C-tests
These variants on cloze tests were developed in response to precisely the above concerns, namely that in cloze tests students do not really have to process text above the level of the clause. A C-test involves blanking out the second half of every second word, starting from the second sentence of a short text (see Klein-Braley and Raatz, 1984; and Grotjahn, 1996). In words with an odd number of letters, there are more blanks than letters, and one-letter words are not blanked. For example, the cloze passage in section 14.5.1.1 would look like this as a C-test:
| Many able students are not very proficient at L1>FL translation. They disc____ that, alth____ they ha__ good unders_______ of t__ target lang____ text, th____ simply can___ find t__ appropriate Eng____ in wh___ to exp____ the for____ language. T____ reasons f__ this c__ vary gre____, but i____ may sim____ be d____ to th____ knowledge o____ L1. I____ seems t____ be partic____ true o____ able lear____ who ha____ learnt t____ FL naturali____, with min____ reference t____ their mot____ tongue. I____ such ca____, the for____ language i____ processed i____ ways mo___ akin t____ the proce____ of t____ mother ton____. |
C-tests are an especially effective assessment instrument in inflected languages where key grammatical markers occur at the ends of words. They can also be effective in teaching all languages as they serve to stimulate discussion amongst students about what words might fit (paradigmatic knowledge), or how words are spelled and what part of speech would fit a given context (syntagmatic knowledge). C-tests use several texts (usually five) and so a large number of items are generated and texts are sampled in a more representative way than with a cloze test. Their other advantage over cloze tests is that they promote processing of language both across clauses in a single sentence and across sentences.
Critics of C-tests point out that they are not easy to devise and can take a long time to get right. It is also the case that they have poor 'face validity', ie students often react negatively to them and may not take them seriously, since the tests seem not to be related to language use. Proponents of C-tests, however, consider them a more valid means of testing general or overall competence, and the results of research into their use do suggest much higher levels of reliability and validity than can be achieved with cloze tests.
Activity 25
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There is only one way to learn about cloze and C-test procedures and that is to try them for yourself. To start with, limit yourself to a single C-test, and follow these steps:
Now try it out on your students and see in what ways you can exploit it for teaching purposes. Do you think the task has 'positive washback' on teaching? (see Module 13, section 13.1.4.5). |
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