Pan Raa aS Pcs Ry unlike listening Cee eeu ec ca something ees Background/ History : Where oral comprehension Pee ene en RS intervention, reading comprehension oy To oa Humans have been accomplished in oral comprehension for 100,000 years or more (Donald, 1991), and virtually all humans do it reading comprehension has only been practiced for 5,000 years, and for most of that time the majority of humans did not do it.(Oslon,1994). It should not be surprising that reading comprehension is difficult. The application of comprehension to text amplifies our mental capacities. a > Rotate screen Play Thumbnail Enter Browser11:32 GB = Two different types of complementary reading activities to which students are usually exposed are generally classified as extensive and intensive reading. Unfortunately most reading tests concentrate on intensive reading because itis more economical to have a large number of items based on a short reading extract than a few items based on a much longer one. Indeed, there are numerous ways of testing reading comprehension, ranging from multiple-choice items to open-ended questions (i.e. question which require students to write an answer in a sentence of their own). Although multiple-choice items are sometimes the most suitable instruments for testing reading comprehension, they should not be over: used. Frequently, other item types are far more interesting and useful. Tht text itself should always determine the types of questions which are constructed. Certain texts may lend themselves to multiple-choice items, others to true/false items, others to matching items, others to re- arrangement items, others to ordinary completion items, others to the completion of information in tables, and yet others to open-ended questions. Indeed, sometimes the same text will demand at least two or three different types of items = True false test is one of the most widely used tests of reading comprehension. Not only the scoring a testis straightforward ‘k, but the scores abtained hv the tataac ean he vene tetees_ can be very reliable indices of reading comprehension provided that the items are well constructed. Itis possible to construct true false items which are complete in themselves: a testees comprehension of each true false item is tested by means of a series of general truths. For example: 1- the sun rises in the west. T F = 2- fish can’ tfly butbirdscan. T F 3- when ice melts it turns into water T F The multiple choice test offers a useful way to testing reading comprehension. However , not all multiple choice reading tests are necessarily good tests of reading comprehension. The extent to which a test is successful in measuring what it sets out to measure depends largely on the effectiveness of each of the items used.11:32 GB = This type is described as a test of comprehension of grammatical structure. The testees are required to = identify the correct paraphrase of a statement from a choice of four or five. = 1- john is not as tall as sally but he’ sa little taller than Rick. = A. Sally is taller than john and Rick = B. john is not as tall as Rick. . 6 sally is taller than John but not as tall as ick, = D. Rick is taller than John and sally. Paul was surprised when he met Sue at the party. He was under the pression she had gone away from the locality. The last time he saw her was when Jane was teaching her to drive. A few days afterwards she had suddenly become ill (first version) Paul was surprised when A, Sue went away. B. he met Sue at the party. C. Jane was teaching Sue to drive. D. Sue suddenly became ill (second version) Paul did not expect to see Sue because A. he kriew she was at the party. B, he thought she had left the district. C. he had seen Jane teaching her to drive. D. he had heard she was il In cloze tests, the words are deleted systematically. Once the actual text has been chosen, the construction of a cloze test is purely mechanical; h word is deleted by the test writer. 10/32 | The most common purvose of the cloze test. isIn cloze tests, the words are deleted systematically. Once the actual text has been chosen, the construction of a cloze test is purely mechanical; every nth word is deleted by the test writer. The most common purpose of the cloze test, is to measure reading comprehension. Cloze measures textual knowledge i.e an awareness of cohesion in a text involving the interdependence of phrases, sentences and paragraphs within the text. ‘Once upon a time a farmer had three sons. The farmer was rich and had many fields, but his sons were lazy. When the farmer was dying, he called his three sons to him. ‘Ihave left you which will "he told them. ‘But must dig in fields to find the where the treasure After the old man his three lazy sons out he fields began to dig. “ll the first to place where the treasure buried,’ cried the eldest ‘That's the field where father put the treasure,’ another son. The three dug all the fields several years, but they no treasure. However, many grew in the fields the sons dug, vegetables made them very The term ‘open-ended! is used to refer to those questions which elicit a completely subjective response on the part of the testees. The response required may range from a one-word answer to one or two sentences:required may range trom 4 one (One-word answer) Give the name of the town where the writer had a bad accident. (Answer in a few words) You have a fiend who is keen on cross-country running. Which event can he enter at the end of the month? (Sentence answer) According to the article, why do you think so few foreign cars have been imported into Singapore recently? These two item types are particularly useful for testing the ability to understand a sequence of steps in a process or events in a narrative, While in an exercise for classroom practice the students will often be required to rewrite the jumbled sentences in their correct sequence, itis obviously preferable for testing purposes to instruct them to write simply the numbers or letters of the jumbled sentences. It is also advisable to provide them with one or two answers: if students start off by putting the first two or three sentences in the wro ay be impossible for them to put the remaining sentences in the correct order. In other words, one wrong answer will inevitably lead to a second wrong answer and possibly a third. and so on. This weakness must be borne in mind when marking: for instance, should two incorrect answers (i.e. one incorrect answer automatically resulting in another) be penalised by the loss of two marks? ype 1 The first of these items takes the form of jumbled sentences which te students have to “unscramble’ and arrange in the correct order. The udents are instructed to rearrange the letters of the sentences in their orrect order in the boxes below A. The dogs were separated from their human masters and were put into large fields. 