2018 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
A coverage-based approach to diagnosing English vocabulary targets for Japanese university students
| Project/Area Number |
18K00866
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| Research Institution | Kanazawa University |
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Principal Investigator |
Brown Dale 金沢大学, 外国語教育系, 准教授 (50781168)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
ステクル ティモシー 新潟県立大学, 国際地域学部, 准教授 (40601711)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2018-04-01 – 2021-03-31
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| Keywords | vocabulary / text coverage / vocabulary testing / vocabulary targets / new JACET8000 wordlist / word-list banding / word frequency / high-frequency words |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
In the project's first year, phase 1 was completed as planned. The best source of word frequency information to serve as a basis for decisions was determined, the number of bands into which the JACET8000 wordlist should be divided was decided, and the bands themselves were formed. In addition, going beyond the original research plan, we investigated whether it can be assumed that university students have knowledge of the most frequent words. We created a test instrument, collected data from 102 learners and found that learners do indeed have very high levels of knowledge of these words. We thus concluded that the assumption is reasonable. Phase 2 of the project was then initiated with the sampling of words from each band and the development of test items for those words.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
As explained above, phase 1 of the project was completed as planned and phase 2 is underway as planned. The decision to go beyond the original research plan and investigate the assumption that university students have knowledge of the most frequent words, and our conclusion that this assumption is indeed fair, has provided a more solid basis for phase 2 of the project.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
Trialling of the test items will commence shortly. This will involve trialling large samples of words from each band and using Rasch analysis to analyse the performance of the items. On the basis of this analysis, items will be selected for the vocabulary test which both perform well statistically and represent the range of difficulties in each band. In addition, interviews will be conducted with learners to confirm their knowledge of the tested words, in turn allowing assessments to be made of the reliability and validity of our vocabulary test. The face validity of the test's ability to identify target vocabulary for teaching will be evaluated by presenting teachers and learners with samples of words from several bands and asking for their views on which band is most appropriate.
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| Causes of Carryover |
There is money remaining from 2018 since the prices of the computers purchased changed somewhat from when the budget was initially planned and because the price of one of the books purchased changed due to exchange rate variations. The remaining money will be used in 2019 to purchase additional books on vocabulary and language testing which will help further inform the research.
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Research Products
(2 results)
