TOEFL Preparation Research Articles

INDONESIAN COLLEGE STUDENTS� PERCEPTIONS OF TOEFL PREPARATION CLASS

This is the report of a pilot study of a dissertation. This study investigated what Indonesian students perceived of the TOEFL Preparation class.� The researcher interviewed 11 students of Economics. The students� age ranged from 18 � 23 years old.� Seven of them had a job. Three of them were planning to have a job. The other one was a full-time student. This research revealed that the majority of the students were satisfied with the TOEFL Preparation class. The teacher helped them understand English compared to their knowledge before taking the TOEFL class. However, the students suggest that the duration for each meeting should be at least 120 minutes. Beside, the teacher should provide group work activities and homework. In addition, the teacher should come to class on time. Some recommendations of the findings are discussed in this paper.

Peer-Discussion in TOEFL Preparation Class

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to see whether the technique of peer-discussion during the TOEFL preparation class benefits the students in increasing their score in Section Two of TOEFL Test, Structure and Written Expression. According to Porter et al. (2001), during the process of students’ interaction with their peer(s), students have more open chances to ask conceptual questions; and as their peer(s) respond, they can understand more correctly and individually the questions. This study adopted quasi-experimental design involving one class consisting of 24 second semester college students at Economics Faculty, Syiah Kuala University, Aceh, Indonesia. The result showed that the technique posed positive result on the students’ score in Section Two of TOEFL. The findings revealed that the Ha is accepted for the tvalue is 0.37 (df 22, α=0.05, -0.404 ≤ t ≥ 0.404 ). Also, it is significant for the sigvalue is 0.9 (sigvalue ≥ α=0.05). Hopefully, the result can contribute to the theoretical gap in the TOEFL domain since there have not been many experimental studies about this technique used in TOEFL class. The technique indeed helps the students in overcoming the problems that they face in the Section Two of TOEFL. Besides, it can also boost their motivation in preparing for the TOEFL test. ABSTRAK Tujuan dari studi ini adalah untuk melihat apakah diskusi dengan teman selama kelas persiapan TOEFL dapat memberi manfaat kepada siswa dalam meningkatkan skor mereka di bagian kedua tes TOEFL, yakni Structure and Written Expression. Seperti dikatakan oleh Porter et al. (2001) bahwa selama proses interaksi dengan teman, siswa mempunyai lebih banyak kesempatan untuk menanyakan pertanyaan konseptual; dan diwaktu mereka merespon, mereka mampu untuk mengerti dengan lebih baik dan secara individu pertanyaan tersebut. Studi ini menggunakan desain quasi-experimental yang melibatkan satu kelas yang terdiri dari 24 siswa dari semester 2 di Fakultas Ekonomi, Universitas Syiah Kuala University, Aceh, Indonesia. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa teknik ini mempunyai hasil positif terhadap skor siswa dalam bagian kedua tes TOEFL. Hasil yang didapat menerima Ha dengan nilai t 0.37 (df 22, α=0.05, -0.404 ≤ t ≥ 0.404 ). Dan hasil ini juga signifikan dengan nilai signifikansi 0.9 (sigvalue ≥ α=0.05). Diharapkan hasil dari studi ini dapat memberi kontribusi kepada kajian teoritis dalam karena masih belum banyak studi eksperiment tentang ini dalam pengajaran TOEFL. Teknik ini mampu membantu siswa dalam menghadapi masalah dalam TOEFL di bagian kedua. Di samping itu, teknik ini juga mampu meningkatkan motivasi siswa di dalam menghadapi tes TOEFL. How to Cite: Ismail, N. M. Wahyuni, S. (2017). Peer-Discussion in TOEFL Preparation Class. IJEE (Indonesian Journal of English Education), 4(1), 63-70 doi:10.15408/ijee.v4i1.4837.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15408/ijee. v4i1.4837

THE USE OF COGNITIVE LINGUISTICS APPROACH IN ELT: IMPLEMENTING IMAGE SCHEMA THEORY TO TEACH PHRASAL VERBS IN TOEFL PREPARATION CLASS

Dealing with phrasal verbs (PV) in TOEFL test is one of challengingpartsfor students. They usually learn PV by heart. Nevertheless, their PV mastery has not improved because implementing “blind” memorizing without knowing the concept is harder and will only stay temporarily. Besides, it cannot solve the unfamiliar PV in TOEFL test. Based on the problems, it needs a particular method to make students do not only understand PV meaning easier but also learn it meaningfully. This research is classroom action research. It aims to investigate the students’ improvement in PV mastery using cognitive linguistics approach. The research objects are beginner level of adult learners in TOEFL Preparation class. The data were collected from observation, interview and written test. Cognitive linguistics approach employed in this research was image schema introduced by Johnson and Lakoff (1987).In image schema concept, PV which has abstract meaning is construed in a concrete visualization of CONTAINER to understand the meaning more easily, practical and fun. By implementing cognitive linguistics approach in teaching PV, teachers activate students’ cognition of PV concept which is basically embodied as it arises from human’s mind and body experience. The result shows that there is significant improvement in students’ PV mastery.

