Cover page contents introduction

CHAPTER I. THE GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF TEST TAKING STRATEGIES AND TEST TAKING STRATEGIES IN THE ASSESSMENT OF LISTENING AND READING COMPREHENSION OF COLLEGE STUDENTS
1.1 Strategies and Techniques for Assessing Reading and Listening Comprehension
Assessing reading and listening comprehension is an essential part of the language learning process. It allows instructors to evaluate students’ language proficiency, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and design instructional materials and activities that cater to their needs.
To assess reading comprehension, instructors can use various strategies and techniques. One of the most commonly used strategies is the use of comprehension questions. Comprehension questions can be used before, during, and after reading to test students’ understanding of the text. These questions can range from factual questions that require students to recall specific details from the text to higher-order questions that require students to infer, analyze, and evaluate the information presented in the text.
Comprehension questions are a common strategy for assessing reading comprehension because they can be tailored to various levels of difficulty and can be used with a wide range of texts. These questions are designed to test students’ understanding of the text by asking them to recall specific information, identify the main ideas and supporting details, make connections between different parts of the text, and draw inferences and conclusions based on the information presented.¹
Factual questions are the most basic type of comprehension question and require students to recall specific details from the text. These questions usually start with words such as who, what, when, where, and how, and they focus on important facts or details in the text.
Higher-order questions, on the other hand, require students to use critical thinking skills to analyze and evaluate the information presented in the text. These questions often begin with words such as why and how, and they require students to draw inferences and conclusions based on the information presented in the text. For example, a higher-order question could ask students to analyze the author’s Purpose in writing the text, evaluate the credibility of the information presented, or Identify the underlying themes and messages in the text.
Cloze tests are another commonly used technique for assessing reading comprehension. They are a commonly used reading comprehension assessment technique in which a passage is presented with certain words or phrases missing. The missing words can be either single words or longer phrases, and the test taker is asked to fill in the blanks with the appropriate words or phrases based on their understanding of the passage.
Cloze tests can be used to assess a range of reading comprehension skills, including vocabulary knowledge, syntactic understanding, and the ability to make logical inferences based on the information presented in the text. One of the key advantages of cloze tests is that they can be easily adapted to different levels of difficulty and different types of texts.
There are various types of cloze tests, including deletion cloze tests and substitution cloze tests. In deletion cloze tests, every nth word is deleted, leaving a blank space for the test taker to fill in. In substitution cloze tests, specific words or phrases are removed from the passage and replaced with blank spaces, and the test taker is asked to fill in the missing words or phrases.
Cloze tests can also be used with authentic texts or materials that are specifically designed for the assessment, and they can be used in both formative and summative assessments.
The use of cloze tests has been shown to be effective in assessing reading comprehension in both native and non-native speakers of a language. One study found that cloze tests were a reliable and valid measure of reading comprehension in English as a foreign language (Huang & Lin, 2015).²
One technique for assessing listening comprehension is the use of a cloze test, also known as a gap-fill exercise. This involves providing students with a transcript of an audio recording, with certain words or phrases removed. Students then have to listen to the recording and fill in the missing words or phrases in the transcript.
Cloze tests can be used to assess a variety of listening skills, including the ability to identify specific vocabulary and expressions, to understand the overall meaning of a conversation or lecture, and to follow complex arguments or discussions. By removing certain words or phrases from the transcript, instructors can also focus on specific areas of difficulty or interest, such as idiomatic expressions or technical vocabulary.
Cloze tests can be adapted to different levels of proficiency and types of listening materials, from short dialogues and news reports to longer lectures and presentations. They can be used in both formal and informal settings, such as language classrooms, language proficiency exams, and online language learning platforms.
One potential limitation of cloze tests is that they may not reflect the real-life context in which students will use their listening skills. In real-life situations, listeners may not have access to a transcript or may have to rely on nonverbal cues and contextual information to understand the message. Therefore, instructors should also use other techniques, such as role-playing activities and authentic listening materials, to provide a more comprehensive assessment of students’ listening skills.³
Multiple choice listening assessments are a common technique used to evaluate students’ listening comprehension. In this type of assessment, students listen to a passage or dialogue and then choose the best answer from a set of options provided.
The questions can range from factual to inferential and evaluative, requiring students to not only understand the content of the listening material but also apply higher-order thinking skills. One of the benefits of multiple choice listening assessments is that they are easy to score and can provide immediate feedback to both students and instructors. Additionally, they can be used with a wide range of listening materials, including lectures, conversations, interviews, and news broadcasts. This allows instructors to tailor their assessments to the specific goals and objectives of their course.⁴
At the most basic level, students may be asked to select the correct answer from a list of options that directly relate to specific details mentioned in the audio material. For example, a question may ask which city the speaker is from, and the options may include several different cities mentioned in the audio.
At a higher level, multiple-choice questions can be used to test students’ ability to understand the main ideas and implied meanings in the audio material. These types of questions may require students to make inferences and draw conclusions based on what they have heard.
When designing multiple-choice listening assessments, it is important to ensure that the answer choices are plausible and that there is only one correct answer. In addition, the questions should be written clearly and concisely, and the audio material should be played multiple times to give students the opportunity to review and analyze the information.