臺灣博碩士論文加值系統

在台灣，多益測驗（TOEIC）已廣泛用於評估人們未來職業中的英語能力。本研究的目的是探討台灣學習英語為外語者在閱讀和理解多益文章的問題，並分析他們對於解決閱讀問題並取得較高成績的策略運用。
共有138名學生參與這項研究。為了蒐集四個研究問題所需的數據，研究者使用17個項目的問卷作為主要工具。對於研究問題 (1) 和 (2)，採用量化方法來確定有無參加過多益測驗的參與者之間在閱讀問題上的差異，以及不同英文程度的參與者在閱讀問題上的差異。對於研究問題 (3) 和 (4)，採用質的方法來得出有關影響閱讀流利度和準確性的因素、準備多益閱讀測驗時的問題以及在閱讀測驗中取得更高分的策略的書面回答。
從這項研究中獲得了四個主要的結果。(一) 就考試經驗而言，兩組之間在可能影響他們在多益閱讀測驗表現的整體項目上並沒有顯著差異。(二) 就考試成績而言，兩組之間在可能影響他們在多益閱讀測驗表現的整體項目上並沒有顯著差異。(三) 參與者指出他們在詞彙、文法、文章長度、閱讀時間和主題熟悉度等方面的問題，並提出了用於解決閱讀問題的策略。(四) 一些有多益考試經驗的參與者建議有用的策略包括閱讀各種體裁的文章、識別出可能出現在多益閱讀測驗中的主題、學習安排好時間、試著先閱讀最長和最困難的文章以及在閱讀文章之前先略讀題目。最後，該研究提出了教學應用和對未來研究的建議。

The Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) has been widely used to evaluate people’s English abilities for their future careers in Taiwan. The purpose of this study was to investigate Taiwanese EFL learners’ problems of reading and comprehending the TOEIC texts and to analyze their strategy use to solve reading problems and achieve higher grades.
There were 138 students participating in the study. To collect the data needed for the four research questions, the researcher utilized a 17-item questionnaire as the main instrument. For research questions (1) and (2), a quantitative approach was taken to identify the differences in reading problems between the participants who had officially taken the TOEIC and those who had not, and the differences in reading problems between the participants who differed in their levels of English proficiency. For research questions (3) and (4), a qualitative approach was taken to elicit written responses about the factors influencing reading fluency and accuracy, the problems of preparing for the TOEIC reading test, and the strategies adopted for achieving higher scores in the reading test.
There were four major results obtained from this study. First, in terms of test experiences, there were no significant differences between the two groups among the total items that may pose a problem to their performance on the TOEIC reading test. Second, in terms of test scores, there were no significant differences between the two groups among the total items that may pose a problem to their performance on the TOEIC reading test. Third, the participants indicated their problems with vocabulary, grammar, article length, reading time, and topic familiarity, and proposed the strategies they would use for their reading problems. Fourth, the useful strategies suggested by some experienced participants included reading various genres, recognizing the likely topics to appear in the reading test, learning to manage time well, trying to read the longest and the most difficult articles first, and skimming the test questions before reading the article. Finally, the study proposed pedagogical implications and suggestions for future research.

Table of Contents
Chinese Abstract i
English Abstract iii
Acknowledgement v
Table of Contents vi
List of Tables viii
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Background 2
1.2 Purpose of the Study 3
1.3 Significance of the Study 4
1.4 Definition of the Terms 4
1.5 Organization of the Thesis 6
CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 8
2.1 Reading Comprehension Problems 8
2.2 Reading Strategies 14
2.3 The TOEIC Comprehension Test 19
2.4 Summary 21
CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY 23
3.1 Research Questions 23
3.2 Research Design 24
3.3 Participants 25
3.4 Instrument 26
3.5 Procedure 29
3.6 Data Analysis 30
CHAPTER FOUR DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS 32
4.1 Results of the Participants’ Demographic Information 32
4.2 Analysis of Research Question One 34
4.3 Analysis of Research Question Two 37
4.4 Analysis of Research Question Three 40
4.4.1 Factors Influencing Reading Fluency and Accuracy 40
4.4.2 The Use of Reading Strategies to Solve Reading Problems 43
4.5 Analysis of Research Question Four 46
CHAPTER FIVE INTERPRETATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS 48
5.1 Interpretations of Research Questions One and Two 48
5.2 Interpretations of Research Questions Three and Four 51
5.3 Pedagogical Implications 54
5.4 Limitations of the Study 55
5.5 Suggestions for Further Research 56
5.6 Conclusion 56
References 58
APPENDIX A: The English Version of the Questionnaire 67
APPENDIX B: The Chinese Version of the Questionnaire 70
APPENDIX C: The English Version of the Consent Form 73
APPENDIX D: The Chinese Version of the Consent Form 74

References

Abid, R. A. S. (2011). The effect of topic familiarity on EFL reading comprehension. ADAB AL-BASRAH, (56), 64-95.

