Luận văn developing test taking strategies for toeic reading comprehension tests

ABSTRACT So far, most Vietnamese universities have tended to choose TOLIC as a measure unit to inpul English level and graduation for stureris, TORIC score reports provide accurate,

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, IIANOI UNIVERSLTY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDLES

FACULTY OF POST —- GRADUATE STUDIES

(Phát triển cae chién lye Lam bai thi Dec hiéu ciia ky thi TOELC

cho sinh viên không chuyên tiếng Anh tại trường Dại học Kinh tế

- Kỹ thuật Công nghiệp)

M.A Minor Programme Thesis

Kicld: English Teaching Mcthodalogy Code: 60140111

HANOI, 2014

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATLONAL STUDLES

FACULTY OF POST —- GRADUATE STUDIES

(Phát triển các chiến lược lam bai thi Đọc hiếu của kỳ thi TOEIC

cho sinh viên không chuyên tiếng Anh tại trang Dai hoc Kinh tế

- Kỹ thuật Công nghiệp)

M.A Minor Programme Thesis

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111

Supervisor: Dr Ngé [tu Hoàng

HANOI, 2014

DECLARATION

1, Le Anh Thu, hereby state that, this minor thesis is the result of my own research and all the material in this stdy which is not my own work has been identified and acknowledged T also state that the substance of the thesis has nol, wholty or in part, been submitted for any degree to any other universities institutions

Dated: 25/12/2013

Lê Anh Thư

T would like to take this opportunity lo express my thankfulness lo the Post- Grade Department for their enthusiastic help during the time of studying and writmg my thesis

T also wish Lo acknowlsdge the cooperation of my colleagues and my students, especially the students at University of Economic Technical Industries who have helped

me to collect data for the study,

Hereby, { also would like to thank all the readers for their attention and J highly

ile any comments and opinions on this sindy

ABSTRACT

So far, most Vietnamese universities have tended to choose TOLIC as a measure unit to

inpul English level and graduation for stureris, TORIC score reports provide

accurate, meaningful feedback about a test taker’s strengths and weaknesses, along with a description of the English language strengths typical of test takers performing at various score levels, However, when taking the TOEIC test, especially the TOEIC reading comprehension section, many students do meet a lot of difficulties in reading, and therefore fail to be efficient readers and get high scores One of the primary causes is that sluslenis seem unskilled or unaware of the use of test-taking stralegies for TOTIC reading comprehension tests, Then, which strategies should students be used while taking the

‘TORIC reading comprehension tests’?

‘A number of studies and books have already heen released in the area of application of test-taking strategies to TOEIC reading comprehension part This study is concerned with developing test-taking strategics to help non-major English students at UNETI reduec reading difficulties, improve their skills and take the OEIC reading comprehension tests wilh higher scores

‘The result of the study show that non-major English students at UNLTII often have difficulties, lo different exter, in many arcas of the Tanguags such as difficultis with vocabuilary, with grammar, discourse, and reading strategies, Moreover, the data collected

in the study also revealed that the students” inefficient use of reading strategies is a great source of reading problems Through the students’ low frequency of strategy use Lo deal with question kinds in TOEIC reading comprehension tests, it is shown that students fail to apply reading strategies effectively in responding to questions during tests Therefore, the study suggests that to enable to successfully take the TOEIC reading comprehension test, students should actively use strategies involved as skimming and scanning skills, utilize context clues to understand difficult words and find out the synonym or paraphrase for the word Tn some casos, if losletakers have wo ides about a question, the application of techmaques to guess should be needed Besides, the study also recommends several test-

taking strategies for each kind of questions in 1 reading comprehension test

PART I: INTRODUCTION

PART Il: DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1- THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

1.1 Reading and Reading comprshension a4

1.3 Reading comprehension approachss sad

1.42.2 Minding the main ideas - - - - 8

2.7, TOEIC Reading Comprehension Section 16 CHAPTER 2- METHODOLOCY

2.1 The context of the study - - - ¬" <4

2.3, Data Collection Instrurnerts s+-eccee 219

CHAPTER š— FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

3.2 Students’ perception of their difficullics in taking TORIC reading

comprehension test at UNETI 2<seete „21

3.3 Students” frequency of strategy use across four main kinds of questions in

3.3.2 Inference Questions

3.4 Recommendations on developing test-taking strategies in TOHIC reading

3.4.1 Œeneral test-taking reading strateglies eo „20 BAL2, Read the questions car efitllycccuccsecossosseeiisesansenanaesinn 2.29

