Korean EFL Students’ Strategy Use in Gap-Filling Inference Items

Abstract

This paper explores Korean EFL students’ test-taking strategy use in gap-filling inference items of the College Scholastic Aptitude Test (CSAT) through retrospective think-aloud protocols. Eight college freshmen participated in this study, and verbally reported the process of answering three gap-filling inference items in their L1. Students with higher proficiency levels tended to use language learner strategies with more variety, while students of lower levels often relied on familiar words and distractors as avoidance strategies. Also, the position of the gap in each item had an effect on the order and portions of reading. Unusual reading patterns were more frequently found from those who checked the gap first, when the gap was located in the middle or at the end of the passage. To foster positive washback effect of the test items on learning, this paper suggests that teachers encourage students to effectively employ language learner strategies in order to comprehend the text rather than rely on test-wiseness.