Effects Of Different Response Formats On Reading Comprehension Test Performance

Reading is one of the most important sources of input in the language acquisition process and in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learning. It is also one of the four most important abilities for EFL learners. Reading assessments can be found in most large-scale tests and test-takers'performance on reading comprehension may carry decisive weight on their success when taking a test.A good language test should provide an accurate measure of test-takers'language abilities, so test designers or developers must minimize the influence of potentially intervening factors on test-takers'performance in reading comprehension test. Bachman (1990) set out several factors which influence language test scores and the type of expected response is the important one in the category.The aim of the study is to examine whether test-takers'reading performance varies when response formats are different and what test-takers'attitudes are toward these response formats. Multiple-choice questions (MCQ), short answer questions (SAQ), true/false questions (T/F) and translation questions are employed to evaluate test-takers'reading comprehension.