8.1 SELECTION
OF ITEMS
A careful selection, or sampling, of lexical items for
inclusion in a test is generally a most exciting task. Many of the more
traditional types of vocabulary tests are designed in such a way that they test
a knowledge of words which, though frequently found in many English textbooks, are
rarely used in ordinary speech.
The first task for the writer of a vocabulary test is
to determine the degree to which he or she wishes to concentrate on testing the
students’ active or passive vocabulary. The next task is decide whether the
lexical items in the test should be taken from the spoken or the written
language. Selection of vocabulary can thus be thought of as falling into the
following rough divisions according to the four major language skills:
Listening: passive/spoken
Reading: passive/written.
Speaking: active/spoken
Writing: active/written
The test constructor’s task is made much easier if all
the students have followed a particular syllabus. Lexical items can then be
selected from;
- the
syllabus (including a word frequency list if available);
- the
students’ textbook (provided the items appropriate to those used in natural
speech situations).
- the
students’ reading material (e.g. simplified readers, literary texts); and
- lexical
errors taken form students’ free-written work (or from students’ incorrect
answers in a cloze test).
The following error, however, may be one of verb
patterning or simply the wrong choice of verb:
Is the
government going to contribute the new industry?
If an error of verb patterning, the correct version
would be
Is the
government going to contribute to the new industry?
If caused by the wrong choice of verb, it would be
Is the
government going to subsidize the new industry?
Moreover, according to
the findings of research conducted into the effectiveness of distractors in
multiple-choice vocabulary tests, those distractors based on students’
incorrect answers in cloze tests (though moderately useful) were found to be
less powerful than
(a) the use of false synonyms
(i.e. words with equivalent meanings to the key word underlined or shown in
italics in the sentence but inappropriate in the particular context):
I’d like to book two ………………… in the circle, please.
seats = correct word
chairs = false synonym
(b) contextually relevant items (i.e.
words related to the context but different in meaning to the key word in the
sentence):
‘How much is a …………… to Tokyo, please?’
‘Nine hundred yen, and a return is sixteen hundred
yen’
single = correct word
ticket = contextually
relevant
Test of vocabulary
should avoid grammatical structures which the students may find difficult to
comprehend. Similarly, tests of grammar should contain only those lexical items
which present no difficulty to the students.
Group A Choose the letter of the word which
is the nearest in meaning to the word in italics.
He’s been very feeble since his illness.
A. unwell B.
thin C.
foolish D. weak
Group B Choose the letter of the correct or
best word to complete each sentence.
Have you heard the planning committee’s
……… for solving the city’s traffic problems?
A. theory B.
design C.
proposal D. purpose
This section
concentrates on Group A items and the next section on Group B. the following
item types are examples of four vocabulary recognition items which fall within
the first group.
Type 1 in this type of
recognition item the stem is replaced by a picture. The testees see
the picture and have to select the most appropriate word relating to the
picture from four or five options. This type of item is clearly very
appropriate at the elementary stages.
A. running
B. jumping
C. standing
D. kicking
Type 2 Here the stem
consists of a definition: the testees have to select the correct option to
which the definition refers.
A person who
receives and pays out money in a bank
A.
broker B.
accountant C.
creditor D. cashier
Type 3 The stem
consists of a lexical item: the testees have to select the best synonym of
definition.
advocate
A.
support B.
advise C.
contradict D. damage
dilatory
A. growing
gradually larger C.
showing care and effort
B. slow in
getting
done D.
heavy with drops of water.
Type 4 The stem here consists of a
sentence. Hence, this type of recognition item is generally to be preferred to
the previous three types in so far as the ‘problem’ word appears in context.
Vocabulary is much more usefully tested in context since it is the context that
gives specific meaning and relevance in the circumstances.
It’s
rained continuously for two whole days.
A.
without
stopping C.
regularly
B.
heavily D.
at odd moments
Since subtle shades of
meaning are, often determined only by the specific context in which a
particular word appears, it is generally advisable to provide fairly full
contexts for vocabulary testing, especially at an advanced level. The fuller
the context, however, the more difficult it sometimes can prove to find
plausible distractors. Few good distractors, for example, can be found for the
following item:
We’ve had to put
off the meeting until next week. (postpone)
Synonyms
are not always interchangeable in a context (without altering the meaning).
However, where a word may be replaced by another in a particular context,
testees may easily be misled into regarding synonyms as being generally
interchangeable.
