Date of Award
2007
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Education
Program
Education
Supervisor
Dr. Suzanne Majhanovich
Second Advisor
Dr. Rachel Heydon
Abstract
On account of the introduction of the Next Generation TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-based Test) in September 2005, it is worthwhile to explore the impact of the new test on ESL/EFL teaching and learning. The purpose of this study was to investigate the TOEFL iBT preparation course from both teachers’ and students’ perspectives. This study was conducted in a Southwestern Ontario town from January to April 2007. In total, six teachers and four students were involved in this study. A qualitative case study method was used in this research. Personal interviews and classroom observations were used as the main tools to collect data. Survey and document analysis were employed as supplementary instruments. A constant comparative method (Merriam, 1998) was used to conduct data analysis. Findings from this study reveal that participants have positive attitudes toward the change and the new test has had an influence on their teaching and learning practices to various degrees. Based on the findings, this study makes suggestions for teachers, students, and test designers respectively. Teachers should try to break the general skills into teachable elements and should be more aware of cross-cultural learning issues. Students should explore opportunities to speak English and prepare themselves for the possibly noisy test environment. Test designers should provide informative workshops to teachers on how to evaluate the performance of their students by using the rubrics.
Recommended Citation
Chen, Jie, "CASE STUDY OF THE TOEFL IBT PREPARATION COURSE" (2007). Digitized Theses. 4669.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/digitizedtheses/4669