PE 23

Evaluating Reading Comprehension Test at Payam-e-Noor University

كارشناسي ارشد

آموزش زبان انگليسي

92/04/24

فريدون وحداني

محمد آقاجانزاده

Washback , payame noor university , Teaching strategies , Learning strategies , Reading Comprehension Tests

وحداني،فريدون , آقاجانزاده،محمد

This study investigates the learning and the teaching strategies of students and teachers respectively for the reading comprehension courses in a semi-distance educational system in Iran called Payam-e-Noor University with over 500,000 students in different branches all over the country. By using qualitative data (interview and observation), this study intends to examine the viewpoints of both teachers and students regarding how the reading comprehension tests in Payam-e-Noor University can influence the way they teach and learn respectively. Ten teachers and forty students were interviewed to reveal their strategies for teaching and learning. Moreover, by taking a TOEFL test from one hundred students and using the anonymous answer sheets of thirty students’ final exam, the reliability and the validity of the Payam-e-Noor University reading comprehension test were calculated. The results indicated that the washback effect works in bringing about changes in teaching and learning strategies of both groups. Moreover, according to the collected data, the Payam-e-Noor University reading comprehension tests have low reliability but average validity.

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