Strategies in Performing a Multi-Level C-Test: Applying Think-Aloud Protocols | Vestnik Tomskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Filologiya – Tomsk State University Journal of Philology. 2021. № 73. DOI: 10.17223/19986645/73/1

Strategies in Performing a Multi-Level C-Test: Applying Think-Aloud Protocols

The aims of this study were: 1) to identify the cognitive strategies that Russian EFL learners apply while taking a multi-level C-test; 2) to examine the correlation between the level of complexity of a C-test and the frequency of the usage of the cognitive strategies. The Think-Aloud Protocols method allowed to reveal seven cognitive strategies (predicting, summarizing, questioning, making connections, re-reading/using fix-ups, identifying a problem, and reflecting). The results of chi-square tests indicate that texts with different complexity levels can trigger different type of processing used by the test-takers.

Download file

Counter downloads: 71

Keywords

c-Test, cognitive strategies, language proficiency assessment, think-aloud protocols

Authors

Name	Organization	E-mail
Babaii Esmat	Kharazmi University	babai@khu.ac.ir
Permyakova Tatiana M.	Higher School of Economics	tpermyakova@hse.ru
Pozdeeva Ekaterina V.	Higher School of Economics	epozdeeva@hse.ru

Всего: 3

References

Klein-Braley, C. & Raatz, U. (1984) A survey of research on the C-Test 1. Language Testing. 1 (2). pp. 134-146.

Dornyei, Z. & Katona, L. (1992) Validation of the C-test amongst Hungarian EFL learners. Language Testing. 9 (2). pp. 187-206.

Klein-Braley, C. (1997) C-Tests in the context of reduced redundancy testing: an appraisal. Language Testing. 14 (1). pp. 47-84.

Babaii, E. & Moghaddam, M.J. (2006) On the interplay between test task difficulty and macro-level processing in the C-test. System. 34 (4). pp. 586-600.

Sarapuu, I. & Alas, E. (2016) Developing a c-test to measure language ability as an alternative to a skills-based test. Eesti Rakenduslingvistika Uhingu Aastaraamat. 12. pp. 237252.

Hiser, E.A. & Ho, K.S.T. (2016) C-Tests in Vietnam: An Exploratory Study of English Proficiency. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching. 13 (2). pp. 184-202

Eckes, T. & Grotiahn, R. (2006) A closer look at the construct validity of C-tests. Language Testing. 23 (3). pp. 290-325.

Phakiti, A. (2003) A closer look at the relationship of cognitive and metacognitive strategy use to EFL reading achievement test performance. Language Testing. 20 (1). pp. 26-56.

Babaii, E. & Ansary, H. (2001) The C-test: a valid operationalization of reduced redundancy principle. System. 29 (2). pp. 209-219.

Daller, M. & Xue, H. (2007) Lexical richness and the oral proficiency of Chinese EFL students. In: Daller, H., Milton, J. & Treffers-Daller, J. (eds) Modelling and Assessing Vocabulary Knowledge. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 150-164.

Drackert, A. & Timukova, A. (2019) What does the analysis of C-test gaps tell us about the construct of a C-test? A comparison of foreign and heritage language learners’ performance. Language Testing. 37 (1). pp. 107-132.

Mashad, I. (2008) Another look at the C-Test: A validation study with Iranian EFL learners. The Asian EFL Journal Quarterly. 10 (1). pp. 154-180.

Jafarpur, A. (1995) Is C-testing superior to cloze? Language Testing. 12 (2). pp. 194216.

Hastings, A. (2002) In defense of C-testing. In: Grotjahn, R. (ed.), Der C-Test. Theoretische Grundlagen und praktische Anwendungen. Vol. 4. Bochum: AKS-Verlag. pp. 11-29.

Muller, A. & Daller, M. (2019) Predicting international students’ clinical and academic grades using two language tests (IELTS and C-test): A correlational research study. Nurse Education Today. 72. pp. 6-11.

Prediger, S. et al. (2018) Language proficiency and mathematics achievement. Journal furMathematik-Didaktik. 39 (1). pp. 1-26.