Exploring Korean Students’ High Stakes TOEFL Preparation for Domestic University Admission

Exploring Korean Students’ High Stakes TOEFL Preparation for Domestic University Admission

APLIKASI ELECTRONIC SHORT STORY DALAM PEMBELAJARAN TOEFL BAGI DOSEN UNIVERSITAS LANCANG KUNING PEKANBARU

The title of this writing is “The application of Electronic Short Story in TOEFL Learning for Lecturers of University of Lancang Kuning.” The purpose of the writing is to socialize the use of strategy of Electronic Short Story Application, to increase participants’ motivation. To apply the strategy, the method used is describing and practicing. The result shows that lecturers get better motivation and comprehension in learning English for TOEFL preparation using the strategy of Electronic Short Story.

Students' Multiple Intelligence in Learning during TOEFL Preparation

The purpose of this study was to find out students’ Multiple intelligece in learning during TOEFL preparation at STKIP Abdi Pendidikan Payakumbuh. This study was carried out of descriptive research that undertaken through phenomenological approach by employing questionnaire to 31 students selected by using purposive sampling technique. The findings of this study showed that the most multiple intelligence used by the students was musical intelligence with the score 606 , while the multiple intelligences that less dominant used by the students was logical-mathematical intelligence with the score 531.

Experiencing Differentiated Instructions as the Effort of Promoting Reading Comprehension Level

The current study explored the usefulness of differentiated instruction in the promotion of English learners reading comprehension in higher educational system. One TOEFL preparation class of a language center at University of Muhammadiyah Jember was chosen as the research participants. The students were taught through the strategies of differentiated instruction, viz. flexible grouping, tiered instruction, and tiered assignments, in the areas of content, process, and product. The outcomes of descriptive statistics from comparing pre-test and post-test results indicated that the students were having a positive experience with differentiated instruction in relation to their reading comprehension level. Further, the results also revealed that students also performed better in literal and inferential reading comprehension after experiencing differentiated instruction in the classroom.Keywords: differentiated instruction, reading comprehension.

OPTIMIZING LISTENING SKILLS TO IMPROVE THE TOEFL SCORE OF STAIN PEKALONGAN STUDENTS

The fact that the students have problems in the three micro-skills of listening namely recognizing the English stress patterns, the reduced forms of words, and words boundaries and that the teachers never teach the students how to listen have made them get low TOEFL scores on listening section. This research aims at: (1) finding out whether optimizing listening skills can improve the students’ TOEFL scores on listening; and (2) describing the class situation during the teaching of toefl listening by optimizing listening skills. This action research is conducted in two cycles each of which is divided into planning, acting, observing, and reflecting. There are two kinds of data. The qualitative data taken from observation, interview, and questionnaire are analyzed by using Constant Comparative Method. The quantitative data taken from the pre-test in the pre-research, post-test in cycle 1, and post-test in cycle 2 are analyzed by using descriptive statistics. The subjects of the research are the STAIN Pekalongan students taking English 3 class, the TOEFL Preparation Class, in the Academic Year 2014/2015. The result of the research shows that: (1) teaching toefl listening section by optimizing listening skills is able to overcome the students’ problems in the three micro-skills of listening and consequently improve the students’ TOEFL scores on listening. Their average scores improve from 101 in the pre-test to 118 in the post-test of cycle 1 and 129 in the post-test of cycle 2; (2) The class situation is attractive and the students are actively involved in the various activities done during the teaching and learning process. In line with the success of optimizing listening skills in teaching TOEFL listening, it is suggested that teachers should examine their students’ listening problems so as to be able to teach them what they need in listening to English.

Semantic Context Clues in Expository Texts for TOEFL iBT Reading Section Preparation

TOEFL iBT (Test of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based Test) exam as an important component of the global educational environment attracts the attention of both linguists and educators. The problem of semantic context clues relating to TOEFL seems worth exploring as the results of the research can be applied by both test makers and test takers. Expository texts as the first type of texts explored constitute the material of the research, which was aimed at the revealing the types of semantic context clues employed in expository texts, their types and significance. The results of the research revealed 13 single semantic clues types and 15 patterns for double semantic clues. The primary importance is given to single direct context clues, followed by indirect description and restatement due to their structural clarity and explicit definition of the unknown word. Double context clues are employed where a single context clue is not enough to disclose the meaning of an unfamiliar vocabulary item, facilitating the process of unknown word clarification and performing the function of a supplementary informational resource. The aim of the current research is to find out the most common types of semantic clues applied in the text influencing the test-takers excerpt comprehension and educe possible ways where semantic clues can be used in determining sentence meaning. The methodology described will enable teachers to successful development in their TOEFL preparation training courses and aid potential test-takers to overcome language barrier when taking the exam. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n1p551

