Shirley Said:

Which selection/proficiency test should I use?

We Answered:

I think the links you will find at the bottom will aid you in your selection. You have some good ones now, this will give you a few more ideas hopefully. Good luck.

Dustin Said:

Reading Comprehension for beginning ESL students?

We Answered:

try www.eslcafe.com

Debbie Said:

What is the difference between comprehension reading and comprehension input?

We Answered:

Comprehension reading is when you read to understand the main idea, not EVERY SINGLE word.

An I think you mean "comprehensible imput," which is the idea that in order to learn a person has to be exposed to language that they can understand.

Albert Said:

Testing level of reading comprehension?

We Answered:

Here's one I found just by Googling "test reading comprehension."

http://www.pearsonlongman.com/ae/marketi…

Has grade levels and everything.

Colleen Said:

Is it ok to ask in L1 questions about a text in L2?

We Answered:

It really depends on the context: if you are *only* interested in checking reading comprehension, good questions/answers in L1 are not unacceptable.

An advantage of L1 questions is that they reduce the danger of 'double jeopardy' i.e. a student not answering correctly because they didn't understand the question and/or couldn't provide an answer in L2, even though they could understand the text. if this happens, it could be argued that the test results are invalid, because they don't accurately reflect how well the text has been understood.

In addition, administering comprehension questions in the L2 could lead to reliability problems in some cases, if there is disagreement over the marking of factually correct but grammatically inaccurate answers.

These theoretical advantages non-withstanding, asking questions in L1 in a testing context could have practical drawbacks. The most important is that it could lead to teaching practices which emphasise translation and Q&A in the L1 i.e. it could generate a negative 'washback effect'.

A feasible compromise, which has been adopted by many examination boards, is to set questions in the L2, but phrase then in very simple language compared to the student's level. In addition, the examinees' expected output can be limited (few words, multiple-choice) so as to minimise the skewing effect of their writing prowess, or lack whereof.