This workshop is for secondary school English Language teachers who are involved in the design of reading comprehension tests and practice worksheets that approximate international examination standards. This workshop will raise participants’ awareness of the qualities of good reading comprehension questions and the common mistakes made when designing them. Participants will learn  to analyse reading comprehension questions in terms of their function (e.g. to clarify contents of the text or clarify the linguistic structure of the text) to ascertain the specific micro reading skills and knowledge bases (lexical and real world knowledge) that are being targeted which in turn will demonstrate how well they meet the objectives of  the testing and teaching instruments. The workshop will begin with a discussion of existing question taxonomies and their implications to the design of reading comprehension tests followed by a discussion of the various criteria that need to be taken into account when designing reading comprehension questions such as rubrics and targeting of information. Samples of reading comprehension questions will be provided for analysis and discussion. Designing good reading comprehension questions is frequently dependent on the selection of suitable texts. A brief discussion of the general qualities of effective texts that lend themselves well to the task of inspiring good comprehension questions will also be included. 

AIM:

To raise participants’ awareness of the qualities of well-designed reading comprehension questions and the common mistakes made when designing them. 

PROGRAMME OUTLINE:

1.   A brief review of literature.

2.   Discussion of criteria.

3.   Participants' practice analysis.

4.   Pedagogical implications.