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Palgrave Macmillan

Lexical Facility

Size, Recognition Speed and Consistency as Dimensions of Second Language Vocabulary Knowledge

  • Book
  • © 2018

Overview

Authors:
  1. Michael Harrington

    1. University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

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  • Coins the term lexical facility to analyse second language performer differences

  • Establishes a consistent framework to measure size and retrieval speed of vocabulary

  • Creates a new method of analysis to measure second language performance

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Table of contents (12 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxviii
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  2. Part 1

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-2
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    2. Size as a Dimension of L2 Vocabulary Skill

      • Michael Harrington
      Pages 3-24

    3. Measuring Recognition Vocabulary Size

      • Michael Harrington
      Pages 25-44

    4. L2 Word Recognition Skill and Its Measurement

      • Michael Harrington
      Pages 45-65

    5. Lexical Facility: Bringing Size and Speed Together

      • Michael Harrington
      Pages 67-94

    6. Measuring Lexical Facility: The Timed Yes/No Test

      • Michael Harrington
      Pages 95-119

  3. Part 2

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 121-129
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    2. Lexical Facility as an Index of L2 Proficiency

      • Michael Harrington
      Pages 131-155

    3. Lexical Facility and Academic English Proficiency

      • Michael Harrington
      Pages 157-185

    4. Lexical Facility and IELTS Performance

      • Michael Harrington
      Pages 187-203

    5. Lexical Facility and Language Program Placement

      • Michael Harrington
      Pages 205-225

    6. Lexical Facility and Academic Performance in English

      • Michael Harrington
      Pages 227-240

    7. The Effect of Lexical Facility

      • Michael Harrington
      Pages 241-259

    8. The Future of Lexical Facility

      • Michael Harrington
      Pages 261-281

  4. Back Matter

    Pages 283-305
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Keywords

About this book

This book examines the simultaneous contribution of learner vocabulary size and speed to second language performance differences across learner levels and settings. Harrington considers vocabulary size and speed, as reflected in retrieval speed and consistency, as a three-dimensional measurement construct termed lexical facility. While size and retrieval speed are generally known, this is the first attempt to incorporate consistency, as measured by the coefficient of variation, as an index of vocabulary skill. Part 1 describes the three dimensions and the roles they play on lower level text processing and thus on second language performance more generally. Part 2 reports on seven studies and related research that investigate the sensitivity of the three dimensions, both individually and in combination, to proficiency differences in common domains of academic English performance.
 
Harrington’s framework and the theoretical and methodological issues that arise are presented in a manner accessible to a wide readership, including second language acquisition vocabulary researchers, testing and assessment practitioners, and those interested in second language research methodology.
 


Reviews

“For those who show keen interest in assessing vocabulary, Lexical Facility is like a groundbreaking guide. … this innovative book, insightful for English as a second language (ESL) vocabulary instructors and researchers, will constitute an inspiring contribution to L2 lexical studies and deserves unbendable recommendation.” (Liang Zhao, Digital Scholarship in the Humanities, September 20, 2019)

Authors and Affiliations

  • University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Michael Harrington

About the author

Michael Harrington teaches in the postgraduate program in Applied Linguistics at the University of Queensland, Australia. He publishes in second language acquisition, second language lexical and cognitive processes, and testing and assessment. 

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Lexical Facility

  • Book Subtitle: Size, Recognition Speed and Consistency as Dimensions of Second Language Vocabulary Knowledge

  • Authors: Michael Harrington

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-37262-8

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan London

  • eBook Packages: Social Sciences, Social Sciences (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-137-37261-1Published: 28 September 2017

  • eBook ISBN: 978-1-137-37262-8Published: 19 September 2017

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XXVIII, 305

  • Number of Illustrations: 21 b/w illustrations, 6 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Applied Linguistics, Psycholinguistics, Lexicology/Vocabulary, Theoretical Linguistics

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