Test Of English For International Communication Research Articles

An analysis of the differences among L2 listening comprehension test formats

The present study aims to investigate which variables affect English as a foreign language (EFL) students’ listening comprehension test performance. It examines two types of variables: (1) test formats and (2) test materials. First, three types of test formats are investigated: (1) questions are not written but given orally only once in English and in the students’ first language (L1) after they listen to the spoken text and (2) questions are not written but given orally in English and in the students’ L1 before and after they listen to the spoken text. The third type is a control group: Questions are written and also given orally in English after the students listen to the spoken text. The first type of test is similar to the Test of English as a Foreign Language Paper-Based Testing (TOEFL PBT) and the second type the General Tests of English Language Proficiency (G-TELP). The third type, a control group, is the format of the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC). Second, this study examines whether there are any differences between dialogues and monologues in terms of students’ performance. The results show that test formats do not make a statistically significant difference to students’ test performance. Repeating questions after listening to the spoken text does not help them perform better, even if they listen to questions not only in English but also in their L1. As for differences in test materials, the results are not decisive. It is not possible to determine whether there are any differences between dialogues and monologues.

Assessing proficiency in the National English Ability Test (NEAT) in South Korea

The English language as a symbolic resource holds more notable cultural and social significance in South Korea than any other foreign language. In the current trend of globalisation, proficient English skills have been identified by the government as a critical resource for the country's survival, and developing these skills has been a major priority in all areas. A number of elite universities and sought-after conglomerates such as Samsung, LG and Hyundai have policies which noticeably favour and recruit students with high English proficiency levels (Lee, 2006: 67). In particular, scores achieved in the international proficiency tests such as the TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication) and TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), in preference to scores gained in other English tests, have become a major determining factor in gaining employment and promotion. According to the Samsung Economic Research Institute between 2004 and 2005, 102,340 Koreans sat for TOEFL. Koreans represented 18.5% of the total 554,942 people taking the test worldwide and they spend 700 billion Won (approximately US$700 million) a year on tests to evaluate their English proficiency.

Using Dictation to Measure Language Proficiency

Many teachers are faced with mixed-ability classes and have little information on the proficiency of their students. With group work being central to most pedagogies in second language acquisition, teachers may want to construct groups for specific purposes; knowledge of the relative proficiency of students is therefore very important. Although tools such as the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) are available, they may be expensive to implement, or results may be unavailable to the teacher. This paper discusses dictation tests as a possible way of measuring the relative proficiency of students and highlights the results of a study conducted in a university in Japan that used dictation as a test of proficiency and compared results with the TOEIC test. The authors explain how to design and conduct dictation in the classroom and demonstrate how dictation is a cheap, simple, and effective means of measuring language proficiency.

The European sTANDEM Project for Certification in Medical English: Standards, Acceptability and Transgression(s)

In the global world of international communication, employers or institutions that wish to determine the language skills of non-native speakers of English usually turn to generalist proficiency tests such as the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or the slightly more business-oriented TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication). These tests enable test takers to certify that they have reached a certain level in skills needed in everyday life and, sometimes, workplace situations, but they do not assess language skills for specific purposes.Aware of this vacuum, a consortium of European teachers/researchers and international experts in the domain of medical English undertook to explore the largely unchartered territory of certification in EMP (English for Medical Purposes). They launched the EU-funded sTANDEM (sTANDardised language Examination for Medical purposes) project in 2011 with a view to evaluating and validating the specialised language skills of healthcare professionals in the fields of medicine, pharmacy and nursing. In order to provide a test tailored to the professional needs of the specialised community, consortium members revisited the normative descriptors of the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) and developed specifications based on specialised genres and texts.The aim of this article is to present the evolution of the sTANDEM project in the light of the standardised requirements of language certification. It addresses the question of linguistic, didactic and cultural choices and poses the problem of a common threshold of acceptability and of possible transgressions of conventional rules within the context of this European partnership.

