TOEFL Prediction Research Articles

Blended learning intervention on the students’ reading comprehension achievement with different personality traits

Reading is one of fundamental receptive skills that students should master in language acquisition. In fact, many students struggle in reading even they have mastered language acquisition. Non linguistics factor, for instance personality traits affects the student’s reading comprehension process. The research objectives are (1) to identify the effectiveness of blended learning and conventional learning instruction in improving EFL students’ reading comprehension with different personality traits and (2) to explore the differences in students’ impressions regarding integrating blended learning instruction in the EFL class. This research employs a mixed-methods approach. Sixty-six participants of SMA N 1 Pulau Morotai participated in this study as a sample. Research instruments utilize the Eysenck Personality Test (EPI) to determine students' personality types. The TOEFL prediction test is used in the reading comprehension test, and a semi-structural interview is used for the qualitative instrument. In addition, analyzing the data uses Independent T-test and N-Gain Interpretation Test. The descriptive method is utilized to analyze the qualitative data. The finding shows that the average learning outcomes of mix introverted-extroverted students who use blended learning were higher compared to those of mix introverted-extroverted students who use traditional learning models. Unfortunately, even though both had different learning outcomes, these learning models were generally regarded as ineffective due to the N-gain score being less than 40%. As seen from the interview result, blended learning models were regarded as multi-way instructional models that accommodated students' needs despite an inadequate internet connection, enhanced reading comprehension, fostered students' technological proficiency, and provided efficiency and adaptability.

Comparative Analysis Of TOEFL Prediction Score Results And Students' Quizzes Score

The aim of this research was to investigate whether there is a difference between general English scores and Toefl Prediction scores. and Is the difference significant or not This research method used explanatory correlational. The analysis technique used Annova variant and Paired sample t test. The population of this study were students of Al Islam Polytechnic, Bandung, 1st semester Radiology study program. The results showed that there was no significant evidence to reject H0. and there is no significant difference between TOEFL prediction scores and middle test quizzes scores

THE ANALYSIS OF STUDENT'S DIFFICULTIES IN COMPREHENDING MACRO AND MICRO-SKILLS OF LISTENING

The research explored the challenges of students undertaking the TOEFL prediction test, specifically in the listening section. The study utilized descriptive qualitative research and employed a questionnaire. To attain proficiency in listening comprehension, students must grasp macro and micro skills, as Brown’s taxonomy outlines. The study demonstrated that students encounter difficulty in listening comprehension due to four major factors: sound, vocabulary, grammar, and pragmatic awareness. The findings indicated that students' struggle to understand spoken language lies in micro-skills, particularly at lower proficiency levels of recognizing word sounds. Consequently, introducing micro-skills is essential to enhance students' language knowledge.

MAPPING TOEFL PREDICTION SCORE RESULT BASED ON CEFR STANDARD AND TEST TAKERS’ PREPARATION PATTERN

TOEFL Prediction score can also be seen as the benchmark of English Language Competence of the institution. This study looked into the types of preparation and the length of preparation and TOEFL Preparation Score result. The data were collected from 2 sources: online survey and the score compilation record from Pusat Studi Bahasa (PSB) Unpatti. There were 702 respondents to the survey which was distributed from November 9th to December 28th 2022. The respondents were TOEFL Prediction test-takers from Unpatti Ambon, PSDKU Aru, PSDKU MBD, and general Public. The result from the data analysis shows that 87.5% of test-taker have some sort of preparation before the test, the most common type of preparation is self-study (85,5%), and the most common length of preparation taken by test-takers is on average 1 week (70,5%). Lastly, overall test score indicated that majority of test takers (71.65%) were in A2 level and 26.64% were in A1 level based on CEFR. This suggested that 89.9% the graduates (test-takers) may be failing when competing in the world of job seeking and scholarship hunting.

STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION TOWARD TOEFL PREDICTION TEST AS ONE OF THE GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS FROM UNIVERSITY

The students at the university under investigation are required to successfully complete the TOEFL Prediction test in order to be eligible for graduation. This study was conducted to assess the perceptions of these students regarding the TOEFL Prediction test as one of the graduation requirements. The research employed a descriptive-quantitative methodology and involved 171 English Study Program students from three different academic batches. A questionnaire served as the primary instrument for data collection, with data analysis carried out using Microsoft Excel and SPSS statistics version 26. The results of the data analysis indicated that the mean scores for most items in the questionnaire were in the high range. Specifically, 25 out of the 29 questionnaire items obtained mean scores above 3.40, demonstrating that students' perceptions in this study leaned positively toward the TOEFL Prediction test policy. However, it's important to note that nearly half of the students recognized that the TOEFL Prediction test is not an easy test. Furthermore, there is room for improvement in terms of students' understanding of the type of TOEFL test provided by the language centre at the university and the benefits of the TOEFL certificate. These findings can provide valuable input for the university's policymakers and administrators. They can use this information to design new initiatives and strategies aimed at assisting students in improving their test-taking skills and their understanding of the TOEFL Prediction test's structure. Such efforts can contribute to enhancing students' overall readiness for this requirement.

REVISITING ENGLISH PROFICIENCY AND ITS POLICY IN HIGHER EDUCATION: THE CASE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF RIAU

The rapid change in today’s society forces higher education to adapt to it and transform to prepare their graduates for the future, which entails regulating minimum language proficiency levels for a graduation requirement in universities. This study aims to investigate university students’ English proficiency level to revisit English language requirements at higher education institutions. To do so, this study used simple descriptive research using a TOEFL Prediction test administered to 400 university students at the University of Riau. The score was converted to the Common European Framework of Reference for Language (CEFR) to investigate whether the scores are relevant to the university’s needs. The results show that the majority of students (N=258) have achieved the A2 CEFR level (Basic User – way stage). This suggests that it has fulfilled the minimum requirement set by the university. However, this is unlikely to reflect the objectives envisioned by the institution. Therefore, recommendations aroused from the findings will be provided in this research.

NEEDANALYSIS:ALEAPTO DESIGNENGLISHCOURSE CURRICULUM ATPOLITEKNIKPERTANIAN NEGERIPAYAKUMBUH

This research aimsto analyse the needs of English course curriculum implemented in Politeknik Pertanian Negeri Payakumbuh (henceforth: Politani) as a step to design the new English Course curriculum. Curriculum for vocational study is emphasizing on the mastering of skills rather than mastering the theory of field of studies. Needs analysis regarded as the key point to a successful designing and implementation of certain subject. This study applies two kinds of instruments. The first one is questionnaire distributed to the newly enrolled students asthe respondents to discover their wants. Also, TOEFL Prediction Test was conducted to some new students to check their English competence known as their lacks. There were 237 respondents given the questionnaire sheets as the representative of new students in Politani in 2019. The result of needs analysis showed that respondents wanted to focus the material of English course more on reading and speaking skill as they were aware of both skills were important for their study. In addition, TOEFL Prediction Test result showed that respondents gained the lowest score on reading comprehension section. Meanwhile they achieved higher scores on the listening section. It means that what respondents wants met their lacks in English competence. Researchers then would be able to design the effective and efficient English course curriculum for vocational students in Politani. REFERENCES Abrar-ul-Hassan, S. (2012). State-of-the-art review: Revisiting the ins and outs of ESP practice. Professional and Academic English, 39, 4-11. Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2007). Research methods in education (6th ed.). London: Routledge. Freebody, P. (2003). Qualitative research in education: Interaction and practice. London: Sage. Hutchinson & Waters. (2008). English for Specific Purposes: A Learning-centered Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Irianto, Agus. (2012). Statistik:Konsep Dasar, Aplikasi, dan Pengembangannya. Jakarta: Kencana. Kaewpet, C. (2009). A framework for investigating learner needs: Needs analysis extended to curriculum development. Electronic journal of foreign language teaching, 6(2), 209-220 Lie, A. (2009). Education policy and efl curriculum in indonesia: between the commitment to competence and the quest for higher test scores. TEFLIN Journal: A publication on the teaching and learning of English, 18(1).