Aghaie, R., & Zhang, L. J. (2012). Effects of explicit instruction in cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies on Iranian EFL students’ reading performance and strategy transfer. Instructional Science, 40(6), 1063-1081.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-011-9202-5

Ahmadi, M. R., Ismail, H. N., & Abdullah, M. K. K. (2013). The importance of metacognitive reading strategy awareness in reading comprehension. English Language Teaching, 6(10), 235-244.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/elt.v6n10p235

Akbari, Z. (2014). The role of grammar in second language reading comprehension: Iranian ESP context. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 98, 122-126.

Alhaisoni, E. (2017). Prior knowledge in EFL reading comprehension: Native and nonnative EFL teachers’ perceptions, classroom strategies and difficulties encountered. International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature, 5(1), 30-41.

Al-Jarrah, H., & Ismail, N. S. B. (2018). Reading comprehension difficulties among EFL learners in higher learning institutions. International Journal of English Linguistics, 8(7), 32-41.
https://doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v8n7p32

Alsamadani, H. A. (2012). Reading strategy instruction in Saudi schools. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 3(5), 829-837.
https://doi.org/ 10.4304/jltr.3.5.829-837

Al Seyabi, F., & Tuzlukova, V. (2015). Investigating EFL reading problems and strategies in post-basic schools and university foundation programmes: A study in the Omani context. Malaysian Journal of ELT Research, 11(2), 35-51.

Al-Shboul, M. M., Ahmad, I. S., Nordin, M. S., & Rahman, Z. A. (2013). Foreign language reading anxiety in a Jordanian EFL context: A qualitative study. English Language Teaching, 6(6), 38-56.

Al-Sobhani, Y. A. (2013). Metacognitive reading strategies use by Yemeni EFL undergraduate university students. Frontiers of Language and Teaching, 4, 121-130.

Anjomshoa, L., & Zamanian, M. (2014). The effect of vocabulary knowledge on reading comprehension of Iranian EFL learners in Kerman Azad University. International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature, 2(5), 90-95.

Asmawati, A. (2015). The effectiveness of skimming–scanning strategy in improving students’ reading comprehension at the second grade of Smk Darussalam Makassar. English, Teaching, Learning, and Research Journal, 1(1), 69-83.

Atai, M. R., & Nikuinezhad, F. (2012). Vocabulary breadth, depth, and syntactic knowledge: Which one is a stronger predictor of foreign language reading performance? Iranian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 15(1), 1-18.

Bachore, M. (2014). Cognitive reading strategy training and its effects on EFL learners’ comprehension skills: The case of high school learners. International Journal of Research, 1(4), 258-276.

Baleghizadeh, S., & Golbin, M. (2010). The effect of vocabulary size on reading comprehension of Iranian EFL learners. Linguistic and Literary Broad Research and Innovation, 1(2), 33-47.

Cain, K. (2007). Syntactic awareness and reading ability: Is there any evidence for a special relationship? Applied psycholinguistics, 28(4), 679-694.

Cahyaningati, D. T., & Lestari, L. A. (2018). The use of multimodal text in enhancing engineering students' reading skill. International Journal of Language Education, 2(2), 65-73.

Carney, N. (2016). Gauging extensive reading’s relationship with TOEIC reading score growth. Journal of Extensive Reading, 4, 70-86.

Chang, A. (2010). The effect of a timed reading activity on EFL learners: Speed, comprehension, and perceptions. Reading in a Foreign Language, 22(2), 284-303.

Chang, A., & Millett, S. (2017). Narrow reading: Effects on EFL learners’ reading speed, comprehension, and perceptions. Reading in a Foreign Language, 29(1), 1-19

Charoenchai, P., & Carmeesak, W. (2017). The relationship between metacognitive reading strategies and reading comprehension among 2nd year EFL university students. International Conference on Language, Education, Humanities and Innovation, 254, 204-215.

Chen, K. Y. (2011). The impact of EFL students’ vocabulary breadth of knowledge on literal reading comprehension. Asian EFL Journal, 51, 30-40.

Chen, K. Y. (2014). Vocabulary, syntactic knowledge and reading comprehension: The perspective of college EFL Students. An Interdisciplinary Journal, 66, 39-52.