The Effect of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) on Performance in the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) Listening Module

Many companies and organizations have been using the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) for business and commercial communication purpose in Vietnam and around the world. The present study investigated the effect of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) on performance in the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) listening module. Two groups of participants enrolledinthe same major, had equivalent general English background and attended the TOEIC listening class twice a week with the same teacher – the researcher in 7 weeks at the College of Finance and Customs, in Vietnam. There were 25 students in the treatment group and the control group. The quasi-experimental method, questionnaire and post-test were used in this study. The material input was designed with the application of CALL introduced into the treatment group only whereas the control group still learned with the current textbook only. The results showed that there was difference in the performance on TOEIC listening test scores between two groups. The students in the treatment group used listening strategies more effectively than the students in the control groups. Moreover, CALL instruction and teaching method increased the students’ TOEIC listening scores significantly.

Renegotiating the TOEIC: A self-directed learning approach

The TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication) is currently the main examination used in Japan as an employment requirement and in several institutions, to streamline students. For non-English majors, it can be especially difficult to reach the required target set by each organization. A self-directed learning model for TOEIC study was thus designed to encourage students to renegotiate their learning goals and try a new style of learning in order to achieve their TOEIC target in a more focused manner. The acronym FITE (Focus – Input – Training – Evaluation) was used to help students focus on specific areas of their learning, find a good balance for their self-directed activities and self-monitor their development each month as they prepared for the test. This study follows the progress of a lower-proficiency level student who was struggling to achieve his target. After eight weeks of self-directed learning, he showed gains in both reading and listening scores. The research concluded that whereas a program of daily study of TOEIC-specific practice exercises from textbooks was the main component in learner success, it was also essential for students to be cognizant of strengths and weaknesses; to focus on a particular area of improvement; to expose themselves to other forms of learning for enjoyment; and to self-evaluate their learning progress in order to increase their overall abilities. TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication)は現在、日本で雇用に必要な条件として、また教育機関における学生の効率的なランク付けのために、使用されている主要な試験である。英語専攻でない学生にとって、企業や学校の定める必要スコアに到達することは大変である。そこで本論ではTOEICのための自主学習モデルを考案した。それは学生に学習到達目標を再設定させ、より集中的に学びTOEICの目標スコアに到達できるように、新しい学習スタイルを取り入れさせるものである。ここでは、「Focus(重点の絞り込み) – Input(インプット) – Training(演習) – Evaluation(評価)」の頭文字を取ったFITEというモデルを使用した。これは学生がTOEICの勉強をする際、ある特定の学習分野に重点を置き、自主学習行動の適切なバランスを発見し、毎月自らの進歩を自己観察することを促すものである。本論では、目標達成に努力していた習熟度の低い1人の学生の進歩を追った。8週間の自主学習の後、この学生はリーディングとリスニング両方のスコアを伸ばした。結論として、TOEICに特化した練習問題テキストの日々の学習が学習者の成功の主な要因である一方、学生が自分の得意不得意を認識し、特定分野を重点的に改善し、他の学習形態への挑戦を楽しみ、学習進度を自己診断することも、総合力強化のために非常に重要であった。

Understanding English Learners Preparing for TOEIC and Their Information Technology Usage Practices in Korea

This paper presents two questionnaire studies that were carried out to capture an understanding of English learners, the contexts around them, and their information technology (IT) usage practices, with a special focus on Korean university students preparing for the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC). We examined their attitudes towards TOEIC in a study in which 232 participants answered 16 questions. In a second study on 51 university students, we also explored the patterns of IT usage in relation to studying for the TOEIC. The results of these two studies hopefully shed light on the design of realistic and usable English learning systems.

