The Ten-Minute Vocabulary Tests for Quick and Approximate Estimates of General English Ability of Japanese EFL Learners V

Abstract

Through Katagiri (2000, 2001a), using the test items of Mochizuki's (1998) Vocabulary Size Test and Item Response Theory (IRT), new vocabulary tests based on word difficulty order using only 32 items which can be administered in less than 10 minutes had been developed for quick and approximate estimates of examinees' general English ability, and the new vocabulary tests which had three theoretical parallel Forms. Through Katagiri (2001b, 2001c, 2001d), using senior high school students or university students as subjects, (1) the concurrent validity and the reliability of each Form of the new vocabulary tests as quick-and-rough-estimating English tests were examined and confirmed, (2) it was also examined and affirmed that the three Forms are actually parallel with one another, (3) the three Forms were presented to readers (English teachers and language educational researchers). This study (1) examined the concurrent validity and the reliability of each Form of the new vocabulary tests as quick-and-rough-estimating English tests, when junior high school students took them, (2) recapitulated all the results of studies (Katagiri 2001b, 2001c, 2001d, and the present study) on the validity and reliability of the new tests and discussed the problems which should be improved in the future research, and (3) then, summarizing the discussions, suggested a concrete proposal to recreate vocabulary tests for quick and approximate estimates of general English ability of Japanese EFL learners for future research.