by Wen-shuenn Wu ( 吳文舜 ) Chung Hua University (CHU) wswu@chu.tw chu.tw/~wswu

1. Developing a prototype of Online Adaptive Vocabulary Test: A preliminary report by Wen-shuenn Wu (吳文舜) Chung Hua University (CHU) wswu@chu.edu.tw http://www.chu.edu.tw/~wswu

2. The status quo of General English at CHU • Online English linear placement test was first used in September, 2001. • Advantages: • fast • technical support • Disadvantages: • expensive • no control on questions NT$150~180/ one person one time 1,500 students x NT$150 x 3 = NT$ 810,000

3. Original ideas (1) • CAT (computer adaptive test) • “Thus, in a CAT, each examinee’s first item is usually of a projective medium-difficulty level for the test population. If the examinee responds correctly, the next item received is more difficult. If, however, the examinee misses the item, an easier question is presented in turn.” (Patricia A. Dunkel, 1999)

4. Original ideas (2) 15 minutes +3 items in a row 15 minutes Level 5 +3 items in a row 15 minutes Level 4 Level 3 Level 2 -3 items in a row Level 1 -3 items in a row 15 minutes 15 minutes

5. Online Adaptive Vocabulary Test (OAVT) • the first stage of a web-based adaptive English placement test system • vocabulary  grammar / sentence structure  listening  reading comprehension

6. Classification of word list • Collins COBUILD English Dictionary for Advanced Learners (2001): frequency bands (◆◆◆◆◆ ◆) • Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners of American English (2002): the most frequent words in English (★★★ ★) • Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (red entry)

7. Levels of Word List (1) • Level 0: • basic and the most frequently used words (e.g. and, I, my, the, etc.) • Level 1: • Collin COBUILD English Dictionary frequency band 5◆◆◆◆◆ and frequency band 4◆◆◆◆

8. Levels of Word List (2) • Level 2: • Longman DictionaryW1, S1, W2, S2, W3, S3 (-- Collin COBUILDEnglish Dictionary◆◆◆◆◆ and ◆◆◆◆) • Level 3: • (A) Collin COBUILD English Dictionary frequency band 3◆◆◆ (-- Longman Dictionary S1, S2, S3, W1, W2, W3) • (B) Macmillan English Dictionary★★ (and ★★★ if not in Level 1 and 2)

9. Levels of Word List (3) • Level 4: • (A) Macmillan English Dictionary★ • (B) Collin COBUILD English Dictionaryfrequency band 2◆◆ • Level 5: • Collin COBUILD English Dictionaryfrequency band 1◆

10. Numbers of Word List

11. V1262022N000001 Code 1: Type V: vocabulary G: grammar L: listening R: reading Definition of item code Code 5: Specification 1: recognition 2: collocation 3: context clue 4: synonymous clue 5: ESP 6: spelling 7: unclassified Code 6~7: Category 1: general 2: business 3: science 4: medicine 5: law Code 8: part of speech 1: verb 2: noun 3: adjective 4: adverb 5: phrase 6: idiom Code 9: N Code 10~15: serial number 000001~999999 Code 2~4: Level -3 <= b <= +3 b: difficulty parameter code 2: 1(+); 0(-)

12. Test-stopping rules • An adaptive test terminates when one or more of the following stopping rules is met: (Wainer, 1990) (A) when a target measurement precision level has been attained (B) when a pre-selected number of items has been given (C) when a predetermined amount of time has elapsed

13. Interdisciplinary study of IRT-based Online Adaptive English Test

14. Demo