The Effect Of Multiple Choice And True/False/Not Given Test Formats On EFL Listening Comprehension Test Performances And Strategy Use

Multiple choice and true/false/not given response formats are two common test methods in international language testing field, but the latter is still not widely applied in China. It is generally believed that different test methods might measure different language abilities, and differences exist between multiple-choice and true/false/not given questions in measuring listening ability. Nevertheless, few studies have made further efforts in investigating the mechanisms that lead to the differences on the level of strategy use. This thesis investigates the effects of multiple choice questions and true/false/not given questions on students’listening performance and strategy use. The participants were70senior high school students from two parallel classes. These students were divided randomly into two groups and are required to finish a multiple choice test and a true/false/not given test based on the same listening material respectively. Independent-samples t-test was conducted to analyze the participants’ scores. The difference between the two test formats in measuring different aspects of listening abilities was also compared. In addition, six people in each group were invited to do retrospective verbal report, in which they talked about their mental processes in answering the questions. The verbal report data is used to investigate participants’strategy use.The study shows that (1) the difference between the two test formats are not significant. However, they do perform differently in the measurement of different traits.(2) The strategy use in the two tests share some similarities but also have distinct differences. Judging from their strategy use, both test formats bear invalid elements, but in general, true/false/not given questions require higher level of comprehensive understanding of the listening material.