Abstract
The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is an examination used to evaluate a non-native English speaker’s proficiency in the English language. This study was conducted to investigate the obstacles faced by the junior lecturers of Syiah Kuala University in achieving the required TOEFL scores. This research applied a focused description as a method of collecting the data and was located within qualitative research. The population of this research was 23 junior lecturers of Syiah Kuala University who were participating in a training class at the Language Centre of Syiah Kuala University and are in preparation for further study in either home country or overseas universities. The instrument of data collection is a questionnaire guide with google form that was sent to 23 junior lecturers. The questionnaire was used to find out the obstacles faced by the junior lectures in achieving the required TOEFL scores. The collected were analysed by using compiling the percentage, adopting the formula proposed by Sudjono. The finding shows that junior lecturers faced obstacles in answering listening to long conversations with a percentage of 93.3% and avoiding similar sounds with a percentage of 80%. The specific obstacles in the structure written expression section were the skill in answering coordinate connectors, agreement after certain words, and parallel structure with coordinate conjunctions questions with the percentage 60%. The other obstacles were skills in answering agreement after prepositional phrases and skill in agreement after prepositional phrases questions with the percentage 67.7%. Then, the obstacles faced by them in reading comprehension were in recognizing main ideas and determining meanings of difficult words questions with the percentage of 67.7%. It is suggested that the junior lecturers should improve their English proficiency before they take the TOEFL test.
Highlights
The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is a standardized test used to evaluate a non-native English speaker’s proficiency in the English language
This study focuses on the obstacles faced by the junior lecturers at Syiah Kuala University in achieving the required TOEFL scores
Listening Comprehension There are eight obstacles faced by the junior lecturers; the highest percentage (93.3%) relates to the attentional focus skill on the long conversation
Summary
The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is a standardized test used to evaluate a non-native English speaker’s proficiency in the English language. For the junior lecturers who are accepted to work as a lecturer at Syiah Kuala University, a certain minimum TOEFL score is expected of them before they apply for the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). The Language Centre of Syiah Kuala University has conducted a language training course to teach the junior lecturers so that they will acquire a certain TOEFL score. Based on the preliminary study on July 6th, 2019, through observation at the TOEFL training class of Syiah Kuala Language Centre and discussion with the staff on 23 junior lecturers of Syiah Kuala University, the researcher found that based on the pre-test and post-test, only one of them acquired 373, while the rest lay about 460 to 497. This is the reason the junior lecturers attend the TOEFL training class
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