Problems in Reading Comprehension of TOEFL Prediction Test

TOEFL is a standardized test that has been used as requirement to graduate from university. However, students frequently struggle to pass the TOEFL reading test. Therefore, this study was aimed to identify (1) which sub-skills were the most challenging for students in reading comprehension of TOEFL test and (2) factors affecting the students’ difficulty in answering the reading comprehension section of the TOEFL test. This study applied both quantitative and qualitative approaches. A total of 32 students from various majors of Universitas Pamulang were samples for the test. The data were obtained by test results and interview results. The test result showed that the most challenging problems in reading comprehension were vocabulary (25 %), unstated detail question (20%), stated detail question (18%), pronoun referent question (15%), inference question (12%), and main idea question (10%). Moreover, the interview results revealed that lack of vocabulary, slow reading, and lack of strategy were factors affecting students’ difficulty. Therefore, TOEFL teachers and trainers are strongly advised to devote more time to prepare for the topics with the highest percentage of errors.

The Ability of Non-English Students in Online Learning for TOEFL Course

The research entitled The Ability of Non-English Students in Online Learning for TOEFL Course at Pasim National University applied the theory from Phillips (2001). The aim of this research is to investigate the ability of the students of non-English department in learning TOEFL and conducting TOEFL prediction test. In addition, this research used descriptive qualitative method as the students are given the material of TOEFL which include the listening, structure, and reading comprehension and then they are given the prediction test. The research is also used the converted score according to CEFR or Common European Framework of Reference for Language to measure the level of student’s ability. The data is obtained from 18 non-English students who join online TOEFL Course that comprises into Psychology, Informatic Engineering, Accounting, and Management. The result showed that the ability of students categorized into level A2-Elementary, B1-Intermediate and B2-Upper Intermediate. In addition, the students of Psychology and Informatic Engineering has a level of A2, B1 and B2 meanwhile other Study Program is still in the level of A2-Elementary. Thus, the ability of non-English students are still low, and the achievement of level are mostly in level A2-Elementary. There is still low for level B1 and B2. However Psychology and Informatic Engineering has an improvement of achievement level compare to other study programs. The highest achievement level is level B2 and it is achieved by the student from Psychology and Informatic Engineering. Therefore, the non-English students of Pasim National University require the improvement of online teaching learning activity of TOEFL to increase the proficiency of English language.

Exploring the Indonesian Nursing Students’ Difficulties in Answering the TOEFL Prediction Test

The TOEFL is a type test known internationally to assess someone’s proficiency in English language. However, many EFL students have problems in doing the TOEFL test so that their score results are still under the minimum score. The aim of this study is to explore the nursing students’ difficulties in answering the TOEFL questions. This study was a descriptive-quantitative study that involved fifty-one nursing students of the Poltekkes Kemenkes Bengkulu. The data of this study were gathered by using a questionnaire in the form of Google form based on Likert’s scale. The results of the study revealed that the level of difficulty experienced by the nursing students in answering the questions on the TOEFL test was in a high category. The listening comprehension section gained the mean score of 3.79, the structure and written expression section gained the mean score of 3.67, and the reading comprehension section gained the mean score of 3.62. Moreover, their difficulties were in a high category for all of the items in the questionnaire. In brief, the difficulties faced by the nursing students show that their English proficiency is still low.

AN ANALYSIS OF THE STUDENTS’ DIFFICULTY IN READING THE TOEFL PREDICTION TEST

The objective of this study is to know the students’ difficulty TOEFL prediction test of reading skills. This study uses qualitative research. The findings show some difficulties faced by the students in reading TOEFL. In external factors, they are: 1) Using the reading technique of skimming to find the main idea or point of the reading as a whole. 2) Using techniques of scanning to find more specific information from a long reading in the reading. 3) Reading the questions first then reading the reading on the TOEFL reading. 4) Feeling the topic of the TOEFL reading passages is less or unfamiliar. 5) Feeling the reading passages on the TOEFL reading is too long or too much. 6) Feeling lots of unfamiliar vocabulary in the TOEFL reading. 7) Feeling the number of TOEFL reading questions is too much. 8) Feeling the amount of time to do the TOEFL reading questions is short because of only about 55-60 minutes. While, in internal factors, the students: 1) Having limited memory when reading the TOEFL’s passages. 2) Tending to choose easy questions first than difficult questions. 3) Having a lack of concentration in doing the TOEFL reading test. 4) Having previous experience taking the TOEFL reading test before. 5) Having a lack of practice in reading TOEFL passages. 6) Having boredom when doing TOEFL reading questions. 7) Feeling easily distracted by other things when reading TOEFL reading questions. 8) Being busy interpreting each word/sentence while reading the TOEFL passages.

