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Att kunna träna effektivt till ett avgörande prov är en förutsättning för ett bra resultat. Denna uppsats har ägnats åt möjligheten till självstudier inför ett TOEFL -prov med digitala hjälpmedel i form av applikationer till mobiltelefonen. I detta arbete jämförs två olika typer av studiemateri-al, där den ena (analog) representerar det som används för undervisning i TOEFL-kurser. Den andra (digital) representerar alternativet för de som vill skippa kursen och träna på egen hand via självstudier i telefonen. Med Schmitts metodanalys som verktyg har dessa applikationer under-sökts för att se hur pass väl de motsvarar de krav som finns för att klara READING-sektionen i ett prov.Inledningsvis håller den digitala självstudiemetoden en relativt bra standard. Men när de ana-lyseras i sömmarna står det klart att de inte lyckas leverera det som krävs för att klara delprovet READING i ett ”riktigt” TOEFL-test. Denna läromedelsanalys visar att digitala självstudier för-visso är en bra start, och ett steg i rätt riktning inför de förberedelser som krävs – men de räcker inte hela vägen då de fallerar när det kommer till detaljer. Applikationerna siktar högt och försöker ge en autentisk bild av provet. Dock visar det sig att de är alldeles för ”tunna” för att på riktigt kunna återge den rätta svårighetsgraden.

This thesis is a qualitative study of the strategic competence of Arab English majors at Yarmouk University in Jordan. Its aim is to fill the gap found in communication strategy (CS) research, which has at present little relevance to the Jordanian situation. Its main aim is to determine which communication strategies (CSs) are used by English majors while communicating in Ll Arabic and L2 English. Furthermore, since meaning is very important in language teaching, it aims to examine whether the messages transmitted by the learners are successful and comprehensible or not. This will increase our knowledge of how and by means of which strategies Arab English majors overcome their communication problems, and which strategies they use in communicating in their native language. The subjects of the study are 30 English majors at Yarmouk University, a typical Jordanian university, put into three proficiency levels according to an adapted TOEFL test. The sample represents a full range of English majors' ability at the English Department of the same university. Their ages range from 19-23. ... The main finding of the research is that English majors make wide use of CSs. These strategies are mostly L2- English based strategies. Another finding is that in spite of their limited linguistic knowledge, English majors manage to communicate their intended meaning by making use of CSs. It is also found that the learners' use of CSs is related to their proficiency level, in that Ll-Arabic based strategies decrease as proficiency improves. One of the most interesting additional findings is the effect of the mother tongue/Arabic which increases the variety of strategy use. For example, literal translation and word coinage are widely influenced by mother tongue interference. It is found that Arabic speakers use many communication strategies when compared with speakers of other languages in CS research. The subjects' use of CSs is also related to the type of task they are performing. Finally, Arab learners use CSs in their native language, but when compared to the CSs used in their target language, these are fewer in terms of frequency and vary in terms of type. Pedagogical implications and recommendations for further research are presented in light of the findings.

This study examines the effectiveness of traditional admissions criteria, including prior GPA, SAT, GRE, and TOEFL in predicting undergraduate and graduate academic success for American and international students at a large public university in the southwestern United States. Included are the admissions and enrollment data for 25,017 undergraduate American, 509 undergraduate international, 5,421 graduate American, and 1,733 graduate international students enrolled between 2005 to 2009.Person product-moment correlation, multiple regression, and user-determined stepwise regression were applied to the data. Results show high school GPA is the most predictive of first-year college GPA for both undergraduate American and international students. SAT has a medium correlation with first-year college GPA for American students and a large correlation for international students. High school GPA and SAT together explain one fourth of the variance in first-year college GPA for American students and over one half of the variance for international students. TOEFL has a medium correlation with first-year GPA for undergraduate international students but is not a significant predictor of first-year GPA when SAT is included in multiple regression. Unlike the results for undergraduate students, the traditional admissions criteria (undergraduate GPA and GRE) for graduate admissions explain a small portion of variance in first-year graduate GPA. Undergraduate GPA, GRE Verbal, and Quantitative together explain 6.3% of variance in first-year graduate GPA for American students and 3.1% for international students. The GRE Subject Tests are the best predictor of first-year graduate GPA for students who had taken the GRE Subject Tests. TOEFL has a small correlation with first-year graduate GPA for international students, and it is not a significant predictor of graduate GPA when GRE-Verbal is included. These findings have implications for undergraduate and graduate admissions, standardized admissions tests, university curriculum, and students' academic success.

