The present study was conducted in the context of Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) 2000 research to conceptually validate the roles of breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge in reading comprehension in academic settings and to empirically evaluate a test measuring three elements of the depth dimension of vocabulary knowledge, namely, synonymy, polysemy, and collocation. A vocabulary size measure and a TOEFL vocabulary measure were also tested. The study found that the dimension of vocabulary depth is as important as that of vocabulary size in predicting performance on academic reading and that scores on the three vocabulary measures tested are similarly useful in predicting performance on the reading comprehension measure used as the criterion. The study

This empirical study explored the relationships between depth and breadth of vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension in English as a second language (ESL). Using multivariate analyses, the study examined the roles of depth and breadth of vocabulary knowledge in assessing the performance of a group of young adult ESL learners with a minimum vocabulary size of 3,000 word families in carrying out general academic reading comprehension tasks. The results support the hypotheses that (1) scores on vocabulary size, depth of vocabulary knowledge, and reading comprehension are highly, and positively, correlated; and (2) scores on depth of vocabulary knowledge can make a unique contribution to the prediction of reading comprehension levels, in addition to the prediction afforded by vocabulary size scores. The findings from this study call for a recognition of the importance of improving depth of vocabulary knowledge in learners' ESL learning processes.

The central purpose of this study was to empirically evaluate an in-depth vocabulary knowledge measure in the context of developing the new TOEFL test. The study was carried out with a sample of 207 international students attending an intensive English as a second language (ESL) program in a major Canadian university, in order to determine whether this vocabulary knowledge measure could provide a basis for developing appropriate and useful item types for assessing test-takers’ reading comprehension. The results indicate that, compared with existing TOEFL vocabulary measures, the new measure has a similar difficulty level and provides a similar amount of prediction of test-takers’ reading performance.

This study explores conflicting views concerning the relative superiority of two approaches to learning a second language (L2) vocabulary: i.e., learning words in context and learning words out of context. The present study endeavoured to explore these two apparently related issues at the same time. It would have been ideal if the present study could have followed the framework of Seibert' s (1930) study, which also explored the two issues. However, Seibert' s paper does not provide sufficient information as to what kind of target words were used in the experiment ( e.g., whether they were associative words or non-associative words). Meanwhile, Anderson and Jordan's (1928) study provided much more detail, which is helpful in designing follow-up studies. The time frame of the Anderson and Jordan (1928) study, therefore, was used as a basis for designing the present study.

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In recent decades, with an increasing application of computer technology to the delivery of oral language proficiency assessment, there have been renewed debates over the appropriateness of two different testing modes, namely, (a) face-to-face, or direct, testing, and (b) person-to-machine, or semi-direct, testing. Previous research conducted in various geographical regions has produced mixed results as to which format is more acceptable to test takers. The present investigation, carried out in the context of a university setting in Hong Kong, compared the popularity of two testing modes by analyzing reactions and perceptions of a group of test takers who had just sat for a direct test as well as a semi-direct test. The results indicate that, although a large proportion of the participants had no particular preference in terms of the testing mode, the number of participants who strongly favored direct testing far exceeded the number strongly favoring semi-direct testing. The participants' main reason cited for disliking semi-direct testing was its inability for the examiner and examinee to interact during the test, which appears to have created a psychological barrier for the test taker. BACKGROUND

In recent years, school-based assessment (SBA) has been incorporated into the English Language subject of a traditional high-stakes public examination, the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination. As reactions from various stakeholder groups have been mixed, it was necessary to review this new practice. This paper reports on a study of 33 English language teachers who have been frontline SBA assessors. The study aimed to better understand (1) teacher-assessors' perceptions of the English SBA, (2) their professional development needs in relation to implementing SBA, (3) their perceptions of how students could benefit from SBA and (4) the pressing issues arising from the SBA implementation. The study found that, while many participants agreed that SBA could be beneficial to students' English learning, there was much room for improvement in all four aspects investigated. In particular, some problems identified at the very beginning of the implementation of the English SBA have still persisted.

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