THE RELATIONSHIP AMONG LEARNING STYLES, ECONOMIC STATUS, PARENTS’ EDUCATION BACKGROUND, AND ENGLISH PROFICIENCY IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

The objectives of this study were to find out (1) whether or not there were significant correlations between (1) learning styles (visual, audio, kinesthetic) and English proficiency, (2) economic status and English proficiency, (3) parents’ educational background and English proficiency, and (4) predictor variables (learning styles, economic status, and parents’ educational background) and the criterion variable (English proficiency). In this correlational study, the data collection was obtained through a Likert scale questionnaire and the documentation of TOEFL prediction results. 489 English Education Study Program students of Persatuan Guru Republik Indonesia (PGRI) University became the population of this study. The research sample was 114 students taken purposively using the purposive sampling technique. The study revealed that 46 students had visual learning styles, 38 others acquired a better understanding through audio-based learning activities, and 30 respondents preferred kinesthetic methods. Based on the result of the study, there was no correlation between English proficiency and visual learning style, audio learning style, and economic status. On the other hand, the study indicated a significant correlation between English proficiency with kinesthetic learning style and parents' educational background. Furthermore, there was also a significant correlation between the predictor variables (learning styles, economic status, and parents’ educational background) and the criterion variable (English proficiency).

Listening Comprehension Performance and Problems: A Survey on Undergraduate Students Majoring in English

This study was aimed at finding out the performance of listening comprehension, problems faced, the causes of the problems, and the relationships between the problems and their causes. The samples of this study were the students of bachelor program of an English education study program. The data were the TOEFL prediction listening comprehension test and questionnaires. It was found that 30% of the samples were in a fair listening category and 70% were in a poor listening category. The students’ main problems in listening were then categorized as listeners, listening materials, and listening settings. The causes of the problems were specified as linguistic knowledge, pronunciation, concentration, and environment. The data were analyzed using chi-square association with p-value 514.84 which was greater than the critical value of 179.58. Therefore, there is a significant relationship between the listening problems and the factors causing the problem.

An Analysis of the Students’ Difficulties in TOEFL Prediction Test of Listening Section

This study is to know the students’ difficulty in doing the TOEFL prediction test, especially the listening section in ITB AAS Indonesia. This study uses descriptive qualitative research by using a questionnaire. The result shows that the students’ difficulty in doing TOEFL listening both external and internal factors. In external factors, include: 1) the speaker's accent (75.5 %), 2) the speakers’ speed (75.9 %), 3) the speakers’ intonation/emphasis (73 %), 4) the speakers’ pause in pronouncing a sentence (70.3 %), 5) the choice of words and foreign terms conveyed by the speaker (71 %), 6) the sentence structure conveyed by the speaker is too complex (54.8 %), 7) audio interruption causes the audio sounds less/unclear (54.8 %). In internal factors, include: 1) 64.3 % of students do not have previous experience doing TOEFL test, 2) 58.5 % of students have lack of practice in TOEFL listening, 3) 78.8 % of students have limited time in doing TOEFL listening test, 4) 62.2 % of students feel a lot of listening questions which consist of 50 questions, 5) 76.2 % of students do not have hearing impairment in listening, 6) 51 % of students have memory limitations when listening to TOEFL, 7) 48.1 % of students lack of motivation and enthusiasm, 8) 52.7 % of students lack of concentration or focus, 9) 53.5 % of students have limited mastery of foreign/unfamiliar vocabularies, 10) 47.3 % of students feel boredom when listening, 11) 56 % of students feel easily distracted by sounds or other things, 12) 51 % of students tend to translate any foreign vocabularies when listening, 13) 52.7 % of students have trouble catching or finding keywords, 14) 44.4 % of students are busy along with other activities when listening, such as playing writing instruments, taking notes or doing other things. Keywords: Listening, TOEFL, TOEFL Prediction Test

