论文总字数：43992字

摘 要

托福是由美国教育测试服务社创办的的一门国际化的标准考试，旨在测试母语为非英语者的英语能力，许多英语国家的大学要求申请者必须考得一定的托福分数，才会给予录取决定。现在，越来越多的中国大学生因为想出国留学，参加了托福考试。

在这篇论文中，作者将找出新托福考。试口语部分对中国非英语专业大学生的英语口语教学有哪些。理论框架包括托福口语考试的形式、评分标准、信度、效度和真实性；内容教学法、任务型教学法和交际教学法。

文献综述部分详细说明了托福口语考试的权威信和可靠性，作者用混合型研究方法，做了以下研究：现在大学非英语专业英语口语教育的不足；学生在备考托福口语考试过程中遇到的困难；从教师角度和学生角度分别了解托福口语考试给非英语专业口语教学的借鉴作用。结果显示，传统口语教学方法没有收获太大的成效，对托福口语考试的备考也不具备指导作用。通过研究，我们可以从托福口语考试的形式和理念角度得出建议，包括使用真实的口语训练材料，在课堂上布置有时限的任务，以及拓宽口语练习的话题内容。

关键词：托福口语考试；英语口语教学；英语口语；能力；参考

Contents

Acknowledgments i

English Abstract ii

Chinese Abstract iii

Contents iv

List of Tables and Figures vi

Chapter One Introduction 1

1.1 Research Background 1

1.2 The Purpose of the Study 2

1.3 The Significance of the Study 3

1.4 The Layout of the Study 3

Chapter Two Literature Review 4

2.1 Getting to Know TOEFL Speaking Test 4

2.2 Theories Underlying TOEFL Speaking Test 5

2.3 Discussions on the Reference Values of TOEFL Speaking Test in China 6

Chapter Three Methods 7

3.1 Research Methods and Design 7

3.2 The Survey Instrument 7

3.3 Survey Participants and Procedure 8

3.4 Interview Participants and Procedure 8

3.5 Data Collection 9

Chapter Four Results and Discussion 9

4.1 Data Analysis of questionnaire 9

4.2 Results of the Interviews 12

Chapter Five Conclusion 16

5.1 Findings of the Research 17

5.2 Implications, Limitations and Suggestions 18

References 20

Appendix I 22

Appendix II 23

List of Tables and Figures

Table 1: Main contents of non-English majors’ English speaking teaching …………10

Table 2: Main methods of non-English majors’ English speaking teaching …...…… 11

Figure 2 : How much have you improved in oral English ………………………….. 11

Chapter One Introduction

1.1 Research Background

TOEFL(Test of English as a Foreign Language) is created, developed and administrated by ETS(Educational Testing Service), an American nonprofit educational organization. After several times of reform and innovation, in 2005, new TOEFL-TOEFL iBT(Internet-based Test) took place of the old paper-based TOEFL. The old test only contains three sections, reading, listening and writing, while the new TOEFL iBT includes one more part, speaking. (Hereafter, TOEFL iBT is referred as TOEFL for short.)

TOEFL is a standard test used to measure the English language ability of people whose first or native language is not English. According to ETS, it is a valid and reliable test with unbiased, objective grading, the TOEFL test confirms that a student has the English language skills necessary to succeed in an academic setting, and more than 6000 colleges, universities, agencies in 130 countries require the submission of TOEFL scores(ETS, 2009). So, for studying abroad or migration, many people from non-English speaking countries, including a great number of Chinese college students, prepare for and take part in TOEFL.

In China, English education is always an important part in K16 education, especially in higher education because of the trend of globalization. In addition, recent decades have seen the the demands for more communicative and interactive approach in English teaching. Could the TOEFL tests have some reference value for the new English reform in Chinese colleges and universities, especially in terms of oral English teaching?

