6 Types of Vocabulary Assessment Tasks for Language Learners

Beside language skills, language components (pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary) are needed to be assessed in language teaching and learning. To be more specific, vocabulary simply means all the words in a language. Vocabulary assessment is to examine students’ mastery level of words.

Describe six types of vocabulary assessment tasks as stated by Brown and Abeywickrama (2010)!

Answers:

Brown and Abeywickrama (2010) classified vocabulary assessment tasks into six types:

1. Recognition tasks

Recognition tasks test students' ability to identify the meaning of a word when they see or hear it. Examples of recognition tasks include:

Multiple-choice questions: Students choose the correct definition of a word from a list of options.
Matching questions: Students match words to their definitions or synonyms.
True/false questions: Students decide whether or not a statement about a word is true.

2. Production tasks

Production tasks test students' ability to use words correctly in their own writing and speaking. Examples of production tasks include:

Fill-in-the-blank tasks: Students complete sentences by choosing the correct word from a list of options.
Short-answer questions: Students answer questions about a word in their own words.
Essay questions: Students write an essay about a topic related to vocabulary, such as the meaning of a word or how to use a word correctly in a sentence.

3. Receptive tasks

Receptive tasks test students' ability to understand the meaning of a word when they see or hear it in context. Examples of receptive tasks include:

Cloze tasks: Students fill in the blanks in a text with the correct words.
Reading comprehension questions: Students answer questions about a text to show that they understand the meaning of the vocabulary words in the text.
Listening comprehension questions: Students answer questions about a listening passage to show that they understand the meaning of the vocabulary words in the passage.

4. Productive tasks

Productive tasks test students' ability to use words correctly in their own writing and speaking in context. Examples of productive tasks include:

Sentence writing tasks: Students write sentences using the target vocabulary words.
Paragraph writing tasks: Students write a paragraph using the target vocabulary words.
Speaking tasks: Students talk about a topic using the target vocabulary words.

5. Discrete-point tasks

Discrete-point tasks test students' knowledge of individual words. Examples of discrete-point tasks include:

Definition tasks: Students provide the definition of a word.
Synonym tasks: Students provide synonyms for a word.
Antonym tasks: Students provide antonyms for a word.

6. Integrative tasks

Integrative tasks test students' ability to use vocabulary in a meaningful way in a variety of contexts. Examples of integrative tasks include:

Role-playing exercises: Students role-play a situation using the target vocabulary words.
Problem-solving tasks: Students solve a problem using the target vocabulary words.
Creative writing tasks: Students write a story or poem using the target vocabulary words.

Brown and Abeywickrama (2010) recommend using a variety of vocabulary assessment tasks to get a comprehensive picture of students' vocabulary knowledge and skills. It is also important to choose tasks that are appropriate for the students' age, level of proficiency, and learning objectives.

Reference:

Brown, H. D., & Abeywickrama, P. (2010). Language assessment: Principles and classroom practices. Pearson Education.