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TOEFL IBT SPEAKING SECTION REVIEW  

TOEFL iBT Speaking Section Review Ramon Mislang 3/1/2011

 TOEFL  iBT  Speaking  Section  Review  1    

Introduction I have chosen the Test of English as a Foreign Language known as the TOEFL for my test review assignment. This test is relevant to my Masters Degree in TESOL because I plan to work in an EFL environment where I would help prepare prospective students wanting to enter academic settings overseas such as North America, the United Kingdom, and Australia. In fact, the TOEFL is the most highly regarded and widely accepted test in the world with more than 6000 colleges, universities, and agencies in 130 countries accepting TOEFL scores (ETS, 2009). The aim of the TOEFL is to test the ability of non-native speakers of English to communicate in an academic environment. Because TOEFL is an entrance requirement at many academic institutions, failure to achieve a certain score on the TOEFL can influence a student’s pathway towards higher education. Therefore, students from all around the world invest a lot of money and time in preparing for the TOEFL. From a small sample of twenty two students, I gathered some information on why students take the TOEFL. According to the responses in Appendix A, a common reason why students take the TOEFL is to enter higher education in America. Although more and more institutions of education are now accepting scores from the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), TOEFL is still the most recognized testing standard for entrance to education in America. IELTS on the other hand is more recognized in areas such as the United Kingdom and Australia. Another reason why students take the TOEFL is because many students cannot enter local universities in their home country or their local universities do not offer programs they want to study. So the TOEFL is regarded as a second chance for students wanting to pursue higher education. An interesting reason I found why students place such a high importance on taking the TOEFL is related to money and time. Students who do not score high

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enough on the TOEFL have to take ESL support classes before they can take regular credit classes. Therefore, some students may have to spend up to one year before officially entering a four year university which consequently means an extra year of expenses. For older students, the TOEFL not only offers an opportunity to study abroad, but a chance to live abroad, experience foreign culture, and broaden their horizons. After reading students responses in Appendix A, I have come to realize how important the TOEFL is in affecting the course of a person’s life. According to the 2009 Test and Score Data Summary for TOEFL Internet-based and Paper-based Tests published by the Education Testing Service (ETS), Japan had the lowest mean score on the speaking section of the TOEFL (See Appendix B). As a future English teacher in Japan, it will be my responsibility to examine in depth how the TOEFL works so that I may be aware of what my students need in order to be successful language learners and test takers. Therefore, I have chosen to review the speaking section of the TOEFL iBT. This test review will consist of four major sections: the history of the TOEFL, a description of the speaking section, its scoring system, and an analysis. History of the TOEFL According to Crystal (2003), language has traditionally become an international language for one chief reason: the power of who speaks the language. Since the end of World War 2, America became the major superpower and therefore English became the language that all educated people needed to possess in order to maintain commercial and technological contact with the international community (Crystal, 1997). As a result, between the early 1950’s and the early the 1960’s, the number of students from non-English speaking countries rose considerably in many English speaking areas such as New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and United States (Davies, 2008). Although a variety of diagnostic tests for non-native speakers of English such as

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the English Examination for Foreign Students (EEFS) and the Diagnostic Test for Students of English as a Second Language existed in the American market, these tests were underused because they were either too long or only focused on written structures of English (Davies, 2008). Other tests that were in the American market at the time were the English Usage Test and the Aural/Oral Rating sheet which were developed by the American University Language Center (AULC). According to (Davies 2008), the AULC tests were the precursor to the original TOEFL. In 1962, a concern with the English language proficiency of nonnative speakers of English who wished to study at colleges and universities in the United States resulted in the formation of a national council on the testing of English as a foreign language (ETS, 2010). This newly formed council supported the development of the TOEFL and by 1965, the responsibility of administering the TOEFL was jointly assumed by the College Board and ETS (ETS, 2010). The first TOEFL consisted of five sections but was later revised in 1976 to contain only three sections: Listening Comprehension, Structure and written Expression, and Vocabulary and Reading Comprehension. In the next 22 years, the format of the TOEFL would undergo changes to reflect not only a trend towards communicative competence in language education but technological advances that would reshape the interface of TOEFL. These changes to the TOEFL which began in 1995 lead to the introduction of the computer-based TOEFL test (TOEFL CBT) in 1998. However, the TOEFL still lacked a speaking component and it was not until the introduction of the Internet Based Version of the TOEFL test (TOEFL iBT) in 2005 that a speaking section would be included in the test. The addition of a speaking section to the TOEFL was due to a belief that integrated skill tests would provide better information to institutions about student’s ability to communicate in an academic setting and their readiness for academic coursework (ETS, 2010).