3.4.1.4 Read the queshons before reading the passaye ccc „31

34.17, Use Conteat Clues io understand difficull Words oo 33

3.4.2 Speeic tesl-lsking reading siralegizs for common question types 3

342.1 Tesi-taking reuding strategies for vocabulury questions 9S 3.4.2.2 Test-taking reading strategies for factial questions "‹H

3.4.2.3 Test-taking reading strategies for inference questions wee 37

PART Il]— CONCLUSION

& 8

iy 3

Test of English for International Communication

Lducational ‘Testing System

TOEIC Reading Comprehension test TOEIC Listening Comprehension test

viii

PART I— INTRODUCTIUN

1 Ratlonale

Reading as an active, receptive, and decoding language skill is the main sowce of meanmgtill input in the process of leaming a foreign language Besides, according to Kim and Anderson (2011, p 30), “reading is essential for successfully completing all college- Icvel courses In other words, college students who are more proficient readers arc most

likely to experience more success in their courses” Meantime, tests are the most common

evaluating method in nearly all educational systems and academic institutions worldwide Generally, tests express the most students’ total grades, particularly at the college level Whether the goal is college admission, certification, detection of specific behavior, or

personal selection, a decision aboul an individual’s ability is usnally rade based on his or

her scores in specific tests Therefore, il is cerlam that test takers have developed

numerous techniques for finding correct answers to reading tests without fully or even

partially understanding the text [lowever, in a test, to evaluate academic reading ability,

the primary needs for test takers is Lo actually usc academic reading skills in responding to items, rather than to rely on test-wiseness tricks The Test of English for International

Communication (TOEIC) has made great efforts to evaluate the reading comprehension

abilitics of test takers dealing with academic-like texts It is clear that the reading tasks in

‘OEIC are able to discriminate better readers from poorer readers However, how exactly

do test-takers try to complete the tasks? What reading and test-taking strategies do students

usc Lo complete the tasks?

For ages of applying TOEIC tests as the standard to assess the level of English

proficiency in the workplace and everyday communication of non- major English students

al University of Economie and Techical Industies (UNFTD, I twalive thal many students

do not know how to utilize nmultiple test-taking strategies to enhance their performance in successfully taking 1'OLIC tests in general, and TOLIC reading comprehension tests in particular In details, when approaching the TOEIC reading cormprelicnsion part, they

frequently read the questions and carelessly scan the passage, merely guessing answers in the end, due to insufficient knowledge about text types and task design Some can not complete the whole reading test hecause they lack the fast reading skill and active

application of scanning or skimming strategies, Some seem unaware of the test-taking

strategies Hence, the significance of a study on developing test-taking strategies for

'TOEIC reading comprehension tests as a way of helping non- major English students at

UNDTI do well in their tests seers undeniable

2 Aims of the Study

This study was carried out wilh following spceific purposes:

1) To investigate difficulties and causes of difficulties which non- major English

students at UNETI encounter in taking TOEIC reading comprehension tests

2) To investigate the frequency usc of test-taking strategies which non- major English

students at UNETI deal with question kinds m ‘OEIC reading comprehension tests

3) To develop test-taking strategies to help leamers reduce difliculties, improve their

roading skills and take the TORIC reading comprehension lasts with higher scores

3 Research questions

The study was carried out in order to find out the answers to two research questions:

1) What are the difficulties and causes of difficulties encountered by non- English major sludents al UNET in taking TOEIC reading comprehension Lasts?

2) What is the frequency use of the test-taking strategies which non- major English students at UNETI deal with question kinds in TOKIC reading comprehension

students al UNETI

5 Methods of study

Tn order lo fulfill the aims of the sludy, the study has becn caried out using both quantitative and qualitative methods The data were collected fom survey on 120 non- English major students at the UNETI The survey questionnaire included both closed and

open-ended questions to erst

6 Significance of the study

Results of the study will help provide a better understanding of test-taking strategies for the TOLIC reading comprehension test placed on non- major Linglish students at UNETI

and they are expected to successfully perform in their tests

2

7, Design of the study

This study consists of ta

Part I: Introduction This part supplies an overview of the study with specific reference

to the rationale, the aims, the methodology and the design

Part LL: Development In this part, four chapters are presented

Chapter 1 — Fiterahie Review deals with an exploration of the theoretical backgraund of the research It is concemned with the issues relevant to the topic of the research: reading, and reading comprehension, and an overview of TOLIC reading comprehension tests,