Chen, M. L., & Hung, L. M. (2014, July). Influence of TOEIC on teachers and students at tertiary level. Paper presented 2nd International Conference on Applied Social Science Research (ICASSR 2014), Shanghai, China.

Chen, K. T. C., & Chen, S. C. L. (2015). The use of EFL reading strategies among high school students in Taiwan. The Reading Matrix: An International Online Journal, 15(2), 156-166.

Cubukcu, F. (2008). Enhancing vocabulary development and reading comprehension through metacognitive strategies. Issues in Educational Research, 18(1), 1-11.

Dari, R. W., & Noviabahari, J. L. (2018). The freshmen’s metacognitive awareness of reading strategies. Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, 222, 182-186

Eslami, H. (2014). The effect of syntactic simplicity and complexity on the readability of the text. Journal of Language Teaching & Research, 5(5), 1185-1195.
http://dx.doi.org/10.4304/jltr.5.5.1185-1191

Gao, Y. (2013). The effect of summary writing on reading comprehension: The role of mediation in EFL classroom. Reading Improvement, 50(2), 43-47.

Gilakjani, A. P., & Ahmadi, M. R. (2011). A study of factors affecting EFL learners' English listening comprehension and the strategies for improvement. Journal of Language Teaching and research, 2(5), 977-988
https://doi.org/10.4304/jltr.2.5.977-988

Hamouda, A. (2013). An investigation of listening comprehension problems encountered by Saudi students in the EL listening classroom. International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development, 2(2), 113-155.

Hsieh, C. N. (2017). The case of Taiwan: Perceptions of college students about the use of the TOEIC® tests as a condition of graduation. ETS Research Report Series, 2017(1), 1-12.

Isarankura, S. (2017, December). The relationship between TOEIC reading scores and achievement scores in reading courses of an English major program. Paper presented in 2016 International Research Conference on Social Sciences, Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies, Pattaya, Thailand.
https://doi.org/10.15242/DIRPUB.DIRH1216016

Jayanti, F. G. (2016). Reading difficulties: Comparison on students’ and teachers’ perception. Proceedings of ISELT FBS Universitas Negeri Padang, 4(1), 296-301.

Kasemsap, B., & Lee, H. Y. H. (2015). L2 reading in Thailand: Vocational college students’ application of reading strategies to their reading of English texts. The Reading Matrix: An International Online Journal, 15(2), 101-117.

Kashani Mahmood, M. H., Reymani Nikoo, F., & Bonyadi, A. (2013). The role of schema or background knowledge activation and graphic organizer on increasing Iranian EFL learners’ reading comprehension. European Online Journal of Natural and Social Sciences, 2(2), 229-241.

Kasim, U., & Raisha, S. (2017). EFL students’ reading comprehension problems:
Linguistic and non-linguistic complexities. English Education Journal, 8(3), 308-321.

Kasimi, Y. (2013). Cognitive and metacognitive strategies employed by Iranian and Turkish EFL readers. ELT Research Journal, 1(3), 159-174.

Ketabi, S., Ghavamnia, M., & Rezazadeh, M. (2012). Hypermedia reading strategies used by Persian graduate students in TEFL: A think-aloud study. The Reading Matrix, 12(1), 39-49.

Kheirzadeh, S., & Tavakoli, E. (2012). The causes of reading difficulty: The perception of Iranian EFL post-graduate and under-graduate students. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 3(1), 147-152.

Khoshsima, H., & Rezaeian Tiyar, F. (2014). The effect of summarizing strategy on reading comprehension of Iranian intermediate EFL learners. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 2(3), 134-139.

Kiaee, S., Moghaddam, N., & Hosseini, E. (2013). The effect of teaching collocations on
enhancing Iranian EFL learners' reading comprehension. Journal of advances in English language teaching, 1(1), 1-11.

Lawrence, L. J. (2007). Cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies revisited: Implications for instruction. The Reading Matrix, 7(3). 55-71

Lee, J. Y. (2018). The use of test-taking strategies and students' performances in answering TOEIC reading comprehension questions. Taiwan Journal of TESOL, 15(2), 33-64.

Mahdavi, A., & Azimi, S. (2012). The effects of cognitive strategies ie note-making and underlining on Iranian EFL learners’ reading comprehension. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 1(6), 1-6.

Masduqi, H. (2014). EFL reading in Indonesian universities: Perspectives and challenges in cultural contexts. Journal of Teaching and Education, 3(3), 385-397.

McNeil, L. (2011). Investigating the contributions of background knowledge and reading comprehension strategies to L2 reading comprehension: An exploratory study. Reading and Writing, 24(8), 883-902.

