Abstract
This study aimed at examining the effects of styles of presenting multiple-choice options, that is, the style in which the options are presented in written format and the style in which they are presented in recorded format, on the results of a Japanese listening comprehension test. In two Shimada cases (2004 and 2006a), the test consisting of items with written options was less difficult than the test with recorded options. In this study, based on the Shimada (2006a) data, the effect of the ability of each individual examinee on the test results was examined. An analysis of four groups of examinees classified according to the test scores showed that, as for Step 1, or the lowest score level, in the Level-3 item group for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, the average score was higher for the style in which the options were presented in recorded format. As for Step 2, in most item groups the average score was higher for the style in which the options were presented in written format, and as for Step 3, in the Level-2 item group for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, the average score was higher for the style in which the options were presented in written format. As for Step 4, or the highest score level,no significant difference was observed between the two styles at any item groups. These results show that the written options helped medium-level learners in answering the questions, whereas reading the options constituted a burden for beginner-level learners.