Chapier 2— Methodology presents the background information of the subjects of the study, the instrument used to collect the data, the procedure of data collection

Chapter 3 — Findings and Discussion is aimed at describing data analysis in detait and a thorough discussion of the findings of the study Some cxplanations and interprctations of the findings are also presented in this chapter

Part IJ: Conclusion In this part, the limitations and some recommendations for further

roscarch are also explored

The Appendices he on the last part of the study, following the Refarences

PART I: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1 - THEORETICAL BACKGROU

According to Goodman (1975, p.133), reading is “e paycholinguistios proces by which the reader, a language user, reconstructs, as best as he can, a message which has been encoded by a-writer as a graphic display” This act of rcconslruetion is viewed ax “a oxclical process of sampling, predicting, testing, and confirming”

Larmer (1989, p.153) considers reading as a mechanical process that “eyes receive the

message and the brain then has to work out the significance of the message” Llarmet

focuses on nol only two actions deminaled by the cyes and the brain bul also the speed of

the process: “at reading text moves at a speed of the reader”, which means it is the reader

who decides how fast he wants to read the text

Sharing the same opinion, Smith (1985, p.102) defined: “reading is understanding the

author’s thought” It means that the readers “read the author’s mind not the author's

words”

To sum up, it is obvious that attempts to define reading have been various but no

definitions can reveal all the features and ideas of what reading is However, the definitions all focus on the nature of reading that is the interaction between readers and authors

1.12 Definitions of reading comprehension

Reading comprehension takes an important role in teaching and learning reading It is the abilily to gel information from the text as cflicicntly as possible There are three elements

involving in the reading process: the text being read, the background knowledge of the reader and the contextual aspects relevant for interpreting the text

According to Grellet (1990, p.3), “reading comprehension or understanding a written text

meuns extracting ihe required wfermution from it as efficiently as possible” Richard and

‘Thomas (1987, p.9) also stated: “reading comprehension is best described as an

understanding hetween the author and the reader”

4

As mentioned by Swan (1975, p.1), “a shedent is good at comprehension” if “he can read

accurately and efficiently, so as to get the maxinuan information of a text with the

mining understanding" Atter readmg, readers can master the grammatical structures,

words pronunciation, understanding the context of the texts and use it in real life as effective as possible

Tn short, reading is to comprehend the ideas in the material Withont comprehension,

reading would be empty and meaningless

1.2 Models of reading pracess

As can be scen, there have been a great number of discussions and arguments among

methodologists about the reading process Accordmg to Nuttall (2005), this process is shown such some ways as bottom-up approach, top-down approach and the interaction of

top-down and bottorn-up processing,

Jn the botton-up reading process, Nuttall (2005, p 17) points out that the reader

constructs meaning from a written text such as recognizing letters and words, working out

sơn

development, Alderson (2000, p 16), sharing with Nuttall’s idea, states that “the reader

structure, This model pays special attention lo grammatical skills and vocabulary

experiences an automatic process in which he begins with the printed words, recognizes graphic stimuli, decodes thom to sounds, recognizes words and decodes meanings” Comprehension at this process results in a relatively shallow understanding of what the text stated directly As a result, this process underestimated the contribution of the reader Top-dawn processing emphasizes the importance of the reader’s background knowledge,

or the schemata, This theory argucs that when reading a text, a rcader has his own

knowledge, expectations, and questions, which he matches with the text, Silberstein (1994,

p 7) presents that “readers use prior knowledge to make predictions about the dala Ihey will find in a text” According to Nuttall (2005, p 16), this process helps readers see the overall purpose of the text as well as enables them to predict the writer’s purpose Goodman (1982, cited in Alderson, 2000, p 17} calls reading “a psychotinguistic guessing game” in which the reader has an active role, This approach, therefore, emphasizes the importance of building and activating the reader’s background knowledge in enhancing his reading skill

However, reading process is not full understanding without the combination of these approaches Only with a combination of those two approaches can the process of reading

be adequately characterized, This combination is referred to as the interactive processing whose advocates argue that “top-down and bottom-up processcs arc occurring, cither alternatively or simultaneously” (Alderson, 2000, p 18), With the share of Alderson’s

5

point of view, Nuttall (2005, p 17) suggests that “bottom-up and top-down approaches are used lo complement each other”,

