VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES -----***----- NGUYỄN THỊ LỰU A STUDY ON THE IMPROVEMENTS OF LEARNERS STUDYING TOEIC PREPARATION CLASSES AT TIENGANH123 ENGLISH CENTER Một nghiên cứu về tiến bộ của học viên học các lớp luyện thi TOEIC tại trung tâm Tiếng Anh 123 M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 HA NOI, 2014 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES -----***----- NGUYỄN THỊ LỰU A STUDY ON THE IMPROVEMENTS OF LEARNERS STUDYING TOEIC PREPARATION CLASSES AT TIENGANH123 ENGLISH CENTER Một nghiên cứu về tiến bộ của học viên học các lớp luyện thi TOEIC tại trung tâm Tiếng Anh 123 M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Assoc. Nguyễn Phương Nga HA NOI, 2014 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com CERTIFICATION OF ORIGINALITY I hereby certify that the thesis entitled “A study on the improvements of learners studying TOEIC preparation classes at TiengAnh123 English center” is my own study in the fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of Master of Arts at Faculty of Post-Graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.
Hanoi, 2014 Nguyễn Thị Lựu i LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my most sincere gratitude to my respectable supervisor, Assoc. Nguyen Phuong Nga for her restless and sympathetic encouragement, valuable advice and patient guidance until the completion of this study. My sincere thanks also go to my dear colleagues at TiengAnh123 English Center for all their help, support and encouragement when I encountered difficulties. I wish to acknowledge my thankfulness to the three TOEIC preparation classes for their enthusiastic participation in the project.
Finally, I am deeply indebted to my beloved parents, my husband, my daughter, my siblings, and my post-graduate friends for their sacrifice, encouragement and care. ii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACT In recent time, there has been an increasing number of those who want to sit a TOEIC test to get a desirable score for their college graduation or job application in Vietnam. This has resulted in the fact that many English centers have included TOEIC preparation courses in their training program. These centers usually state strongly about the effectiveness of their TOEIC preparation classes; however, there has been little investigation on this so far.
This study is intended to explore the improvements made by TOEIC learners in terms of (1) their test-taking strategies, and (2) their test scores. The participants selected for the study included 43 learners from three TOEIC classes at TiengAnh123 English Center in Hanoi. Through the instruments of pre- and post tests and survey questionnaires for learners, the study discovered that after taking a 2-month preparation course, the learners have significantly improved their TOEIC general and specific test-taking strategies. In addition, regarding TOEIC scores, on average, learners have made an increase of approximately 200 points with about 80 points for Reading section and 122 points for Listening Comprehension section.
iii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents Pages CERTIFICATION OF ORIGINALITY. iii TABLES OF CONTENTS. iv LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES. vi PART A: INTRODUCTION.
Rationale for the study. Aims and objectives of the study. Methodology of the study. Scope of the study.
Significance of the study. Organization of the study. 5 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW. Language tests and language test preparation.
The need for language tests. Kinds of language test. Definition of test preparation. Types of test preparation.
Test-taking strategies. Previous studies on improvements of learners at test preparation language courses. The TOEIC test. What is TOEIC?.
Suggested test-taking strategies for success in the TOEIC test. 18 iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Context of the study .3 Procedures of data collection .4 Procedures of data analysis. 20 CHAPTER 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION.
Learners’ personal information. Results addressing research question 1: Improvements on TOEIC test- taking strategies. Improvements on TOEIC general test-taking strategies. Improvements on TOEIC specific test-taking strategies.
Results addressing research question 2: Improvements on TOEIC scores 33 PART C: CONCLUSION. Implications of the study. Limitations of the study. Suggestions for further study .LXIX v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Figure 1.1: Gender of learners .3: Learners’ current status .4: Learners’ years of learning English .1: Learners’ responses to question of knowledge of TOEIC general test- taking strategies before the course .2: Learners’ responses to question of knowledge of TOEIC general test- taking strategies after the course .3: Mastery of TOEIC general test-taking strategies before the course .4: Mastery of TOEIC general test-taking strategies after the course .5: Learners’ responses to question of knowledge of TOEIC specific test- taking strategies before the course .6: Learners’ responses to question of knowledge of TOEIC specific test- taking strategies after the course .7: Mastery of TOEIC specific test-taking strategies before the course .8: Mastery of TOEIC specific test-taking strategies after the course .1: TOEIC pre- and post-test raw score data .2: TOEIC pre- and post-test minimum, maximum, and mean score .3: Detailed score difference between pre-tests and post-tests.
35 vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART A: INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale for the study There is no doubt that English has been playing an important role in the modern world of highly advanced technology, information and business. Facts have shown that the English language has become an indispensable element for success in the rapidly changing, competitive world. Understanding its importance in individual educational and occupational career, users of English worldwide in general and in Vietnam in particular have had a growing demand for mastering this international language.
