An Introspective Study On Test-takers’ Processes Of Taking Vocabulary Test In Reading Section Of HSK-6

As vocabulary test constitutes an essential part of reading section in HSK-6, thepurpose as to what vocabulary test intends to measure is to some extent unclear, and thedescription of it is fairly general and vague in HSK testing syllabus. It is necessary tolook into the test-taking process to examine what the vocabulary test actually measures,thus this study employs simultaneous introspective method to investigate test-takers’thought processes of taking the vocabulary test of reading section in HSK-6.The study mainly concentrates on two elements, i.e. information sources andstrategies, and the research questions are put forward as follows:1) what types ofinformation sources do test-takers use to answer vocabulary test of reading section inHSK-6? How do they use these information sources?2) What types of strategies dotest-takers employ in their processes of taking vocabulary test? How do they use thesestrategies?3) Are there any differences between proficient readers and less proficientreaders in their use of information sources and strategies? If so, what are thesedifferences? To answer these questions, simultaneous introspection is employed andtwelve postgraduates from Thailand studying Master of Teaching Chinese to Speakersof Other Language (MTCSOL) in Chongqing University participated in this study.By examining the testees’ protocols, a framework for analyzing testees’ processesof taking vocabulary test is put forward. Based on this framework, the testees’protocols are further categorized and analyzed. The major findings are as follows:Firstly, four categories of information sources are identified in the protocols oftestees, covering clause-level, sentence-level, text-level and extra-textual information.Among them, clause-level information is the most frequently used one, followed bytext-level, sentence-level, and extra-textual information.Secondly, twelve strategies are identified in total, which can be classified into threecategories: cognitive strategies, metacognitive strategies and test-wise strategies. Theproficient testees show a clear preference for metacognitve strategies, while lessproficient ones for test-wise strategies. In addition, when referring to the test-wisestrategies, it’s surprising to find that missing is applied most frequently, and most of thetestees’ attempts to answer by missing are successful, which leaves the constructvalidity of the test open to question.Thirdly, differences do exist between proficient and less proficient testees in the test-taking processes in terms of their use of information sources and strategies. Theproficient testees are inclined to apply more information sources and strategies than lessproficient testees. The verbal protocols have further revealed that the proficient testeesseem to have a context-based reading model and prefer to grasp the gist of the text,whereas the less proficient readers often employ word-based approaches and they areapt to identify parts of the text.Based on the above findings, this paper attempts to put forward some suggestionson the item design of vocabulary test in HSK-6and Chinese teaching and learning, atthe same time offer the theoretical and methodological references for employingintrospection approach in the studies of other test type.