Commentary on Part III: Developing and Validating Tests of L2 Collocation Knowledge

Abstract

The studies in Part III show how the three authors approached the task of developing tests of L2 collocation knowledge. Revier, Eyckmans and Gyllstad face two tasks: firstly, to define and operationalize the construct of collocation, and secondly to demonstrate that the tests actually measure collocational knowledge. However, what may appear to be simple in principle turns out, as the three studies demonstrate, to be very complex in practice. My own experience of validating vocabulary size tests (Shillaw, 1999) taught me how daunting and frustrating it can be working on the development of new lexical measures. The amount of detail and the complexity of the data and analyses can sometimes blur the essentials in a study. In the first section of this commentary I have elected to summarize the three studies. By picking up on some of the central issues in the research, I hope to highlight similarities or differences in the three authors’ views about, or approaches to, the testing of L2 collocational knowledge. Then, in the next section, I take a more critical look at some of the issues, particularly those which relate to the validity and reliability of the tests. I end by presenting observations and suggestions for ways that future research might be enhanced.