Development of an Item Bank for an English Placement Test

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25770210
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Foreign language education
• Research Institution: Toho University (2014-2015); Kitasato University (2013)
• Principal Investigator: ICHIYAMA Yoko 東邦大学, 看護学部, 准教授 (50458741)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 項目バンク構築 / 英語プレイスメントテスト

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The comparison of vocabularies on commercially produced English proficiency tests and a vocabulary list in a medical English reference book revealed significant differences, especially regarding orthographic and phonological processing skills. The study moreover revealed that English-Japanese dictionaries frequently used in English-language classrooms in Japan differ significantly in terms of phoneme description, which could contribute to the reluctance of Japanese learners of English towards learning English pronunciation.　The researcher designed test items to assess orthographic and phonological processing skills and syntactic processing skill and revised items until the item fit values reached expected levels. In sum, 160 items assessing orthographic and phonological processing skills and 40 items assessing syntactic processing skills were developed.

Free Research Field

英語教育