Laura Gardner: Testing Listening Comprehension at the N.K.J.O.

When a student takes the Matura exam in English, he is asked to answer various questions concerning a text he has heard once or twice. In Poland, this is usually in standard British English, as textbooks available are mostly from British publications. However, with an increase in North American and other English language resources and teachers, more and more students are exposed to other varieties of English, and at the college level, there is a broader range of linguistic backgrounds and resources. So we should ask ourselves a few questions concerning the examination.

First, does the language and pronunciation used cater to students of both British and American English? Second, are we really testing listening comprehension or memory skills? Third, are we testing aural comprehension of specific points or words only, or about the general idea being expressed as well? Finally, are the texts being used authentic materials reflecting a natural English language environment?

Both the British and North Americans have established organizations for English language teachers (VSO, Teachers For Poland, Peace Corps, World Teach, E.T.P.P. etc.) which have provided Poland with native speakers of English with a broad range of accents, and though the majority of schools in Poland use standard British textbooks and audio recordings, other resources, such as radio programs and video recordings are more varied in pronunciation. Furthermore, students in foreign language teacher training colleges should be able to work with a variety of accents if they are to truly master the language. It is therefore important that the examinations reflect the linguistic variations in the acquisition of English.

In the case where a student hears an integral text before being allowed to answer any questions, he is certainly relying on his memory as much as on his aural comprehension. Then, if this same student fails to answer a question correctly because he cannot remember a specific point, can we honestly say that we are testing his listening comprehension only? If not, how do we remedy the problem? It is necessary for the student to answer a number of questions while listening to the text, then to double-check his answers before listening to the text a second time and completing any missing information. This way, the student is not relying on memory but strictly on his listening comprehension. Questions concerning the underlying meaning of a text will often be answered last, as they require a certain familiarity with the text in order to allow the student to concentrate on more than a series of sounds linked one to the other in the form of words.

It is indeed important to have such questions, as they allow the student to demonstrate full comprehension of a text and its ideas, and not only a number of sentences that may or may not be related to each other. A student of English at an advanced level must, to a certain extent, be treated as a native speaker of English; that is, he should grasp the affinities of the language as he would in his mother tongue.

In order to provide the student with a natural, yet complex language, it is necessary to look into authentic texts. Good sources for this are radio programs such as BBC World Service and Voice Of America, or when available, television programs such as CNN and Earth News or Sky News. Certain magazine articles read by a native speaker of English or simply films also make good authentic materials. As far as films and television programs go, however, it is sometimes preferable to select something that can be replayed without the image, so as to concentrate on aural comprehension. But the fact is that in an authentic situation, we usually see our interlocutor, and gestures as well as the general environment contribute to the transmission and reception of a given message. For testing purposes, it is best to stick to audio texts only so that the student can write down the answers without getting the impression that he is missing out on something by not seeing the picture. Whatever materials are used, background noises should be subdued in order to allow any speech [1]to dominate the text; because while in a situation where there is much noise we may ask our interlocutor to repeat, it isn’t possible during an examination.

Following is an example of a text which should be read at a natural pace, and a series of questions which would accompany the text. The text used is an article by Jane Green, which appeared in the British Cosmopolitan September 1996 issue. It is entitled Confessions of a cyber-flirt.

The seventies spawned single bars, the eighties had dating agencies, but in the nineties, the Internet is the favoured hunting-ground for those who are single, searching and happy to flirt with strangers from the security of their own home. Imagine – you can exercise your seduction routine without so much as applying mascara!

OK, I confess. As a 28-year-old serial single, I’m hooked on chatting-up men in the US or, as it’s known in the trade, cyber flirting. Ever since I splashed out on a computer and discovered the « chat-forums », I haven’t even glanced at my TV. Chat forums are where people meet up « on-line ». You click on someone’s name in the forum, tap in a question and, a few seconds later, a reply pops up on your screen. Easy.

When I clicked into the New York magazine forum, there was only one other person there. I clicked on the « Who’s Here? » button. « Jon’s here, » came the reply. I clicked on « profile » to discover more about him. John was (according to Jon) a 5ft 11in ex-tennis pro, with blond hair and green eyes.

I typed in « Hi » and, almost instantaneously, a « Hi » flashed across my screen. That evening, I sat at my study for hours, tapping away like a mad novelist, laughing out loud at this man called Jon. He was bright, funny and interesting, but was he an Adonis or a Captain Caveman? After two hours, I asked Jon what he’d give himself out of ten. « Eight », he said.

We started « chatting » every night and the more I knew, the more I wondered about the respective merits of ivory silk and white satin. We started phoning each other, too. One day, he sent me a card: « I know this is crazy, but I’ve fallen for you.» My heart fluttered. Then he sent me his picture on e-mail. I sat in front of my computer, breathless with excitement, as it came slowly into view. He was right, he was blond. Unfortunately, he’d neglected to inform me he had one blond hair. And he hadn’t mentioned the thick glasses and the paunch.

Call me superficial, but I realized our union was doomed. I wrote my suddenly-ex a « Dear Jon » e-mail. I felt [bad] but, please, what would you have done?

Enough, I said. And then I discovered the picture file in one of the forums. More to the point, I discovered Ross. I had been idly flicking through a catalogue of geeks, when this god appeared on my screen. So, I sent him an e-mail, « Dear Ross, you don’t know me, but I want you to know I love your picture. »

Then I sent him my picture which, with judicious lighting and a ton of Christian Dior’s finest, made me look like a supermodel. He wrote back immediately. He was from LA and, for the next two months, we exchanged faxes, letters, phone calls and increasingly affectionate e-mails. Yes, I was morphing into a computer nerd. When Ross e-mailed me, saying, « I miss you, » the silk or satin dilemma loomed back into view...

