毕业论文（设计）英语专业四、八级考试阅读理解测试内容效度研究.pdf

重庆大学 硕士学位论文英语专业四、八级考试阅读理解测试内容效度研究(1997-2008)$请学跑别：硕士_专业：外国语言学及应用语言学_中文摘要摘 要英语专业四、八级考试（TEM）是一项由国家教育委员会主办、已执行将近 二十年的尺度参照性标准化考试。2005年，该考试在考试形式和考试内容上进行 了改革，其中阅读部分不再区分仔细阅读和快速阅读，TEM4和TME8阅读测试 时间分别由30分钟和40分钟减少到25分钟和30分钟。邹申（1997）对1993-1996 年TEM阅读理解部分的内容效度进行了研究，之后对该部分历时的内容效度研究 比较缺乏。本文从以下三个方面探讨1997-2008年TEM阅读理解部分的内容效度：TEM阅读理解与相应教学大纲和考试大纲的吻合程度、改革前后TEM阅读理解 的考查内容对比、TEM4和TEM8阅读理解之间的考查内容对比。基于Ba ch ma n&Pa lmer的任务特点框架,并结合英语专业教学大纲和TEM考 试大纲中对阅读理解部分的要求，以及TEM阅读理解部分本身的实际特点，本文 提出一个更具操作性的阅读测试内容效度评估框架。该框架涉及场景、测试说明、文本输入、预期回答、文本输入与预期回答之间的关系五个方面。本文依照这一 框架对1997-2008年改革前后TEM阅读理解部分的97篇仔细阅读篇章、110篇快 速阅读篇章和相应的560个问题进行了分析。研究结果表明，1997-2008年TEM阅读理解部分的内容效度较高，抽样具有 代表性，测试到了英语专业教学大纲和TEM考试大纲规定的内容。具体表现为：1）TEM阅读理解的大部分特点与相应教学大纲和考试大纲比较符合，比如，体裁 多样；题材广泛；长度和阅读速度与相应教学大纲、考试大纲比较符合；难度适 宜；所考阅读技能覆盖面广。2）改革前后TEM阅读理解部分的变化体现了相应 教学大纲和考试大纲的变化，改革后更加注重考生综合运用能力的考查，比如，阅读技能的覆盖面更加广泛。3）TEM8阅读理解部分在考查内容方面难度明显高于 TEM4,体现了相应教学大纲和考试大纲对不同级别测试的难度要求，具体体现在 文章长度、阅读速度、易读度等方面。但是，分析中也发现一些问题，如TEM4和TEM8阅读理解篇章的话题都过 于集中，大部分为社会与文化；改革后的TEM8阅读理解长度远低于考试大纲的 要求。最后，本文根据研究结果为以后TEM阅读理解试题的命制、英语专业教学和 学习提供一些参考性建议。关键词：英语专业四、八级考试，阅读理解，内容效度中文摘要ABSTRACTTEM is criterion-referenced proficiency test a nd h a s been in opera tion na tion-wide for nea rly twenty yea rs.In 2005,TEM4 a nd TEM8 h a ve underg one some ch a ng es in test forma t a nd content.Zou Sh en(1997)h a s conducted a va lida tion study on TEM from 1993 to 1996.Since th en,few long itudina l content va lidity study of rea ding compreh ension in TEM is conducted.Th erefore,th is th esis will a ssess th e content va lidity of rea ding compreh ension in TEM from 1997 to 2008 with reference to th e following th ree questions:1)to wh a t extent do th e rea ding compreh ension pa rts of TEM4 a nd TEM8 meet th e requirements in th e tea ch ing a nd testing sylla buses?2)wh a t a re th e differences in TEM rea ding compreh ension before a nd a fter th e innova tion?3)wh a t a re th e differences between rea ding compreh ension pa rts of TEM4 a nd TEM8?Ba sed on Ba ch ma n&Pa lmers fra mework of ta sk ch a ra cteristics,th e a uth or puts forwa rd a revised fra mework for va lida ting rea ding compreh ension with th e h elp of th e tea ch ing a nd testing sylla buses a nd combining with th e ch a ra cteristics of TEM rea ding compreh ension pa rt.Th e revised fra mework includes th e setting,th e test rubrics,th e input,th e expected response,a nd th e rela tionsh ip between input a nd expected response.In terms of th e five ch a ra cteristics in th e revised fra mework,th e th esis h a s exa mined 24 TEM pa pers,including 97 ca reful rea ding pa ssa g es,110 fa st rea ding pa ssa g es a nd 560 question items.R esults sh ow th a t TEM rea ding compreh ension h a s a h ig h content va lidity.It ca n be ma nifested in th e following th ree a spects:1)most ch a ra cteristics of rea ding pa ssa g es in TEM meet th e requirements in th e releva nt tea ch ing a nd testing sylla buses,such a s th e a doption of different types of g enre,th e wide covera g e of topics,th e a ppropria te difficulty,etc.2)th e ch a ng es of TEM rea ding compreh ension pa rts a fter th e innova tion ma nifest th e ch a ng es of th e requirements in th e tea ch ing a nd testing sylla buses.3)rea ding compreh ension pa rts of TEM8 a re more difficult th a n th ose in TEM4,wh ich reflects th e different requirements of th e tea ch ing a nd testing sylla buses to different ba nds.At la st,some implica tions for both test desig ners a nd Eng lish ma jor tea ch ers a nd lea rners a re put forwa rd.Keywords:TEM,R ea ding compreh ension,Content va lidityLIST OF ABBR EVIATIONSLIST OF ABBREVIATIONSCETColleg e Eng lish TestCET-4Colleg e Eng lish Test Ba nd 4EFLEng lish a s a foreig n la ng ua g eELTEng lish la ng ua g e tea ch ingESLEng lish a s a Second La ng ua g eLIFirst La ng ua g eL2Second La ng ua g eNETEMNa tiona l Entra nce Test of Eng lish for M.A.NMETNa tiona l Ma tricula tion Eng lish TestOR FOra l R ea ding FluencySECCSta te Educa tion Commission of Ch inaSISUSh a ng h a i Interna tiona l Studies UniversityTEMTest for Eng lish Ma jorsTEM4Test for Eng lish Ma jors Ba nd 4TEM8Test for Eng lish Ma jors Ba nd 8TOEFLTest of Eng lish a s a Foreig n La ng ua g evn学位论文独创性声明工作及取得的研究成果。