Differences in test question preferences between literature teachers in English Language and Literature and English Language Teaching Departments in Turkish higher education

Abstract

This study investigated preferences in test question-types reflecting the approaches to testing literature among teachers of literature. It drew its test materials from the Carter/Long (1990) model of literature test question-types. The participants were 33 literature teachers in the Departments of English Language and Literature (ELL) and English Language Teaching (ELT) in major universities situated in Istanbul and Ankara. A preference ranking format involving examples of six literature test question types was developed and was administered to eight universities in Istanbul and Ankara. The study employed quantitative data analysis procedures. Two research questions were asked. The first research question concerned whether there would be differences in the test question-types preferred by literature teachers in ELL Departments versus those preferred by literature teachers in ELT Departments. The results indicated that ELL and ELT teachers chose both language-based and conventional approaches in preferences for test question-types. The second research question asked whether teachers of ELT students made more use of language-based exam questions than did teachers of ELL majors. In this study it was hypothesized that ELT literature teachers would have a stronger preference for language-based question-types, and that ELL literature teachers would have a stronger preference for conventional question types. However, the findings showed that this hypothesis was disconfirmed. In the study it appeared that ELT teachers had less preference for language-based questions than did ELL teachers. It was suggested that while appreciating the necessity of conventional approaches in testing of literature, literature teachers, in general, should focus on more language-based question types in their exams since language-based questions support students' L2 language development as well as literary insight (Carter & Long, 1992). Hence, teachers should focus students on the text and its uses of language. This might be achieved through using language-based approaches calling on students to use their own experiences to respond to text in both testing and teaching.