Study Guide

Field 308: Target Language Proficiency—Somali 
Reading Comprehension

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Directions for Reading Comprehension Assignment

In this section of the test, you will read two passages in the target language and respond in writing to multiple questions about each passage. Your responses may be written in English, the target language, or a combination of both.

If you choose to respond in English, type your response in the response box presented on-screen. If you choose to respond in the target language, your final response must be written on the Response Sheets provided. Please label your response sheets according to the page count displayed in the upper right corner of each screen (e.g., "1 of 12," "2 of 12," etc.). All response sheets must be scanned using the scanner provided at your workstation.

Instructions for scanning your response sheet(s) are available by clicking the "Scanning Help" button at the top of the screen.

Your responses will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria:

Be sure to answer all questions for each reading passage. You may not use any reference materials during the test. This should be your original work and not copied from some other source. Where appropriate, support your response with reference to the passage. Remember to review your work and make any changes you think will improve your written responses.

A response will be considered unscorable if it is unrelated to the assigned topic; not written in English, the target language, or a combination of both; not of sufficient length to score; or merely a repetition of the assignment.

Any time spent responding to the assignments, including scanning the response sheets, is part of your testing time. Monitor your time carefully. When your testing time expires, a pop-up message will appear on-screen indicating the conclusion of your test session. Only response sheets that are scanned before you end your test or before time has expired will be scored. Any response sheet that is not scanned before testing ends will NOT be scored.

Select the Next button to continue.

Sample Reading Comprehension Passage

Read the passage below, based on an article in a magazine about teaching. Then respond to the questions that follow.

 paragraph 1 Ma jiraan wax aad siiso ardaygaaga oo u barbardhigmo hadiyadda jaceylka aqrinta ee raga. Aqrinta waa aasaaska ma ahan kaliya dhammaan xirfadaha kale ee ardayda ay baraneyso sannad dugsiyeedkooda, laakin sidoo kale waqtiga nolosha oo raaxo iyo barasho ah. Dhammaan macalimiinta, ma ahan kaliya kuwa baraa aqrinta, waxay leeyihiin masuuliyad gaar ah oo lagu caawinayo ardayda inay hormariyaan jaceylkooda gaarka ah ee akhrinta. Halkaan waa dhoor qaabood oo aad ku fulin kartid masuuliyadaan.
 paragraph 2 Marka koowaad, u muuji ardaygaaga inaad jeceshahay inaad aqrisid. Ha arkaan buuggaagta aad ku qaadidid agagaarkaaga. La wadaag iyaga waxa aad aqrineysid. U aqri qoraallo badan buugaagta aad jeceshahay. Tusi iyaga farxadda aad ka dareentid aqrinta.
 paragraph 3 Midda labaad, weydii ardayda su'aalaha ku saabsan buuggaagta ay aqrinayaan. Su'aalaha xaqiiqda ugu kala bedel su'aalo badan oo guud oo ka caawineyso ardayda wax ka qabashada arrimaha dhiirogelinta, sifada, iyo mowduuca. Weydii su'aalo ku hagayo ardayda inay dib umilicsadaan dareemahooda gaarka ah ee ku saabsan shakhsiyaadka looga hadlayo buugaagtooda iyo xaaladaha ay nafsadooda ku arkaan.
 paragraph 4 Mida saddexaad, ka caawi ardaydaada inay isu qeexaan sida aqriyayaal. Ka caawi iyaga inay helaan buuggaagta qiyaaliga iyo kuwa aan ahayn oo ay ku raaxeysanayaan. Weydii iyaga wax ku saabsan buuggaagta ay doorteen. Kulaa wadaag farxadaada mowduucyada iyo sheekooyinka la midka ah. Aqri qaar ka mid ah buugaagtooda oo iyaga kala hadal ardaydaada, aqriye ilaa aqriye. U sheeg waxa aad jeceshahay ama aada jecleen. La wadaag iyaga falcelinadaada gaarka ah oo weydii midkooda. Weydii iyaga wax ku saabsan qeybaha buuggaagtooda oo iyaga farxad geliyo, ama dhiirogeliyo iyaga, ama murugeysiiyo. Ka dhig inay dareemaan inay yihiin xubno oo isku koox gaar ah oo aad ka mid tahay, iyo inay u qalmaan inay xubin ka noqdaan iyada.
 paragraph 5 Ugu dambeyntii, ku xiriiri aqrinta nololaha ardaydaada iyo nafsadaada. Taxadar ugu yeer mararka, dhacdooyinka, ama dareemaha muujiyo kuwa ku jiro buugaagta adiga ama iyaga aqriyeen. Sameey isbarbardhigyo u dhaxeeyo dadka ku jiro buuggaagta iyo dadka ku jiro aqbaaraha ama dugsiga. Raadi fursado aad ku xiriiriso waxa ardayda ay aqrinayaan iyo noloshooda gaarka ah, xiriiraradooda gaarka ah, iyo dareemahooda gaarka ah. Si gaaban, ka dhig buuggaagta kuwa dhab ah.
 paragraph 6 Xeeladahaan way shaqeeyaan. Cilmi baaris lagu sameeyey aqrin ayaamuujisay markale iyo markale in wajahid firfricoon, wanaagsan, oo adag ay ka caawin karto ardayda ku jiro nooc walboo dugsi iyo aqrin heer fasal weliba u furayso albaabka aqrinta. Intaas waxaa dheer, xeeladahaan waxay siishaqeeyaan muddo dheer kadib markii ardaygaaga ka tago fasalka. Haddii aad ka caawisid ardaydaada inaay isu qeexaan nafsadooda sida aqriyayaal, waxaad horay u gaareysaa nololahooda badelkii aad qiyaasi kartid.

