2004 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Developing a Vocabulary Levels Test for Japanese Learners of English
| Project/Area Number |
15530592
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Education on school subjects and activities
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| Research Institution | HIROSHIMA UNIVERSITY |
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Principal Investigator |
TANAKA Masamichi Hiroshima University, Institute for Foreign Language Research and Education, Professor, 外国語教育研究センター, 教授 (10144619)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
LAUER J.J Hiroshima University, Institute for Foreign Language Research and Education, Associate Professor, 外国語教育研究センター, 助教授 (70263639)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2003 – 2004
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| Keywords | Vocabulary Level / Vocabulary Test / High-frequency Word / Diagnostic Test / Idiom Test / High-frequency Idiom / e-Learning / Vocabulary Acquisition |
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| Research Abstract |
In the first year of the project (2003), we designed a speedy and easy-to-administer test for assessing the English vocabulary level of Japanese Learners of English. The test is intended to measure not only learner's receptive skills but also their productive skills. Learners are required to fill in the blanks by choosing the most appropriate alternatives given below each question. Five thousand of the most-frequently-used English vocabulary have been grouped into five levels (Level I : 1〜1,000, Level II : 1,001〜2,000,・・・Level V : 4,001〜5,000) based on well-known authoritative word lists. Twenty items were selected for each level. If a student scores 80% or better at a particular level, the student is considered to be at or above that level. The test was piloted extensively in the printed form in other institutions as well as Hiroshima University. The data obtained in the pilot tests showed that the test was, on the whole, functional.
In the second year (2004), we made a further experimental implementation, got more data, and improved it. The researchers also designed and published an idiom test for Japanese learners of English. The test is based on idioms which appear frequently in Japanese senior high school textbooks. It allows learners to set a goal of improving their knowledge of idioms and helps teachers devise systematic syllabi.
Both of the tests were then put online and utilized as automatic self-evaluation tests free-to-all on the Internet. Learners can get their scores immediately after they have completed the tests. They are now available at learner's convenience and enjoy frequent access by faculty staff as well as students. The site is indeed useful as it promotes learner's independent study, freeing them from their school timetables.
To see the finished products, go to :
http://flare.media.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/
http://flare.media.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/english/voctest_a.html
http://flare.media.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/english/idiomtest_a.html
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