There is a large base of college students taking TOEFL oral test in China and receiving some training in line with TOEFL would benefit them. In addition, TOEFL is desgined and administered in accordance to the most advanced theories in EFL (English as a foreign language) teaching and learning. The ideas underlying TOEFL oral test will probably shed light on and add momentum to the current impasse of new English reform in Chinese colleges and universities. Bringing the TOEFL oral test, at least the ideas behind it, if not the format, to college and English classrooms seems to be a plausible move. Such possibility warrants an interview study on teachers and students views on how they benefit from training for or taking TOEFL, and what ideas behind the test could be brought into oral English classroom in China.

1.2 The Purpose of the Study

TOEFL is a widely accepted international standardized test with great validity and reliability, and many Chinese college students take part in this test. However, many of them are facing some trouble of preparing for the speaking section of TOEFL. “English as a tool of communication has been playing an important part in acquiring cultural, scientific and technical knowledge, for collecting worldwide information and carrying out international exchange and cooperation. Improving college students’ oral English level has become more and more important”(Xu Liu, 2010). In recent years, “Chinese college students have accumulated much knowledge about English, but that does not guarantee the use of English”(Xiao Liu, 2011).

In addition, an important theory-the wash-back effect of a language test-means the impact exerted by this language test towards language teaching. The concept of washback, defined as the influence of testing on instruction, is discussed with relation to second language teaching and testing (Aldersonamp;Wall, 1993). Popham(1987) put forward the idea of measurement-driven instruction, illustrating that important tests are cost-effective way to improve the quality of education. Du Haibao(2009) indicates that scientific and reasonable language tests can exert positive impact on language teaching.

Accordingly, the final purpose of this article is to tackle this ultimate question: what can we take for references from TOEFL speaking test to revise and improve the English speaking teaching strategies for non-English majors in China?

1.3 The Significance of the Study

The significance of this study is two-fold. First, the idea of connecting TOEFL tests and current oral-English classroom is novel, though as the Chinese clientele of TOEFL grows, the demands for oral-English class to be conducive for test-taking is on the rise as well. This timely study has a practical purpose of serving students’ needs and making regular oral English instruction relevant to TOEFL preparation.

Second, the ills of college English teaching in China are well known, yet there are no ready-made solutions in the horizon. Basically, the criticisms of college English teaching in China concentrates on its being “dumb English” or “unpractical.” More recently, scholars started to search for the wash-back effects of international language tests. For instance, Popham (1987) puts forward the idea of measurement-driven instruction, illustrating that important tests are cost effective ways of improving the quality of education. This study follows the new tend of searching for the reference values of language tests, using TOEFL oral test, a renowned high-validity, -reliability and -authenticity test as a prototype to inform oral English instruction in China. This emerging venue of research has yet fallen under the radar of many Chinese EFL researchers.

1.4 The Layout of the Study

The thesis includes five chapters. Chapter one is an comprehensive brief introduction, which indicates the background, purpose, significance and layout of the study. After that, chapter two is the literature review, summarizing the prestige of TOEFL as an international language test and the underlying theories behind it. Chapter three is methodology, consisting of research setting, subjects, instrument, data collection and data analysis. Then, chapter four is the results, discussions and implications of the data. The last chapter, chapter five, is the conclusion. Apart from the brief conclusion, some suggestions and classroom teaching plans with practical value will also be presented in the chapter five.

Chapter Two Literature Review

2.1 Getting to Know TOEFL Speaking Test

The speaking section of new TOEFL contains six tasks. The first two tasks, called independent speaking tasks, are short questions. Examinees should answer these two simple questions relating to personal experiences or everyday life. The rest of tasks are called integrated tasks, testing examinees listening and reading other than speaking skills. The premise of accomplishing the second section is that examinees understand the listening or reading materials first.

TOEFL new test, in comparison to the old test, is characterized by the multifarious combination of formats, board-ranging topics that simulate real life scenarios and controlled response time. Especially, the short time period for preparation and answer (e.g., 15 seconds for preparation and 45 seconds for the answer in the independent speaking task) is especially taxing on the test-takers. Furthermore, the new TOEFL emphasizes the integration and cross-fertilization of different linguistic skills. In other words, in order to complete a task in speaking, the test-takers need to enlist their reading and listening skills as well.

