VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES ********************* LÊ THỊ NỤ NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE USE OF THE TOEIC LISTENING AND READING TEST AS A GRADUATION REQUIREMENT (Nhận thức thái độ sinh viên không chuyên tiếng Anh việc sử dụng kiểm tra TOEIC hai kỹ nghe đọc hiểu làm điều kiện tốt nghiệp) M.A MINOR THESIS (Type I) Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01 Hanoi – 2019 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES ********************* LÊ THỊ NỤ NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE USE OF THE TOEIC LISTENING AND READING TEST AS A GRADUATION REQUIREMENT (Nhận thức thái độ sinh viên không chuyên tiếng Anh việc sử dụng kiểm tra TOEIC hai kỹ nghe đọc hiểu làm điều kiện tốt nghiệp) M.A MINOR THESIS (Type I) Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 8140231.01 Supervisor : Prof Dr Nguyễn Hòa Hanoi – 2019 DECLARATION I hereby certify the thesis entitled “non-English major students’ perceptions and attitudes towards the use of the TOEIC Listening and Reading Test as a graduation requirement” is the result of my own research in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts at Faculty of Postgraduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi This thesis has not, wholly or partially, been submitted for an award at any other universities or higher education institutions Hanoi, 20 July 2019 Le Thi Nu i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my most sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Prof Dr Nguyen Hoa, for his inspiring me to this research If it had not been for his invaluable guidance or insightful comments, my thesis would not have been accomplished My special thanks also go to all the professors and lecturers of Faculty of Postgraduate Studies at University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi for their valuable lectures, which have laid the foundation for this thesis I am deeply appreciative to the participants of this study for their immense contribution by sharing their experiences and opinions I also thank the director and employees of the center where the research took place Finally, I am indebted to my friends, my colleagues and my family who have encouraged me in numerous ways to complete this study ii ABSTRACT This mixed methods study investigated non-English major students’ perceptions of and attitudes towards the use of the TOEIC Listening and Reading Test as a graduation requirement in some Vietnam‟s HE institutions Data were collected from 197 participants through survey questionnaires and eight semistructured interviews at a TOEIC preparation center in Hanoi The findings revealed that students generally hold positive attitudes towards the use of the TOEIC scores to determine their graduation eligibility and believe that preparing to take the test has a positive impact on their English language proficiency and future employment prospects The TOEIC test scores are also perceived favorably by the respondents as having relatively high levels of reliability and validity; however, the cut-off scores set by some universities might be too low to motivate their students to study English harder The results further indicated that test-takers with better listening and reading skills as measured by the TOEIC tests have a significantly stronger preference for the requirement of an adequate level of speaking and writing proficiency before graduation, provided that tertiary-level English curricula could help students master the four English language skills The study not only contributes to our understanding of students as the key stakeholders who define the context of the test use but also provides empirical evidence to support the use of the TOEIC test as a high-stakes standardized test for university exit requirement in Vietnam Keywords: Perceptions, attitudes, high-stakes tests, English language proficiency, TOEIC, test impact, higher education in Vietnam, graduation requirement iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii LIST OF TABLES viii CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1 