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Frequency of Use as a Measure of Word Difficulty in Bilingual Vocabulary Test Construction and Translation

Bureau of Child Study, Board of Education, Chicago

To verify whether or not frequency of use is an acceptable measure of word difficulty in vocabulary test construction and translation, three 24 word lists, one English and two Spanish, were compiled. The first list of Spanish words matched the meaning and frequency of use of the corresponding English words, whereas the second list of words matched the meaning but not the frequency of use. The English list was administered to 80 English-speaking eighth grade students and the Spanish lists to samples of 80 Spanish-speaking students (40 Mexicans and 40 Puerto Ricans) matched to the English counterparts in grade, age, sex, and academic achievement. Means were compared for statistical significance of differences. Most of the comparisons between the English and the Spanish frequency matched synonyms-either with Mexicans or Puerto Ricans or with boys and girls-were not statistically significant, whereas most English-Spanish comparisons when frequency of use was not matched were significant. The results support the hypothesis that frequency of use is a valid measure of word difficulty that could be utilized in vocabulary test construction and translation.

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