Knowledge-Based Vocabulary Lists: The Travelogues and Letters of Lady Abala Bose(British Council Monographs on Modern Language Testing)

In teaching second language (L2) vocabulary, it is useful to have a way of prioritizing words to teach from among the multitude available. Word frequency, i.e. how often various words appear in written and spoken discourse, has typically been used to inform the emphasis taken. This volume explores the need for word lists based on direct tests of learner knowledge to inform L2 pedagogy. The Knowledge-based Vocabulary Lists (KVL) are introduced, and a description of the theoretical and practical basis for their development is given, highlighting pedagogical and assessment situations in which it is beneficial to know whether learners are likely to be able produce and correctly spell the words they know. A focus on L2 learners of English from Chinese, German, and Spanish L1 backgrounds resulted in three ranked lists of English-language word knowledge. The comparative probability of learners from these language backgrounds knowing each word are presented, and the correspondence with existing information about word frequency, word acquisition sequence, and word difficulty is explored. The value of the KVL is discussed in terms of providing one of the few evidence-based descriptions of L2 form-recall vocabulary knowledge available to teachers and researchers.

Table of Contents:
1.The Need for Knowledge-based Vocabulary Lists (KVL) 2. Creating a List of Lemmas to Test 3. Developing the Vocabulary Test 4. Piloting the Online Test 5. Writing and Revising the Test Items, Developing the Online Test, and Main Data Collection 6. Analysis and Ranking of Lemmas 7. Comparison of the KVL with Frequency Lists 8. Effects of Cognateness on KVL Rankings 9. Comparison of the KVL with Alternative Lists 10. Assessing and Using the KVL 11. Further Research Directions Appendix 1: Instructions to the Item Writers Appendix 2: List of Offensive Words Removed Appendix 3: Screenshots from the Vocabulary Challenge Website Appendix 4: Technical Explanation of the General Linear Mixed Modeling (GLMM) Rankings Appendix 5: Technical Explanation of the Precision of the GLMM Rankings Appendix 6: Interlanguage Comparision of Incorrect/Missing Spanish responses to Higher Frequency Lemmas that were Less Well Known than Expected Appendix 7: Patterns of Incorrect/Missing German responses to Higher Frequency Lemmas that were Less Well Known than Expected Appendix 8: Patterns of Incorrect/Missing Chinese responses to Higher Frequency Lemmas that were Less Well Known than Expected Appendix 9: Lemmas for which the Spanish Test Prompt was Exactly the Same as the English Test Answer (Cognate) Appendix 10: Lemmas for which the German Test Prompt was Exactly the Same as the English Test Answer (Cognate) Appendix 11: Comparison of the 114 Words Known by All Respondents in Brysbaert, Keuleers, and Mandera (2020) with KVL Results Appendix 12: Best-known 30 Lemmas on the Spanish-KVL Appendix 13: Best-known 30 Lemmas on the German-KVL Appendix 14: Best-known 30 Lemmas on the Chinese-KVL Appendix 15: Sample of the KVL-Spanish-Technical Spreadsheet

About the Author :
Norbert Schmitt is Emeritus Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of Nottingham. Dr. Karen Dunn is a Senior Researcher in measurement and evaluation at the British Council. Barry O'Sullivan is Head of Assessment Research and Development, the British Council, London, Visiting Professor of Language Assessment at the University of Reading, and Advisory Professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Laurence Anthony is a Professor in the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Waseda University, Japan. He is a former director of the Center for English Language Education (CELESE) and is the coordinator of the CELESE technical English program. Benjamin Kremmel is Head of the Language Testing Research Group Innsbruck (LTRGI) at the University of Innsbruck. Norbert Schmitt is Emeritus Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of Nottingham. Dr. Karen Dunn is a Senior Researcher in measurement and evaluation at the British Council. Barry O'Sullivan is Head of Assessment Research and Development, the British Council, London, Visiting Professor of Language Assessment at the University of Reading, and Advisory Professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Laurence Anthony is a Professor in the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Waseda University, Japan. He is a former director of the Center for English Language Education (CELESE) and is the coordinator of the CELESE technical English program. Benjamin Kremmel is Head of the Language Testing Research Group Innsbruck (LTRGI) at the University of Innsbruck. Norbert Schmitt is Emeritus Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of Nottingham. Dr. Karen Dunn is a Senior Researcher in measurement and evaluation at the British Council. Barry O'Sullivan is Head of Assessment Research and Development, the British Council, London, Visiting Professor of Language Assessment at the University of Reading, and Advisory Professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Laurence Anthony is a Professor in the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Waseda University, Japan. He is a former director of the Center for English Language Education (CELESE) and is the coordinator of the CELESE technical English program. Benjamin Kremmel is Head of the Language Testing Research Group Innsbruck (LTRGI) at the University of Innsbruck. Norbert Schmitt is Emeritus Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of Nottingham. Dr. Karen Dunn is a Senior Researcher in measurement and evaluation at the British Council. Barry O'Sullivan is Head of Assessment Research and Development, the British Council, London, Visiting Professor of Language Assessment at the University of Reading, and Advisory Professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Laurence Anthony is a Professor in the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Waseda University, Japan. He is a former director of the Center for English Language Education (CELESE) and is the coordinator of the CELESE technical English program. Benjamin Kremmel is Head of the Language Testing Research Group Innsbruck (LTRGI) at the University of Innsbruck. Norbert Schmitt is Emeritus Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of Nottingham. Dr. Karen Dunn is a Senior Researcher in measurement and evaluation at the British Council. Barry O'Sullivan is Head of Assessment Research and Development, the British Council, London, Visiting Professor of Language Assessment at the University of Reading, and Advisory Professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Laurence Anthony is a Professor in the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Waseda University, Japan. He is a former director of the Center for English Language Education (CELESE) and is the coordinator of the CELESE technical English program. Benjamin Kremmel is Head of the Language Testing Research Group Innsbruck (LTRGI) at the University of Innsbruck.