Background of the study 1.1 Social context .1 1.2 Educational context 2 Rationale of the study .3 Aim of the study and research questions Methodology and scope of the study Significance of the study .4 Structure of the thesis .5 CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW .6 High-stakes tests Reliability and Validity of standardized tests 2.1 Reliability 2.2 Validity .7 Different reactions to high-stakes standardized testing 3.1 Positive reactions 3.2 Negative reactions Setting standards of high-stakes testing 10 Preparing students for high-stakes standardized testing .12 Perceptions and Attitudes towards high-stakes standardized testing 14 6.1 Definitions of Perception and Attitude .14 iv 6.2 Importance of test-takers‟ perceptions and attitudes towards high-stakes standardized testing 15 TOEIC as a high-stakes standardized test in Vietnam 16 7.1 What is TOEIC? .16 7.2 Use of the TOEIC test as a graduation requirement in Vietnam‟s HE institutions 17 Previous studies on the use of TOEIC as an exit requirement in Vietnam 18 Summary .20 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY 21 Research design 21 Research site 22 Participants 22 3.1 Survey participants 22 3.2 Interview participants 24 Data collection methods 24 4.1 Questionnaires 24 4.2 Interviews 27 Data analysis procedures 29 5.1 Quantitative data analysis 29 5.2 Qualitative data analysis 29 CHAPTER IV: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 31 Research Question 1: What are students‟ perceptions of the English requirement policy for graduation? .31 1.1 Results from surveys 31 1.2 Results from interviews 33 Research Question 2: What are test-takers‟ perceptions of the appropriateness and effectiveness of the TOEIC as an exit test? 35 2.1 Results from surveys 35 2.2 Results from interviews 39 v CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION 44 Recapitulation .44 Implications of the study .45 Limitations of the study 46 REFERENCES 47 APPENDICES I APPENDIX 1: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE I APPENDIX 2: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS VII APPENDIX 3: SAMPLE TEST FOR TOEIC L/R IX vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL English as a Foreign Language ELP English Language Proficiency ETS Educational Testing Service, USA HE Higher Education MOET Ministry of Education and Training, Vietnam TOEIC Test of English for International Communication vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Demographic information of participants 23 Table 2: Structure of survey questionnaire 25 Table 3: Students‟ opinions about the exit English requirement policy 32 Table 4: Students‟ opinions about the exit English requirement policy by their ELP .32 Table 5: Interviewees‟ perceptions of the exit English requirement policy .33 Table 6: Survey respondents‟ perceptions of the TOEIC as an exit test 36 Table 7: Survey respondents‟ perceptions of the use of the TOEIC as an exit test by their ELP 38 Table 8: Interviewees‟ perceptions of the TOEIC as an exit requirement 40 viii 43 Roulston, K (2010) Reflective Interviewing: A Guide to Theory and Practice Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage 44 Ryan, R M & Brown, K W (2005) Legislating competence: The motivational impact of high stakes testing as an educational reform In A E Elliot & C Dweck (Eds.), Handbook of competence (pp 354-374) New York: Guilford Press 45 Schmidt, C (2004) The analysis of semi-structured interviews In U Flick, E v Kardor, & I Steinke (Eds.), A companion to qualitative research (pp 253–258) London, England: Sage 46 Shanker, A (1993, May 23) Where we stand: Goals 2000 New York Times, p A7 Shohamy, E., Donitsa-Schmidt, S., & Ferman, I (1996) Test impact revisited: Washback effect over time Language Testing, 13 (3), 298-317 47 Shohamy, E (2001a) The power of tests: Critical perspective on the uses of language tests Essex, London: Pearson Education 48 Smith, J K., Smith, L F., & DeLisi, R (2001) Natural classroom assessment Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin 49 Stecher, B M (2002) Consequences of large-scale, highs takes testing on school and classroom practice In L.S Hamilton, B.M Stecher, & S.P Klein (Eds.), Making sense of test-based accountability in education (pp 79-100) Santa Monica CA: RAND 50 Tasi, Y., & Tsou, C.