Lexical Frequency Profiles: From Monte Carlo to the Real World

This paper is a response to Paul Meara's (2005) critique of the Lexical Frequency Profile (LFP). Using simulated data, he challenges the claim that LFP is a sensitive and reliable tool for assessing vocabulary use in L2 speakers. In my response to his paper, I discuss the nature of lexical comp...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied linguistics 2005-12, Vol.26 (4), p.582-588
Main Author: Laufer, Batia
Format: Article
Language:English
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This paper is a response to Paul Meara's (2005) critique of the Lexical Frequency Profile (LFP). Using simulated data, he challenges the claim that LFP is a sensitive and reliable tool for assessing vocabulary use in L2 speakers. In my response to his paper, I discuss the nature of lexical competence, in light of which LFP results should be interpreted. I question the robustness of computer generated artificial data on which the critique of LFP is based, and I show that Meara's criticisms contain various misrepresentations of our original work.
ISSN:0142-6001
1477-450X
DOI:10.1093/applin/ami029