An Instructional Application of the Multiple-Choice Cloze: A Case Study in the EFL Classroom

Abby Deng-Huei Lee,Richard Jenn-Rong Wu

doi:10.5539/ells.v8n2p1

Abstract

We explored using multiple-choice cloze (MCC) tests for classroom instruction. The practice of “testing leading teaching” is frequently criticized because it might distort the original teaching objectives. We do not primarily emphasize how to get high scores; instead, we show how to use testing techniques and teaching activities to provide feedback that energizes teaching methods and increases learning effectiveness. We analyzed MCC test-taking strategies, which include leading students to: 1) skim for the first and the last sentence in cloze passages; 2) read the whole cloze passage to grasp its general idea; 3) look for contextual clues; 4) orally express (“thinking out loud”) their reasons for choosing one MCC test item instead of another; and 5) conduct group discussions. Finally, 6) teachers guided the entire class, discussed contextual and situational clues, and provided feedback about student choices and reasons. The experimental design of this research primarily compared the performance between two groups: Experimental and Control. Differences in cloze scores between the two groups were significant, but differences in reading comprehension scores were not. After six 25-minute MCC test lessons, Experimental group students had better MCC test scores than did Control group students. Our findings supported our hypothesis that MCC instruction, even for a short time, would improve performance on a cloze test. We also discuss how to use MCC tests to teach strategies for answering MCC test items.

Highlights

1.1 The Development of ClozeThe term “cloze,” pronounced like the verb “close,” was coined by Wilson Taylor (Taylor, 1953)
When cloze was first developed, most of the studies were primarily on traditional blank-filling cloze tests. They usually tried to answer the following three questions: 1) Can cloze procedure be used to measure overall reading comprehension, or does it just test a discrete language point? 2) Which is the better way of blank deletion, fixed-ratio or rational deletion? 3) Which is the better scoring method, the exact word or the acceptable word(s)? Fixed-ratio deletion means the blanks are deleted every nth word at random; rational deletion means the blanks are selectively deleted based on some rational decision
We designed the study to answer these two questions: 1) Can students’ performance on multiple-choice cloze (MCC) tests be improved using cloze instructional activities in an EFL classroom setting? 2) Can students’ performance on reading comprehension tests be improved using cloze instructional activities in an EFL classroom setting? the two working hypotheses (H1 and H2) of this study are: H1: Between the Experimental and Control groups, there will be a significant difference in MCC test scores before and after the cloze instructional activities

Summary

Introduction

1.1 The Development of ClozeThe term “cloze,” pronounced like the verb “close,” was coined by Wilson Taylor (Taylor, 1953). After the cloze test was developed, a respectable body of articles on cloze measured readability and assessed reading comprehension in first-language (L1) teaching. By the early 1970s, cloze was used in second-language (L2) teaching, both as a reading activity and as a test tool (Steinman, 2002; Wu, 1994). When cloze was first developed, most of the studies were primarily on traditional blank-filling cloze tests. They usually tried to answer the following three questions: 1) Can cloze procedure be used to measure overall reading comprehension, or does it just test a discrete language point? 2) Which is the better way of blank deletion, fixed-ratio or rational deletion? They usually tried to answer the following three questions: 1) Can cloze procedure be used to measure overall reading comprehension, or does it just test a discrete language point? 2) Which is the better way of blank deletion, fixed-ratio or rational deletion? 3) Which is the better scoring method, the exact word or the acceptable word(s)? Fixed-ratio deletion means the blanks are deleted every nth word at random; rational deletion means the blanks are selectively deleted based on some rational decision

Methods

Results

Conclusion