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Description of the Speaking Section This section will be dedicated to examining the TOEFL iBT speaking section in detail by first starting off with a general overview of the TOEFL iBT. After the general overview, Wesche’s (1983) four components of a language test: Stimulus, task posed to the learner, learner’s response, and scoring criteria will be used to further examine the speaking section by looking at how these four components are exemplified. General Overview The TOEFL iBT is a norm-referenced test (NRT) because learners who take this test are not judged on a pass or fail basis. According to Bailey (1998), the grades or scores from norm referenced tests are based on a comparison of the test takers to one another. This feature of a norm referenced test is exemplified by ETS’s (2010) publication of test score data summary for TOEFL Internet-based and Paper-based Tests which releases data on the performance of test takers and percentile ranks organized into various categories. According to Brown (2005), norm referenced tests are also characterized by how results are measured. Brown explains that norm referenced tests measure global language abilities such as overall language proficiency, academic listening ability, reading comprehension, etc. (p. 2). The TOEFL iBT demonstrates Brown’s characterization of NRTs because the TOEFL iBT uses integrated tasks that reflect how English is used in the real world and results in a better measure or prediction of a learner’s ability to participate successfully in an academic environment (ETS, 2009). Learners who are taking the TOEFL iBT speaking section are required to use a headphone, microphone, and a computer. The headphone is used for the receptive portion of some of the tasks while the microphone is used for the productive portion of this section where

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learners must respond to prompts or tasks. The computer is used for receiving instructions throughout the speaking section. Before learners can start the speaking section, they must check if all of the equipment is working. The speaking section consists of two independent tasks and four integrated tasks for a total of six tasks or questions. For each question, the learner is given up to 30 seconds to prepare and up to 60 seconds to provide a verbal response. The total time for the speaking section is approximately twenty minutes and is the shortest section among all of the other skill sections. A brief description of these tasks will be explained below: -

Question 1+2: The first two questions of the speaking section are the independent task questions. These questions will ask the learner to speak about a familiar topic

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Question 3+4: These questions are integrated task questions. Learners will be asked to first read a short passage. After reading the passage, learners will listen to a talk about the same topic. Finally, a question that is based on the passage and talk will appear for which learners must respond.

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Question 5+6: These questions are more integrated task questions. However, there is no reading in these questions. Instead, learners are given the task of listening to a conversation or lecture which is followed by a question to which the learner must respond.

Wesche’s Framework Wesche (1983) in her article about communicative testing in a second language laid out a framework for examining tests. This framework consisted of four components. The first component is stimulus material. According to Bailey (1998), stimulus material is whatever linguistic or nonlinguistic information presented to learners to get them to demonstrate skills or knowledge of what the test in question wants to assess. In the case of the speaking section of the