As the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is often used as a determiner for university admissions, this study observes the effect on the international student population at a large private university through the examination of the international student admissions data including TOEFL and first-year GPA from 2005-2015. With the anonymous data of 9,837 students, researchers analyzed the result of a cut-score change at the university. Results indicated that the number of international students decreased at the university. As expected, the TOEFL data revealed a normal distribution for the overall (combined) score and subsection scores, while the GPA data did not. The ANOVA for the TOEFL revealed that the change in cut-scores was not completely implemented in 2010. The GPA results from the ANOVA did not appear to be increasing. Correlation analysis reflected a decrease in the correlation coefficient when comparing results from before and after the cut-score change. Correlations of the subsection TOEFL score presented interesting findings. Multiple regression analysis indicated similar conclusions.

This study investigated the validity of the Reading Level Achievement Test of the English Language Center (ELC) of Brigham Young University. Test validation is a complicated process that involves evaluation of various types of validity. It was beyond the scope of this study to investigate different types of validity of the Reading LAT. The present study was only focused on the exam's construct validity. In an effort to validate the LAT, various models of reading comprehension were examined with the purpose of defining the construct of academic reading comprehension. The TOEFL academic reading framework was chosen to be the construct of academic reading comprehension for the present study. The ELC's reading objectives and the Reading LAT items were compared to the construct of academic reading comprehension as defined in the TOEFL framework. The results of this comparison suggest that neither the current ELC reading objectives, nor the current ELC Reading LAT adequately measures students' academic reading comprehension as defined in the construct.

<p>This paper analyzes the two test forms used by TOEFL: IBT and PBT. The analysiswill focus on the reading comprehension section, its design features, content, andscoring results. The aim is to assess the reliability of the two test forms as well as toidentify factors influencing candidate performance in the reading comprehension test.Three factors are identified: test setting, test difficulty and scoring methods and results.The latter two will be focused on because test difficulty consistency directly decides thetest result consistency. And as the goal of the candidate is to achieve as high a score aspossible, and success is measured in terms of numbers, score reliability is a primaryconcern for both candidate and examining body alike.</p>

This study aimed to explore the effect of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) on the sophomore undergraduate students&rsquo / success on the TOEFL exam. The study was designed as quasi-experimental research and two variables were focused on: Computer-assisted language learning and traditional instruction. Participants were 34 sophomore students in EFL department in Middle East Technical University. The participants were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups using a table of random numbers. Experimental (three males and fourteen females) and control groups (two males and fifteen females) consisted of 17 participants each since the language laboratory for experimental group could accommodate that number. Experimental group was taught using computer-assisted instruction in a language laboratory while the control group was taught using a traditional method of instruction in a traditional classroom setting. The sample consisted of 17 participants in each group. The training lasted for 8 weeks and the same instructor met the groups three hours each week. During the first week a pre-test was given to both groups and a post-test was given at the end of the study. The experimental group participants were also interviewed with regard to CALL. Pre and post-test gain scores were statistically analyzed and the interviews were subjected to content analysis. The results showed that there was no statistically significant difference between the control and experimental groups in overall scores and on the structure section. However, statistically significant differences were found in the scores on the reading and listening sections. The interviews showed that the participants in the experimental group valued computer-assisted language learning. However, it was suggested by the participants that computer-assisted language learning should be incorporated into the regular classes, where especially listening skill is focused on.

Thesis (M.A.)--Indiana University, 2008. / Title from screen (viewed on August 27, 2009). Department of English, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Advisor(s): Ulla Connor, Aye Nu E. Duerksen, Honnor Orlando. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 68-70).

abstract: ABSTRACT The teaching of formulaic sequences (FSs) to improve speech fluency is a time honored tradition in the field of English as a Second Language (ESL). However, recent research seems to indicate that certain discourse markers, specifically transition and personal stance markers, are more useful than other FSs. This study is an attempt to partially replicate (on a very small scale) one of these studies to see if the findings are similar when the standardized test materials are from the Test Of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) rather than the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). The hope is that teacher researchers could have access to readily available, standardized assessment materials with which to create their own research studies consisting of a standardized pretest and posttest. Four students of various levels in an Intensive English Program (IEP) were given a practice listening and speaking exam utilizing TOEFL preparation materials found online. The results were analyzed to see if there was a noticeable correlation between the use of the specified discourse markers on the speech portion of the test and the performance of the students on the listening portion of the test. The findings show some discrepancy between the two studies' results. It appears possible to have a high perceived fluency rate and still have a lower overall speaking fluency when taking into account listening comprehension and various other measures. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. English 2014