8.2 GUIDELINES
FOR WRITING ITEMS
1 If the problem area being tested is
located in the options (as in type 2). The stem should be kept simple. If,
however, the problem area is included in the stem (as in type 3 and 4), the
options themselves should be simple in so far as they should contain only those
vocabulary items which the testees can understand.
2 Each option should belong to the
same word class as the word in the stem. Particularly when the word appears in
the context of a sentence. If this rule is observed, there will be less danger
of the context providing important grammatical clues for the testees. For
example, although the first of the following test item is usable, option A, B
and C in the second item would be grammatically incorrect when put in the
context.
contemptuous
A. deep in
thought C.
self satisfied
B. without sense of
humor D.
scornful
Ian was contemptuous of the efforts
of his friends to raise some money for the charity
A. deep in
thought C.
self satisfied
B. without sense of
humor D.
scornful
3 The correct option and the
distractors should be approximately the same level of difficulty. If the
correct option is more difficult than the distractors, the testees will arrive
at the correct answer by process of elimination. Thus, the test may have a negative
effect on the testees; i.e. they will select the correct option not because
they know it is correct but only because they know the other options are wrong.
The following item measures the testees’ knowledge of distractors rather than
their familiarity with the correct option:
theatrical
A. angry B.
histrionic C.
proud D.
foolish
The converse also holds
good. If the distractors are more difficult than the correct option, the item
may be equally unreliable. In such a case, there will usually be a tendency for
the more able students to think that the correct option is too easy and therefore
wrong; they are thus tricked into selecting one of the more difficult options:
suffice
A. be
adequate B.
harass C.
acquiesce D. be contrite
4 There is some disagreement
concerning the relationship of the options to the problem area being tested.
Some test writers argue that the options should be related to the same general
topic or area, while others prefer as wide a range of associations as possible.
Unless the vocabulary item being tested has a very low frequency count (i.e. is
very rarely used), however, the item writer is advised to limit the options to
the same general area of activity where possible.
Item
1 Item
2
apparition apparition
A.
skeleton A.
scenery
B.
ghost B.
ghost
C.
nightmare C.
magician
D.
corpse D.
castle
If item 2 were set in a test, students who had read a
few ghost stories would probably select option B because they would associate apparition with
the stories they had read. In item 1, however, students are required to show a
much greater control over vocabulary.
5 All the options should be approximately
the same length. There is a temptation both in vocabulary and in reading
comprehension tests to make the correct option much longer than the
distractors. This is particularly true in a vocabulary test item in which the
options take the form of definitions: the item-writer tends to take great pains
to ensure that the option is absolutely correct, qualifying it at great length.
However, the item-writer rarely takes such trouble over the distractors, since
they are deliberately wrong and need not be qualified in any way.
a hitch-hiker
A. a man who makes ropes
B. a person who travels about by asking motorists to
give him free rides
C. an old-fashioned sailor
D. a boy who walks long distances
Any students who did not know the meaning of hitch-hiker would
clearly choose option B – and would be correct in doing so. Consequently, if it
is ever necessary to qualify a definition at some length, either one distractor
or all three or four distractors should be made equally long. In this way, the
correct option will be disguised a little more effectively.
It
is advisable to avoid using a pair of synonyms as distractors; if the testees
recognize the synonyms, they may realize immediately that neither is the
correct option, since there can be only one correct answer.
The old woman was always courteous when
anyone spoke to her.
A. polite B.
glad C.
kind D.
pleased
Even such synonyms as glad and pleased are
sufficient to indicate to intelligent students that the choice must be between polite and kind,
since if glad were correct, pleased would
also probably be correct.
If it is also
dangerous to ‘pair off options by providing an antonym as a distractor. Options
A and C in the following vocabulary item immediately stand out; again, clever
students will be able to narrow their choice down to two options once they
realize that A means the opposite of C.
ascend
A. go up B.
talk C.
come
down D.
fetch
8.3 MULTIPLE – CHOICE ITEMS (B)
In certain ways, the items shown in this section are
more difficult to construct than those in the previous section. The problem is
chiefly one of context: too little context is insufficient to establish any
meaningful situation, while too much context may provide too many clues (both
grammatical and semantic).
1. I saw a nasty ……between two cars this morning.
A. happening B.
danger C.
damage D. accident
2. I was speaking to Cathy on the phone when suddenly
we were ……
A. hung
up B.
run out C. broken
down D.
cut off
3. I should have returned this book last Tuesday: it
is now five days ……
A. postponed B.
excessive C.
overdue D. delayed
4. Nothing had been organized and confusion seemed
……..
