Abstract:

Since multiple choice questions (MCQs) are frequently used as a teaching and assessment tool for reading comprehension, the presenters were interested in finding out the benefits and/or drawbacks of using this tool in comparison to other pedagogical and assessment tools, to show the degree of student comprehension in an English language classroom.

Presenters will share the results of their longitudinal study measuring the effectiveness of teaching the reading comprehension skill through the regular use MCQs as opposed to teaching this skill through summary-writing. The aim of the study is to investigate the effectiveness of using MCQs on reading comprehension abilities of ESL students. The study was administered to pre-freshmen level students enrolled in the Academic English for the Liberal Arts Course (English 0210) at The American University in Cairo.

The study compares the results of two groups of students. The first group was given regular MCQ practice all through the semester. Both teachers and students of this group complained about the stress and tedium resulting from the frequency of MCQ in-class practice in preparation for the exam. The second group developed the reading comprehension skill through summary practice, which both teachers and students found less stressful and less tedious. The presenters wanted to find out whether teaching and assessing reading comprehension could be as effective through developing summarizing skills to avoid the stress generated by MCQs. Both groups took a reading comprehension MCQ pre-test at the beginning of the semester, and another at the end. The study was replicated over several semesters, and analysis of the data showed no significant differences in the performance of both groups.

Since one of the aims of a language teacher is to help students acquire reading comprehension skills in a comfortable, non-stressful learning environment, and since both tools proved equally effective in the acquisition of reading skills, presenters find that teaching and assessing reading skills through summary-writing is preferable.