In shout, the abilities to approach a text both top-down and bottom-up are of equal importance as these processes cannot be separated And the interactive processing can maximize the strengths and minimizes the weaknesses of the bottom-up and top-down

1.3, Reading comprehension approaches

Lfficient reading comprehension consists of clearly identifying the purposes in reading something, By doing so, the readers know what they arc looking for and can weed out potential distracting information Certainly, different purposes require different kinds of reading Therefore, according to the purposes of reading, Wood (1985), Williams (1986) and Grellet (1990) categorize rcading into intensive, extensive, skimming, and scanning 13.1 Skimming

Skimming differs from general rapid reading in thai the readers go Umongh the text extremely quickly, merely dipping into it or sampling it at various points, Skimming is the technique thal is usod widoly in reading comprchension Grellcl (1981, p 19) states thai the purpose of skimming is simply to scc what a text is about, Because of its nature, the key to skimming is to know where to find the mam idea of diffrent paragraph and to be able to synthesize thom by way of gencralization,

of texis can be greatly expecied and made casy Francois (1981, p 19) understands that

“when scanning, we only try io locate specific information and often we do noi even follow

the linearity of the passage to do so We simply let our eyes wander over the (ext until we Jind what we are looking for, whether it is a nume, a date, or a less specific piece of information” The key to scanning is to decide exactly what kind of information we can

look for and where to find if The purpose of scanning is to extract certain specific information without reading through the whole text

1.3.3, Extensive reading

Exlensive reading is a fluency aclivity, mainly involving genoial understanding IL

provides valuable reinforcement of the language already presenicd and practiced in the class as well as giving students usefull practice in interring meaning from the context of the text Basing on the importance of extensive reading, Nuttal (1982, p.168) shows that “dre

best way to improve one’s knowledge of a foreign learner in ix to yo and live among its

6

speakers: the next best way is to read extensively in it” Lewis and Hill (1985, p.109) state that “extensive reading means stidents have a general understanding of the text without

necessarily understanding every word” TL is obvious thal when reading exlensively,

readers da not need to have intense concentration on the content of a long text and total

comprehension because the objective of exiensive reading is lo cover the grealzsl possible

amount of text in the shorlest une Extensive reading promotes reading out the class and gives them opportunity to use their own knowledge of the language for their own purposes 13.4 Intensive reading

‘The remaining two kinds of reading activity, content study reading and linguistic study reading are also often grouped together and called intensive reading Different form

extensive reading —readiryy for luency, readers can read without the aid of the teacher and

wilhoul undersianding the text in detail — intensive reading is regarded as reading for

accuracy Tl “involves approaching the text under the close guidance af the teacher or under the eurdance of a task which forces the students to pay great attention to the text in

order to arive al a profound io detailed understanding of the text not only of whai it means, but also of how the meaning is produced The “How” is as important as the

“What”, for the intensive reading lesson is intended primarily to frain students in reading

strategies”, (Nutall, 1982, p.23)

Sharing this opinion, Lewis (1985, p.109) states that intensive reading means students

understand everything they read and be able to answer detailed vocabulary and comprehension questions In other wards, the aim of intensive reading is to obtain the fillest possitile response in the students” head to the black mark in his book Response

cammol be achieved by instruction about whal he aught to see and feel, ar by repetition of

what others see and feel, although knowledge of what can be seen by others sometimes helps us to sce for ourselves

In sum, there are different ways of reading and they are determined not by the texts but by

the reader’s reasons for reading In order to understand a text effectively, the readers should not use these ways independently They must knew how to usc suitable ways to achieve their reading purpose

1.4, Reading Comprehension Strategies and Skills

141, Reading Strategies

LLL Reading for specific information

Reading for specific information is the way we read the passage and only pay attention to

the relevanl parts or information needed, we don’l need to take care of alt printed wards on

the page We are suggested to skip unnecessary information or irrelevant parts in the

passage With respect to reading for specific information, readers are advised to rum their

