A Case Study On Students' Test-Taking Strategies In Listening And Reading Test Types

According to Bachman's theory, using test-taking strategies can be regarded as part of second language learners' strategic competence. Meanwhile, according to SLA theory, test-taking strategies are also included in language learning strategies. Generally speaking, both of the two aspects reflect learners' language ability in SLA process.In my study, I mainly focused on the subjects' use of test-taking strategies in two test formats, involving four test types. Totally I conducted three tests, including one listening test and two reading tests. The test types involved are short conversations, compound dictation, reading comprehension and cloze. Here only compound dictation is semi-direct test; the other three are purely indirect tests. Meanwhile, I designed the strategy checklist for each test type and handed them out to the subjects by the end of the tests. According to the statistics on their test results and their verbal-reports of strategy-adoption, I could make an explicit and relatively precise analysis of the subjects' testing psychology and cognitive characteristics in different test types. More important, I found that the subjects' adoption of test-taking strategies was highly related to the qualities and features of specific test types. Besides, their strategy-adoption was also affected by item difficulty. On the other hand, I compared the differences between the four experimental classes of different language levels, trying to find out the relationship between their test performance and the corresponding strategy-adoption in different test types.Finally, a conclusion was drawn that the subjects bore distinct features on the adoption of test-taking strategies in different test types. But no matter what tests they received, they would adopt some common strategies in all these types. Generally speaking, these subjects tended to adopt more cautious but still active compensatory strategies during the test; while most testees were often test-oriented and focused on gaining marks as high as possible. Some strategies adopted might be 'effective' in test situations, but could not reflect the testees' language competence in real life. Anyway, a majority of the subjects still knew to adopt strategies according to the features of specific items. By comparing the subjects' test performance in the early-term and late-term tests, I observed visible progress both in their test results and their strategy adoption. This mainly owed to the class-training and practice through a term. However, some disturbing factors still deserve notice in the future study.In short, this study made a preliminary investigation on the Chinese freshmen's adoption of test-taking strategies in listening and reading test formats, expecting to provide valuable reference for further studies on SLA learners' test performance and psychology in the future.