Daller, M.H. et al. (2011) Language dominance in Turkish-German bilinguals: methodological aspects of measurements in structurally different languages. International Journal of Bilingualism. 15 (2). pp. 215-236.

Lee, J.U., Schwan, E. & Meyer, C.M. (2019) Manipulating the Difficulty of C-Tests. arXiv preprint arXiv:1906.06905.

Wilmes, C. (2007) Validation of a German language placement test based on a modified C-test procedure. Doctoral Dissertation. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Kaivanpanah, S. & Soltani Moghaddam, M. (2012) Knowledge sources in EFL learners’ lexical inferencing across reading proficiency levels. RELC Journal. 43 (3). pp. 373-391.

Peretz, A.S. & Shoham, M. (1990) Testing reading comprehension in LSP: Does topic familiarity affect assessed difficulty and actual performance. Reading in a Foreign Language. 7 (1). pp. 447-455.

Zhang, L.J. (2001) Awareness in reading: EFL students’ metacognitive knowledge of reading strategies in an acquisition-poor environment. Language Awareness. 10 (4). pp. 268288.

Zhang, L.J. (2009) Chinese senior high school EFL students’ metacognitive awareness and reading-strategy use. Reading in a Foreign Language. 21 (1). pp. 37-59.

Bengeleil, N. & Paribakht, T. (2004) L2 reading proficiency and lexical inferencing by university EFL learners. Canadian Modern Language Review. 61 (2). pp. 225-250.

Lee, J. W. & Schallert, D. L. (1997) The relative contribution of L2 language proficiency and L1 reading ability to L2 reading performance: A test of the threshold hypothesis in an EFL context. TESOL Quarterly. 31 (4). pp. 713-739.

Soemer, A. & Schiefele, U. (2019) Text difficulty, topic interest, and mind wandering during reading. Learning and Instruction. 61. pp. 12-22.

Matsumoto, K. (1993) Verbal-report data and introspective methods in second language research: State of the art. RELC Journal. 24 (1). pp. 32-60.

Rahimi, M. & Saadat, M. (2005) A verbal protocol analysis of a C-test. International Journal of Applied Linguistics. 8 (2). pp. 55-86.

Babaii, E. & Fatahi-Majd, M. (2014) Failed restorations in the C-test: Types, sources, and implications for C-test processing. In: Grotjahn, R. (ed.) Der C-Test: Aktuelle Tendenzen/The C-Test: Current trends. Peter Lang GmbH, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften. pp. 263-276.

Henning, G. (1987) A guide to language testing. Rowley, MA: Newbury House Publishers.

Baumann, J.F., Jones, L.A. & Seifert-Kessell, N. (1993) Using think aloud to enhance children’s comprehension monitoring abilities. The Reading Teacher. 47 (3). pp. 184-193.

Cohen J. (1988) Statistical power and analysis for the behavioral sciences. 2nd ed. Hisdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Cohen, A.D. (2014) Strategies in learning and using a second language. 2nd ed. London and New York: Routledge.

Iwahori, Y. (2008) Developing Reading Fluency: A Study of Extensive Reading in EFL. Reading in a Foreign Language. 20 (1). pp. 70-91.

Ryan, K.E. & Bachman, L.F. (1992) Differential item functioning on two tests of EFL proficiency. Language Testing. 9 (1). pp. 12-29.

Tsai, Y.C. & Li, Y.C. (2012) Test anxiety and foreign language reading anxiety in a reading-proficiency test. Journal of Social Sciences. 8 (1). pp. 95-103.

Liu, M. (2006) Anxiety in Chinese EFL students at different proficiency levels. System. 34 (3). pp. 301-316.

Busch, D. (1982) Introversion-extraversion and the EFL proficiency of Japanese students. Language Learning. 32 (1). pp. 109-132.

Salehi, M. & Sanjareh, H.B. (2013) On the comparability of C-test and Cloze: A verbal protocol approach. English for Specific Purposes World. 14 (3). pp. 1-17.

Ajideh, P., Farrokhi, F. & Nourdad, N. (2012) Dynamic Assessment of EFL Reading: Revealing Hidden Aspects at Different Proficiency Levels. World Journal of Education. 2 (4). pp. 102-111.