7

eyes very quickly and only stop reading when they found the information wanted Hence, the reading sub-skill is close to scanning, In other words, scamming is reading strategies for locating specific informabon, Brown (1994, p 293) refers to readmg for specific information is the way of “quickly searching for some particular pieces of information in a

text” Grellet (1981, p 19) also claims that when locating specific information, we do not

cvert fallow th Tincarity of the passage to do so, the way we should do is ta “Tel our eyes wander over the text until we find what we are looking for” Clsarly, the skill has strong, relationship with scanning If a reader doesn’t recognize this relationship, he/she will take

a lot of time to deal with the task on locating specific information

1.41.2, Finding the main ideas

Finding the main ideas requires readers to gain their reading comprehension at both literal and infsrential level, If the main information is directly stated in the paragraph or in the passage, readers only understand the text at their literal reading comprehension level, if not, they have to infer the main ideas and readers must gain their reading comprehension at inferzntial level

Finding the main ideas is the ability to find the most important thing an author is tying to

say It is perhaps the most important of all reading comprehension skills Llarris (1962, p 240-241) expr “without it, the reader gels lost ina thass of detail”, As a resull will become confused about the principal topic that is ciscussed Therefore, grasping main

points from the text is crucial for mastering content information

Finding the main ideas in a passage is more complicated than that in a paragraph because readers have to find the main ideas of different paragraphs and then to synthesize them into

an organic whole, The main idea of a paragraph or a passage refers to the central points or thoughl being expressed in the paragraph ori the passage In order to grasp the main idea,

a reader should ask himself/herself the question “what 1s this paragraph or this passage about?” If he/she answers this question perfectly, he/she will succeed in recognizing the main idea

Ina paragraph, the main idea usually lies in the first or in the last sentence, and the main idea of the text is usually in the introductory ot in the concluding paragraph On occasion, the main ideas of paragraphs are not states explicitly but have to be inferred In this case, readers should decide what the topic is and determine the main ideas from the details

Finding the main ideas is related closely to skimming because “skimming gives readers the advanlage of haing able to predict the purpose of the passage, the main topic or message, and possibly some of the developing or supporting ideas This gives thom “head start” as

they embark on more focused reading” (Brown 1994, p 293) It means that, in skimming,

8

readers have to find the general and overall ideas of the whole text in order to catch the gist of it

1.41.3 Guessing vocabulary from the context

It cannot be denied that vocabulary plays an essential role in reading, Wilkin (1972, p

110) states its role in reading comprehension that “without grammar, very litle can be

conveyed, without vocabulary nothing conveyed”, Studies by different investigators show that knowledge of word meaning is the most important single factor that accounts for variability in reading comprehension Ilence, the more number of vocabularies a reader knows, the better he/she can gain reading comprchension However, it is the fact that no readers can know all English words while dealing with reading matenials They can cope with amknown words but the matter is thal they know a small number of words or a large mumber of words, In the case they deal with unfamiliar words, they arc suggested to make

a guess at the meaning of the words they do not know sather than look them up in a dictionary When readers guess meaning of an unknown word, they must gain their

ontial level

roading compreliension al infs

In order to guess meaning of an unknown word, we should put it in its context, The meaning of a word in context is its meaning in the particular sentence and paragraph in which it is used A single English word can gave many dilfercnt meanings, ils provise

meanmg always depends on the context it is used Contextual clues are used to make a

good guess at the word’s meaning Leaming haw to use context clues to figure out the

meaning of unknown words is an essential reading strategy and vocabniary builder

in the passage From that they can draw a logical conclusion about what might happen next Henec, reading for inference involves reading the text and recalling prior experience, Once readers make inferences from the text, it means they gain ther reading comprehension at

inferential level

‘There are different types of inference one can draw from written discourse, They are explained below in terms of bridging inference, contextual inference and structural

inference

Bridging Inference: Bridging Inference is drawn to establish coherence between a present piece of information and a preceding piece of information, Llere, we have to infer the relationship or link between these two picces of information

Contextual Inference: Contextual Inference is drawn to mfer the implied idea or

suggestion in a text [t concems expectations about what events will take place in the

world described by the text, not about what events will actually be stated cxplicitly in the text, In order to infer the implied idea, the reader has to use several types of

information in the text

Structural inference: It refers to the reader using his implicit knowledge of text structures to facilitate his comprehension of texts Text structure refers to how the ideas in the text are organized by the writer

1.4.2 Reading Comprehension Skills

Duity (1993, p 232) reveals that “eading strategies are plans for solving problems encountered in constructing meaning” ‘The two tems “reading skills” and “reading

stralegi: $” are oflen used interchangeably According to Karlin, R and Karlin, AR (1988,

p 43-44), they make a list of reading comprehension skills which are categorized into five groups