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TOEFL iBT, the stimulus material would be the passage, talk, conversation, and lecture given in the integrated task questions. The second component of Wesche’s framework is the task posed to the learner. In other words, this component relates to the mental processes of what learners must do before responding to questions. However, the tasked posed to the learner differs between the independent task and the integrated task questions. In the independent task questions, learners must formulate an opinion by drawing information from personal experiences before responding to these questions. In the integrated task questions, learners must first understand what is going on in the passage, talk, conversation, and lecture. Learners must understand what is going on before they can compare, contrast, and synthesize information given in the stimulus material. The third component of Wesche’s framework is the learner’s response. The learner’s response refers to the physical processes of how learners must respond to task questions. Because this section is dedicated to speaking, the learner’s response is always verbal or oral as exemplified by learners having to record their utterances through a microphone. Based on some of the responses in Appendix A, a learner’s response must also be aware of time management as well as fully developing one’s response to adequately fulfill what the task has asked. The last component of Wesche’s framework is the scoring criteria. According to Bailey (1998), scoring refers to what the test is trying to assess and what the test wants learners to attend to. The scoring criteria for the TOEFL iBT is laid out in two separate speaking rubrics that ETS publishes every year (See Appendix C). The first rubric is the independent speaking rubric and the second rubric is the integrated speaking rubric. Both rubrics are holistic in such that they react to a student’s speaking as a whole to which a single score is awarded. The three criteria that scores are based on include delivery, language use, and topic development. Delivery here refers

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to clarity, pronunciation, intonation, and overall intelligibility. Language use refers to the effective use or control of grammar and vocabulary. Topic development refers to the display of relationships between ideas and how they progress to perform a sufficient response to tasks. The speaking section of the TOEFL iBT is a reflection of a shift to communicative competence in such that the test emphasizes more on assessing what the learner can do instead of how much knowledge the learner possesses. Scoring System According to ETS Official Guide (2009), responses to all of the tasks in the speaking section are digitally recorded and sent to ETS’s Online Scoring network where they will be rated by at least three human scorers who assign ratings based on the independent and integrated scoring rubrics. These ratings range from 0 to 4 with 4 being the highest rating possible for each response. After each response has been assigned a rating, all of the ratings will be added up and then divided by 6 in order to arrive at an average or mean rating. Afterwards, the mean rating will be converted to a scaled score of 0 to 30 with 30 being the highest possible score (see appendix D for the conversion table). Institutions of education interpret TOEFL iBT scores differently based on the demands of the programs that prospective students are entering. In other words, a score of 22 in the speaking section might be acceptable at San Francisco State University but not the University of Southern California. These programs have a standard setting process where an elected panel reviews parts of the speaking section and then makes score recommendations based on discussions on how a minimally qualified student would respond to the tasks posed in the speaking section. However, before recommendations become final score requirements, institutions still need to consider how

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particular final scores will affect the number of eligible applicants and what kind of support could be given to candidates who possess weak speaking skills in English. Analysis Earlier in this paper, I used Wesche’s four components of a language test to examine certain features of the TOEFL iBT speaking section. However, there are many other features of a test to consider for which Wesche’s framework may alone be not enough for evaluating a test. Therefore, this section will be dedicated to looking at other features of the TOEFL iBT speaking section such as reliability and validity. Afterwards, Swain’s (1984) four principles of communicative language testing: Start from somewhere, Concentrate on Content, Bias for Best, and Work for Washback will be used to further analyze other features of the TOEFL iBT speaking section by looking at how these four principles are exemplified. Reliability and Validity Reliability is a traditional criterion by which the quality of a language test is evaluated. A test is said to be reliable if the way in which it measures students’ performances is consistent (Bailey, 1998). In the case of the TOEFL iBT speaking section, students’ performances are measured by human raters and therefore an issue of rater reliability will be examined. Rater reliability is generally discussed in terms of inter-rater reliability and intra-rater reliability with the former referring to the consistency with which two or more raters evaluate the same data using the same scoring criteria and the latter referring to how consistent an individual rater evaluates the same data on two different occasions (Pg. 178). In terms of inter-rater reliability, ETS states that some of the tasks are scored by two raters in order to check the reliability of the ratings (ETS, 2004). However, ETS does not state which of these tasks are scored by two raters nor do they state why only some of the tasks are scored by two raters and not all of the tasks.