The Comparison of Effects in 3PL Model and 3PL Testlet Model on the TOEIC

Evaluating or measuring test takers’ language abilities is of central importance in the development of standardized language tests that foster meaningful assessment. The Test of English for International Communication(TOEIC) is a widely used standardized test to evaluate test takers’ receptive(reading and listening skills) and productive(writing and speaking skills) language abilities. Although item response theory(IRT) models usually provide satisfactory answers for measuring parameters of items and test takers, they do not always lead to the correct solution when systematic biases are ignored in estimating items and test takers. Due to the paucity of validation studies of the TOEIC, the present study only seeks to explore psychometric properties of items in the simulated TOEIC test in the context of IRT and testlet response theory (TRT). In order to accomplish this purpose, this study describes how a set of items, sharing the same contents in the listening comprehension part of the TOEIC, behaves under the two suggested models (3PL and 3PLT) with the test samples who enrolled in the TOEIC classes in the university in South Korea. Of 100 items on TOEIC listening comprehension session, 60 items (10 items for photographs, 30 items for question-response, 30 items for short conversion, and 30 items for short talks session, respectively) are clustered within each testlet which sometimes called item bundle. Results from this study may provide more precise, reliable, and valid information about estimates regarding items and examinees. Later, suggestions for future research are offered.

웹 기반 협력학습 환경에서 학습자간 상호작용의 매개효과 관한 연구

The purpose of this study is to verify the mediating effect of interaction among learners in a Web Based Collaboration Learning (WBCL) environment. 254 Korean college students served as test subjects and during the 4 weeks of research period, they studied the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) in a web-based collaborative learning system. The interaction between learners was looked into by categorizing the concept into task oriented information sharing activities and relationship oriented communication activities and analyzing the causal relationship between the two activities. Learning performances were measured in individual level. The results are as follows. First, task oriented information sharing activities effect positively on relationship oriented information sharing activities. Second, the managerial characteristics of WBCL had a positive effect on interaction between learners but the systematic characteristics had partial influence on interaction between learners. Third, the interaction between learners completely interconnects the managerial characteristics of WBCL and learning performance but partially interconnects the systematic characteristic of WBCL and learning performance. In conclusion, this study implies that managerial and systematic characteristics of WBCL should be considered on the preferential basis for the WBCL to become successful and interactive activities such as information sharing and communication should be encouraged to be active from a small-size WBCL perspective.

An alternative to language learner dependence on L2 caption‐reading input for comprehension of sitcoms in a multimedia learning environment

AbstractMost second/foreign language (L2) learners have difficulty understanding listening input because of its implicit and ephemeral nature, and they typically have better reading comprehension than listening comprehension skills. This study examines the effects of using an interactive advance‐organizer activity on the DVD video comprehension of L2 learners to provide an alternative to the scenario of L2 learners experiencing sensory overload in a multimedia learning environment that presents pictures, printed words and speech words. A total of 95 intermediate university‐level L2 learners with an average TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication) score of 565 were placed in four conditions for an English‐language DVD viewing task, including an advance‐organizer group, a captions group, a captions plus advance‐organizer group, and a control group. The study concludes that using advance organizers as an instructional strategy facilitated participant listening comprehension and reduced participant dependence on L2 caption‐reading input by 50% for initial comprehension. Participants also held a positive attitude towards an interactive advance‐organizer activity. The details concerning the role of L2 captions in multimedia listening are also discussed. The findings provide insight into teaching listening to L2 learners who learn most of their L2 in a more reading‐dependent classroom setting and typically have enhanced L2 literacy skills.

The Application of Self-Regulated Strategies to Blended Learning

This study analyzes vocational college students’ self-regulated strategies for blended learning. It investigates whether there are any differences in self-regulated learning strategies among students with gender and achievement variables. Twenty-three students at a vocational college in an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) context participated in the project; a structured questionnaire was used as the major research instrument and the TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication) English Test to categorize students’ competence in English. In the four subcategories of self-regulated learning strategies, the results show that the students obtained their highest scores in metacognitive and the lowest in cognitive strategies. It was observed that: a) there was a correlation between the students’ level of linguistic competence and their action control strategy; b) students with a high level of competence performed better than those with an intermediate one; c) gender was not reflected in any significant difference in any of the sub-categories but the statistic data revealed that male students had more confidence in cognitive and action control sub-categories than female students, this is potentially a field that needs further study.