© Word recognition skills

- use of contextual clues: Context is associated with meaning, and iLis meaming, as well as visuaf đemenls, that aids readors im revognizirys words or identifying

unknown words Contextual clues are related to syntactical clues

- phonic analysis; studying letter-sound relationships as a means of analyzing words

- structural analysis; breaking word apart, it involves the recognition of prefixes, suffixes, root words, syllables, and accents in analyzing words Structural components within familiar words would consider structural clues in identifying unknown words

- use of dictionary: learning how to locate entry words ‘This involves knowledge

of slphabetical order and of the use of guidewords, and the ability lo recognize root words,

- acquisition of sight vocabulary: the ability of recognizing words without having

to examine them carefully

10

= Word meaning skilts

use of contextual clues

structural analysis

use of dictionary

recognition of multiple meanings

recognition of figurative language: the ability of distinguishing between the

literal and the figurative moarings of words

* Comprehension skills

recognition of Hiteral meaning recognition of inferred meaning critical evaluation of material

assimilation of matcrial

= Study skills:

location of information: How to use sources of information from the table of

content, the index, the encyclopedia

selection af information Making decisions about what ideas and facts are

important It consists of recognizing subjects, recognizing topics, recognizing main adeas, key sentences, noting important details

organization and retention of isformation: seeing relationships among ideas and

thinking about them in an organized way furthers understanding and facilitics

recall They include preparing outlines, preparing summaries, taking notes

use of graphic and typographical aids: Mustrations to make abstract ideas clearer

and conerete such as: maps, diagrams, charts, and pictures

ability to preview: taking a quick look at a reading before trying to understand

the whole thing

flexthility: when 1o Tad slowly and carefully and when to tead quickly, and how

to vary their reading styles according to them purposes and the nature of the

material It deals with scanning for specific information, skimming for general

11

inferences are considered basic reading skills to understand the author’s thought, therefore, the study would focus on the four reading sub-skills,

2 TORIC reading comprehension ests

2.1, What is the TOEIC test?

FOLIC, which stands for Test of English for International Communication, measures

English proficiency in a work related environment al advanced and intermediate levels, TI

is designed to give an accurate measurement of the English capabilities of people who do

not use Linglish as their mother tongue ‘he first TOLIC test was administrated in

December 1979 and was taken by 2,773 people The average score was 578, Sinec those early days the test has seen a dramatic increase in test taker numbers, [tis currently used in aver 60 countries and taken by more than 4.5 million people per year

Every year, a grcat dcal of investment goes into test item excation, piloting, and analysis The results of each test sitting are statistically analyzed and adjusted to ensure consistent

scores between sittings

Beginning in May 2006, the New TORIC has been designed to better address the real

demand of workplace communication English Tasks are “more authentic” and “more closely resemble what a person using the language in the real world would have to do” According to Educatiomal Tosting Scrviee (RTS), the new TORIC les emphasizes authentic language contexts which require learners to use multiple strategies and abilities

to comprehend and connect information While the number of test items and the basic test format remain unchanged, several major changed ars introduced, which reflects the test designers’ commitment to contizuous reevaluation and improvement of the test while addressing the need to ensure high TOHIC scores actually correlate with real ability to communicate in Buglish

2.2, TOFIC Test Area

As TOKIC measures the candidate's proficiency in the workplace and everyday communication, the List questions are based on teal life work ssliing in an international environment (meetng, travel, telephone conversation, etc.) To ensure that the test measures what it 1s supposed to in a fair, valid and reliable way, these characteristics are common of the test items:

- Vocabulary, grammar and idioms are not specifically American English

- Culture specific and job/profession specific situations are avoided

- Names from different countries are included

- Different English accents arc used throughout the test — mainly American, British, Canadian and Australian accents

12

2.3 Structure of the Test

is a two-hour, paper-and-pencil multiple-choice lest thal cơn

200 questions divided into separated-timed sections:

typically respond with appropriate

expressions cvơn aboul lapies

specialization

Although speech is not equivalent to that of a native speaker, the individual has a strong grasp of vocabuilary, grammar, and structure

13

Tas sufficient knowledge for daily activities and conducting business within

certain limits

Understands ordinary conversation well and can respond naturally The individual also has the ability to respond in some fashion, even when the topic relates ta specialized fields There are typically no great bartiers to communicating in usual nsiness siluations