尽我所知，除了文中特别加以标注和致谢的地方外，论 文中不包含其他人己经发表或撰写过的研究成果。与我一同工作的同志对本研究 所做的任何贡献均己在论文中作了明确的说明并表示了谢意。学位论文使用授权书本人完全了解重庆大学有关保留、使用学位论文的规定。本人完全同意中 国博士学位论文全文数据库、中国优秀硕士学位论文全文数据库出版章程（以 下简称“章程”），愿意将本人的破士学位论文毓先趴八棍净的峭源前曜外 交中国学术期刊（光盘版）电子杂志社（CNKI）在中国博士学位论文全文数据 库、中国优秀硕士学位论文全文数据库以及重庆大学博硕学位论文全文数 据库中全文发表。中国博士学位论文全文数据库、中国优秀硕士学位论文 全文数据库可以以电子、网络及其他数字媒体形式公开出版，并同意编入CNKI 中国知识资源总库，在中国博硕士学位论文评价数据库中使用和在互联 网上传播，同意按“章程”规定享受相关权益和承担相应义务。本人授权重庆大学 可以采用影印、缩印或其他复制手段保存论文，可以公开论文的全部或部分内容。：_Ch a pter One.IntroductionChapter One IntroductionTh is ch a pter is a n introduction to th e present study.It includes five pa rts,na mely,ba ckg round of th e study,overview of TEM,resea rch purpose a nd questions,sig nifica nce of th e study a nd structure of th e th esis,wh ich ma ke rea ders know th e g enera l informa tion of th e th esis.1.1 Background of the StudyTh ere is a n intrinsic reciproca l rela tionsh ip between resea rch in la ng ua g e a cquisition a nd developments in la ng ua g e tea ch ing on th e one h a nd,a nd la ng ua g e testing on th e oth er(Upsh ur,1971),i.e.,la ng ua g e testing both serves a nd is served by resea rch in la ng ua g e a cquisition a nd la ng ua g e tea ch ing.La ng ua g e tests,for exa mple,a re frequently used a s criterion mea sures of la ng ua g e a bilities in second la ng ua g e a cquisition resea rch(Ba ch ma n,1990).La ng ua g e tests ca n be used by tea ch ers to dia g nose students,streng th s a nd wea knesses,to decide students a ptitudes for furth er study,a nd a lso ca n be used to g ra de students la ng ua g e a cquisition level,such a s TEM.As one of th e importa nt components in a test pa per,rea ding compreh ension is used to test test-ta kers a bility to a cquire a nd process informa tion.W ood(2001)sta tes clea rly th e importa nce of rea ding during th e process of la ng ua g e a cquisition.La ng ua g e a cquisition is to ma ster a la ng ua g e unconsciously in na tura l circumsta nces.W h ile for lea rners of foreig n la ng ua g es,it is difficult to h a ve such a na tura l environment for foreig n la ng ua g e communica tions.So th ey ma inly depend on written ma teria ls to lea rn foreig n la ng ua g es,i.e.th roug h rea ding.Th erefore,for ma ny Ch inese students,rea ding is undoubtedly a n effective wa y to improve th eir Eng lish levels.In TEM,rea ding compreh ension h a s two testing forma ts before th e innova tion in 2005,rea ding compreh ension,a nd skimming a nd sca nning.Th e two sylla buses used a t th a t time,Teaching Syllabus for English Majors at the Foundation Stage in 1989 a nd Teaching Syllabus for English Majors at the Higher Stage in 1990,were combined into one sylla bus,Teaching Syllabus for English Majors in 2000.According ly,testing sylla buses of TEM h a ve been revised in 2004 a nd implemented in 2005.And forma t a nd content of TEM h a ve a lso been ch a ng ed a lot.How ca n we know wh eth er th e test,especia lly th e innova ted test,is va lid?W e need evidence to prove it.As W eir(2005,p.15)points out,*Th e va lidity of a test does not lie in wh a t th e test desig ners cla im;ra th er,M.A.Th esis of Ch ong qing Universityth ey need to produce evidence to support cla ims sta rting from th e initia l desig n process.