Unified taxonomy of subskills shared between and exclusive to reading and listening comprehension¶

Theory · All theories
Evidence · 3 claims (3 for) · 1 study (1 review), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 3 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The article prepares a taxonomy that, for the first time in its account, lists reading and listening subskills in a unified fashion, distinguishing shared from modality-exclusive subskills. The common list includes "Understanding a main idea and general information", "Inferring indirect information from the context", and "Transferring information to pictures, maps, tables, or diagrams". Reading-exclusive items include matching headings and inserting sentences into gaps; listening-exclusive items include perceiving individual sounds and predicting the continuation of a message. The taxonomy operationalizes subskills drawn from theory, tests, and coursebooks.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Subskills were compiled from theoretical and empirical applied linguistics papers, nine proficiency test manuals, and reading/listening tasks in five coursebook series, with repetitions eliminated and lists cross-checked by two experienced EFL teachers.

Constraints¶

• The article states that subskills in diagnostic tests could have been investigated as well, and that follow-up work testing the subskills is still needed.

Target Learners¶

• EFL/ESL learners assessed with international proficiency tests or taught with widely used coursebooks

Target Learning Objectives¶

• Reading comprehension and listening comprehension subskills in a second language

Claims¶

• Ten Common Seven Reading Four Listening Subskills [+M]
• Rc Lc Not Unitary Similar And Different Subskills [+M]
• Subskill taxonomies in the literature come from both empirical investigations and theory, with no consensus on the number of subskills [+W]

Related Theories¶

• Taxonomy of macro- and micro-skills of listening comprehension
• Unitary language construct: vocabulary, grammar, and listening comprehension reflect a common language factor

Examples¶

• Design RC and LC tests with the offered subskills and validate them with think-aloud protocols and interviews
• Use the unified subskills taxonomy to diagnose learners' strengths and weaknesses and to build self-assessment tools

Key Sources¶

• Aynur Ismayilli Karakoc. (2019). Reading and Listening Comprehension Subskills: The Match between Theory, Coursebooks, and Language Proficiency Tests. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 10(4). https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.10n.4p.166