-H (2009) A standardized English language proficiency test as the graduation benchmark: Student perspectives on its application in higher education Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 16(3), 319–330 51 Templer, B (2004) High-stakes testing at high fees: Notes and queries on the international English proficiency assessment market Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies, 2(1) 52 Thomas, R M (2005) High stakes testing: Coping with collateral damage Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc 51 53 Tollefson, J W (2002) Language policies in education: critical issues New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates 54 Ton, N N H., & Pham, H H (2010) Vietnamese teachers’ and students’ perceptions of Global English Language Education in Asia, 1, 48-61 55 Tran, T D (2016) Impact of using TOEIC as an exit requirement at a public university in Vietnam Bristish Council New Directions in English Language Assessment: Standardized Testing and Proficiency Scales 56 Walliman, N (2011) Your Research Project: Designing and Planning Your Work (3rd ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage 57 Wolf, L F., & Smith, J K (1995) The consequence of consequence: Motivation, anxiety, and test performance Applied Measurement in Education, 8(3), 227-242 52 APPENDICES APPENDIX 1: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE Hello, I am Le Thi Nu, a graduate student at University of Languages and International Studies - Vietnam National University, Hanoi I am currently conducting research to investigate non-English major students’ perceptions of the use of the TOEIC LC as an exit English test at universities I would be grateful for your time completing this questionnaire, and I assure you of the confidentiality of your responses Thank you so much for your valuable support! Part 1: Background Information Please fill in the blank or tick () an appropriate option Full name Gender Year at university? Name of university Major Testing site □ University Cut-off score □ 450 Times of testing Highest score □ Male □ Female □ IIG Vietnam □ 500 I □ 550 Others: … Part 2: Survey Contents Please state whether you agree or disagree with the following statements by putting a tick () in the appropriate column (1) Totally disagree, (2) Disagree, (3) Neutral, (4) Agree, (5) Totally agree No Scale of agreement Statement A Perceptions of the English requirement policy for graduation It is necessary for universities to require their students to pass a certain score in an ELP test before graduation Passing an exit English standard ensures that students have minimum ELP for their future work I study English harder when my university adopts the exit English requirement policy I would still be motivated to study English in university even if there were no English graduation requirements I would still be motivated to prepare to take standardized English language proficiency tests even if there were no English graduation requirements B Appropriateness and Effectiveness of the use of TOEIC as an exit English test Preparing for the TOEIC helps me improve my ELP English learning curriculum in my university is sufficient for me to take English exit test My university often organizes TOEIC preparation classes for students before exit English exams II 10 11 12 Required TOEIC cut-off score is achievable without difficulty TOEIC scores accurately reflect my ELP If I have a high-score TOEIC certificate, I will feel more confident to apply for a job after graduation TOEIC speaking and writing tests should be required for graduation If there were no English exit requirements, I would 13 still be motivated to prepare for and take the TOEIC tests III BẢNG CÂU HỎI KHẢO SÁT Về việc áp dụng chuẩn đầu TOEIC trường Đại học Xin chào bạn! Tên Lê Thị Nụ, học viên cao học trường Đại học Ngoại ngữ - Đại học quốc gia Hà Nội Hiện