The Correlation Between Students’ Motivation And Learning Styles Towards Students’ English Achievement In The State Polytechnic Of Lampung

The objective of this research is to find out whether there are any correlations between students’ motivation and learning styles toward their English achievement. motivation and learning styles have significant correlation toward their English achievement. Continuous learning styles of students with their motivation is a decisive performance improvement study English so that students will be more interested to deepen their knowledge. The material in this study is a questionnaire of learning styles, and motivation to know the students’ learning styles and motivation. In addition, as the material to determine the English proficiency of students, this study uses 200 multiple choice questions of TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication). The research method uses a correlation which is one type of research designed to determine the degree of correlation between the dependent variable and the independent variables, both individually using simple linear regression and simultaneous multiple linear regression. Instruments of learning motivation and learning styles of students using a questionnaire with Likert scale, while for the English proficiency test results obtained from the result of test.  The study was planned for 6 months April to September 2012 at the State Polytechnic of Lampung. 6 months used for the preparation, determine the sample, giving questionnaires, analyzing data, and seminars. The result of research and data analysis shows that there are closed positive correlation and significant between students’ motivation and learning styles toward their English achievement Key words : motivation, learning styles, achievement

Room acoustic effects on speech comprehension by English-as-a-second-language versus native English-speaking listeners

English-as-a-second-language (ESL) listeners are generally more impaired than native English-speaking listeners on speech intelligibility tasks under reverberation and noise; however, more study is needed to ascertain these groups’ performances on speech comprehension tasks, rather than intelligibility. A recent study (Valente et al, 2012) showed that speech comprehension by both native English-speaking adults and children was more negatively affected by adverse acoustic environments than sentence recognition. The current project investigates the speech comprehension of both ESL and native English-speaking adult listeners under combinations of reverberation and noise. Sets of 15-minute long listening comprehension tests based on the format of the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) were developed, anechoically recorded, convolved with binaural room impulse responses (BRIRs) to produce five mid-frequency reverberation times (0.4 to 1.1 seconds), and presented over loudspeakers in the Nebraska acoustics chamber. Background noise was also varied at three levels (RC-30, 40 and 50) through an Armstrong i-Ceiling system. In total then, subjects were individually exposed to 15 acoustic combinations of reverberation and background noise. Preliminary results will be presented and compared between ESL and native English listeners. [Work supported by a UNL Durham School Seed Grant and the Paul S. Veneklasen Research Foundation.]

A practical use of learning system using user preference in ubiquitous computing environment

U-learning, or ubiquitous learning, has become the state-of-the-art educational trend in information technology. In ubiquitous learning environment, students now have the ability to learn anytime and anywhere. In many computer-assisted learning systems (such as e-learning, m-learning and u-learning), students must follow the lesson plans and learning environments established by the teacher. To overcome this limitation and increase effective learning, new techniques that reflect alternative learning styles, such as self-directed learning, adaptive learning and personalized learning, have been developed. These techniques have been researched extensively, but they still do not consistently reflect the specific needs of all students. In this article, a u-learning system is proposed that considers the learning level and preferences of each learner. The system provides information about the student's preferred learning section and difficulty level of learning contents and indicates the areas that may require additional study (based on the educational history of the student), thus allowing students to set up an optimized learning environment. A topic preference vector was applied to calculate the student's preferences, and the learning section and the difficulty level were used as each vector value in the system. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed system, an English-learning system was implemented using content from the reading comprehension section of the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC). An experiment was conducted using a control group and a test group. The results demonstrated that the system proposed in this paper is useful for improving learning efficiency.

A case study on the potentials of card game assisted learning

In the current world of today, English is undoubtedly the main language for global communication. For the business industry, almost more than 80% of the businesses in Taiwan are utilizing the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) or General English Proficiency Test (GEPT) certifications as a basis for employment screening. Such emphasis in the importance of English language certification has actually opened up numerous opportunities for educational technology that help students learn better. This case study involves the use of a card game as a way to help develop the students TOEIC proficiencies. Results show that card game based language learning has indeed provided the possibility of improving the students’ grades.