PREPARING PBT TOEFL PREDICTION: AN EXPERIENCE OF ONLINE TEACHING TOEFL PREPARATION

This study is aimed at exploring procedure, and teaching resources prepared by teachers on preparing the PBT TOEFL prediction at STIKES Banisaleh. There are 50 students joining the TOFL preparation course seated in different classes. This study has two research questions; a) How the teaching team use the certain procedure to prepare PBT TOEFL test in online way, b) What varied online teaching resources are applied by team teaching. Descriptive qualitative method is used to analyze the certain procedure and the varied resources used by the teaching team. Questionnaire distributed after the diagnostic test to investigate and prove the student’s preferences of study matched with the teacher’s procedures. Then researcher with the teaching team applied certain procedure. It is preceding Section Two of TOEFL PBT - Structure and Written Expression, then section three – Reading Comprehension, the last Listening Comprehension. And varied online teaching resources also made to accomplish the teaching procedure. It shows that the average score of the PBT TOEFL prediction at STIKES Banisaleh is 400. It means that Preparing PBT TOEFL by preceding Section Two and using varied online teaching resources is effective

Strategies in dealing with the Reading Section of ‘TOEFL Prediction’: a case of Aceh EFL Learners

ABSTRACTHighlighting the TOEFL prediction test, this study attempted to explore EFL learners’ strategies in dealing with the reading comprehension section of the TOEFL prediction test, both in reading the texts and tackling the questions. This study employed a qualitative research design as its approach and a semi-structured interview as the instrument to gain the data. Six participants were purposively selected from the English Language Education Department of UIN Ar-Raniry Banda Aceh. They were interviewed concerning their reading strategies in dealing with the questions in the TOEFL Prediction test. The findings revealed five strategies used by the participants in contending with the TOEFL reading section, classified into reading strategy and test-taking strategy. The reading strategies consist of skimming and scanning the passages, using context to understand the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary, and utilizing background knowledge. Meanwhile, reviewing the questions and prioritizing easier questions are included in the test-taking strategy. This study proposes further research to investigate the effectiveness of particular strategies in improving EFL students’ performance in facing the reading section.ABSTRAKMengangkat topik tes TOEFL Prediksi, penelitian ini mencoba menyelidiki strategi yang dilakukan oleh mahasiswa-mahasiswi Bahasa Inggris dalam menghadapi bagian Reading Comprehension di tes TOEFL, baik strategi ketika membaca teks maupun ketika menjawab soal-soal yang tersedia. Studi ini menggunakan pendekatan qualitatif dan menggunakan wawancara semi-terstruktur sebagai instrument untuk menghasilkan data. Teknik purposive sampling digunakan dalam memilih enam partisipan untuk studi ini yang keenamnya berasal dari Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris UIN Ar-Raniry Banda Aceh. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa ada lima strategi yang digunakan oleh partisipan dalam menyelesaikan TOEFL Reading Section. Kelima strategi tersebut dapat diklasifikasikan kepada reading strategy (strategi membaca) dan test-taking strategy (strategi dalam menghadapi tes). Reading strategies terdiri dari membaca teks dengan menggunakan teknik skimming and scanning, menggunakan konteks untuk dapat memahami makna dari kata-kata yang sukar, dan menggunakan background knowledge (pengetahuan sebelumnya) ketika membaca teks. Sementara mereview pertanyaan dan mengutamakan menjawab pertanyaan-pertanyaan yang lebih mudah termasuk dalam test-taking strategy yang dilakukan oleh partisipan ketika menghadapi tes. Studi ini mendukung penelitian lebih dalam kedepannya terkait keefektifan dari strategi-strategi ini dalam meningkatkan performa mahasiswa-mahasiswi Bahasa Inggris dalam menyelesaikan bagian reading comprehension.