*Th oug h some resea rch es(Hou Ya nping,2005;Lu Xia oxia n,2008;Jia o Yong qin,2008)h a ve been conducted to study th e content va lidity of TEM rea ding compreh ension pa rts,few a re on th e dia ch ronica l compa rison of rea ding compreh ension pa rts in TEM4 a nd TEM8 before a nd a fter th e innova tion.Here comes a g rea t need to h a ve a n investig a tion on th is issue.1.2 Overview of TEMTEM h a s been in opera tion na tionwide for nea rly twenty yea rs,a nd its score h a s been increa sing ly used a s mea sures of proficiency in Eng lish a s a foreig n la ng ua g e(EFL)th roug h out Ch ina.Th e number of test ca ndida tes h a s been increa sing every yea r,a bout 13,167 in 1992(Zou Sh en,1997)a nd proba bly 450,000 in 2008(Li Xuelin,2008).Th e increa sing number of test ta kers a long with th e extensive use of test scores stimula tes a tendency in Ch ina th a t a g rea t number of young er individua ls ca reers or educa tion decisions a re considera bly a ffected,such a s a pplying for a dmission to a n educa tiona l prog ra m or seeking employment a s well a s a dva ncement in a ca reer.In th e following sections,tea ch ing sylla buses for Eng lish ma jors,objectives of TEM,th e h istory of TEM,a nd rea ding tests of TEM will be reviewed.1.2.1 ELT Syllabus for English MajorsTEM is desig ned to ch eck students,Eng lish la ng ua g e a bilities a ccording to th e releva nt tea ch ing sylla buses.Th e two na tiona l Eng lish la ng ua g e tea ch ing(ELT)sylla buses for Eng lish la ng ua g e ma jors were dra wn up under th e a uspices of th e Sta te Educa tion Commission of Ch ina(SECC).Th ey were publish ed in 1989 a nd 1990 respectively.One of th em is fbr th e founda tion sta g e,i.e.th e first two yea rs of a deg ree prog ra mme in Eng lish la ng ua g e a nd litera ture;th e oth er is for th e th ird a nd fourth yea rs of th e sa me prog ra mme.Th eir prima ry purpose is to serve a s g uidelines for educa tiona l decision-ma kers a nd tea ch ers a like wh en it comes to th e development of ELT curriculum,ELT prog ra mmes a nd ELT ma teria ls in va rious universities a cross Ch ina*(Zou Sh en,1997,p.1).Specific tea ch ing requirements a nd Eng lish la ng ua g e proficiency sta nda rds fbr ea ch of th e four yea rs in a n ELT underg ra dua te prog ra mme for la ng ua g e a nd litera ture ma jors h a ve been esta blish ed in th e two tea ch ing sylla buses.It is a lso h oped th a t th e na tiona l tea ch ing sylla buses ca n result in th e improvement of th e Eng lish la ng ua g e proficiency of th e students.At th e sa me time,th ey a re a lso viewed a s a mea ns to promote interuniversity a ca demic exch a ng e in th e field of EFL tea ch ing a nd 2Ch a pter One Introductionlea rning.In order to emph a size th e continuity of Eng lish lea rning a t th e founda tion a nd h ig h er sta g es,th e two na tiona l ELT sylla buses were combined into one a nd publish ed in 2000.Th e new sylla bus not only includes th e different requirements a nd ch a ra cteristics in th e founda tion sta g e a nd h ig h er sta g e,but a lso emph a sizes th e importa nce of lea rning Eng lish ba sic a bility.It proposes th e new g oa l of cultiva ting ta lents a nd th e new requirements of ta lents,emph a sizes in cultiva ting th eir innova tive a bility,a nd cla rifies th e th ree types of courses,i.e.courses on Eng lish skills,Eng lish knowledg e,a nd knowledg e of rela ted specia lties,wh ich must be offered to Eng lish ma jors.1.2.2 Objectives ofTEMTh e a im of Eng lish tea ch ing is,a ccording to ELT sylla bus,to foster versa tile Eng lish ma jors wh o h a ve a strong founda tion in Eng lish la ng ua g e a nd h a ve a broa d g enera l knowledg e,a nd th en ca n ma na g e to do jobs rela ted to Eng lish,such a s tra nsla ting,tea ch ing,a dministra ting a nd resea rch ing in th e depa rtments