Washback Effect of TOEIC Listening And Reading as a College Exit Test in Riau, Indonesia

Abstract

The utilization of the TOEIC test in some universities in Indonesia as a language exit exam highlights the phenomenon of the washback effect, revealing that this exit requirement influences the narrowing of teaching content and a less communicative teaching process. Some universities in Indonesia have employed the TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication) listening and reading test as a language exit exam. This study investigated teachers’ perceptions concerning the TOEIC listening and reading test. The data were gathered by administering a questionnaire at three major Indonesian universities. The finding revealed that using TOEIC listening and reading as an exit requirement impacted the narrowing of teaching content and led to a non-communicative teaching process, yet the influence was not significant. This study found that the perceived test impact was influenced by factors differing from another research context.

Boosting Listening Skills in Non-English Major Freshmen

“…Furthermore, incorporating varied listening activities that mimic real-life scenarios with different levels of complexity can help students build resilience and adaptability in their listening skills. By enhancing these sub-skills, students can improve their overall listening comprehension, which is crucial for success in TOEIC-oriented tasks and real-world communication (Hong & Phan, 2020;Masrul & Rasyidah, 2023). In conclusion, the findings highlight a significant need for targeted instructional strategies to address the specific listening challenges faced by students, particularly in making inferences and processing detailed information within complex auditory contexts.…”

“…Students may recognize these words when reading but struggle to do so when listening, indicating that their listening skills and vocabulary activation are not sufficiently integrated. This could be due to inadequate exposure to auditory forms of vocabulary or insufficient practice in listening activities that reinforce the connection between sounds and their corresponding meanings (Masrul & Rasyidah, 2023;Namaziandost et al, 2019).…”

“…These results highlight a significant weakness in the ability of students to make inferences based on the information they hear. This deficiency could be attributed to a lack of reasoning skills or an inadequate application of listening sub-skills necessary for inferencing (Masrul & Rasyidah, 2023). It indicates that students may not be effectively employing strategies to piece together implicit information from conversations, which is a crucial aspect of higher-level listening comprehension.…”

“…It could involve practice identifying implicit information, understanding context, and connecting disparate pieces of information (Thu et al, 2023). Additionally, exercises that mimic real-life conversations with varying levels of complexity and vocabulary can help students become more adept at navigating the nuances of spoken language (Masrul & Rasyidah, 2023;Suyitno et al, 2021). By addressing these specific weaknesses through targeted training and practice, students can enhance their overall listening comprehension skills, particularly in understanding short conversations.…”