The assessment of deep word knowledge in young first and second language learners

The assessment of so-called depth of word knowledge has been the focus of
research for some years now. In this article the construct of deep word
knowledge is further specified as the decontextualized knowledge of word
meanings and word associations. Most studies so far have involved adolescent
and adult second language learners. In this article, we extend the focus
to younger first and second language learning children in primary school in
the Netherlands. A well-established test format involving word associations
has been adapted for this younger target group and the feasibility of assessing
deep word knowledge in primary school children is evaluated empirically.
The results showed that the test provides a reliable and efficient method
of assessing the children’s vocabulary knowledge. Evidence of validity was
obtained from a concurrent definition task, and from an analysis of the scores
in terms of language background, which is known to be associated with different
levels of vocabulary knowledge.