While grammatical and structural mistakes sometimes occur and some isolated disparities exist in terms of

correetn

s and [luenoy, (Hay se not so frequent that speech is misunderstood

Can understand the gist of ordinary conversation and has no tiouble forming responses However, the individual shows some disparities in the ability lo respond corroelly and making himself? herself understood

in more complicated situations

The individuat has aequired a fundamental knowledge of grammar and structure and has the vocabulary

to comnmmicate —_esscntiall information, even when lacking

expressive power

communication in ordinary

conversation Can understand simple

conversations when the other party

speaks slowly and repeats or rephrases what is said 1s capable of

responding to familiar lopies

14

Knowledge dĩ vocabulary, grammar, and structure is generally inadequate However, if ths other party is used lo dealing with nom native speakers, the individual can

manage to get a point across

220 Ts noi able lo communicale | Even simple conversation al a slow

adequately pace is only partially understood

Is able to communicate with

grammatically correct sentences and does not effectively serve to make

himself’ herself understood

2.5 Wha takes the lest?

Since its relatively humble beginnings in 1979, test taker numbers have steadily increased and today the ‘TOLIC test is one of the most common internationally recognized Linglish proficicney exams in the world The reason for this is that TOEIC is inercasingly being

seen as a reliable standard measure for making both employment and academic decisions

Business test takers — An increasing number of companies worldwide use the TOEIC to set

targets for English proficiency for the purposes of hiting new workers, transfers to

different companies, or for prometion to management positions This is especially true of

large multinational corporations, or companies that export their products internationally Academic test takers — Although originally aimed at English use within a business context,

TOEIC Listening and Reading Test is increasingly being used within academic contexts

In Japan, a significant proportion of the universities and colleges surveyed used the test for purposes of accreditation, course placement, and measuring progress within a curriculum

A growing number of umiversitics around the world have adopied TOEIC as a way of

screening candidates for their graduate programs, especially in the fields of business or

intemational studies In some institutions candidates who achieve high TORIC scores also carn the right to be recommended for scholarships or for special certification

2.6 Test formats: SP and IP

There ae two main formals 1a the TORIC test, the Secure Program (SP) and the Institutional Program (IP) The differences between these relate primarily to the way they

are administered.

Secure Program (SP) — Thús is the siandard and most common form of the test SP tesis

are administered directly by the TOGIC Steering Committee or their focal represenlatives Institutional Program GP) TP tests are not administered aceording to the terms and conditions specified by the TOKIC Stearing Committee, but by individual companies and schools on days and at locations decided by the institutions that conduct them Score resulls arc usnally reported 1o the insfitution within five working days of tcecipt, of the answer sheets

IP tests are generally used for assessment of new employees as a placement test for in- company English lessons or for sclf-development,

2.7 TOEIC Reading Comprehension Section

Tn the TOF!

Reading Comprehension section, there are 48 questions in total It presents examinees with the first part to read followed by two to five questions to answer, The 48 questions are based on a variety of reading materials like announcements, reports, letters, forms, bulletins, faxes, memos, tables, charts, newspaper and magazine articles, and

aidvartisennents, The second part has 20 questions and you got two related toxls to rend, There will be five questions to answer which cover the content of both passages In these paired texts, they may be an e-mail and a memo, a form and a fax, a table and a letter, a Ietler anda letter ¢p 227)

According to ETS (2003), the Reading Comprehension of the TOEIC tests consists of four main kinds of questions: (1) vooatwlary questions, (2) factual information questions, (3) inference questions, and (4) summary questions The first kind measures examinee’s

16

CHAPTER 2— METHODOLOGY

2.1, The context of the study

The study was conducted at the University of Econemic and Technical Industtics (UNETD,

ai 353 Tran Hung Dao street, Nam Dinh city The university was established in 1956, It

has had its own reputation in training technicians, engineers, mechanics, accountants and

bankers to be with skillfid hands and intensive academic knowledge It offers various courses, including undergraduate, vocational, and in-service cowses, The University

currently has an enrollment of more than 15,000 students

Students at the UNE'TI has finished high school and joined the course after passing the compulsory entrance examination in mathematics, physies and chemistry to the university They may have Icarnl, English for cither three or scven years before starting the university depending on the English program adopted at their school This means their language competence is at different Ievels