tiến hành khảo sát ý kiến bạn sinh viên không chuyên tiếng Anh việc áp dụng chuẩn đầu TOEIC trường Đại học Các bạn vui lòng bớt chút thời gian giúp trả lời trung thực câu hỏi Tơi xin cam đoan bảo mật tồn thơng tin khảo sát sử dụng vào mục đích nghiên cứu Trân trọng cảm ơn! Phần 1: Thông tin chung đối tượng khảo sát Vui lịng điền thơng tin vào ô trống đánh dấu () vào lựa chọn phù hợp Họ tên Giới tính □ Nam Sinh viên năm thứ mấy? Trường Chuyên ngành Hình thức thi TOEIC chuẩn đầu □ Nữ □ Trường Đại học phối hợp với IIG Việt Nam tổ chức thi trường Điểm TOEIC đầu theo □ 450 □ 500 yêu cầu trường Số lần thi TOEIC □ Thi trụ sở IIG Việt Nam □ 550 Khác: … chức Điểm TOEIC cao IV đạt Phần 2: Nội dung khảo sát Vui lòng cho biết mức độ đồng ý bạn phát biểu cách đánh dấu () vào ô số phù hợp: (1) Rất phản đối, (2) Phản đối, (3) Khơng có ý kiến, (4) Đồng ý, (5) Rất đồng ý Mức độ đồng ý Ý kiến STT A Sự cần thiết phải áp chuẩn đầu tiếng Anh cho sinh viên Các trường Đại học cần yêu cầu sinh viên đạt điểm chuẩn định kỳ thi đánh giá lực tiếng Anh trước tốt nghiệp Đạt chuẩn tiếng Anh đầu Đại học đảm bảo cho sinh viên có lực tiếng Anh tối thiểu trước làm Việc áp dụng chuẩn đầu tiếng Anh đại học thúc đẩy sinh viên học tiếng Anh chăm Tơi tích cực học tiếng Anh Đại học trường không yêu cầu chuẩn đầu tiếng Anh Tôi tham gia kỳ thi đánh giá lực tiếng Anh tiêu chuẩn quốc tế cho dù trường Đại học không yêu cầu chuẩn đầu tiếng Anh B Sự phù hợp Hiệu việc áp dụng chuẩn đầu TOEIC Quá trình luyện thi TOEIC giúp cải thiện khả tiếng Anh thân Chương trình học tiếng Anh khóa Đại học đủ để thi lấy chứng TOEIC đầu Trường Đại học thường tổ chức lớp V luyện thi TOEIC cho sinh viên trước thi đầu 10 Tơi thấy khơng khó để thi đạt điểm chuẩn TOEIC đầu nhà trường yêu cầu Điểm TOEIC đạt đánh giá khả tiếng Anh Nếu sở hữu chứng TOEIC điểm cao 11 cảm thấy tự tin xin việc sau tốt nghiệp Nên bổ sung thêm kỹ nói viết TOEIC vào 12 yêu cầu đầu tiếng Anh cho sinh viên thay kiểm tra kỹ nghe đọc hiểu 13 Tôi thi lấy chứng TOEIC trường Đại học không yêu cầu chuẩn đầu TOEIC VI APPENDIX 2: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS What types of English certificates are accepted as a graduation requirement for your major at your university? Why is the exit English requirement policy necessary/ unnecessary? To what extent does the policy have effect on your ELP? How are you motivated to learn English by the policy? What you know about the TOEIC test before attending TOEIC preparation courses at this center? In case you have several options of standardized English language proficiency tests for graduation, why you choose the TOEIC test? Why you think the cut-off score is appropriate/ inappropriate? Could you give me some comments on the TOEIC test design? In addition to the graduation condition, are there any other purposes for your taking the TOEIC test? 10 Why you think your TOEIC score exactly/inexactly reflects your ELP? VII BẢNG CÂU HỎI PHỎNG VẤN Những chứng tiếng Anh trường đại học bạn chấp nhận đạt chuẩn tiếng Anh đầu ra? Tại việc áp dụng chuẩn tiếng Anh đầu đại học lại cần thiết/ không cần thiết? Việc áp chuẩn đầu tiếng Anh ảnh hưởng đến khả tiếng Anh bạn? Việc phải đạt đầu tiếng Anh ảnh hưởng đến động lực học tiếng Anh bạn? Bạn biết TOEIC trước tham gia luyện thi trung tâm? Trong trường hợp bạn quyền lựa chọn thi chứng tiếng Anh quốc tế khác làm điều kiện tốt nghiệp, bạn lại chọn thi TOEIC? Tại bạn nghĩ mức điểm chuẩn TOEIC nhà trường yêu cầu phù hợp/ chưa phù hợp? Bạn đánh giá chung kiểm tra TOEIC nào? Ngồi mục đích để trường, bạn cịn sử dụng chứng TOEIC đề làm khơng? 10 Tại bạn nghĩ điểm TOEIC đạt đánh giá (hoặc không đúng) khả tiếng Anh thân? VIII APPENDIX 3: SAMPLE TEST FOR TOEIC L/R Listening Test: Part 1-4 (100 questions) Part 1: Picture Description (10 pictures) Example: Four statements: Part 2: Question and Response (30 questions) IX Part 3: 10 short conversations (30 questions) Example Transcript Part 4: 10 short talks ( 30 questions) X Example Transcript Reading Test: Part 5-7 (100 questions) Part : 40 questions Example: XI Part 6: 12 questions Example: Part 7: 48 questions XII Example: XIII