Sample Test Questions and Responses for the Reading Comprehension Assignment

Objective 0001
Understand the literal meaning of a variety of materials written in the target language.

1. Summarize the author's argument.

Sample strong response. Enter to expand or collapse. Sample expanded
The author argues that reading is the foundation of all of the skills that children learn at school, and can also be the basis of a lifetime of enjoyment and learning. All teachers have a "special responsibility" to help students develop their love of reading, the greatest gift that a teacher can give a student. There are a variety of strategies that can be employed to accomplish this goal, strategies that will help students at every level both succeed in school and become lifelong readers.

Objective 0001
Understand the literal meaning of a variety of materials written in the target language.

2. What are the four recommendations the author makes in the passage?

Sample strong response. Enter to expand or collapse. Sample expanded
The author recommends that teachers show students that they themselves love to read, ask students questions about the books they are reading, help students define themselves as readers, and relate reading to the lives of their students and themselves.

Objective 0002
Apply skills of inference and interpretation to a variety of materials written in the target language.

3. Describe the relationship between teacher and students that is reflected in the passage.

Sample strong response. Enter to expand or collapse. Sample expanded
First, the teacher is a modeler or demonstrator, showing students the teacher's own love and excitement about reading. The teacher is also a facilitator or coach, helping students find books they will enjoy, relating what students are reading to their own lives, and guiding students to reflect on what they've read. The teacher is an instructor, asking questions and drawing parallels between what the students are reading and things going on around them. Most important, the teacher is a participant in learning, sharing the books the teacher is reading, reading books that their students are interested in, making students feel that teacher and student are all members of "the same special club."

Objective 0002
Apply skills of inference and interpretation to a variety of materials written in the target language.

4. What can be inferred from the passage about the author's attitude toward children?

Sample strong response. Enter to expand or collapse. Sample expanded
There are a number of attitudes concerning children that can be inferred from the passage. Students want to learn. They are looking to teachers and other adults as role models. They have the capacity to reflect about what they read and how that may relate to their lives. Students want to share their ideas and feelings. They deserve to be taken seriously and they are worthy participants in learning.

Objective 0003
Apply skills of critical analysis to a variety of materials written in the target language.

5. What can be concluded from information presented in the passage about the credibility of the author's suggestions?

Sample strong response. Enter to expand or collapse. Sample expanded
There are two things about the passage that make me think the author knows what he or she is talking about. First, the detailed nature of the author's recommended strategies suggests that these approaches have been thought about and worked with over a long period of time. Second, the author's comment at the end of the passage about research into reading suggests that the ideas she or he is promoting are based not only in the author's own experience but also in the experience of many other teachers. While the author does not provide any details about the research, the level of detail and the reference to research both support the credibility of the author's suggestions.

Objective 0003
Apply skills of critical analysis to a variety of materials written in the target language.

6. Does the author provide adequate support for the generalizations made in the first paragraph of the passage? If so, explain why. If not, explain why not.

Sample strong response. Enter to expand or collapse. Sample expanded
I don't think the author provides good support for the generalizations in the first paragraph of the passage. In the opening paragraph the author says that a lasting love for reading is the greatest "gift" that a teacher can give her students, that reading is a foundation for all of the other skills that children learn at school, that reading can provide "a lifetime of enjoyment and learning, and that all teachers have a "special responsibility" to help students develop a "love of reading." While the rest of the passage describes a number of strategies for accomplishing that goal, nowhere in the passage does the author offer any direct support for any of the generalizations in the first paragraph.

Performance Characteristics for Reading Comprehension Assignment

The following characteristics guide the scoring of responses to the Reading Comprehension test questions.

Comprehension The understanding of the literal content of a reading passage
Inference The inference and interpretation of information implied in a reading passage
Analysis The critical analysis of information contained within a reading passage

Score Scale for Reading Comprehension Assignment

A score will be assigned to the responses to the Reading Comprehension test questions according to the following score scale.

Score Point Score Point Description
4 The "4" response reflects a thorough understanding of the performance characteristics for the reading comprehension assignment.
  • The response demonstrates a thorough understanding of the literal content of the reading passage.
  • The response thoroughly demonstrates application of inference and interpretation skills of implied information in the text, including subtly conveyed information.
  • The response presents an analysis that thoroughly reflects the information presented.
3 The "3" response reflects an adequate understanding of the performance characteristics for the reading comprehension assignment.
  • The response demonstrates an adequate understanding of the main idea of the passage but misses some details.
  • The response adequately demonstrates application of inference and interpretation skills of the implied information from the text but may misinterpret some information.
  • The response presents an analysis that adequately reflects the information presented.
2 The "2" response reflects a partial understanding of the performance characteristics for the reading comprehension assignment.
  • The response demonstrates a partial understanding of the main idea of the passage but may miss significant details.
  • The response partially demonstrates application of inference and interpretation skills of the implied information from the text.
  • The response presents an analysis that partially reflects the information presented.
1 The "1" response reflects an inadequate understanding of the performance characteristics for the reading comprehension assignment.
  • The response demonstrates an inadequate understanding of the main idea of the passage, although it may exhibit comprehension of isolated words and phrases.
  • The response inadequately demonstrates application of inference and interpretation skills of the implied information from the text.
  • The response presents an analysis that inadequately reflects information presented.
U The response is unscorable because it is unrelated to the assigned topic, illegible, not written in the required language, not of sufficient length to score, or merely a repetition of the assignment.
B There is no response to the assignment.