An Investigation into the Effects of Time of Administration and Language of Instruction on Persian Language Learners' Li
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Volume one, Issue four
December 2011
An Investigation into the Effects of Time of Administration and Language of Instruction on Persian Language Learners’ Listening Ability KAMAL HEIDARI SOURESHJANI Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord Branch, Iran Bio Data: Kamal Heidari Soureshjani holds M.A in TEFL from Shiraz University and is now a Young Researchers Club Member. He taught English courses and IELTS at different institutes in Shiraz. He has also published papers in different journals including IJLS & TPLS. He is presently the academic member of Azad University, Shahrekord branch. Abstract Among sundry factors influencing an individual score "Environmental factors” and “Test rubric” play significant roles. The present article attempted to investigate the influence of “time of administration” and “language of instruction”, each relating to the above-mentioned factors respectively on the Iranian EFL students’ listening ability. To do so, 90 male and female language learners were selected and an old version of TOEFL test was given to them in order to ensure their proficiency level. Then, a listening comprehension test, derived from the material they were studying, was distributed among them at different times, each time with specific conditions and purposes. Results of the study revealed that students’ performance was better when: The test was given in the morning, and with Persian (the students’ native language) instructions. Conducting such studies can add valuable knowledge to the existing body of knowledge regarding the preparation of the best conditions for test takers on the exams. Keywords: time of instruction, language of instruction, listening ability
Introduction The point that the performance of testees on a test is affected by numerous factors is axiomatic. These assorted factors have been widely taken into consideration and 100 | P a g e
Language Testing in Asia
Volume one, Issue four
December 2011
both theoretical and practical studies have been carried out with regard to these factors (for example, Bachman and Palmer 1981a, 1982a; Brutsch 1979; Clifford 1987, 1981; Shohamy 1983b, 1984a). It is also obvious that there are two major factors interacting with each other while preparing a test: one factor is the "trait" and means the knowledge which is to be measured. And the other is the "method" referring to the procedure by which we assess the trait. In order to assess a given trait, many different methods may be used and as a result, each of them affects the trait in a different way which finally affects the performance of test takers and their scores. In fact, it could be concluded that, as Shohamy (1984) rightly stated, a test is considered as a good one if the method has little effect on the trait. To put another way, if students' performance on a test is the result of the trait being measured rather than the testing method, that test is considered to be a good testing tool. Besides, traditionally it was claimed that it is possible to develop a valid and reliable language performance tes
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