The Effects of Test-taking Strategy Instruction on EFL Learners' Performance on Cloze Tests - A Case Study of Low Achievers in a Vocational High School

• Main Authors: Hsiao-Ying Cheng, 鄭筱瑩
• Other Authors: Vincent W. Chang
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2008
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/c3b8cq

碩士 === 國立臺灣師範大學 === 英語學系在職進修碩士班 === 97 === This study aims to investigate EFL learners’ use of test-taking strategies for cloze tests and the effects of test-taking strategy instruction on their cloze performance as well as the change in strategy use. Seventy-one students enrolled in two second-year remedial classes in a vocational high school participated in this study. The participants in the experimental group received a six-session program of test-taking strategy instruction, while the control group received the normal instruction for low achievers, which focused on vocabulary learning and grammar. The participants took the cloze pre-test and post-test and answered a retrospective questionnaire regarding their test-taking strategy use. The experimental group’s attitudes and responses toward the instruction were also explored through a post-treatment questionnaire. The major findings of this study are summarized as follows: (1) The test-taking strategy instruction was effective in enhancing Taiwanese vocational high school low-proficiency students’ performance on cloze tests. (2) The test-taking strategy instruction helped the students raise their awareness of individual strategy use and upgrade their test-taking behavior from local-level to global-level strategy use. (3) Students’ responses elicited from the questionnaire revealed positive attitudes toward the effectiveness of test-taking strategy instruction. They considered the instruction and application of test-taking strategies helpful to their test-taking processes and cloze test performance. (4) The item analysis showed that all types of cloze items discriminated high-performing and low-performing groups moderately to adequately, with deletions of interclausal and intersentential clues showing slightly better discrimination. Based on the findings, it is suggested that teachers integrate test-taking strategy instruction into the syllabus and embed strategy practice into routine language tasks. In addition, development of techniques for instructing students in the effective use of strategies and the ability to provide a motivational framework are essential for the success of instruction. Moreover, it is recommended that the cloze procedure be used as an integrative language test to measure overall language proficiency. Further research may include a larger number of participants and prolong the strategy instruction, so that the effects of retention and long-term changes in learners’ behavior and attitudes can be examined.