Introduction

The Introduction reflects on the role of assessment in language education and in research on second language acquisition. It also introduces three different approaches to the evaluation of L2 learners’ lexical command. These approaches include indirect, discrete-point vocabulary tests, performance-based appraisal delivered by trained judges and performance-based evaluation generated by a variety of statistical metrics. The chapter also presents the aim of the monograph, which is to compare and juxtapose these three different ways of assessment, highlighting their strong points and their weaknesses. The Introduction ends with the summary of individual chapters making up the volume.