Cloze-Elide Test
To develop the cloze-elide test, redundant words were inserted into the text randomly. Inserted words were selected from Davis and Gartner’s (2010) Frequency Dictionary of Contemporary American English,which lists 5000 words in order of frequency. The words of the dictionary were divided into five sections, from 1 to 1000, 1001 to 2000, 2001 to 3000, 3001 to 4000, 4001 to 5000. Twenty words were selected from 1 to 1000 section at random. The random numbers were generated from the http: // www.random.org. In order to select random words, twenty words were chosen from each section. The words represented most parts of speech. So, a variety of word classes were selected. One hundred words were prepared which included articles, conjunctions, determiners, existential, genetive, prepositions, adjectives, numbers, nouns, pronouns, adverbs, to + infinitives, interjections, verbs, and negations.
Five passages were selected from Linda Lee and Gunderson’s (2011)Select Reading , which covers four levels from intermediate to upper-intermediate. The passages presented five different topics from four levels. The titles of the passages were Denmark Loves Bicycle (intermediate), It Is Not Always Black and White (pre-intermediate), Mobile Phones: Hang Up or Keep Talking?, Babies Sound Learners (intermediate) and The Art Of Readings (upper-intermediate). Two passages were selected from the intermediate level.
The superfluous words which were selected from the dictionary were inserted at random locations in the text. No words were inserted into the first two sentences of each text. They were left intact. The insertion of the redundant words started in the third sentence. The locations of the insertion were determined by a random number generated software. If it was after or before the proper noun, the point of insertion was moved one word further or back. The redundant words were taken at the intended surface position. The random numbers were ranged from seven to fourteen for the location of words in the text. It was generated by the http: // www.random.org. The one hundred words which were selected from the dictionary were put into the text randomly by employing software. Using this procedure the passages were transformed into the cloze-elide test. Dr. Baghaei, an expert in this field, reviewed the tests to determine whether any of the inserted words could be plausibly developed as authentic to the text or if any other problems distinguished.
According to the words of the text and literature and considering our expectation of the number read in a minute by the students, it takes 4 minutes for the learners to do the text, so, this time was halved in order to present the text in the speeded test. For each cloze-elide test, 2 minutes was allocated. The participants were required to identify the irrelevant words and eliminate them in the allotted time under the supervision of the examiner. The cloze-elide tests were administered in the time limitation.