Open AccessHelping Students Select Appropriately Challenging Text: Application to a Test of Second Language Reading Ability
Author(s) -
Sheehan Kathleen M.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
ets research report series
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.235
H-Index - 5
ISSN - 2330-8516
DOI - 10.1002/ets2.12160
Subject(s) - reading (process) , test (biology) , test of english as a foreign language , matching (statistics) , computer science , scale (ratio) , range (aeronautics) , mathematics education , psychology , natural language processing , artificial intelligence , english language , linguistics , paleontology , philosophy , statistics , mathematics , physics , materials science , quantum mechanics , composite material , biology
A model‐based approach for matching language learners to texts of appropriate difficulty is described. Results are communicated to test takers via a targeted reading range expressed on the reporting scale of an automated text complexity measurement tool ( ATCMT ). Test takers can use this feedback to select reading materials that are well matched to their abilities, that is, materials that are expected to be challenging, yet not so challenging as to cause frustration or reduce motivation. An application to the problem of helping students prepare to take the TOEFL iBT ® test is presented.