六级、雅思和托福阅读考试认知过程对比研究——基于眼动和访谈的证据

A comparative study on candidates'cognitive processes when completing CET-6,IELTS and TOEFL iBT reading tests:Evidence from eye-tracking and Retrospective Interview

本文结合眼动追踪和回顾式访谈数据对受试完成六级、雅思和托福阅读考试的认知过程进行对比分析,进而评估三项阅读考试的认知效度。研究结果表明:三项阅读考试成功地诱发了受试在多个信息层次上的认知加工,其中使用频率最高的认知加工为句子命题建立。整体而言,三项阅读考试较为全面地考查了受试在真实阅读实践中相似的认知过程,均具备良好的认知效度。此外,本研究在一定程度上揭示了受试特征、考试任务和施考环境对受试的答题认知过程的影响。研究结果旨在为试题开发者设计阅读试题、为英语教师了解考试情境下的阅读行为、为学习者备考和语言测试学者探究考试表现下的动态认知加工过程提供了有益参考。

This comparative study is conducted to investigate test takers'cognitive processes when completing the reading sections of CET-6,IELTS,TOEFL iBT with an innovative combination of eye-tracking data and retrospective interview data,thus evaluating the cognitive validity of the three reading tests.It is found that the three reading tests successfully elicited multiple levels of cognitive processing from the participants among which establishing propositional meaning was the most frequently used.In general,the three reading tests evoked a comparably full range of cognitive processing that are similar to those in real-life reading which demonstrated their cognitive validity.And results also partly revealed the interplay of individual characteristics,test tasks and administration context in participants'cognitive processes.Findings are expected to offer valuable implications for test providers to design and develop reading test tasks,for English teachers to know test-takers'reading behaviors in test context,for learners to prepare for reading tests,and also for language assessment researchers to investigate the cognitive processes underlying test performance.