A.
inevident B.
inefficient C.
ineligible D. inevitable
5. Tom always tries to help people, but recently he
has been ….. kind and generous.
A.
chiefly B.
especially C.
principally D. fundamentally
Many multiple-choice
vocabulary test items of the type being dealt with in this section rely on the
context itself to provide grammatical clues which are useful on many respects
but may possibly belong more to tests of grammar and structure rather than to vocabulary.
Nevertheless, there can be little objection to introducing, say, a few items on
verb patterning in a test of vocabulary.
6. I’m ….. of a new job. I don’t like my present one.
A.
contemplating B.
thinking C.
desiring D. hoping
7. Ann …… me of a girl I used to know.
A. recalls B.
reminds C. remembers D.
recollects
It is sometimes argued that many multiple-choice
vocabulary tests consist largely of items such as the following and that these
test only a knowledge of collocation.
8. The television station was ……… with letters and
phone calls after the announcement.
A.
drowned B.
stormed C.
remembers D.
absorbed
Since this item ignores the ability to create
unexpected collocations, it can also be argued that an imaginative
use of the language is discouraged. Although there maybe some truth in this
argument, unexpected collocations result from a creative and intuitive handling
of the language, which in turn demands an implicit understanding of everyday
collocations. It is usually the writer’s very awareness of the degree of
incongruity which makes a new collocation vigorous and meaningful.
Although the
collocations in such items as the following may be tested equally well without
a context, it is usually advisable to test them in sentences.
9. Dr Heston charges a high ……. For his services.
A. free B.
profit C.
salary D.
payment
(Collocations being tested here, for example, are:
charge a fee/ make a profit/ receive a salary/ make or receive a payment –
although it is possible to charge a payment to account.)
10. I don’t believe you: I think you’re ……lies.
A.
saying B.
talking C.
speaking D. telling
11. Iron will eventually ………if grease is not applied.
A.
wear B.
corrode C.
damage D. corrupt
12. My driving license ……..at the end of this month.
A.
expires B. passes
out C.
retires D.
concludes
If separated from such contexts as the preceding ones,
these test items would read:
9. charge a fee/profit/salary/payment
10. say/talk/speak/tell lies
11. iron wears/corrodes/damages/corrupts
12. a license expires/passes out/retires/concludes
In this type of items,
however, each context requires a ‘normal’ reaction and takes no account of
cultural differences. For example, in the following item B or D would be
correct in certain societies since it is impolite to accept a gift without
first vehemently refusing it.
Emma cried out with …………at the beautiful present Mrs
White gave her.
A. delight B.
horror C.
dismay D. anger
8.4 SETS (ASSOCIATED WORDS)
Many of the difficulties arising from the testing of
collocations are avoided by the testing of word sets. In such tests the
students’ familiarity with a range of associations is measured.
Type 1: Recognition
Read each of the following lists of four words. One
word does not belong in each list. Put a circle round the odd word in each
list.
son happy arrive
father married depart
boy engaged go
away
brother single leave
Type 2: Production
Each group of words is related to a particular
subject. Write down the particular subject which is connected with each group
of words.
hand theatre volume nursery
wrist sister track lift
dial bed head slope
face ward spool snow
(-
watch) (-hospital) (-tape
recorder) (-skiing)
8.5 MATCHING ITEMS
Type 1 of the following test items suffers from
testing lexical items from different word classes, while type 2 tests a mixed
bag of tense forms, etc.
Type 1
Write the correct word from the following list at the
side of each number on your answer sheet. Use each word once only.
Road accident traveling turned side
Broken know knocked middle looked
Lorry policeman pavement running hurt
Lying crossed left forgot talked
Poor Tom Wright was (1) down by a (2) last week when
he was crossing the (3). He was quite badly (4) and he had to go into hospital
for a few days. His left leg was (5) and both his arms were cut. While he was
(6) in bed in the hospital, a (7) came to (8) to him.
‘Was the lorry (9) very quickly?’ he asked Tom.
Tom told him all about the (10). ‘I was
(11) home from school and I (12) the road. (13) right but I (14) to look (15).
In the (16) of the road I suddenly saw a lorry. I didn’t (17) what to do, so I
began to run to the other (18) of the road. The lorry (19) but it hit me when I
was near the (20).’
Type 2
Complete the following sentences with the most
suitable verb phrase from the list.
