Session 7. Testing Reading and Listening
What is reading?
Readers constantly select and interpret information according to the reasons they have for reading the text.
Testing reading
Modern reading test should SIMULATE PURPOSES that readers might have when reading real texts in the real world.
Reading skills
Example 1
„ John was invited to dinner at his friends’ house and so on the way he bought a beautiful bunch of flowers: roses, chrysanthemums, pansies and pantheas”
Example 2
1. The floor was dirty so Sally used the mop.
2. The floor was dirty because Sally used the mop.
Other skills used:
• skimming
• scanning
• identifying main ideas and supporting details
• making a distinction between relevant and irrelevant details/ideas
• distinguishing between fact and opinion
• understanding relations between parts of a text
Which CEFR scale do the following statements refer to?
•
I can read many kinds of texts quite easily at different speeds and in different ways according to my purpose in reading and the type of text.
•
I have a broad reading vocabulary, but I sometimes experience difficulty whit less common words and phrases.
•
I can go quickly through long and complex texts, locating relevant details.
• I can obtain information, ideas and opinions from highly specialized sources within my field.
•
I can quickly identify the content and relevance of news items, articles and reports on a wide range of professional topics, deciding whether closer study is worthwhile.
What is listening?
Listeners constantly select and interpret information according to the reasons they have for listening to a text.
When we listen we always have a purpose, which influences the way we listen.
Listening skills
• gist listening
• listening for specific information
• identifying main ideas and supporting details
• deducing meaning, inferencing
• distinguishing between fact and opinion
• understanding relations between parts of a text

• following directions, instructions
• interpreting attitudinal meanings
Which CEFR scale do the following statements refer to?
•
I can understand in detail what is said to me in the standard spoken language. I can do this even when there is some noise in the background.
• I can understand most radio documentaries and most other recorded or broadcast audio material delivered in standard language and can identify the speaker’s mood, tone, etc.
•
I can understand most TV news and current affairs programmes such as documentaries, live interviews, talk shows, plays and the majority of films in standard language.
•
I can understand announcements and messages on concrete and abstract topics spoken in standard language at normal speed.
Testing reading vs. listening
When you listen to a text, you interpret it in real time (online processing)
The way we listen will be influenced by how much we know about the speaker(s), the context, the purpose of listening.
Example 3:
You will hear a school teacher giving a talk to a group of students about what to take with them on a walking holiday.
Specific features of listening tests:
1.
……………………………………………
2.
……………………………………………
3.
……………………………………………
4.
……………………………………………
5.
……………………………………………
6.
……………………………………………
7.
……………………………………………
8.
……………………………………………
Testing techniques
Multiple Choice Questions
Advantages:
…………………………………………….
…………………………………………….
Disadvantages…
…………………………………………….
…………………………………………….
MCQ Example
Text: „… If you are bitten by a snake, you should keep calm, remember the snake’s colour and see a doctor at once.”
When a snake bites you, you should try to
A catch it and take it with you to the nearest doctor.
B remember its colour and quickly see a doctor.
C kill the snake as quickly as you can.

Short answer questions (open-ended questions)
Advantages:
…………………………………………….
Disadvantages…
…………………………………………….
Short answer qs: example
After a text on the California Condor:
(expected answer in maximum three words)
Q: Where do they lay their eggs?
A: on bare grounds / caves / (and) (rock) crevices
Matching
• headings and questions to texts
• sentences to gaps in texts
• clauses to gaps in text
Advantages:
…………………………………………….
…………………………………………….
Disadvantages…
…………………………………………….
Completion task/open gap-filling/ information transfer
Advantages:
…………………………………………….
…………………………………………….
Disadvantages…
…………………………………………….
Completion task: example
After a text on an actress:
Complete the table with the missing information. her original name:
……………..... childhood hobbies: first job after school
1.
……………
2.
……………
………………..
True / false statements
Advantages:
…………………………………………….
Disadvantages:
…………………………………………….
…………………………………………….
…………………………………………….
…………………………………………….