Confusing use of 聞く in this sentence


> 試験では、ことばを覚えているかどうか **聞く** 問題を減らすように言っています。  
>  (Scientists) are saying to reduce the problem in exams of whether or not
> you've memorised a word.

I'm not sure I've translated this correctly. I'm confused about the inclusion
of 聞く. I'm sure the act of **asking** whether or not you've memorised the word
isn't the problem.

If I'd been asked to write this sentence I'd have replaced 聞く with either:

1) という  
2) が  
3) nothing

Would any of these options lead to a grammatical, natural sentence? Would my
sentence have a different meaning?




問題 here is not a “problem” in the meaning of a “general issue”, but a problem
as an “exercise”, a “test item”.

Thus ことばを覚えているかどうか聞く問題 are exercises **asking** (verifying) if examinees
remembered words.

And it’s not the problem itself that needs to be reduced, but the number of
such problems (exercises) in exams.

* * *

That said, I’m not sure if the latter part of the question still remains
relevant, but:

> I'd have replaced 聞く with either:
>
> 1) という

This would refer to a direct question: “did you remember the word ...?”

> 2) が

Ungrammatical. I’m not even sure what the intention was. A possessive が?
Anyway, it doesn’t follow an embedded question.

> 3) nothing

Passable, I guess. No change in meaning.




問題 here is not a “problem” in the meaning of a “general issue”, but a problem
as an “exercise”, a “test item”.

Thus ことばを覚えているかどうか聞く問題 are exercises **asking** (verifying) if examinees
remembered words.

And it’s not the problem itself that needs to be reduced, but the number of
such problems (exercises) in exams.

* * *

That said, I’m not sure if the latter part of the question still remains
relevant, but:

> I'd have replaced 聞く with either:
>
> 1) という

This would refer to a direct question: “did you remember the word ...?”

> 2) が

Ungrammatical. I’m not even sure what the intention was. A possessive が?
Anyway, it doesn’t follow an embedded question.

> 3) nothing

Passable, I guess. No change in meaning.

