items can be selected from:
    • the syllabus
    • the students' textbook
    • the students' reading material
    • lexical errors taken from students' free-written work
  • For testees using different syllabus, lexical items can be selected from:
    • the tasks which are used for which the student is being tested
    • the well-known word lists
• 5.2 Multiple-choice items (A) -complete statements.
  • complete statements.
    • 1. The stem is replaced by a picture. 2. The stem consists of a definition. 3. The stem consists of a lexical item. 4. The stem consists of a sentence.
  • Guidelines for writing items
    • The stems or the options should be kept simple. Each option should belong to the same word class as the word in the stem. The correct option and the distractors should be at approximately the same level of difficulty. Unless the vocabulary item being tested has a very low frequency count, the item writer is advised to limit the options to the same general area of activity where possible. All the options should be approximately the same length. It's advisable to avoid using a pair of synonyms or antonyms as distractors.
• 5.3 Multiple-choice items (B) -incomplete statements.
  • Too little context is insufficient to establish any meaningful situation, while too much context may provide too many clues.
  • The choice between the use of single sentences an the use of paragraphs providing a far fuller context will be determined by the purpose of the test and the test writer's own approach to the communicative aspects of language learning.
• 5.4 Sets (associated words)
  • Type1 Recognition
  • Type2 Production
• 5.5 Matching items
• 5.6 More objective items
  • Type1 Word formation test items
  • Type2 Items involving synonyms
  • Type3 Rearrangement items
  • Type4 Definitions
• 5.7 Completion items
  • Tests which present such items in a context are generally preferable to those which rely on single words or on definitions.