8. For instance, they wagged their tails, they barked and growled, and they fawned on animals which possessed food. C. Psychologists observing them found that they reacted towards each other in much the same way as they used to respond to people. D. Recently an experiment was conducted with a group of dogs to find out how much their behaviour was, in fact, simply 3 result of human environment. Puppies born to those dogs and kept out of contact with people showed the same behaviour patterns: they were extremely wiid and afraid of human beinas, O dqaT yd £) = Reading Comprehension strategies are used to increase student’ s understanding of the text to help them become active readers by engaging with the text. Without comprehension , students gain no meaning from what they read. Listening comprehension is defined as one’s ability to comprehend spoken language. The listening comprehension section tests your ability to listen for basic interpersonal, instructional and academic purposes = During the test, you will hear recordings of different talks and discussions. Then, following each audio, you will hear a question or a number of question about what you just heard.‘Type2 The testes hear three sentences and have to indicate which sentences are the same and which are different. 1. A. There's a bend in the middle of the road There's a bend in the middle of the road. There’s @ band in the middle of the road. {that sheet over there clean? Is that seat over there clean? Is that seat over there clean? PSPProe 3, A. I've just locked the car in the garage. 8. I've just knocked the car in the garage. C. I've just locked the car in the garage (etc.)11:33 GB Type 3 (a) In each ofthese items one word i given on tape while three oF four swords are printed inthe answer booklet. The testes are required (0 Those the written word which corresponds tothe spoken word 1. Spoken: den Written: A.ten 8. den C. Ben. pen 2. Spoken: win Written: A. when B.one C. wane D. win 3. Spoken: plays Written: A. plays 8. prays C. pays. brays (etc) = features of stress, intonation, rhythm are generally considered more important in oral communication skills than the ability to discriminate between phoneme discrimination tests treated i i ed in the pre section. prewewsSpoken: Ive just given THREE books to Bl Viriten: {ve jst given three books to Bl CHO CE OO) My FAL Ip you do it ten: My father will help you do it pou i) OOD ‘The examine makes an utterance and the testees have to select the appropriate description to indicate whether they have understood the original structure. The utterance is spoken only once but the test is based on the principle that the same utterance may be spoken in several different tone patterns indicating a plain statement, a question, sarcasm, surprise, annoyance etc. = Spoken : you will send me a couple of tickets = Written : you will send me a couple of tickets = This is probably = A.arequest = These items are designed to measure how well students can understand short samples of speech and deal with a variety of signals on the lexical and grammatical levels of phonology. = Type 1- = This item may be included in a test of grammar, a test of reading comprehension, or a test of listening comprehension depending on whether the item is written or spoken. It tests the ability to understand both the lexical and grammatical features of a short utterance. The testees hear a statement and then the best option from four written paraph| Oo qdaT Kee £) = Spoken: | wish you’ d done it when | told you = Written : A. | told you and you did it then. . B. I didn’ t tell you but you did it then . C. | told you but you didn’ t do It then . D.I didn’ ttell you and you didn’ tdoit then. = Type 2- these item types are more satisfactory than type 1 insofar as they are an attempt to simulate speech situations The testees listen to a short question and have to select the correct response froma choice of four printed ones. = Spoken : why are you going home? = Written : A. at six o’ clock . B. yes, | am. . C. to help my mother. . D. by bus. = Most of the item in this section are more appropriate for the elementary stages of learning English. Pictures, maps and diagrams can bi ffectively for testing such skill by making thetesting such skills, thereby making the testees performance less dependent on other skills e.g speaking, vocabulary and reading apsey Biseey= The ability to understand both informal talks and formal lectures is an important skill for students studying subjects in the medium of English at intermediate and advanced levels. Type 1 Testees listen to a short talk and select th the talk, rect answer about Spoken: There's a marked tendency for most developed countries to grow steadily noisier each year. This continually increasing amount of noise is uneomfortabl Fortunately, technology is progressing et a very rapid rate. Some products, and planning experts are even beginning to plan cities er @ long period may have just as harmful an effect ‘solution to the problem of increasing noise in = Listening comprehension is an important skill to develop at an early age and like a muscle , it needs a regular exerci; row stronger. Students who are ers often grow up to become a good co! tor Oo