An Overlook On Some Word Knowledge/Vocabulary Tests

Recently we get some tests about size of our vocabulary. First two tests were mostly based on trust ability of ones own knowledge. So basically you were supposed to say yes or no for the words brought. First one was more tiring, seeing all the words at once. The frequency of the words also changed depend on its place on the que, and it was alphabetical. So words start with later letters like r, w, z are less frequent. So I did not find this test very reliable.

Second test was on the other hand easier to do. You were supposed to click F or J based or your answer(yes I know the meaning/ no I do not know the meaning. The words were random, and they were least frequent. I especially like the part about non-words. I think the reason behind it is decreasing the " say yes to everything" responses. But I prefer those non-words were more like possible but not existing word choices. For instance some non existing words were made by using a letter wrongly (like: instead of black, writing bleck) I wonder if it is an efficient way of checking vocabulary size. Those can be easily confused by non native speakers of English.

Both tests were encouraging learners to increase their vocabulary size. But if you like to take tests again you are getting the same questions, I prefer the computer chooses random words form dictionaries based on frequency of words in the same amount for that frequency level. Also I find seeing very weird words very fun. And there is an option of going back and seeing which words you guessed right and which ones you guessed wrong. Your approximate knowledge of the words, and approximate knowledge of native speaker. But it was impossible to see all the words you think you know or you said you did not know.

If you like to take the tests I recommend you to visit these addresses:
http://testyourvocab.com/

http://vocabulary.ugent.be/

I also asked my friends to do the tests, I should say they had fun while doing. So it would be safe to say that you do not need to be majoring in language arts to enjoy these tests. I think the 3rd test was my least favorite one. And it is not very applicable for learners for all levels. But if you have a good level of English it can be better, because you need to choose the meaning most suitable, so you can not trick the test.

On the other hand it was impossible to see your mistakes and results were not very good to see your current level. If you like to have a look on the test here it is:

http://my.vocabularysize.com/

  I do not remember results from other tests but according to this test I know 8000 word families. (word family, a word and its derivatives of it). So I have enough vocabulary to read.

The web site also offer some information for us to have an understanding of language, so here is the notes for me:
What do my results mean?
In general, there is no minimum vocabulary size. Language ability is related to vocabulary size, so the more words you know, the more you will be able to understand. However, if you want to set a learning goal, Paul Nation's (2006) research suggests that the following sizes might be useful:

How large a vocabulary is needed for reading and listening?
Skill Size estimate Notes
Reading 8,000 - 9,000 word families Nation (2006)
Listening 6,000 - 7,000 word families Nation (2006)
Native speaker 20,000 word families Goulden, Nation, & Read (1990) Zechmeister, Chronis, Cull, D’Anna, & Healy (1995)

I also like the website because it recommends further readings. But I wish the results were more clear. Reading what? (literal contexts, journals...) Listening what level, what corpus?  These were not clear from the test.