Comprehensive English Language Test Research Articles

A Comparative Study on the Effect of Contrived vs. Authentic Texts on Iranian Intermediate EFL Learners’ Lexical Collocations Learning

<p>The purpose of this research was to investigate the effects of two models of texts (contrived versus authentic texts) on Iranian intermediate EFL learners’ lexical collocation learning. The participants were sixty students majoring in English. They were students in the second semester of academic year 2015 who were selected through a proficiency test titled Comprehensive English Language Test (CELT), administered at the commencement of the study, the result of which showed that the two groups were homogeneous in terms of their language proficiency. They were divided into two equal comparison groups: The Authentic Text group (AT) and Contrived Text group (CT), either of which included thirty ones. The quantitative data on the participants’ knowledge on lexical collocations were collected using a pre-planned pretest on lexical collocation, comprising forty multiple-choice-items. The pretest on lexical collocation went through a pilot study. The same version of the test of lexical collocation, with the rearrangement of some items, was administered to the both comparison groups after the completion of the treatment period for the AT group and placebo for the CT group. The analysis of the quantitative data was done using Independent Samples T-test and paired-samples T-test. The results of the Paired-samples T-test and Independent Samples T-test indicated that the AT group was significantly different from the control group; in other words, the AT group outperformed the CT group. Pedagogical implications and suggestions for further research were included as well.</p>

The Effect of Task Type on Iranian Advanced EFL Learners' Vocabulary Learning

This study aimed to investigate the effect of teaching two types of tasks (multiple-choice item and sentence-writing) on Iranian EFL learners' vocabulary learning. For this purpose, sixty students were selected out of ninety through the administration of a Comprehensive English Language Test (CELT).They were junior translator trainees with the age range of 22-26. They were then divided into two comparison groups. A pretest of vocabulary was administered to both groups. Then both groups were given a five-session treatment. One group was taught vocabulary based on sentence-writing task, and the other group was taught vocabulary through multiple-choice task. After the treatment, the same version of vocabulary test was given to both groups as posttest to check the effectiveness of the treatments. The results of paired-samples and independent samples t-tests revealed that the effect of sentence-writing task on learners' vocabulary learning was more than that of the multiple-choice task. The implications and recommendations will also be presented.

The Impact of Formal Instruction of References and Conjunctions on Reading Comprehension of Iranian ESP Students

This study was an attempt to determine the impact of formal instruction of references and conjunctions on reading comprehension of Iranian ESP students. To do so, 72 male and female sophomores majoring in computer sciences were selected randomly from two classes at Shabestar Azad University, each class consisting of 36 students. To make sure of their homogeneity, CELT (Comprehensive English Language Test) was administered to the classes. Then, they were assigned into experimental and control groups. Afterwards, a pre- test was administered to the groups. The experimental group received formal instruction including activities to help them recognize references such as (pronouns,) and functions of conjunctions such as (therefore,), while the control group received no treatment. Following the instruction, a post-test was administered to the groups. The statistical analyses indicated that the participants in the experimental group outperformed the participants in the control group on reading comprehension tests, suggesting that there is a positive relationship between formal instruction of references and conjunctions and reading comprehension ability of Iranian ESP students.

The Effect of Grammatical Collocation Instruction on Understanding ESP Texts for Undergraduate Computer Engineering Students

The researcher administered a Comprehensive English Language Test (CELT) to 80 learners and then according to their grades limited them to 60.The subjects were divided into two homogenous groups (30 subjects in control group and 30 subjects in experimental). Then a pretest was administered to both groups. The subjects who played the role of the control group kept pace with the teacher who taught the book named “English for Computer Science”. It should be noted that this group were taught the mentioned book without instructing grammatical collocations (just through a curriculum book). The experimental group was taught the same book through instructing grammatical collocations. Both groups had instruction for sixty- minute periods for ten sessions. To be sure of the effect of the treatment, the researcher tested both groups by using a posttest. The scores on the result of pre and posttest showed the efficiency of the two methods. Finally, a T-test was conducted to examine the differences of the mean test scores of the two groups. The results of the pre and posttest showed a t-value greater than the t-critical. Therefore, the null hypothesis was rejected and we came to this conclusion that grammatical collocation instruction had significant effect on understanding ESP texts for undergraduate computer engineering students.