Like in many other universities, English is a compulsory subject for all students at the UNETI The teaching of Rnglish is divided into lwo phases from the second to the seventh

term In the first phase, students acquire General English with the four language skills and

grammar through the course book New Headway Pre-Intermediate and Intermediate (Liz

and John, 2003), of which Pre-Intermediatc 1s taught for the second and third term and Intermediate for the fourth and fifth tenn At the end of these terms, TOEIC tests (Test of linglish for International Communication) are used as the standard to assess the leval of

English proficiency of students; therefore, students al he UNETI are required fo pass ä 60

minute TOEIC test Because the main purpose of this cxamination is to test learners’

grammar and reading skills, the TOKIC test at this stage only involves the second section,

the Reading Section, which consisis of 100 questions divided into three parts: Incomplele

Sentences (40 questions), Incomplete Texts (12 questions) and Reading Comprehension (48 questions)

In the second phase, students acquire and practice TOEIC test because students at the

UNETI are asked to score mark 350 on TOEIC test to get their diploma The selected

textbooks are Longman Preparation Scries for the TOEIC® Test: Introductory and Intermediate Course by Lin Lougheed The aim of the last two tems is to help students

prepare for the TORT

tests by giving them practice with question formats commonty found on the TOEIC and skills, techniques, and confidence they need to improve their performance on each section of the test ‘'o pass these terms, students have to complete

17

full-length TOHIC tests with both the Listening Section and the Reading Section which are

designed to simulate the actual TORIC

The students have English classes almost every week They learn English for four 45 minute periods per week from the second to the fifth term and three minute periods for the sixth and seventh term Llence, it is clear that the class time allocated in the second phase mighl nơi bố sufficient for the studsnis to comprehend and practice multipte stralzgies of all parts in TOEIC tests in general and of the reading comprehension part in particular

‘They are even exposed to a variety of topics and in a variety of formats, and other common

methods of presenting information in print

Consequently, afler three yoars of adopting TORIC as a component of lertiary-level exil requirements at the UNETI, it can be seen that the TOEIC scores of most of students have not been successful as the university managing board and teachers expect When taking the

TORIC

students have Tol made full usc of learned strategics and techniques lo enhance the TOEIC test-taking skills, For example, approaching the TOEIC reading comprehension part, they frequently read the questions and carelessly scan the passage

accessed TOLIC test thiough the textbook Longman Preparation Series for the TOLIC®

Tesl: Introductory Course by Lin Loughes

the Intermediate Course

In this semester, they keep leaning TOEIC in

These students were selected on the basis of cluster sampling, from 120 non-English major students in the seventh term belonging to two classes (one from Technical Sector and one

from Romuorics Sector) The rescarcher, who is also the teacher of those classes, was in charge of teaching them during this semester With the method of cluster sampling, the researcher ensures the variety of the students” background, which varies from one to

18

another as the group was chosen by chance his also enables for a wider range of application to olher classes, which to some exlenL, shorlen the limnilation of this study,

2.3 Data Collection Instruments

Richard and Lockhart (1994) state thal questionnaires aro an ellfcclive way of yielding data quickly in respect of “efifetive dimension of teaching and learning as belief’, attitudes, motivation and preferences” The admiristration of the questionnaires was convenient for the data collection procedure In addition, it cam be given Lo large groups of subjects at exactly the same time; hence the data are more uniform, standard and accurate (Seliger and

Shohamy, 1995)

In order to fulfill the aims of the study as presented, the study has carried out with both quantilative and quatitative methods by colleetity data from a questionnaire on 120 nom English major students at the UNETI The questionnaire was chosen because it has many

advantages It can be seen as one of the most popular instruments due to its time saving

and ils simpte and cheap operation The survey questiomuire was designedin such a way that both closed and open-ended questions to ensure deep data It aimed at getting

information conceming:

- ‘The students’ background (Questions 1 & 2)

- The students’ attitude towards TOEIC tests at UNETI (Question 3)

- The students’ experience in TOHIC tests (Questions 4 & 5)

- The students’ perception of their difficulties in taking TOEIC reading comprehension tests at UNLTL (Questions 6 & 7}

- The students’ causes of reading difficulties in taking TOKIC reading comprehension tesls al UNTTT (Question 8)

- ‘The students” frequency of strategy use to deal with four main kinds of questions

in TORIC RC tests (Question 9)

2.4, Data collection procedures

The study was conducted during the academic year 2012 (fiom February 2012 to June 2012) The data was collected in the following steps:

Step J: The researcher conducted an English questionnare to 120 students The participants were clearly explained the purpose of the research before they fulfilled the

19