The Role of Direct and Indirect Written Corrective Feedback in Improving Iranian EFL Students’ Writing Skill

The call for longitudinal evidence on the efficacy of written corrective feedback (WCF) for ESL and EFL writers has been made repeatedly since Truscott (1996) claimed that it is ineffective, harmful, and therefore; should be abandoned. Though controversy continues as to whether error feedback helps L2 student writers to improve the accuracy and overall quality of their writing (Ferris, 1999; Truscott, 1996; Truscott, 1999), most studies on error correction in L2 writing classes have provided evidence that students who receive error feedback from teachers improve in accuracy over time. This study was an attempt to investigate the role of direct and indirect written corrective feedback in improving EFL students’ writing skill. The participants were sixty pre-intermediate students in “Iranians” institute in Ardabil. Twenty students were in direct-feedback group, twenty students were in indirect-feedback group and twenty students were in no-feedback group. The variance of the number of errors of three classes in session one (pretest, appendix 1) was approximately equal, so their ability in this structure was the same. We gave the students TOEFL tests about definite and indefinite articles in five sessions. There were twenty-two tests and forty blanks in each session. The tests were selected from three books titled: TOEFL Grammar Flash, Rahnama TOEFL, and Longman Preparation Course for the TOEFL Test. Treatments were made on experimental groups through giving feedback and correcting their errors. This was fulfilled during five sessions (one session per week.). Two direct-feedback and indirect-feedback groups received the treatment in terms of giving feedback about their errors while the no-feedback group did not receive any kind of feedback. In correcting the papers of direct-feedback group, we gave them direct feedback on their errors. But in correcting the papers of indirect-feedback group we just underlined the errors. And in correcting no-feedback group we corrected their errors but we did not give them their papers. One-way ANOVA was used to analyze the data for three groups. Group differences were considered significant when ρ < .05. The analysis of data is presented in this paper. Because the time interval of tests was the same and the type of testing (fill in the blanks test) also was the same and variances were equal so we analyzed just two phases of pretest (session1) and posttest (session5).

THE EFFECT OF TEACHING WITHIN-TEXT KEY WORDS ON STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE IN READING COMPREHENSION

The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of teaching within- text key word synonyms, opposites and related words on students' performance on reading comprehension of TOEFL among Iranian EFL learners. To carry out the research, 60 Iranian EFL learners, who participated in a TOEFL preparation course, were selected as the participants of the study. Afterward they were randomly assigned into experimental and comparison groups. The experimental group was given a treatment including within-text key word synonyms, opposites and their translations, while the comparison group was given a placebo. To collect the required data, two instruments (a pre-test, and a post-test) were administered to both groups during the experimentation. Subsequently, students' scores were collected through the administration of different tests and the results were statistically analyzed. The results of these analyses revealed that the experimental group outperformed the comparison group and thus, it was concluded that teaching within-text key word synonyms, opposites and related words can improve the reading comprehension ability and general proficiency of EFL language learners.

EFL Learner's Evaluation of Writing Tasks in Iran's TOEFL and IELTS Preparation Courses in Light of the Process-oriented Approach

The purpose of this research was to analyze EFL writing tasks in two of the most popular English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) exam preparation courses in Iran, namely IELTS and TOEFL. Having collected the criteria of writing task appropriateness in light of the process-oriented approach to writing instruction, we asked 60 learner participants to rate EFL writing tasks in 3 IELTS and 3 TOEFL preparation classes based on a checklist previously gathered and validated. The findings produced significant differences in terms of several features of writing task appropriateness. An observation process was conducted of the actual task performance in the target classes to explain the significant differences between the two groups. A two-sample t-test was later employed to evaluate the differences between the mean scores of ratings in the two groups while the p-level was set at .05.

