6.6 Results of the Test-Taking TAPs..........................
Nvivo 10.0 was employed to (i) save all the TAPs, retelling and interview raw
recordings; (ii) transcribe all the raw data into words; (iii) code the transcription
according to corresponding coding schemes. Results of analysis on test-taking
TAPs include the overall reported cognitive processes, the cognitive operation
model of the test-taking phase and interaction between the task and cognitive
processes.
6.6.1 An Overview of Test-Takers’Test-Taking Cognitive
Processes
The Spearman correlation coefficient between individual total cognitive processes
and the task scores is−0.002, not significant at all (p = 0.993). The reason might lie
in the limited number and homogeneity of the participants. Simultaneously, it
sounds plausible to directly correlate test-taking cognitive processes and test scores,
because test scores measure test-takers’lecture comprehension results while the
reported cognitive processes reflect how test-takers have worked out the answers
cognitively. Furthermore, the overall number of cognitive processes of the 16
participants do not demonstrate an observable difference except the one who only
reported seven cognitive processes. This participant’s TAP is not eliminated from
the data set because it’s an authentic reflection of her thinking process while
tackling the task. She met noticeable difficulty in taking down notes despite her
good English proficiency. On the whole, the frequency quantity of individual
cognitive operations can present some holistic trends such as the cognitive pro-
cesses test-takers have all gone through and their frequently employed cognitive
operations. Quantitative nodes and references in TAP analysis (see Table6.12)
demonstrate similarities across different individuals, but cannot provide us with a
clear picture of the differences lying behind individual performances. We still need
to resort to qualitative analysis of representative TAPs for further investigation in
depth.
6.6.2 The Test-Taking Cognitive Operation Model...........
Field believes that language testing situations should be comparable to non-test
conditions:“we need tofind out if the mental processes that a test elicits from a
candidate resemble the processes that he/she would employ in non-test conditions”
(Field 2012), which calls for the need for better understanding of test-takers’
cognitive processing demanded by language tests. Without understanding the
cognitive processing that test-takers go through in the testing situation, comparison
88 6 Employing the Think-Alound Method...