A Preliminary Examination of the Effect of White and Blue Backgrounds on Web-based English Listening Tests

Previous studies conducted by Yamazaki and Eto on the background colors of on-line tests indicated that a combination of black text and a white background color was not considered preferable for Web-based tests (WBTs). In this study, the authors conducted an experiment to see if a background color can affect the scores of a Web-based English listing test. Thirty three subjects in their twenties took Web-based English listening tests and non-linguistic tests with blue and white background colors with black text. The average test scores of the subjects showed no significant differences between the blue and white backgrounds. The brain functions of the subjects were also examined by observing relative changes in hemoglobin (Hb) concentrations in their brains with near-infrared spectroscopy. Two dimensional images of the Hb concentration changes obtained in the experiment indicated that areas in the brain associated with language processing tended to have higher Hb concentrations while the subjects were taking the listening test with both background colors. On the other hand, areas in the brain related to the frontal eye field were observed to be more active while they were taking the test with the white background than with the blue background, even though the questionnaire result obtained from the subjects showed that they felt more tired when they took the tests with the combination of black text and a blue background. © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of KES International. Keywards: Background colors, Web-based test, English listening, test performance, brain functions, near-infrared spectroscopy, Brodmann Area.