A verificação de proficiência linguistica de bilíngues do par português brasileiro-francês aferida por testes de vocabulário, autodeclaração de proficiência, tempo de estudo e frequência de uso

Abstract

Receptive vocabulary tests have been an instrument of proficiency measurement since the 1960s (LADO, 1961; HARRIS, 1969), particularly to evaluate the acquisition and the use of words in language teaching/learning classrooms. They have been equally important in face of the possibility of relating the tests to psycholinguistic research on bilingualism, once they bring forth information concerning the linguistic proficiency in a second language (henceforth L2). During the process of communication, underlying cognitive mechanisms can be studied through the automaticity of the access to lexical representations, which is an aspect of L2 proficiency. To some researchers, the use of tests that evaluate ones L2 fluency is indispensable, but some tests such as the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the Diplôme d'Études en Langue Française (DELF) are restricted for being paid and for demanding complex application methodologies. For that reason, Souza, Duarte and Berg (2015) argue that experimental research laboratories need to have psychometric tests as efficient as the ones just mentioned but they must be practical, reliable, and accessible. Batista (2014) proposes the Teste de la Taille du Vocabulaire (TTV) to fill the gap in psychometric studies that access the vocabulary knowledge of L2 French leaners. Aiming to verify the measurement of linguistic proficiency in late bilinguals Brazilian Portuguese-French and to investigate the impact of three external factors (proficiency self-rating, time studying the L2, and usage frequency of the L2) to the lexical knowledge, the TTV and questionnaires evaluating these factors were given to learners to answer. The results show significant measures of moderate and weak correlation between the TTV scores and measures of self-rating and time studying the L2, respectively, while there is no correlation between the test scores and the usage frequency of the L2.