1.4 The research questions
This study focuses on four questions.
The main question is “Why do Chinese senior school students and college students
perform so poorly in cloze tests?”
The subsidiary questions are:
(1) How do the students feel about their experiences in cloze tests?
(2) What strategies can be used to address the problem?
(3) Does long term cloze testing have any effects on students’ use of reading
strategies?
1.5 Outline of the study
Chapter 1 provides the background and context to the study, the rationale and the
purpose of the research. It also introduces the research questions. Chapter 2 focuses
on the literature review on cloze procedures in English teaching and learning. In
particular, it focuses on cloze tests used as a measurement of reading comprehension.
Chapter 3 discusses the research design and methodology employed in this study.
Chapter 4 presents and analyses the data. Chapter 5 draws conclusions and makes
recommendations for improving cloze tests performance.
1.6 Conclusion
This chapter discussed the background of English learning and teaching in China from
the initial years of its foundation to the present day. It particularly focussed on the
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emphasis that has been put on high levels of achievement in English through national
tests, which includes cloze tests. The next chapter deals with the literature on cloze
procedure.