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ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics: Online-First Articles

Development and initial validation of a yes/no vocabulary test for North Sámi

Drawing on item response theory and signal detection theory

ORCID logo | Lund University
| University of Konstanz | UiT The Arctic University of Norway
| University of Konstanz

This paper accounts for the development and initial validation of a yes/no vocabulary test of North Sámi called North Sámi Vocabulary Test (NSVT). North Sámi (NS) is an Indigenous language spoken in northern Scandinavia. Being an endangered language, NS is in need of revitalisation efforts. One contribution is the provision of proficiency assessment tools. We administered a 75-item NSVT version (50 real verbs and 25 pseudoverbs) to users of North Sámi in Sweden and Norway (N = 289). Evidence of high item- and person-based reliability and separation indices were observed, as well as support for a number of validity facets. High correlations existed between NSVT scores and self-reported and rated spoken proficiency. The NSVT provides quick and reliable assessment of vocabulary knowledge and an indication of overall language proficiency in North Sámi.

Keywords: North Sámi, language proficiency, Indigenous language, vocabulary, yes/no test, Item Response Theory, Signal Detection Theory, Rasch
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Background
    • Testing vocabulary knowledge
    • Psychometric theories and techniques
    • Aims and research questions
  • Developing the NSVT
    • Item construction and piloting
    • Item selection
    • Main administration of the NSVT in Sweden and Norway
  • Rasch and signal detection theory analyses
    • Summary statistics from the Rasch model and variable map
    • A SDT-based score calculation
    • Probing the relation between NSVT scores and spoken ability in North Sámi
  • Discussion
    • Reliability and validity
    • Recommendation for future implementations of the NSVT and future directions
    • Challenges
  • Conclusions
  • Notes
  • References
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
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