THE IMPACT OF CHANGES IN THE TOEFL® EXAM ON TEACHING IN A SAMPLE OF COUNTRIES IN EUROPE: PHASE 3, THE ROLE OF THE COURSEBOOK PHASE 4, DESCRIBING CHANGE

ABSTRACTThe aim of this report is to present the findings of the 3rd and 4th phases of a longitudinal study into the impact of changes in the TOEFL® exam on teaching in test preparation classrooms. Phase 1 (2003–2004) described the type of teaching taking place in 12 TOEFL preparation classrooms before the introduction of the new TOEFL. Phase 2 (2004–2006) followed 6 of the Phase 1 teachers as they became aware of the requirements of the new test and faced the challenges of designing new courses to help students to prepare for it effectively. The objectives of the Phase 3 study (2006–2007) were to analyze the coursebooks that 4 of these teachers were using as they continued to prepare students for the TOEFL computer‐based test (CBT) and began to plan courses for the TOEFL iBT®, and to find out how the teachers were using the coursebooks as they developed their courses and planned individual classroom sessions. The coursebook analysis revealed that the TOEFL iBT coursebooks differed considerably from the TOEFL CBT coursebooks in terms of content, with the inclusion of integrated writing tasks and independent and integrated speaking tasks and the absence of attention to grammatical form on its own. They did not differ greatly in terms of their general methodological approach, however. Information about how the teachers used their coursebooks was gathered via tracking questions and tasks eliciting self‐report data. The coursebooks seemed to be playing an important role in shaping the teachers' understanding of the requirements of the new TOEFL, and the teachers depended on them heavily as they developed their courses and planned their lessons. The objectives of Phase 4 (2007–2008) were to interview and observe 3 of the same teachers, to find out what their preparation classes looked like 1 year after the introduction of the TOEFL iBT in their countries. While some aspects of teaching seemed not to have changed greatly, considerable changes occurred in the amount of attention the teachers paid to the development of speaking and to the integration of different skills. The teachers differed from each other in how much they had changed their methods to develop their students' language skills. The report concludes with a discussion of the role the new test, new coursebooks, and other factors in the educational context played in shaping current practices in these TOEFL preparation classrooms.

Selecting and Evaluating TOEFL Preparation Materials

Selecting and Evaluating TOEFL Preparation Materials

Comments on Liz Hamp-Lyons' "Ethical Test Preparation Practice: The Case of the TOEFL": Polemic Gone Astray: A Corrective to Recent Criticism of TOEFL Preparation

Comments on Liz Hamp-Lyons' "Ethical Test Preparation Practice: The Case of the TOEFL": Polemic Gone Astray: A Corrective to Recent Criticism of TOEFL Preparation

Comments on Liz Hamp-Lyons' "Ethical Test Preparation Practice: The Case of the TOEFL": Polemic Gone Astray: A Corrective to Recent Criticism of TOEFL Preparation. The Author Responds

Comments on Liz Hamp-Lyons' "Ethical Test Preparation Practice: The Case of the TOEFL": Polemic Gone Astray: A Corrective to Recent Criticism of TOEFL Preparation. The Author Responds

ESL Vocabulary Learning in a TOEFL Preparation Class: A Case Study

Vocabulary acquisition is now receiving more attention in second language (L2) teaching owing to an increased focus on meaning within communicative approaches to language education. For students of English as a second or foreign language (ESL/EFL) who are preparing for academic studies in North America, lexical knowledge and learning strategies are especially important because 'acquiring the culture of [ their future] disciplinary community involves learning that community's specialized language' - that is, its vocabulary, as Casanave (1992, p. 159) has shown. Despite this fact, few studies have specifically addressed lexical learning in ESL teaching contexts where such students need to acquire the vocabulary and lexical learning strategies so important to them later in their academic careers. This chapter describes research that aims to help bridge this gap. The case study outlined here investigates how ESL students in a TOEFL preparation course approach their vocabulary learning, and whether their approach predicts their ESL proficiency. Following a summary of the background literature, I describe the questions addressed, methodology used, and findings of the study. A concluding discussion of the case study findings includes consideration of the implications for pedagogy and future research.

Longman Preparation Course for the TOEFL

This contains the tapescript and answer key for the Longman TOEFL preparation course for which a course book and cassette are also available. The course aims to break down each section of the Test of English as a Foreign Language into teachable skills for students to master. It is designed for universities and private schools, particularly in the USA and Canada.

Newbury House TOEFL Preparation Kit: Preparing for the TOEFL

Book reviewed in this article: Newbury House TOEFL Preparation Kit: Preparing for the Test of Written English Liz Hamp-Lyons.

Beyond Standardization: State Standards and School Improvement

The Elementary School Journal Volume 85, Number 3 ? 1985 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved. 001 3-5984/85/8503-0003$01 .00 State policies intended to improve education generally try either to set educational standards or to shape the educational process. Although states also seek to improve education through the allocation of funds, in recent years they have placed more emphasis on regulation-setting standards in the form of tests to be passed or educational procedures to be followed. Some policies are targeted on students; others, on teachers. The policies, of course, also affect schools, school systems, and, in certain cases, schools of education. In this paper, however, we focus on how policies affect the teacher-learner relationship as it occurs in classrooms.