Meniado, J. C. (2016). Metacognitive reading strategies, motivation, and reading comprehension performance of Saudi EFL students. English Language Teaching, 9(3), 117-129.

Mohammed, Q. & Rashid, R.A. (2019). The sources of reading comprehension difficulties among Saudi EFL learners. Trends in Social Sciences, 1(1), 7-16.

Morvay, G. (2012). The relationship between syntactic knowledge and reading comprehension in EFL learners. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 2(3), 415-438.

Nejad, B., & Mahmoodi-Shahrebabaki, M. (2015). Effects of metacognitive strategy instruction on the reading comprehension of English language learners through cognitive academic language learning approach. International Journal of Languages' Education and Teaching, 3(2), 133-164

Nezami, S. R. A. (2012). A critical study of comprehension strategies and general problems in reading skill faced by Arab EFL learners with special reference to Najran University in Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Social Sciences & Education, 2(3), 306-316.

Ngoc, N. T. M. (2015). The essential roles of skimming and scanning techniques in teaching reading comprehension. Journal of Reading Behavior, 11(2), 35-51

Oliveri, M. E., & Tannenbaum, R. J. (2017). Insights into using TOEIC® test scores to inform human resource management decisions. ETS Research Report Series, 2017(1), 1-7.

Ota, Y. (2015). Developing reading comprehension skills for the TOEIC test. Studies in Applied Linguistics, 53-59.

Pan, Y. C. (2010). Enhancing students’ communicative competency and test-taking skills through TOEIC preparatory materials. TESOL Journal, 3, 81-91.

Prichard, C. (2014). Reading strategy use of low-and high-proficiency learners and the effect of reading instruction. Bulletin of higher education Okayama University, 10, 115-122.

Puengpipattrakul, W., Chiramanee, N., & Sripetpun, W. (2007). The challenge facing Thai graduates and their potential for English-required workforce. Kasetsart Journal of Social Science, 28, 288-297.

Rastakhiz, M., & Safari, M. R. (2014). The relationship between global reading strategies and support reading strategies on Iranian intermediate EFL learners’ reading comprehension ability. Indian Journal of Fundamental and Applied Life Sciences, 4(4), 491-503.

Saengpakdeejit, R., & Intaraprasert, C. (2014). Reading strategies in foreign language academic reading: A qualitative investigation. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 4(12), 2599-2608

Shang, H. F. (2010). Reading strategy use, self-efficacy and EFL reading comprehension. Asian EFL Journal, 12(2), 18-42.

Shen, M. Y. (2013). Toward an understanding of technical university EFL Learners' academic reading difficulties, strategies, and needs. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 10(1), 70-79

Shen, Z. (2013). The effects of vocabulary knowledge and dictionary use on EFL reading performance. English Language Teaching, 6(6), 77-85.

Shibata, H. (2018). An effective way of teaching for the TOEIC test preparation class. Memoirs of Learning Utility Center for Konan University Students, (3), 85-100.

Sidek, H. M., & Rahim, H. A. (2015). The role of vocabulary knowledge in reading comprehension: A cross-linguistic study. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 197, 50-56.

Takahashi, J. (2012). An overview of the issues on incorporating the TOEIC test into the university English curricula in Japan. Tama University Global Studies Department Bulletin, 4(3), 127-138.

Takallou, F. (2011). The Effect of meta-cognitive strategy instruction on EFL learners’ reading comprehension performance and meta-cognitive awareness. Asian EFL Journal, 13(1), 272-300.

Tavakoli, H. (2014). The effectiveness of metacognitive strategy awareness in reading comprehension: The case of Iranian university EFL students. The Reading Matrix, 14(2), 314-336.

Thamrin, N. S. (2014). Scanning technique in developing students reading comprehension. Kreatif, 15(1), 31-35

Wannathong, N. (2016). Cognitive reading strategies and EFL undergraduate learners. Journal of Graduate School Sakon Nakhon Rajabhat University, 13(61), 93-100.

Wichadee, S. (2011). The effects of metacognitive strategy instruction on EFL Thai students reading comprehension ability. Journal of College Teaching & Learning, 8(5), 31-40.

Yang, Y. (2016). A research on reading strategies among non-English major postgraduates. English language teaching, 9(8), 204-212.

Yousef, H., Karimi, L., & Janfeshan, K. (2014). The relationship between cultural background and reading comprehension. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 4(4), 707-714

Zahruni, N. A., Fahmi, F., & Pratolo, B. W. (2020). The challenges of taking TOEIC test and how to overcome: Perception of Indonesian vocational students. Ethical Lingua:Journal of Language Teaching and Literature, 7(1), 82-91.