Testing Lecture Comprehension Through Listening-to-summarize Cloze Tasks

3. gaps that target inferences;


4. gaps that target summaries of a group of sentences.

(Syllabus for TEM 8, 2004)
The four gap types target different sub-constructs. It is emphasized concerning
summary cloze tests that individual gaps must be examined closely in or order to
determine what construct is being assessed (Buck 2001: 73). According to
Table6.7, Type 3 and Type 4 particularly aim at higher cognitive processes fea-
tured by meaning and discourse construction. Both Type 3 and Type 4 belong to
indirect testing because they test inference. Buck (2001) continuously claimed the
core role of inference in language processing. Importance of testing inferencing
ability is made clear to all the stakeholders; however, writing inference items is

Table 6.5 Readability of the scripts of the two tasks (2010 and 2013) in the research version

Readability indices Text statistics

Flesch-Kincaid

reading ease①

Flesch-Kincaid

grade level②

No. of

sentences

No. of

words

Complex

words

Percent of

complex

words (%)

Average

words

per

sentence

Average

syllables

per word

Script

1: 2010

test

58.2 9.1 59 952 139 14.60 16.14 1.56

Script 2:

2013

test

57.2 10.2 48 943 111 11.77 19.65 1.53

①Based on a 0–100 scale. A higher score means the text is easier to read. Low scores suggest the text is complicated to
understand
②A higher grade level means the text is more difficult to read. The formula used to calculate the grade is:
0.39(words/sentences) + 11.8(syllables/words)−15.59

Table 6.6 Content analysis of the scripts of the two tasks (2010 and 2013) in the research version

Topic Text type Synopsis Speaker’s

standing point

Script 1:

mini-lecture

of the 2010

test

Paralinguistic

features of

language

Exposition Paralinguistic features such

as tone of voice, gesture and

posture and their categories

are introduced in the

mini-lecture

Neutral, no

attitude is

revealed

Script 2:

mini-lecture

of the 2013

test

What do

active learners

do

Exposition The differences between an

active learner and a passive

one are introduced and some

useful study strategies that

help students become an

active learner are promoted

Personal

preference is

revealed,

advocating active

learning

74 6 Employing the Think-Alound Method...