How Many Words Do You Need to Speak Arabic? An Arabic Vocabulary Size Test

Autor/inn/en	Masrai, Ahmed; Milton, James
Titel	How Many Words Do You Need to Speak Arabic? An Arabic Vocabulary Size Test
Quelle	In: Language Learning Journal, 47 (2019) 5, S.519-536 (18 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0957-1736
DOI	10.1080/09571736.2016.1258720
Schlagwörter	Semitic Languages; Native Speakers; Vocabulary Skills; Language Tests; Scores; Second Language Learning; Material Development; Language Fluency; Second Language Instruction; Morphology (Languages); English; Contrastive Linguistics; Age Differences; Test Validity; Test Reliability; Definitions; Test Construction + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Arabisch; Hebräisch; Muttersprachler; Aktiver Wortschatz; Language test; Sprachtest; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Lehrmaterialentwicklung; Language skill; Language skills; Sprachkompetenz; Fremdsprachenunterricht; Morphology; Morphologie; English language; Englisch; Linguistics; Kontrastive Linguistik; Age; Difference; Age difference; Altersunterschied; Testvalidität; Testreliabilität; Begriffsbestimmung; Testaufbau
Abstract	This study describes a vocabulary size test in Arabic used with 339 native speaking learners at school and university in Saudi Arabia. Native speaker vocabulary size scores should provide targets for attainment for learners of Arabic, should inform the writers of course books and teaching materials, and the test itself should allow learners to monitor their progress towards the goal of fluency. Educated native speakers of Arabic possess a recognition vocabulary about 25,000 words, a total which is large compared with equivalent test scores of native speakers of English. The results also suggest that acquisition increases in speed with age and this is tentatively explained by the highly regular system of morphological derivation which Arabic uses and which, it is thought, is acquired in adolescence. This again appears different from English where the rate of acquisition appears to decline with age. While the test appears reliable and valid, there are issues surrounding the definition of a word in Arabic and further research into how words are stored, retrieved and processed in Arabic is needed to inform the construction of further tests which might, it is thought, profitably use a more encompassing definition of the lemma as the basis for testing. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01