Came
about pull
through broken
out falling out
Running into brought
up get
away out
off
1. ‘Did the prisoner manage to ……?’ ‘Yes, the police
are still looking for him.’
2. The doctor thought Mr Benson would ……after the
operation.
3. The couple are always …….and causing a disturbance.
4. And so it …….that we eventually parted.
(etc.)
It is much more efficient to test words from the same
word class (e.g. nouns only in type 1), or parallel tense forms (e.g. the past
simple tense in Type 2). Thus the Type 2 item could be rewritten as follows:
came
about ran into pulled
through got
away
1. ‘I hear the prisoner …………. yesterday and the police
are still looking for him.’
2. ‘We were all relieved that Mr Benson
……..after the operation.’
(etc.)
Type 3
From the list of words given, choose the one which is
most suitable for each blank. Write only the letter of the correct word after
each number on your answer sheet. (Use each word once only)
A. completely C.
busily E.
quickly
B.
politely D.
carefully F.
angrily
‘Write (1) …….. ‘the teacher shouted (2) …………., ‘but
don’t waste time. You must get used to working (3) ………’ ‘Please, sir,’ a
student said (4) ………, ‘I’ve finished.’ ‘No, you haven’t, ‘answered the teacher
‘You haven’t (5) ……….. until you’ve ruled a line at the end. ‘Meanwhile, the
boy sitting next to him was (6) ……….engaged in drawing a map.
Type 4
The most useful type of matching item is undoubtedly
that based on a reading comprehension passage. The students are given a list of
words at the end of the passage and required to find words of similar meaning
in the passage. Since a detailed context is provided by the passage and little
additional material is required, this is an economical method of testing
vocabulary. The chief risk here, however, is the duplication of
questions: if one of the reading comprehension questions depends for its answer
on a knowledge of the meaning of a particular word, care must be exercised not to
test that word again in the vocabulary section.
In the following example
candidates in the test are instructed to replace the words listed below with
the appropriate words contained in the passage without changing the meaning.
Group …………….
Owned ……………
Specific ……………
Made
up ……………
Chief ……………
Knowledge ……………
Similarly ……………
Close to each
other ……………
Were
inclined ……………
Work
together ……………
THE TEHUELCHES
The Tehuelches lived in a band – usually of between
fifty and a hundred people. Each band had exclusive rights to a particular
hunting area and no other band was able to hunt there without permission. Each
band was composed of families related through the male line and the man who led
them was the hunter who had the greatest experience of the hunting groups. Each
man married a woman from another band and his sister would also marry men
outside his band. In this way bands in a neighborhood were linked by ties of
marriage and so tended to co-operate with each other in hunting and other
tasks.
8.6 COMPLETION ITEMS
The following types of completion items can be used
for the testing of vocabulary. Tests which present such items in a context are
generally preferable to those which rely on single words or on definitions.
Type 1
Read through the following passage containing a number
of incomplete words. Write each completed word on your answer sheet at the side
of the appropriate number. (Each dash represents one letter.)
Snakes are ones of the
(1) d - m - n - - t groups of (2) r - pt - - - -: there
are at least 2,000 different (3) sp - c - - s of snakes (4) sc - - -
- - d over a wide area of the earth. Not all snakes are (5) p - - s - n - - s:
in fact, the (6) m - j - - - - y are quite harmless. Contrary to (7) p - p - l
- - believe, a snake’s (8) f - - k - d tongue is not (9) d - ng - - - - - to
human beings: it is merely for touching and smelling (10) s - bs - -n - - s.
Snakes (11) in - - ct poison into their (12) vi - - - -‘s body by (13) b -
t - - g him with their (14) f - - gs.
Type 2
(a) Complete each blank with the most
appropriate word to replace each number in the text.
Rosnah: What’s the (1)
today? (1)
……….
Mohamed: It’s the seventh.
Rosnah: At what (2) does the
concert
start? (2)
……….
Mohamed: Seven o’clock, I think. Just a moment.
I
make a note of it in my
(3) (3)
……….
Rosnah: How long do you think
it will (4)? (4)
……….
Mohamed: It finishes about ten.
Rosnah: That’s quite a long
(5), isn’t
it? (5)
……….
Mohamed: I suppose so. It’s three hours.
Note the range of possible answers, especially with
3,4 and 5 (e.g. 3: diary, notebook, exercise book; 4: last, take; 5: time,
concert, performance).
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