The pedagogical utility of audio-visual aids on extrovert and introvert Iranian intermediate EFL learners' speaking ability

This study explored the relationship between the use of audio-visual aids to improve the speaking ability of Iranian intermediate EFL learners and their personality type; namely, introversion/extroversion. To this end, The Comprehensive English Language Test (CELT) was given to 250 students to homogenize the sample. Out of this, 120 students whose scores fell one standard deviation above and below the mean were regarded as intermediate. Having found the homogeneous participants, the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) was given to them, through which 60 introverts and 60 extroverts were selected as the main participants. The selected participants were interviewed and rated by three native like speaker raters and after the treatment the same raters evaluated the interviewees. The obtained results through a two-way ANOVA indicated that there was a statistically significant difference between extroverts and introverts in terms of audio-visual aids, but the difference was not that prominent and, therefore, it cannot be recommended as an operational pedagogical factor. It can also be concluded that the extroverts were generally better at speaking than introverts; however, there again the difference was not statistically noteworthy.

A Psychological Model of Translation Quality Assessment: Applying Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives to Grade English Texts

The present study explored the possibility of grading English texts based on the psychological processes a non-native English translator might go through by applying Benjamin Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: Cognitive Domain. The researchers’ primary assumption was that the difficulty of English texts would increase as the translator’s performance proceeds from translating an English text that requires their only language Knowledge through the texts requiring increasing demands of their Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Aynthesis and Evaluation abilities. To the researchers, the quality of the translation performance could be assessed based on the type of psychological processing they conduct in translating a given text. To fulfil the ultimate purpose of the research, 30 undergraduate students majoring in English translation at Islamic Azad University, Karaj Branch, Iran took part in this investigation in 2012. In addition to Comprehensive English Language Test (CELT), the participants were given a translation essay-type test that included six short English passages of 150 to 200 words. The texts were carefully graded based on the type of behavioural objectives (i.e., psychological processes) demanded of the translator and listed according to the hierarchy of Bloom’s cognitive domain. A non-parametric test of Kruskal Wallis proved that except for the fifth level, the Synthesis text, the trainee translators’ quality of performance was graded properly based on the difficulty levels expected and explored in Bloom’s levels of cognitive domain. The findings in this study are considerately practical in translation quality assessment, upgrading the reliability estimate of translation tests and teaching translation skills and strategies.

Estimating the Difficulty Level of EFL Texts: Applying Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives

The purpose of the present study was to explore the impact of difficulty level of texts on EFL learners’ reading comprehension through the application of Bloom’s cognitive taxonomy. The researchers’ primary assumption was that reading EFL texts would become more difficult as the learners’ performance proceeds from a text targeting their Knowledge abilities through the texts tapping on their Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis to Evaluation abilities. To fulfil the ultimate purpose of the research, 32 undergraduate students majoring in English translation at Islamic Azad University, Karaj Branch, Iran took part in this investigation in 2011. In addition to Comprehensive English Language Test (CELT), the participants were given a teacher–made reading comprehension test, included six short reading passages from 154 to 166 ranges of words and 30 multiple- choice items which compiled and constructed based on the six levels in the hierarchy of Bloom’s cognitive taxonomy. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) proved that except for the fifth level, the Synthesis text, the EFL learners’ performance was graded properly based on the difficulty levels expected and explored in Bloom’s levels of Cognitive Domain. The findings in this study are considerably practical in developing EFL materials and teaching reading skills and strategies.