RAISING LEARNER AWARENESS OF LOCAL WISDOM IN TOUR-RELATED PROJECT TEACHING

: This study investigated how CLT (Communicative Language Teaching) and awareness-raising enhanced Thai learners’ awareness of their local wisdom in a tour-related project work with three specific purposes, which were to explore how the learners interacted with textual representations of their local wisdom to create their project, what extent CLT and awareness-raising tasks developed their communicative competence of the target language, and what object of awareness that the tasks could help the learners realize while working on their projects. This study was triangulated. The elicitation instruments were project instructions, CLT and awareness-raising tasks, pretests and posttests based on TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication), learner logs, interviews, and observation notes. The study revealed that, first, on the awareness of local wisdom in a tour-related project work, the learners interacted with textual representations of their local wisdom through theme-centered learning process. Second, on the enhancement of CLT and awareness-raising, CLT allowed the learners to deal with interactive, spontaneous, and more meaningful communication actively while awareness-raising helped the learners consciously focus on semantic, linguistic, and pragmatic aspects of the target language. Lastly, on object of awareness, CLT and awareness-raising tasks could lead the learners to realize these objects of awareness: nature of experiential learning, subject content, and skill content. For pedagogical implications, project-based teaching with the support of CLT and awareness-raising tasks can raise learner awareness of local wisdom in tour-related topics effectively. Pedagogical implications illustrated some practical applications of CLT and awareness-raising tasks for enhancing learner awareness in ESP project work in a Thai classroom. Future inquiry should replicate this study or apply to business or other ESP project instructions. Keywords : tour-related project work of local wisdom, communicative language teaching (CLT) or communicative language learning (CLL), awareness-raising or consciousness-raising (C-R)

Produção e percepção oral em l2: os processos de transferência do conhecimento grafo fônico-fonológico do português brasileiro (L1) para o inglês (L2) e o desempenho em listening (L2)

This study aims to establish a connection between L2 speech production and perception by contrasting the findings garnered from English word and nonword naming tasks performed by 156 Brazilian students of English with their scores at the listening section of TOIEC (Test of English for International Communication). The production-perception relationship is approached in an original fashion in this investigation, since data gathered from L2 production in word and nonword naming tasks is compared to the participants’ performance in listening comprehension tasks of longer excerpts of native speech – rather than perceptual tests of phones or words only. First, we investigated the rate of use of nine grapho-phonic-phonological transfer processes among 156 adult Brazilian ESL students according to their level of proficiency during word and nonword naming sessions. The findings showed a steep and significant decrease in the rate of use of processes of transfer as the level during ESL word production as the participants’ level of proficiency increased. However, when reading nonwords, the students’ performance worsened a great deal, that is, the rate of use of most transfer processes increased regardless of the subjects’ levels of proficiency. Second, in order to assert whether there could be connections between the production results and L2 speech perception. We found inverse and significant correlations.

Le niveau de compréhension de l’anglais des étudiants en médecine peut être amélioré. Résultats d’une stratégie d’évaluation systématique

To describe the level of English of a population of medical students and the improvement after the implementation of systematic assessment that all students achieve a minimal level. For the past 5 years, all medical students in our medical school have been taking the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC). The baseline population (students entering second year in 2004) had no specific obligation. After 2004, a score above 600 was mandatory for graduation. Teaching was oriented towards training for the TOEIC and the number of hours was more important for low-level students. The mean score has increased from 618 ± 146 in 2004, to 687 ± 94, 717 ± 97, 733 ± 96 and 731 ± 104 for the next four years. The proportion of students who do not achieve a score of 550 (B1 level of the European framework) has decreased from 30 to 0%. Improving the level of English of French medical students is possible, if this is made a priority. The objective, as set in engineering studies, that all medical students reach a B2 level would require national guidelines.

Recommendation for English multiple-choice cloze questions based on expected test scores

When students study for multiple-choice cloze tests as the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC), they tend to repeatedly tackle questions of the same type. In such situations, students can effectively solve questions related to the

A study on reliability and validity of TOEIC receptive skills.

It has been 30years since TOEIC(Test of English for International Communication) is used to measure English skills of people working in an...