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In terms of intra-rater reliability, ETS states that raters are trained extensively, pass a certification test and are calibrated daily. Furthermore, raters are continuously monitored for accuracy and checked each time they score a new test question. Despite all of the precautions taken to ensure inter-rater and intra-rater reliability, ETS mentions in TOEFL iBT Research Insight (2011) that a person’s true or real ability can never be observed in a test. Therefore, ETS calculates a standard error of measurement (SEM) to help estimate as close a possible a person’s true ability. The score reliability estimate for the speaking section is 0.88 with an SEM of 1.62 (See table 1 in Appendix F). According to Professor Bailey’s lecture in Language Assessment, reliability can be calculated on a coefficient scale ranging from 0 to 1 with number closer to 1 being desirable because the closer the number is to 1 they more reliable a test is said to be. Validity is another traditional criterion by which the quality of a language test is evaluated. Test validity refers to the degree to which a test measures what it claims to be measuring (Brown, 2005). As briefly mentioned earlier in this paper, the TOEFL iBT speaking section claims to measure the ability to read a passage and listen to a lecture, synthesize the information received, and produce an oral response appropriate for an academic setting. This ability is observed through test takers execution of the 6 tasks. ETS (2009) claims that these 6 tasks are valid instruments because they simulate actual tasks from classrooms. These tasks are carefully generated from ongoing research carried out by contracted researchers who record examples of classroom teaching and student interactions at several institutions (ETS, 2009). To further illustrate test validity, ETS appears to produce monographs and research reports analyzing content, construct, and criterion related validity. Unfortunately, the majority of these monographs and reports do not explicitly target the speaking section. Therefore, more data to support the validation of the speaking section of the TOEFL iBT appears to be needed.

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Swain’s Framework Swain’s four principles of communicative language testing (1984) are useful for evaluating issues that may arise from the development of a speaking test such as the TOEFL iBT speaking section. The first principle, start from somewhere, refers to the idea that test developers should start with a clear understanding of what is being measured. According to ETS (2009), the focus of the TOEFL iBT test is on communicative competence. In other words, the TOEFL iBT section measures test takers ability to communicate effectively in an academic setting. Swain’s second principle (1984), concentrate on content, refers to both the content of the material used as the basis of communicative language activities and the tasks used to elicit communicative language behaviors. In other words, the content of a test needs to be relevant to the test taker. ETS addresses this issue of relevance by stating that tasks in the speaking section asks test takers to speak on a variety of topics that draw on personal experience, campus-based situations, and academic type content which are ideal for non-native English speakers pursuing academic study in English speaking areas at the undergraduate and graduate level. The third principle in Swain’s framework is bias for best, which refers to encouraging and eliciting the test taker’s best performance (Swain, 1984). Encouraging and eliciting the test taker’s best performance is directly related to the way a test is designed. Features of the design of a test that may influence a test takers performance include but not limited to are clarity of instructions, explicit attention to time for completing a task, and suggestions for how to proceed with the task in question. In terms of suggestions for how to proceed with the task in question, test takers are informed that they may take notes to aid in preparation for responses to tasks. In terms of time given to complete each task, there may need to be some modifications according to the mini-survey took. A common response to the speaking section was that the time given was

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not adequate, especially for topics that test takers felt would be difficult to answer in their first language. However, the instructions for each task are clearly presented through the computer and the time limits of each task are made obvious to test takers. Swain’s fourth principle, work for washback, refers to the effect a test has on teaching practices (Swain, 1984). However, Bailey (1998) states that the definition of washback has developed from Swain’s original definition to a set of much more complex definitions that connect washback with not only teachers in the classroom but learning practices outside of the classroom as well. In regards to the TOEFL iBT speaking section, there remains a lack of empirical research that reveals whether or not the speaking section has influenced teaching practices in Japan. However, because the speaking section is relatively new, it may take time for institutions of education to align their teaching practices with what the TOEFL wants to encourage. Therefore, I will focus on the design of the TOEFL iBT speaking section in regards to how it may promote positive washback in language learning. Positive washback refers to desirable outcomes of test taking on the language learner. An example of positive washback is fostering learner autonomy and self-assessment (Bailey, 1996). Many of the students I talked to said that they prepared for the TOEFL iBT by studying on their own using TOEFL iBT preparation books. However, it is uncertain how these preparation books train students to give themselves critical and constructive feedback on their speaking skills. Therefore, prospective test takers may in addition to self-study seek aid in programs such as short-term immersion programs or study tours that will enable them to make self assessments on their speaking skills. Conclusion Working with students in Hong Kong who wanted to study abroad to the United Kingdom and Australia forced me to become familiar with the IELTs. However, being from

