Defining and Assessing Lexical Proficiency

This book explores and compares two primary methods of performance-based assessment of L2 lexical proficiency: the qualitative method using human raters and the quantitative method using automatic computation of statistical measures. It highlights the unique features of each approach and compares them to provide a holistic overview of performance-based assessment. The findings are exemplified in an empirical study with over 150 essays written by L2 learners and native speakers. The book challenges existing tendencies to validate one method by demonstrating their capacity to indicate different elements of lexical proficiency, offering a way to better conceptualize performance-based assessment of L2 vocabulary in the future.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 276 pages
Publication date: 22 April 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This comprehensive account of performance-based assessment of L2 lexical proficiency delves into the analysis and comparison of two primary methods of evaluation used in the field. It unpacks the ways in which these methods tap into different dimensions of one model of lexical competence and proficiency.

The book builds on the latest research in performance-based assessment, which has recently emphasized the application of more quantitative measures to L2 data. It systematically explores the qualitative method of using human raters in assessment exercises and the quantitative method of using automatic computation of statistical measures of lexis and phraseology. Supported by an up-to-date review of the existing literature, both approaches' unique features are highlighted, and they are compared to one another to provide a holistic overview of performance-based assessment as it stands today at both the theoretical and empirical levels.

These findings are exemplified in a concluding chapter, which summarizes results from an empirical study examining a range of lexical and phraseological features and human raters' scores of over 150 essays written by both L2 learners of English and native speakers. Taken together, the volume challenges existing tendencies within the field that attempt to validate one another by demonstrating their capacity to indicate very different elements of lexical proficiency. This offers a means by which to better conceptualize performance-based assessment of L2 vocabulary in the future.

This book will be of interest to students and researchers working in second language acquisition and applied linguistics research, particularly those interested in issues around assessment, vocabulary acquisition, and language proficiency.

Weight: 381g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032086491