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Article published In: Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism
Vol. 14:5 (2024) ► pp.759–773

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Evaluation of the Multilingual Naming Test (MINT) as a quick and practical proxy for language proficiency

ORCiD logo with link | Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University
ORCiD logo with link | The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Published online: 29 April 2024
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/lab.23066.liu
Abstract
The present study compares the performance of two quick lexical tests, the Multilingual Naming Test (MINT) and the Lexical Test for Advanced Learners of English (LexTALE), to evaluate their suitability to serve as proxies for English proficiency in second language learners. Specifically, it investigates how well these tests’ results align with those of the Quick Placement Test (QPT), an objective placement test employed in previous validations of the LexTALE. Considering recent findings by Puig-Mayenco, E., Chaouch-Orozco, A., Liu, H., & Martín-Villena, F. (2023). A word of caution for the use of the LexTALE as a measure of global L2 proficiency: A partial replication of Lemhöfer and Broersma (2012). Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, 13(3), 299–314. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar suggesting the LexTALE is apt for measuring advanced proficiencies but is less reliable with lower ones, our study aims to test the performance of both the LexTALE and MINT across different proficiencies. Two hundred nineteen Chinese learners of English, spanning both higher and lower proficiency levels, participated in the study. The results showed that the relationship between the MINT and QPT was similar to that between the LexTALE and QPT. However, the MINT demonstrated better performance than the LexTALE in assessing lower proficiency levels. These results underscore the MINT’s potential to serve as a quick and valid proxy for proficiency across all levels, particularly in research contexts where the use of longer and more comprehensive assessment tools is not possible.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Ways of measuring proficiency
  • 2.Methods
    • 2.1Participants
    • 2.2General procedure
      • 2.2.1MINT
      • 2.2.2LexTALE
      • 2.2.3Quick Placement Test (QPT)
  • 3.Results
  • 4.Discussion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Declaration of conflicting interests
  • Data availability statement
  • References
References (43)
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