Reading Parallel Texts in the Target Language: A Way to Improve Literary Translation Quality

The present study was an attempt to investigate the effect of reading Persian literary texts on the quality of literary translations. To this end, 52 students majoring in English translation were randomly assigned to two groups. A Comprehensive English Language Test (CELT) was administered to check the homogeneity of the participants. The treatment for the experimental group consisted of reading 60 Persian short stories and poems. In the meantime, the control group went through their ordinary course curriculum. Both groups were asked to translate extracts of two short stories. The translations were then rated. Through statistical analysis, it was revealed that reading Persian literary works, indeed, improves the quality of literary translations. Therefore, to promote a more fruitful instruction on literary translation, it is suggested that translation teachers attempt to consider reading Persian literary works as part of the curriculum and ask students to read Persian texts to the extent possible, so that more qualified translations would be rendered in the area of literature.

On the Effect of Reciprocal Teaching Strategy on EFL Learners’ Reading Proficiency

This study aimed at exploring the comparative effect of reciprocal teaching on EFL learners’ reading proficiency. From the total population of freshmen at Shahrood University of Technology (SUT) who enrolled for the General English course, 120 students were randomly selected. The researcher administered and scored the Comprehensive English Language Test (CELT) and then selected subjects whose raw scores were one standard deviation above and below the arithmetic mean. All in all, 70 students were paired based on their rank score. Subjects of the same rank were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups and were instructed through transmission and reciprocal models respectively. A second test, i.e. TOFL, was used for pre-test and post-test. The results showed: (1) a significant (at the 0.05 level) difference in how the control and experimental groups performed in the post test; (2) a significant (at the 0.05 level) difference in how the experimental group performed in pre-test and post test.

The Effects of Portfolio Assessment on Writing of EFL Students

The primary focus of this study was to determine the effect of portfolio assessment on final examination scores of EFL students’ writing skill. To determine the impact of portfolio-based writing assessment 40 university students who enrolled in composition course were initially selected and divided randomly into two experimental and control groups. A quasi-experimental research design was adopted in this study. In order to appraise the homogeneity of the experimental and control groups Comprehensive English Language Test (CELT) was employed at the beginning of the study. The pre-test was applied to both the experimental group and control group. Later in the study, a post-test of dependent variables was implemented for both groups. Data analysis was carried out by SPSS 16 statistical computer program .The statistical techniques being applied were the Levene statistic of One-Way ANOVA and the Paired-sample T-test. The results of the study revealed that that students whose work was evaluated by a portfolio system (portfolio-based assessment) had improved in their writing and gained higher scores in final examination when compared to those students whose work was evaluated by the more traditional evaluation system (non-portfolio-based assessment).The findings of the present study highlighted the fact that portfolio assessment could be used as a complementary alternative along with traditional assessment to shed new light on the process of writing.

Another Look at Passage Correction Tests

0 A passage correction test (PC) is a measure used to determine the ability to identify and correct errors that have been systematically inserted into a prose passage. Earlier studies of such tests have made use of two basic formats: the insertion of irrelevant words as distractors (e.g., Bowen, 1978; Davies, 1975) and the substitution of grammatically unacceptable forms for acceptable ones (e.g., Arthur, 1980). Performance on PCs of the former type has been shown to correlate significantly with other measures of EFL ability (Mullen, 1979), and the format used in Arthur's study produced somewhat similar results. Other research (Abraham, 1983; Kaplan & Shand, 1984) suggests the value of editing tasks similar to PCs for the study of cognitive style and affective variables in second language learning. PCs that are constructed through the substitution of ungrammatical forms for grammatical ones have been investigated less; however, they may be more valuable for the study of how some aspects of language develop, for example, how much the ability to edit one's writing grows along with other abilities. While PCs constructed through the insertion of irrelevant words are a promising tool for some types of research, they do not so closely resemble the everyday task of editing one's writing, since they only require individuals to detect forms randomly dispersed among acceptable structures. The purpose of the study reported here was to examine in detail some characteristics of PCs as measures of editing skills. Specifically, its aims were (a) to show that success on a PC constructed by substituting unacceptable forms correlates significantly with a rather different type of language test, Harris and Palmer's (1970) Comprehensive English Language Test (CELT); (b) to show that sensitivity to different types of errors correlates significantly with the CELT; and (c) to show that correlations among different types of PC items can distinguish patterns of developing awareness of forms and meanings in EFL.