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America, I had always felt ashamed that I did not know much about the TOEFL iBT. Reviewing the speaking section of the TOEFL iBT has given me the opportunity to not only understand the format of this section, but help me understand how this test can affect prospective learners wishing to study abroad in America. In addition, reviewing this test has helped me solidify my understanding of concepts learned in language assessment class as well as enable me to become more aware of factors that affect test development such as test design, test content, logistics, and how results are analyzed. The knowledge I have gained from reviewing the speaking section of the TOEFL will not only help me become more critical of reviewing tests, but help me become more critical of tests that I develop in the future.

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References Bailey, K.M. (1996). Working for washback: A review of the washback concept in language testing. Language Testing, 13, 257-279 Bailey, K. M. (1998). Learning about language assessment: Dilemmas, decisions and directions. Boston: Heinle & Heinle. Brown, J. D. (2005). Testing in language programs: A comprehensive guide to English language assessment. New York: McGraw-Hill. Crystal, D. (1997). English as a global language. England: Cambridge University Press. Davies, A. (2008). Studies in Language Testing: Vol. 23. Assessing academic English: testing English proficiency, 1950-1989: The IELTS solution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Educational Testing Service. (2005). TOEFL iBT Scores. Retrieved March 4, 2011, from www.che.gen.kmutt.ac.th/cheps/TOEFL_iBT_Scores.pdf Educational Testing Service (2009). The official guide to the new TOEFL iBT. New York: McGraw Hill. Educational Testing Service. (2010). Test and score summary for TOEFL internet based and paper based tests: January 2009 – December 2009 test data. Retrieved March 3, 2011, from http://www.ets.org/Media/Research/pdf/test_score_data_summary_2009.pdf Swain, M. (1984). Large-scale communicative language testing: A case study. In S. J. Savignon, & M. Berns (Eds.), Initiatives in communicative language teaching (pp. 185-201). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Wesche, M. B. (1983). Communicative testing in a second language. The Modern Language Journal, 67, 41-55.

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Appendix  A:  Comments  on  TOEFL  by  students   How  did  you  feel  during/after  you  took  the  speaking  section  of  the  TOEFL?   1   2  

I spoke too fast, and I have extra time left and didn't know what to do. I felt awful during the speaking test. It was somehow awkward to talk with a computer with quite so many people in the same room. Actually due to the time difference of the test (maybe this situation is only in China, I'm not sure), many of them were trying to eavesdropping on my answers in order to figure out the speaking questions. Afterwards, I thought it would be so much better in the IELTS test since they use real conversation as speaking test. 3   During the speaking test I felt the time was not enough for me to finish my topic, and i did not finish my actual argument, so i was so worried. but the result was better than I expected. 4   During the exam: The articles in the reading session were really boring but the listening part was ok. I didn't feel nervous at all simply because I was used to having different types of assessments in Hong Kong since I was little. 5   I could only vaguely remember that I felt the speaking test was long and exhausting. I heard some unfamiliar words but I just focused on answering the questions. 6   I think the speaking part wasnt that long and I think out of all other test this is the only one that has speaking which I think speaking a language well is most important of communication. 7   it's easy for me, but i think that there are two points. one is the time controlling (cuz there is usually a time limit 30s, 1min etc) so the trick is to be able to start and perfectly finish your sentence right at the time slot ends. two is to overcome the akward feeling of speaking to a machine. 8   No Speaking Test 9   No Speaking Test 10   The questions were easy but it was stressful because they give you only ten to fifteen seconds to prepare an answer. 11   No Speaking Test 12   Even though I know what to say, time limitation press so much and make me that I can't think anything. Also, I don't think they can estimate real speaking ability based on only 6 questions. I mean, some of questions like #1,#2 has very short time limitation, and even can't think about what to say. so... in order to answer any kinds of questions, we just learn by heart some phrases. And some questions are too meaningful and difficult to answer. I need more time for those questions! kk Um, also I can hear that other people are saying. Of course I tried to concentrated on my test, it's very hard to ignore other sounds. And some people who speak English really well make me frustrated… 13   I wasn't happy with it really. The IELTS test was way better. First, talking to a machine is not pretty at all. Second, we were doing the speaking in a computer lab with at least 20 computers. Just imagine when somebody speaks next to you and you try to understand a question and respond to it orally. How about 20 test-takers doing the same thing at the same time. No wonder my lowest subscore was in speaking. 14   The speaking part was the trickiest one, mostly, because many locations just do not have a proper equipment to manage the exam. It means that 20 to 30 people stay in the same room and speak simultaneously. In this situation it's mostly about to get your focus grabbed and be able to say at least something. The second concern is an unnatural setting of the speaking section. To me, it was very uncomfortable to speak to myself in a microphone. In addition, I was worrying that I'm bothering people around. I would prefer a real interview instead. At least, on Skype. Overall, it didn't seem hard to me. I did surprisingly well on TOEFL. But the organization is still something I don't like about this exam.

