Substitute Word Application in Determining the Reading Level

Abstract

Many techniques such as cloze test and maze are used to determine the reading level. When the studies that directly use the gap filling technique in the literature are examined, it is seen that the synonym words are not accepted as correct answers in the gap-filling test, which is a disadvantage, therefore, they often do not give valid scores in level determination. The reason why the substitution word application emerged is that the gap completion technique does not give healthy results in measuring students' reading levels. The aim of the study is to see to what extent cloze test and maze techniques, which are among the techniques used in determining the reading levels of individuals, work and their compatibility with Turkish. Word and sentence structures of languages differ. Failure to accept synonyms or words that complement the meaning but differ from the correct answer in the gap completion tests ignores the relationship between context and meaning. For this reason, it is seen that there is a great difference between the reading levels of the students and the reading levels determined by the gap completion tests, where every fourth, fifth and sixth words are deleted, while the harmony between the reading levels increases when the substitution words are accepted as correct answers. The obtained data suggest that substitution word application may give more sensitive results in determining the reading level.