ANALISIS STRATEGI PEMBELAJARAN BAHASA INGGRIS MAHASISWA PENDIDIKAN GURU SEKOLAH DASAR FIP UNM

The purpose of this study is to find out the students’ strategies in learning English. This research is a descriptive study with a qualitative approach and was conducted at the Faculty of Education UNM Campus VI Watampone in the academic year 2019/2020. The researcher involved 25 first semester PGSD students with TOEFL prediction score ≥ 400 as subjects in this study. To measure the use of students' English learning strategies, researchers used the Strategy Inventory of Language Learning - SILL version 7.0 designed by Oxford. The results of this study reveal that the language learning strategies that are often used by the students are memory strategies and cognitive strategies with an average of 3.74 and 3.71 that fall into the high category. Compensation strategies, metacognitive strategies, affective strategies and social strategies are in the medium category that is sometimes used.

EFL LEARNERS' DIFFICULTIES IN THE STRUCTURE AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION SECTION OF TOEFL TEST IN AN INDONESIAN UNIVERSITY

This study examined the English for Foreign Language (EFL) learners' difficult topics in the structure and written expression section of the TOEFL Prediction Test, and reasons why they consider that these topics were difficult. The mixed-method research design was used in this study. Fifteen participants were selected through purposive sampling mechanism from the seventh-semester students of Department of English Language Education, Universitas Islam Negeri Ar-Raniry who have participated in the TOEFL Prediction Test to identify the difficult topics they encountered. Then, the semi-structured interviews were conducted to six underachieving student's participants with the most recorded errors made in the test to know the reasons behind their difficulties. Findings indicated that students encountered difficulties mostly when dealing with determiners, conjunctions, adjective clauses, apposition phrases, and reduced clauses in the structure section. Meanwhile, adverb connectors, subject-verb agreement, and clause of concession, relative clause, and quantifier are the difficulties they encountered in the written expression section of the test. Thus, the findings also revealed several factors identified as the reasons behind those difficulties, namely lack of practice, grammar incompetence, vocabulary shortage, time management, and low self-confidence. Given the significant impact of this study, we suggested that the lectures and English departments should address these difficulties. It is crucial that the focus of the courses related to grammar and EFL proficiency tests be incorporated into the syllabus.

Sr ALIGNING THE TOEFL PREDICTION SCORES TO THE COMMON EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK OF REFERENCE FOR LANGUAGES (CEFR) LEVEL

TOEFL as a kind of English test is used to measure students’ language proficiency. Binawan University applies TOEFL Prediction test to predict students’ English competence. The TOEFL score then is aligned and mapped to CEFR to indicate the level of language ability and qualification. This study was conducted to analyze TOEFL score of Binawan students at CEFR level. The sample was 169 students from several study programs at Binawan University. The research instrument used a package of PBT TOEFL test. Descriptive statistics was used as data analysis technique, mean and percentage. The calculation shows that the mean of the TOEFL prediction score reached by all participants is 413 and the median is 397. Based on CEFR, the students’ competence in English is in level A2 (Basic User). Individually, the number of students who is in level A1 (Basic User) is 78 or 46.2 %, level A2 (Basic User) is 35 or 20.7 %, level B1 (Independent User) is 43 or 25.4 %, level B2 (independent User) is 12 or 7.1 %, and the last is level C1 which is occupied by 1 student only that is in level C1 (0.6 %). To conclude almost 50 % of the students were at low level or A2 (Basic User) at CEFR.

English language mastery as an ease factor to access health information in industrial revolution 4.0: A local challenge for global opportunities

Access to health information in Industrial Revolution 4.0 is eased by English language mastery. This study aims to describe university students' English proficiency based on their TOEFL prediction scores and to explain how it can influence their access to health information. This research is a descriptive study that describes the results of students' English language proficiency in one of the universities in Manado, Indonesia. The method used was quantitative method. The instrument in this study was the TOEFL Prediction test with three main components of Listening Comprehension, Structure and Written Expression, and Reading Comprehension. The data analysis was conducted statistically to see the students' English proficiency levels and in particular the differences between female and male students. English mastery is needed for the access to health information in Industrial Revolution 4.0. The average proficiency level of the university students is still a bit low with the average score of 415.78, although there are a few students who have managed to achieve above-average scores. This indicates that average students may still have difficulty to access health information. In terms of gender differences, the percentage of male students mastering the language is a bit higher than that of female students, but the highest score belongs to a female student. English language mastery for the access to health information in Industrial Revolution 4.0 is still a challenge for university students, particularly in Manado. Efforts are needed to increase their language proficiency level for global opportunities.