 TOEFL  iBT  Speaking  Section  Review  15     15   I did not prepare for the test at all. While I was taking the test I was bored. I felt slightly uncomfortable talking to a screen especially because everyone in the room was also talking to a screen. It was hard to concentrate on what I was saying. I got the maximum points on that speaking section. After I took the test I felt like that was the biggest waste of my time. I wished that someone from the faculty would have called me to ask me a few questions and see that my English is at an appropriate level to enter the institute. 16   It wasn't so difficult but I was pressed for time...didn't have a lot of time to prepare/give my answers but the content was easy. 17   During the speaking test I felt concentrated and confident about my performance, though it was very noisy and cold in the room (there were about 30 other students, the AC was on). After receiving the score I was very disappointed, because I only got 21 out of 30 for the speaking section. 18   I hated the speaking section! because i thought that it was weird and kinda artificial to be asked like...which one i like more, sea or mountain, and why...and to answer to the microphone within such a limited time. i don't think i can do it well even in my native language! but, i like the idea having a speaking section, because as you know well, many Japanese are not as good at speaking as they are at reading or grammar. so it's good to measure their speaking skill, but there must be a better way. 19   Can't answer this, since I took the computer-based test that had no speaking section. 20   I didn't like the pace ofthe exam: itwas very fast, I didn't have enough time to complete it. Plus, it required only the knowledge of a language but also of other disciplines, like austronomy, biology... I din't know a lot of words in my native language (question was why do I have to know it in English then?) 21   There was no speaking test when I took it. 22   Well, I have to tell you first that I took TOEFL CBT, not iBT, so I haven't taken any speaking test of it. My aim was to study in UK though, I wasn't familiar with British English. So I didn't take IELTS but TOEFL.  

How  important  was  it  for  you  to  take  the  TOEFL?   1   2  

Very important, because it is an requirement for grad school application for international students. Very important since I want an MA degree. So technically, it was not the TOEFL test which matters, it's only because it is required. 3   I must have it to apply for grad school at the States 4   It was really important before it's really by most universities outside Hong Kong. After the exam: It was amazing. I didn't know I were that good at taking exams. 5   It was of course very important because I needed to get a score of a certain range to apply for graduate school. 6   this test wasnt that important to me but the result was because it does put me in a class of where I stand and reflects how the school evaluate me. 7   again, TOEFL is required for non-native english speaker 8   The most important thing to study in the U.S. 9   It was very important because if I couldn't take high enough score on the test, I would had to waste a semester taking an ESL class for a whole semester before enrolling in the university. 10   Very important 11   I was dead serious! If you can't get a decent score, which is relatively super hard for Japanese, you can't get into the college you want. (Well, after I got into college, I figured out that there was another way to get in, which you just go to language school for a year or so!) 12   exchage program or many companies demand score of english test so taking any kinds of exams like