of foreig n tra de,educa tion,economy,culture,tech nolog y a nd milita ry a ffa irs(2000,p.1).TEM4 a nd TEM8 a re ba sed on th e conesponding ba nd 4 a nd ba nd 8 requirements sta ted in th e tea ch ing sylla bus of 2000.Th erefore,TEM is a sylla bus-ba sed a ch ievement or criterion-reference proficiency test in na ture,th a t is,a test a dministered to mea sure th e effects of a la ng ua g e instruction prog ra m in a ccorda nce with th e requirements of a certa in sylla bus(Hug h es,1989).As a criterion-referenced proficiency test,th e objectives of TEM a re to eva lua te Eng lish la ng ua g e tea ch ing a nd lea rning a t th e end of th e founda tion sta g e a nd a t th e end of th e four-yea r underg ra dua te prog ra mme in th e lig h t of th e na tiona l tea ch ing sylla buses a nd to bring a bout beneficia l wa sh ba ck effects on Eng lish tea ch ing a nd lea rning.1.2.3 History ofTEMTEM4 wa s first a dministered by SECC a s a pre-test in 1990,a nd TEM8 in 1991.Between 1991 a nd 1992 Sh a ng h a i Interna tiona l Studies University(SISU)wa s responsible for developing TEM for students wh o h a ve completed th e first two yea rs of th e ELT prog ra mme,h enceforwa rd referred to TEM4,wh ile Gua ng zh ou Institute of Foreig n La ng ua g es wa s responsible for desig ning TEM fbr g ra dua ting Eng lish ma jors,known h enceforwa rd a s TEM8(Zou Sh en,1997,p.1).From 1993,SISU wa s g iven th e sole responsibility for desig ning both TEM4 a nd TEM8 pa pers.Since th e inception of TEM4 a nd TEM8,th e two tests h a ve been a dministered once a yea r respectively,with TEM4 ta king pla ce in Ma y a nd TEM8 in Ma rch.Test pa pers a re sent directly to th e 3M.A.Th esis of Ch ong qing Universitypa rticipa ting universities a pproxima tely ten da ys before ea ch a dministra tion.Used pa pers a nd a nswer booklets a re ma iled ba ck to SISU in two da ys a fter th e test.Since its inception,TEM h a s underg one some modifica tions with a view to continuously improving th e qua lity of th e test.Since 1996,th e forma t of TEM h a s not been ch a ng ed until th e innova tion in 2005.Both th e TEM4 a nd TEM8 pa pers incorpora te subjective a nd objective components,to va rying deg rees.Before 2005,in TEM4 tests,th e objective components a mounted to 65 percent of th e tota l score,with th e subjective ones ta king up th e rema ining 35 percent;wh erea s in TEM8 tests,th e objective components took up only 40 percent of th e tota l score a nd th e rest were a lloca ted to subjective ones.After th e innova tion of TEM in 2005,in TEM4 tests,th e subjective components increa se to 40 percent wh ile th e objective components reduce to 60 percent a ccording ly.Th e a lloca tion of subjective components a nd th e objective components in TEM8 tests rema ins th e sa me.Th e differences in th e weig h ting of th e objective a nd subjective components of TEM4 a nd TEM8 tests a re in conformity with th e focus ch a ng ed from a skill-or g ra mma r-ba sed tea ch ing to a more la ng ua g e-use oriented tea ch ing,a s is stipula ted in th e ELT sylla bus of 2000.As TEM wa s orig ina lly reg a rded a s a mea ns of ch ecking th e implementa tion of th e na tiona l tea ch ing sylla buses,it wa s a g reed th a t th e test content sh ould reflect th e requirements in th e sylla buses.In th is sense,test content sh ould include listening,spea king,rea ding,writing a nd tra nsla tion.Alth oug h spea king is g iven th e equa l importa nce a s oth er a bilities in th e tea ch ing sylla bus,it is difficult to a dministra te th e testing of th is skill for pra ctica l rea sons.Th erefore,spea king test is set sepa ra tely a t oth er times by recording ca ndida tes,a nswers.In TEM pa pers,a bilities of listening,rea ding,writing