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Foreign Language Reading Comprehension Test: L1 versus L2 in Open‐Ended Questions
Author(s) -
Godev Concepción B.,
MartínezGibson Elizabeth A.,
Toris Carol C. M.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
foreign language annals
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.258
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1944-9720
pISSN - 0015-718X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1944-9720.2002.tb03155.x
Subject(s) - reading comprehension , test (biology) , reading (process) , psychology , comprehension , foreign language , language assessment , mathematics education , linguistics , paleontology , philosophy , biology
This article addresses the issue of using students' native language (L1) versus second language (L2) in testing instruments for reading comprehension in the L2 classroom. Four groups of students of third‐semester, college‐level Spanish were tested under four different conditions involving combinations of L1 and L2. The test consisted of a reading passage in L2 and seven open‐ended questions. The results suggest that open‐ended reading comprehension tests may be better assessment instruments if some of the questions are phrased in the L1 and test takers are given the opportunity to respond in the L1.