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15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22  

TOEFL, TOEIC,etc. is pretty important. Otherwise, I can't apply for anything exchage program or many companies demand score of english test so taking any kinds. Very important. It mean the future to me since it is a crucial criteria for admission. Moreover, since my TOEFL score was high, I not only got admission, but I didn't even have to take the placement test at MIIS. I went straight to credit courses. Woohoo! As many non- English speaking students, I just didn't have a choice. I had to pass TOEFL! There is NO other way to get in school. No alternatives. Even the fact that I took English for native speakers in college (with American kids) didn't count when I applied for Masters. I still needed TOEFL and TOEFL only. It was highly important for me to take the TOEFL from a professional stand point. However, from a personal stand point I felt that there was absolutely no need for me to take it because my English is far more advance than what the TOEFL measures. Well, I had to in order to apply for miis and I had to score high enough. Very important. I wanted to achieve a high score on the first attempt. So I studied the ETS TOEFL Guide to prepare for it. very. because i really wanted to come to MIIS, and there were no other options than getting the required score on the TOEFL. Very important for admission to my host university. without TOEFL I had no chances to enroll It was just one of requirement to enter College in US. Without TOEFL, I wouldn't have gotten the opportunity to study and live outside my country.

 

If  you  didn’t  take  the  TOEFL,  do  you  think  your  life  would  have  been  different?   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12  

13  

yeah, I would not be here at MIIS. Probably working somewhere in China now Of course, because if you don't take it you won't meet the basic requirements of these schools. If i didn't take it, then I would take IELTS, cuz i have to take one so that i can apply for grad school....haha~~~ If I didn't take TOEFL, my choice would be really limited. In the end I didn't study overseas, but without TOEFL I would not have any backup if I couldn't make it to a good local university. If I hadn't taken the TOEFL, I might have stayed in my home country working as nine-to-fiver. if I didn't have taken the test I may not have a chance to have a different life experience or life style. again, TOEFL is required for non-native english speaker Yes. It would be different since I could not go to college in the U.S. My college life means a lot for my entire life. I don't think life would have been different even if I hadn't taken the test, but I was able to enroll in the university in time so that was a good thing :) I wouldn't be here at MIIS. So no graduate degree I assume so. At least, I gave up getting into college in U.S. or going to another school before college. um.... maybe^^; In terms of cost and opportunity, it would be different if I didn't take it. It wasn't easy to study TOEFL by myself so I had to take classes at institute. so I spent money for that and also test fee is not cheap at all. In order to get score, I had to take it at least 2 times. And if I didn't take the TOEFL, I couldn't be in HK as an exchange student.....so life would be difeerent. It will be much much different. If I hadn't taken the test, I would be now sitting at the secretary desk preparing memos and archiving files. Not pretty at all.

14   No Answer 15   Yes, if I had not taken the TOEFL I would not be admitted at MIIS. It was a requirement for all non-

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native speakers of English who have not completed 4 years of high school in the U.S. In addition, if I had not taken the TOEFL I would have an additional $150 I wouldn't be here. Had I not taken TOEFL, I would be here at MIIS. You would call me laoshi. I wouldn't be able to pursue an MA in teaching Chinese. I wouldn't be able to see my boyfriend as frequently as I like. But on the upside, I can enjoy Chinese food with friends and family in China. Yes. Even if I didn't come to MIIS, I think I still would've sought other options to study interpretation and translation, so i could have entered another professional school back in Japan. wouldn't say the LIFE would be different, but the application period would be less stressful, that's for sure! If I hadn't taken TOEFL, I hadn't been able to study abroad, broaden my horizon, meet new friends and try out different carrer options. If I didn't take the TOEFL, I think I needed to start from ESL courses before entering a College in US, which made my graduation date delayed. Since the tuition is going up and up every year, starting English classes from upper level saved my time and money!! if I didn't take TOEFL and study in UK, I would stay in my country.