In addition, a widely accepted English certificate such as TOEIC is a desire of many learners of English. In fact, today the TOEIC test is one of the most common international recognized English proficiency exams in the world. This is because TOEIC is now one of the most popular assessments used by schools and employers to evaluate the English abilities of students and employees (Tokunaga, 2008). To be specific, there has been a rising number of companies in Vietnam and all over the world using the TOEIC for the purposes of hiring new employees, and for promotion to higher positions.
Apart from that, TOEIC is gradually being used within educational situations. Specifically, according to Trew (2008) a significant quantity of Vietnamese and international universities and colleges used the test for the purposes of accreditation, course placement, and measuring progress within a curriculum. Additionally, TOEIC has been adopted as a way of screening candidates for their graduate programs, especially in the fields of business or international studies by a growing proportion of educational institutions worldwide and in Vietnam. In some cases, high TOEIC scores even bring candidates the right to apply for scholarships or special certifications.
The desire for a satisfactory score makes TOEIC candidates put a great deal of effort in preparing for the test. In Vietnam, some of them spend hours of self- learning at home while the majority attends English courses for their test preparation. These courses have various length and syllabi depending on the levels 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com and the goals of learners, but in general they provide participants with both linguistic skills and test-taking skills. TiengAnh123 English center, Hanoi is one of such places which provide learners with instructions on how to achieve their desired scores.
Courses have been given for several years, and it is claimed by TiengAnh123 that its learners have made great improvements after their courses. However, there has not been any investigation on how much progress its participants have made so far. The aforementioned reasons have brought the researcher a chance to carry out a research project entitled A study on the improvements of learners studying TOEIC preparation classes at TiengAnh123 English center. Aims and objectives of the study The research project is aimed to investigate the improvements that TOEIC learners have made after a preparation course at TiengAnh123 English center.
The specific objectives of the study are to identify the extent to which learners have improved their test-taking strategies and their scores after attending a TOEIC preparation course provided by this center. Research methodology In order to achieve the research aims and objectives, the study is to find answers to the following research questions: 1. To what extent do learners improve their TOEIC test-taking strategies after attending TOEIC preparation classes at TiengAnh123 English center? 2. To what extent do learners improve their TOEIC scores after attending TOEIC preparation classes at TiengAnh123 English center? To fulfill the research aims and objectives and answer the two research questions, a qualitative methodology was employed; specifically, it conducted survey questionnaires on TOEIC learners.
In addition, the results from the pre-tests and the post-tests taken by these learners were compared and contrasted. The detail of the methodology applied in the study is discussed in Chapter 2 of Part II. 2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Scope of the study Although TiengAnh123 is known as an English-teaching website in Vietnam, the participants in their online courses are excluded from this project as they are all around the country; therefore, it would be impossible for the researcher to get them involved in the project due to the obstacles in time, duration and expense.
Instead, the sample of the study is composed of learners at face-to-face classes only because their profile and course length and treatment are controlled. Moreover, at the time of the research, TiengAnh123 was offering two kinds of TOEIC preparation, one for getting learners to achieve at least 450 points in the achievement test and the other is for the target of at least 650 points. Nevertheless, this study is only aimed at the first kind of preparation because this one is more popular among learners due to the fact that a TOEIC score of 450 points is a requirement for graduation given by many colleges and universities in Vietnam. Next, in terms of the improvements made by learners, the study focuses on the following two aspects, i.
their TOEIC test-taking strategies and their overall TOEIC scores at the end of the course. Significance of the study The study is hoped to offer the researcher an insightful understanding of the effects of the teaching and learning at TOEIC preparation classes at TiengAnh123 English center. The findings of the study are expected to help the researcher identify what aspect of TOEIC preparation is doing well and vice versa in this center. Accordingly, suggestions can be made to enhance the strengths and improve the limitations.
Organization of the study The study consists of three parts which discuss the following matters. Part A: Introduction presents a brief introduction of the rationale, the aims and objectives, scope, significance, methods and organization of the study. Part B: Development is composed of three chapters as follows: 3 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com Chapter 1: Literature Review provides the theoretical knowledge and results from the recent studies for the issues relevant to the field under investigated. Chapter 2: Methodology describes the processes of sampling, designing research instruments, collecting and analyzing data employed in the study.
Chapter 3: Results and Discussion presents the discussion of the findings of the study. Part C: Conclusion summarizes the main findings, presents the limitations of the study, and suggestions for further studies. In addition, the study also includes the sections of References which displays the sources of referenced information and Appendices which presents the survey questionnaire, and the pre- and post-test papers. 4 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.