A Comparative Study On The Lexical Features Of CET-6and NETEM

The central role of lexicon in second language acquisition has received increasing interest in recent years. Michael Lewis (1993), who coined the term lexical approach, suggested that lexis is the basis of language. In the process of language acquisition and application, not a single language skill can break off its reliance on vocabulary (Chomsky,1999) Considering the great importance of lexis, the present study is designed to compare the lexical features of two nationwide standard tests, namely CET-6and NETEM, from aspects of several lexical features (including lexical richness, lexical coverage and the semantic distribution of co-occurred polysemous verbs) aiming at revealing some differences in their testing emphasis of vocabularies.The samples used in the present study consist of scripts of the tests from2001to2011. With the aid of analyzing software and Foxpro programs, several findings are obtained. First of all, both of the tests enjoy a high lexical richness although differences are observed in the three dimensions. Secondly, studies on the wordlists’ lexical coverage show that neither of the wordlist meets the demand of a fully understanding of the test. Supplementary wordlists are then made to bridge the gap. Finally, some distinctions are observed in the verb’s testing emphasis between the two tests. The CET-6tests mainly focus on verbs’most frequently used meanings while the NETEM tests lay more emphasis on their less frequently used meanings and derived phrases.Based on the analyses of these results, various interpretations are provided. Implications for teaching and learning are discussed and limitations for the study are also pointed out.