Abstract
Among the many aspects of foreign language testing, the test format is one of the most important factors influencing test validity. In some listening comprehesion tests the spoken foreign language is presented as a stimulus and the written foreign language alternatives are presented as a response. Because of recent technological innovations, various kinds of audio-visual aids are now available for use. If we take advantage of these aids, we can explore test formats which are different from present tests. The purpose of this paper is to indicate, through the use of a classifying diagram, the great diversity of foreign-language listening comprehension test formats now in existence and to include possible future test formats using audio-visual aids. The diagram is in the shape of a quadratic prism in which the x axis indicates 26 primary stimulus modalities, the y axis 26 secondary stimulus modalities and the z axis 64 response modalities.
