Lextale_FR a fast, free, and efficient test to measure language proficiency in French

Recent research in our lab has confirmed that performance-based assessment of second language proficiency provides more useful information than subjective ratings. The objective assessment in those studies was based on the LexTALE tests published by Lemhofer and Broersma (2012). These tests are available for English, Dutch, and German, but not for French. In the present study we report the construction of a French equivalent. Participants get a random sequence of 56 French words of varying difficulty and 28 French-looking non-words. They have to indicate which words they know. The results showed a big difference (effect size of d = 3.6) between native speakers and speakers of French as a second language. Because the test is not at ceiling level for native speakers, it can be used for the assessment of French language proficiency both in first and second language