Inter- and Intra-Test Correlates of the TOEFL

The present study provides validity information for the TOEFL by examining some of its interand intra-test correlates. Inter-test correlates included: 1) grades in an intensive English program, 2) accumulated scores from objective quizzes administered after each of 15 lessons in a course designed to teach listening comprehension and note taking skills, and 3) scores on the Comprehensive English Language Test (CELT) with subtests representing structure, listening comprehension and vocabulary abilities. In addition, intercorrelations were done within ability groups (high, medium and low, as measured by students' levels in their English program) to determine if correlation patterns vary according to the academic level of the student. Intra-test correlates consisted of investigations of correlations among subtests within the TOEFL. Factor analyses were used to aid in interpretation of the various correlation structures. The purpose of this study is to initiate a validation study of the content of the TOEFL. One factor was identified through factor analysis of TOEFL subtest scores, with the reading comprehension subtest having the highest factor loading. The interrelated nature of the TOEFL subtests is supported by positive correlations (greater than .50) within TOEFL subtests and between TOEFL and CELT subtests. A high correlation between the listening comprehension subtest of the TOEFL and another listening comprehension measure, the listening tracts, as well as a considerable correlation between listening tract scores and TOEFL totals, suggest that listening comprehension may be a separate skill that is significantly interrelated with total score success. Grades in an intensive English program are not predictors of TOEFL success, although relative academic level is.

Differential gain rates in intensive ESL programs: Who gains the most?

Students entering intensive English as a second language programs at various proficiency levels may make comparatively greater or lesser gains in proficiency over the same period of training. Whether or not some groups within a heterogenous student population can be expected to make significantly more rapid gains than others is the question addressed by this paper.’ Also tested is the assumption that scores on a standardized proficiency test can serve to identify individuals as likely to make greater or lesser gains. The problem of predicting differential gain rates is of particular interest to those involved in the intensive ESL program at New Mexico State University. Many students admitted to the program have had little or no preparation in English language skills, yet they are expected to be ready for graduate level work at the University after one year of language instruction. Our teaching strategies and program organization are therefore crucial to their academic success. It is hoped that a systematic analysis of relative gain would indicate if the prograrr is benefiting some types of students more than others. Significant biases, if found, would indicate the need for a thorough examination of program organization; possibly admissions policy would need to be examined if program goals were found unrealistic for all students currently being admitted. Numerous studies have examined the general problem of predicting success in language programs. Some have focused on individual characteristics of the learner (Carroll 1962), others with environmental variables of the classroom and school (Fatham 1976). Initial scores on an English proficiency test were analyzed by Mason (1971) who found them of no value in predicting the academic success or failure of international students at the University of Hawaii. Moran and Erion (1978) on the other hand found that initial scores on the Comprehensive English Language Test were significantly reliable predictors of academic success of American Samoan ESL speakers at the junior college level. Few studies have specifically observed the effect of an already attained proficiency level on further proficiency gains. Nevo, Sim and Bensousan (1977) examined 322 Israeli students in a non-intensive EFL reading course at Haifa University and found that generally students with higher entering scores on a proficiency test made greater gains on the same test a year later than did students with lower initial scores. The authors thus sum up their findings: “The rich get richer and the poor stay poor”. Similar results were obtained among tenth year English language students in a Swedish university (Marton 1972). However, until now no data has been available from intensive programs operating in the target language setting. The question remains, then, how adult L2 learners living in