The effects of receptive and productive testing on L2 active vocabulary knowledge

Abstract

Considerable research has been conducted on the advancement of types of tests to facilitate a second language vocabulary improvement. However, whether types of tests (receptive vs. productive) lead to a comprehensive mastery of L2 active vocabulary knowledge has seldom been addressed in previous literature. This study investigated the effects of receptive (multiple-choice tests) and productive (C-tests) vocabulary instruction on L2 active English vocabulary learning in an EFL context like Iran. To this end, a sample of 60 English learners from one of the private language institutes in Maragheh, Iran, were divided into experimental and control groups. The data gathering tools were the Oxford placement test, a pretest in vocabulary in the form of the Test of Academic Lexicon (Scarcella & Zimmerman, 1998), a posttest in vocabulary, and a semi-structured interview. The learners in the first treatment group took a series of multiple-choice tests, whereas the second group used C-tests during the treatment. The results of ANOVA and post hoc showed that while both C-tests and multiple-choice tests were effective in enhancing L2 active vocabulary knowledge, C-tests were more effective than the multiple-choice test. The results of the interview with the learners in the productive vocabulary instruction approved the results of data analysis, as the students expressed positive attitudes toward the use of C-tests as effective means for improving their active vocabulary recall. The findings of this study provide new insights for language teachers and curriculum designers to apply C-tests in EFL courses.

Keywords

• productive testing
• receptive testing
• active vocabulary knowledge
• efl learners