Language Testing · 1998 · 131 citations · 28 references
EducationEducational AssessmentEducational PsychologyLanguage ProficiencyPsychometricsTest DevelopmentListening ComprehensionListening SkillsSecond Language AcquisitionTest ValidityL2 Listening ComprehensionListening Test ValidityMultiple-choice Item FormatTest Method SelectionTest Performance CharacteristicsTest Performance EffectsTest-taking Process EvidenceVerbal Comprehension
Listening comprehension test performance depends on both the test-taker’s ability and the test method. The study aims to examine how the trait‑method unit operates by investigating test-takers’ processes. The authors used an immediate retrospective verbal report procedure with Chinese EFL test-takers on a multiple‑choice listening test. The results revealed how listeners’ processes lead to comprehension or breakdowns, showed the impact of the multiple‑choice format on performance, and explored the use of immediate retrospection methodology.
A test-taker’s performance in a listening comprehension test is seen to be a function of at least two variables: his or her listening comprehension ability and the test method. To know how this trait-method unit works, it is necessary to look into the test-taking processes of test-takers. Accordingly, employing an immediate retrospective verbal report procedure, a study was conducted among Chinese EFL test-takers. The test format investigated was multiple-choice. The results identified the subjects’ listening processes leading to comprehension and comprehension breakdowns and captured the effect of the multiple-choice format on the subjects’ test performance. The immediate retrospection research methodology as applied to the test of listening comprehension was explored.
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Lincoln E. Moses, E. F. Lindquist · Journal of the American Statistical Association · 1951 · 1.7K citations