Academic word coverage and language difficulty of reading passages in College English Test and Test of English for Academic Purposes in China
The field of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has gained considerable attention, mainly due to the growing importance of English teaching and the need for preparing international professionals. The primary academic emphasis of this field is largely centered on the study of English for Academic Pu...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1171227/full |
| _version_ | 1827912443117961216 |
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| author | Huidan Liu Xiaomeng Shi Jing Qiu Ying Shi Yunhan Hao Liya Zhu Chengjie Yan Huadong Li |
| author_facet | Huidan Liu Xiaomeng Shi Jing Qiu Ying Shi Yunhan Hao Liya Zhu Chengjie Yan Huadong Li |
| author_sort | Huidan Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The field of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has gained considerable attention, mainly due to the growing importance of English teaching and the need for preparing international professionals. The primary academic emphasis of this field is largely centered on the study of English for Academic Purposes (EAP). It has become increasingly important for China to provide EAP education to its vast population of college students, who represent a significant proportion of global tertiary-level English learners. By doing so, they can improve their academic literacy and participate more effectively in international academic communication. In 2016, China’s College English Test Examination Board issued the National College English Test Syllabus which emphasized the importance of academic English literacy in the test design. This syllabus was released during a contentious debate among Chinese academics about the role of EAP in college English teaching and testing. Despite this heated discussion, there are currently few studies that have analyzed the linguistic nature of academic English tests in a quantitative manner. This paper calculates the academic word coverage of the reading passages in two crucial English proficiency tests designed for college students in China, the College English Test (CET) and the Test of English for Academic Purposes (TEAP). It is found that the academic word coverage of CET is increasing from the year 2013 to 2021 and that the academic word coverage of TEAP is slightly higher than that of CET. In this sense, these English tests can meet the requirements for measuring Chinese college students’ academic literacy. It is also found that there is a positive correlation between academic word coverage and language difficulty as is indicated by Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level. These findings provide an empirical reference for the study of academic English tests in China, and other parts of the world, and contribute to EAP teaching and testing reform for the development of students’ academic literacy. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T02:15:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-449d0fd74e7248bda7857757375eddc6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T02:15:53Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-449d0fd74e7248bda7857757375eddc62023-06-30T13:07:31ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782023-06-011410.3389/fpsyg.2023.11712271171227Academic word coverage and language difficulty of reading passages in College English Test and Test of English for Academic Purposes in ChinaHuidan LiuXiaomeng ShiJing QiuYing ShiYunhan HaoLiya ZhuChengjie YanHuadong LiThe field of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has gained considerable attention, mainly due to the growing importance of English teaching and the need for preparing international professionals. The primary academic emphasis of this field is largely centered on the study of English for Academic Purposes (EAP). It has become increasingly important for China to provide EAP education to its vast population of college students, who represent a significant proportion of global tertiary-level English learners. By doing so, they can improve their academic literacy and participate more effectively in international academic communication. In 2016, China’s College English Test Examination Board issued the National College English Test Syllabus which emphasized the importance of academic English literacy in the test design. This syllabus was released during a contentious debate among Chinese academics about the role of EAP in college English teaching and testing. Despite this heated discussion, there are currently few studies that have analyzed the linguistic nature of academic English tests in a quantitative manner. This paper calculates the academic word coverage of the reading passages in two crucial English proficiency tests designed for college students in China, the College English Test (CET) and the Test of English for Academic Purposes (TEAP). It is found that the academic word coverage of CET is increasing from the year 2013 to 2021 and that the academic word coverage of TEAP is slightly higher than that of CET. In this sense, these English tests can meet the requirements for measuring Chinese college students’ academic literacy. It is also found that there is a positive correlation between academic word coverage and language difficulty as is indicated by Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level. These findings provide an empirical reference for the study of academic English tests in China, and other parts of the world, and contribute to EAP teaching and testing reform for the development of students’ academic literacy.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1171227/fullCollege English Test (CET)Test of English for Academic Purposes (TEAP)academic word coveragelanguage difficultyFlesch–Kincaid Grade LevelEnglish for Academic Purposes (EAP) |
| spellingShingle | Huidan Liu Xiaomeng Shi Jing Qiu Ying Shi Yunhan Hao Liya Zhu Chengjie Yan Huadong Li Academic word coverage and language difficulty of reading passages in College English Test and Test of English for Academic Purposes in China Frontiers in Psychology College English Test (CET) Test of English for Academic Purposes (TEAP) academic word coverage language difficulty Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level English for Academic Purposes (EAP) |
| title | Academic word coverage and language difficulty of reading passages in College English Test and Test of English for Academic Purposes in China |
| title_full | Academic word coverage and language difficulty of reading passages in College English Test and Test of English for Academic Purposes in China |
| title_fullStr | Academic word coverage and language difficulty of reading passages in College English Test and Test of English for Academic Purposes in China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Academic word coverage and language difficulty of reading passages in College English Test and Test of English for Academic Purposes in China |
| title_short | Academic word coverage and language difficulty of reading passages in College English Test and Test of English for Academic Purposes in China |
| title_sort | academic word coverage and language difficulty of reading passages in college english test and test of english for academic purposes in china |
| topic | College English Test (CET) Test of English for Academic Purposes (TEAP) academic word coverage language difficulty Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level English for Academic Purposes (EAP) |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1171227/full |
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