Teachers have many uses for randomization

Randomized multiple-choice test items; randomized scrambled sentences for coherence tasks in reading; and many others.

Here is an interesting research project involving random sentences

Replicate this experiment with your learners (or if you are a learner then try it yourself).

Cloze passages were once thought to be a good measure of text comprehension. It was later found, however, that language learners could complete level-appropriate cloze passages with equal success whether the sentences were presented in a sequential text or in random order! In other words, the cloze measure may tell something about sentence comprehension but does not seem to tap into any cumulative or integrated text comprehension (for details see Elizabeth Bernard, 1991, Reading Development in a Second Language).

Procedure: Use The Compleat Randomizer to create two versions of the same text, one sequential and one random. Then export these to n-word cloze and make comparison cloze passages (with n-word ratio of about one gap per two sentences). Try with learners or yourself.

Then reflect on the value of cloze as a measure of text comprehension.