Exploring the capacity of three item formats for an aural vocabulary levels test (VLT) to predict L2 listening comprehension

Previous research has established the essential role of aural lexical knowledge (ALK) in second language (L2) listening comprehension; however, from a measurement perspective, it remains underexplored how best to measure ALK and which word frequency bands show the strongest predictive power for L2 listening comprehension. This study examines the effectiveness of three item formats in an aural vocabulary test (Yes/No, first language meaning-recall, or meaning-recognition) in predicting variance in L2 listening comprehension among 176 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. Following a vocabulary levels test (VLT) format, 300 words representing the first 5000 flemmas of a television and movie transcript-based word frequency list were tested across the three item formats. The results indicated that the meaning-recall VLT was significantly more difficult than the Yes/No and meaning-recognition formats. Overall scores for all three tests significantly correlated with scores on a standardized L2 English listening comprehension test (TOEIC ® ), with the strongest correlations observed for the meaning-recall ( r = .63) and recognition formats ( r = .65). The vocabulary bands that provide significant predictive power across each format are identified, and implications for language teachers and vocabulary knowledge testing are discussed.