And then he said he was coming over. He had to meet me. I sighed and simpered, bought clothes and, finally, when the big day arrived, got cold feet. While he was in LA I could flirt myself silly. But this was real and perhaps not such a fabulous idea, after all. Sick with anticipation, I drove to the airport to meet him.

Ross was first off the plane. He looked pale, tired and nothing like his picture. He had thinning hair and was wearing a pair of Starsky and Hutch sunglasses. It was too late to run away, so I plastered on a fake smile and gave him a stiff hug. Five words went through my head: Get me out of here!

He stayed for five 57-hour days. I struggled to find something to say. He had a habit of shouting instead of talking and, although he was pleasant, he was no Einstein... we plodded around London in silence until he finally flew back to LA, leaving me disillusioned, mortified and relieved. Never again.

But then, the other night, I came across Jamie. Now he was a coup. Surely one more chat couldn’t hurt.

By reading the text at a natural pace, the recording should last approximately four minutes. Following are a series of questions which could accompany the text. For each of these questions, I will discuss various aspects of the question selected.

All multiple choice questions have only one correct answer. Choose the answer which best suits the question. Each question is worth as many points as there are answers.

2. What does the author consider the greatest advantage of internet flirtation?

Comments on questions

1. In this question as in all others, the choice of answers should be related directly to the wording or meaning of the text. Answer choices should not be random and it is generally preferable to avoid the « all of the above », « none of the above » choices. This particular question is rather straightforward. It is simply a matter of the student paying attention to the difference between the various decades.

2. This question is a bit more subtle as the first three choices are in fact correct, though not necessarily relative to the internet; whereas the fourth point is the one which is most correct as the internet allows the « cyber-flirt » to flirt with strangers in the safety of their own home and to end the ‘relationship’ if the subject is deemed uninteresting. If the student listens to the whole paragraph, answer #4 should appear as the best answer.

3. In this question, the student should pick up on the term « chat forum ». Although the term is specific to the internet communication system, it is repeated and explained so that the student should grasp both the pronunciation and meaning of the term.

4. Here, the answer depends on the ‘more’ in the question, as indeed « who’s there » will tell the sender something about the receiver, but to know more, they must click on ‘profile’.

5. In question 5, the answers could be more misleading with words that sound alike, such as « grey » and « green », but the correct answer depends on the « ex » in « ex-tennis pro ».

6. Each of the answers in question 6 have elements of the paragraph, but the author still questions the physical appearance of Jon, so in fact the answer is quite simply « bright and interesting ».

7. It is up to the examiner to decide how many close variations of « eight out of ten » are acceptable. « Eight » should be accepted as it is in fact his reply.

8. The only possible answer is d, talk via the internet, as all other forms of communication come after the « chat » which is referred to.

9. This question also tests the level of vocabulary comprehension as the student should understand that a « paunch » is a protruding belly. All other choices are only partially true, so in fact, even if the student doesn’t know what a paunch is, he should find the answer by process of elimination.

10.If the student answers b, he is obviously lacking vocabulary comprehension. As for answer d, Ross didn’t send her anything, at that point he didn’t even know she existed. The correct answer is a, as the picture file was in one of the forums.

11.Even if the student doesn’t manage to write the four words down the first time around, he won’t have any trouble completing the question the second time. The question is worth 4 points.

12.c is the only possible answer. Answers b and d can be eliminated and a happens after she gets cold feet.

13.The importance of a clear reading is further emphasized in this type of answer choice where the student should distinguish « pale » from « frail ». Choice b pushes the student to understand that it is the glasses and not the man that has Starsky and Hutch style. Students should not have any difficulty understanding the term « thinning hair » as not having a full head of hair.

14.The answer should be complete with days and hours. No credit should be given for a partial reply.

15.The correct answer is c. Students have already been familiarized with the term « bright ».

The above examination should be part of a two part exam which includes a text with a British English pronunciation and a text with an American English pronunciation. When the examination is prepared, a recording should be made in such a way that the examiner will only press ‘Play’ once and press ‘stop’ only once the exam is over.

Timing the examination

Assuming there are two texts, each approximately 5 minutes long, the recording should be as follows:

The beginning of the cassette will have a recording of all necessary instructions to the students. The students should then be given approximately three minutes to read through the questions for text A. After this, the announcer will give the title of text A. Text A will play through a first time. The announcer will then tell students that they have a given amount of time to check their answers. At the end of this period, usually one to two minutes, the announcer will tell the students that they are about to hear text A a second time. Text A is played again at the end of which the announcer will allow the students another minute to check their answers.

The announcer will then return to tell students that they have three minutes to read through the questions for text B, and the same process as for text A will be repeated for text B.

The entire process should be on one cassette, including the reading and work checking periods. At no time during the examination should the recorder be stopped.

One of the most important aspects of this examination is the quality of the recording which should always be done on professional quality equipment.

* This paper has been inspired by my two years (1995-1997) experience as an active member of the Poznañ cluster Regional Practical English Testing committee, in which I wrote a number of Listening Comprehension examinations for the students of the eleven colleges in the Poznañ region. The project was supported by the British Council. The committee sessions were conducted by the British Council regional director Rab Shiell and by the RPET Chairman Peter Preston.