Methods of assessing reading used by Iranian EFL teachers

Abstract

Investigating the effects of different methods of assessing reading on students’ reading comprehension has been one of the major topics among Iranian EFL researchers (Atai & Nikuinezhad, 2006; Delgoshaei, Kharrazi, & Talkhabi, 2011; Shams & Tavakoli, 2014). However, the amount of popularity of these methods among teachers has not gained this much attention. The present study examined the popularity of different methods of assessing reading among teachers of adult and young adult learners and also investigated the difference in the frequency of the methods used by these two groups of teachers. Categories of different methods were chosen based on Brown's (2004) taxonomy and the study conducted by Cheng, Rogers, and Hu (2004). Background Information Questionnaire and assessment questionnaire were used to collect the data. The results revealed that Iranian teachers did not use a variety of reading assessment methods in their classes. The most common method to assess reading among Iranian teachers was reported to be reading aloud, and other methods of assessing reading ‒ e.g. preparing summaries and oral questioning ‒ were far less common than reading aloud. Alternative methods of assessment ‒ e.g. journals and portfolios ‒ were the least common methods as were reported by Iranian EFL teachers.