Comparative Study Of PBLT And CBLT In English Listening Testing

In the contemporary education, along with the increasingly popularization of computers and network, to test without paper or with less paper than before is an inevitable trend. Currently, though the computer-based language testing is not the dominant testing mode. Some of the important large-scale foreign language testing, like the new TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), have already system adopted computer-based testing mode.Computer based tests have their unique advantages such as it could save huge amount of paper; it is more convenient, prompt, efficient, almost leakage-free because of the feature of computer which can be insured by software. The most prominent two advantages are:it can realize the flexibility and individualization of language testing. When a computer-based language testing is operating, the time limitation of the traditional paper-based language testing mode is no longer a factor to consider, so does the huge amount of man power which is very necessary for organizing a traditional test. Because the students can randomly pick out any period of time they want within the time allowed to take the test and with the service of the modern advanced monitoring system, there is no need to arrange supervisors and inspector staff when doing computer-based language testing. Further more, the content of the testing can be randomly picked out from the huge item bank to tailor for every student. Once the student's real language ability has been detected, the testing can be terminated automatically by the testing system, this kind of setting can significantly shorten the testing time. Of course, there can't only be pros of computer-based language mode. On the contrary, there are also some cons of computer-based language testing, such as the anxiety of the test-takers and the difference of computer familiarity, which would cause the unfavorable performance and therefore not to be able to reflect the test-takers'real ability of using the language. But those disadvantages can not stop the computer-based language testing to become the mainstream testing mode.The comparative study of the two testing modes is really in great need to make sure the testing is implemented smoothly and fairly, because both domestic and foreign researchers have done studies within this field since the middle of 1980s. Among the early representative studies, most of them considered the traditional paper-based language testing mode was superior to the rising computer-based testing mode. But because of their research subjects and points were focused on different aspects, the researchers had not got unanimous results whether or not the computer-based language testing is equivalent with the paper-based language testing. As time goes on, the testing environment and the test-takers'attitude are already changing. Then taking the current university English education in our country as the background, non-English college students as research subjects, how could the equivalence of computer-based language testing and paper-based language testing? This is the origin of this study.According to the College English Curriculum Requirements published by the Ministry of Education, wide application of network technology and multi-media should be achieved for the purpose of individualized teaching and autonomous learning. Based on the statistics of the latest data, within Liaoning province,90% of the universities have brought in network and online instruction. The input of all the hardware in the universities, such as the computer digital language laboratory and computer network and so on, have accelerated essential reformation in terms of university English instruction in such aspect as teaching content and teaching approaches. A new education concept of individualization, coordination, modularization and hypertext comes into being.This paper studies the comparability of the paper-based and computer-based testing and the difference caused by the test-takers'characteristics, for instance, computer familiarity, computer attitude, testing mode preference and test taking strategies. And to compare the two testing modes, in this study, we took 149 college students who selected the same elective course in our school as research subjects, based on the theory of psychometrics, the theory of construct validity and item response theory, organize them to take two different sets of listening comprehension in the university English testing, one set is in computer-based testing mode and the other is in computer-based testing mode. Then we gather and analyze the data to with SPSS (statistical package for the social sciences) software. The conclusions and recommendations will be helpful to the future CBLT. We did not find a significant difference between the average scores on both modes, none of the factors investigated had an influence on the test-takers'performance when doing CBLT. CBLT and PBLT are equivalent in terms of the testing effect.All in all, before computer-based language testing truly turns into the dominant testing mode, the students still need a long period to gradually accustom themselves to it. And the computer-based language testing itself needs further studies. Despite all of these, it is inevitable that in the 21st century of computer and network, it is possible for language testing to completely break the confines of traditional paper-based language testing by the power of modern science and technology like computer and network, and to realize the real individual and scientific language testing, computer-based language testing will become the mainstream of language testing in the foreseeable future.Language testing is the outcome of the development of language education. Since the measures of modern technology is developing on a daily basis, the language testing should develop along with it. Therefore, in the future teaching, the application and popularization of modern technology must have taken up very important proportion, this calls for the not only the students themselves, but also schools, even all of the testing organizations to reform actively to keep up with the whole development of education.