1. 简介
1.1背景
自上个世纪末期以来，国内研究者开始针对二语词组的学习方法进行研究。有的研究善于学习者与不善于习者的学习方法，有的比较研究生的基础英语与专业英语的词汇学习策略，有的调查英语专业学生的词汇学习策略，Among them arethe TOEFL CBT by Educational Testing Service and College English Test, the largestlanguage test in China, which had made its long-term plan on computer-based testreform. Language test witnesses an increasing change of test media with the tendencyof CBT to replace PBT. CBT is increasingly being viewed as a practical alternative toPBT. This influence also has been seen in the field of achievement test. In teachingactivities, achievement test is a very important procedure of teaching during four-yearundergraduate education.
It can be a valuable tool for providing feedbacks on theeffectiveness of the teaching program itself. In the coming decades, CBT willcontinue to be more frequently used in assessment circles. The computer-basedEnglish majors’ Achievement test of Sichuan International Studies University hasbeen conducted under the above situation.New test method facets made possible by computer-based test administration,including modes of preswww.1daixie.comentation, raise issues pertaining to construct validity (Green,1990). According to Sawaki (2001), in order to support construct validity ofcomputerized tests, the equivalence of paper-based and computer-based test modesmust be established from various direction. For example, to find out what extent arethe results of a PBLT comparable to those of its CBLT version and whether CBLTversion can be considered to have equal reliability or accuracy of measurement. Theseviews merit a more careful reconsidering of the issue of validity with respect to themode of administration, which is considered to reflect or simulate real world settingsmuch better than PBLT (Brown, 1997; Alderson, 1999; Dunkel, 1999). Thus, amultitude of comparability studies have been conducted on a variety of types of tests,typically to compare scores across computer and paper administrations of the samefixed-form multiple-choice tests. Many researchers subsequently devoted to the studyof equivalence or comparability of scores from CBLT and PBLT, and it has beenfound that measures obtained from tests delivered in the computer-based mode awww.1daixie.comresimilar to those obtained from the paper-based mode (Bergstrom, 1992; Boo andVispoel, 1998; Wang et al., 2001). A review of previous literature shows inconsistentconclusions of the comparability studies.
It is even more important to explore the equivalence of the two modes of testsince the results of these studies are inconsistent and the widespread use of computertechnology. Therefore, sufficient empirical data, which would allow researchers tolook into the CBT with regard to validity, reliability and fairness, are yet to bwww.1daixie.comeavailable. Moreover, many research studies related to CBT were conducted in othercountries, but such studies in China are mostly concentrated on College English Testand Oral test. Studies on achievement test are relatively lack. Therefore, it issignificant that some comparative studies related to CBT and PBT be conducted toverify those research reports in China. In a continuation of the discussion concerningpresent and future research on comparative study of computer-based and paper-basedtests in language test, the author of this paper conduct the empirical research in orderto collect fresh evidence for the equivalence of computer-based and paper-based test.
Chapter Two Literature Review文献回顾
The equivalence of computer-based and paper-based test forms must beestablished from various directions. In this section, the definition and classification oflanguage testing will be reviewed first. Then, this chapter introduces reliability andvalidity. This section will close with a focus on previous empirical studies of theequivalence of CBT and PBT at home and abroad.
2.1 Features of medical English lexicon医学英语词汇的特点
A test can be defined as “a method for measuring a person’s ability or knowledgein a given area” (Brown, 1994). A test is a method which has established principlesand procedures for the development，administration, scoring and evaluation of the test.In either precise terms or broad and inexact terms, test can be used to measure, toquantify individuals’ abilities or knowledge. A test is normally prepared for group oftest-takers so that the test designers should have profound knowledge about test-takers.General language proficiency, lexical and grammatical knowledge, or productive orreceptive skills which are non-observable are measured in language testing.
The classification of language test has not had a international consensus so far.Broadly speaking, in educational settings, the categorization of language test dependson the criteria of classification which actually can be determined by the purposes ofthe given classification. Thus, the result of classification is got by the rules orpurposes of classification. We can classify language test in terms of the criteria for theinterpretation of test scores, in terms of what is to be measured, and in terms of thedelivery formats of the test.
Chapter 3 Methodology ............................................31-36
3.1 Research questions............................................ 31
3.2 Subjects ............................................31-32
3.3 Instruments ............................................32-35
3.3.1 Questionnaire ............................................32-34
3.3.2 Medical English vocabulary test............................................ 34-35
3.4 Data collection ............................................35-36
Chapter 4 Results and Discussion............................................ 36-50
4.1 Data analysis of medical English vocabulary test............................................ 36
4.2 Data analysis of general situation ............................................36-39
4.3 Data analysis of questionnaire ............................................39-42
4.3.1 Rank order of the three major categories ............................................39-40
4.3.2 The most and least frequently used learning strategies............................................ 40-42
4.4 Differences between good learners and poor learners ............................................42-45
4.5 Correlation analysis between test performance ............................................45-48
4.6 Summary ............................................48-50
Chapter 5 Conclusion ............................................50-55
5.1 Major findings ............................................50-51
5.2 Pedagogical implications ............................................51-53
Conclusion 结论
The present study conducted comparatives study on CBEMAT and PBEMAT.More specifically, it testified whether CBEMAT could replace the PBEMAT. Withsuch attempts, the present study analysis the two forms of test from five aspects: testpaper preparation, cost of test administration, effectiveness of administration of test,convenience of scoring and scoring record, rater reliability and response validity.Through the analyses of the questionnaire survey and correlation study of raterreliability, six research questions have been answered in Chapter four and the majorfindings in response answering five research questions can be summarized as follows.
(1) Computer-based testing is a computing strategy used to reduce paperconsumption. By using test software platform to prepare test on the computer, the useof paper printing is minimized. This could reduce paper preparation costs as well asenvironmental impact, and it saves time and energy.
(2) Although the cost of developing CBEMAT is higher than that of PBEMAT,CBEMAT would be favorable to achievement test in the long run. In addition, withtesting platform and computer equipment, fewer invigilators are needed. To someextent, it reduces the cost of CBEMAT administration.
(3) The survey results have showed the CBEMAT is practical and effective. TheCBEMAT can not only save time and energy, good for the test material security andbut also raise efficiency to administrating test. When carrying out the CBEMAT,several dozen or one hundred or even more students can take the test at the same time,there is no need to reuse the same set of test paper, and as a result, letting out thecontent of the test is avoided. During the testing the negative effects can be reduced,for example, avoid cheating. Thus, CBEMAT is more practical in ease ofadministration. With all of these taken into account, the administration of theCBEMAT possessed considerable effectiveness.