TOEFL test-takers are evaluated against comprehensive and all-round criteria that include general description, delivery, and language use and topic development. A test-taker has to do a lot right in order to achieve a high score.

The reliability, validity and authentic are attested to and confirmed by a plethora of research. Bridgeman, Powers and Mollaum (2011) calculated that there is zero correlation between untrained undergraduates’ rating and trained ETS expert ratings of sample oral test responses, affirming the validity of TOEFL speaking test. On a number of occasions, TOEFL was recommended as replacement of other reputable language tests, which further attests to its reliability (Kokhan, 2012). Some other authors contribute to analyzing TOEFL oral test’s authenticity in terms of texts, setting and tasks, interaction between test-takers and test tasks, scoring criteria and process. In short, TOEFL oral test is a reputable and reliable language test with untapped reference values for classroom teaching.

2.2 Theories Underlying TOEFL Speaking Test

The TOEFL oral test is designed and administered on basis of two most fundamental theories on L2 teaching and learning: Content-Based Instruction(CBI) and Task-Based Language Teaching(TBLT), both integral parts of the communicative approach.

Content-Based Instruction

CBI is a second language teaching method which emphasizes on subject themes and content (Gu Feirong amp; Shi Guizhen, 2009). As early as 1989, Leaver and Stryker(1989), deeming CBI a communicative approach, define it as a curriculum that a) is based on subject matter, b) utilizes authentic materials, c) promotes the learning of new information, and d) considers specific students' needs. During the language teaching process, CBI guarantees a good input of language knowledge and promotes students’ learning of new knowledge through integration with old knowledge and personal experiences and push them to combine new knowledge with perceived knowledge as well as their personal experiences. Plus, CBI encourages them to organize what they have learned initiatively and gives them chances to immense in authentic contexts in order to learn language points such as vocabularies or grammar. The TOEFL independent tasks section is written in accordance to the content-based philosophy. For instance, encompassing a wide range of topics, such as biology, economy, and psychology, these tasks intend to elicit speakers’ pragmatic performance in simulated real-life scenarios.

Task-Based Language Teaching

In TBLT, tasks are the basic and core units of planning and instruction (Ellis, 2000). When there is a task, there is a limited time, a limited topic and what’s more, an authentic, purposeful and intentional background for comprehending and using language(Shabani amp; Ghasemi, 2014) Also, Shabani and Ghasemi(2014) indicates in TBLT, both the learning and the manipulation of the language are considered and the tasks are at the service of the communication of meaning through language. The structure of TOEFL, that a speaker is expected to accomplish certain meaningful performance or transaction within a limited period time, reflects the TBLT theory.

Communicative Language Teaching

Both CBL and CBLT derive from the communicative approach to language teaching, a theory that deems the goal of language teaching is to develop “Communicative Competence” in learners and pays attention to all of the four skills (Richards and Rodgers, 2001).

Highlighting TOEFL format, grading criteria, reliability, validity, authenticity and underlying theories demonstrates its poetical reference values.

2.3 Discussions on the Reference Values of TOEFL Speaking Test in China

Discussions on the reference values of TOEFL speaking test are budding in China recently. Gao Jian and Zhang Yi(2012) maintain that TOEFL test mirrors contemporary western society’s expectations of English language competence, which in its turn should inform college English education in China. For instance, college English should emphasize on the combination of all four rudimentary skills, listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Wang Chuanyi and Duan Huiqiong(2008), on the basis of a comparison between what TOEFL speaking test requires and what Chinese students lack, suggest providing students with life-like scenarios and incorporating TOEFL materials into oral English classrooms.

Building on these previous studies, I set out in this research to elicit instructors’ and students’ views on a) what they perceive as the problems of the current non-English majors’ oral English teaching; b) what difficulties they encounter and how they benefit from teaching or preparing TOEFL tests, and b) what aspects of TOEFL tests they think could be integrated into the current college oral English classrooms. I intend to bring a new perspective into the current discussion on the “wash-back effects” or reference values of the TOEFL oral test.

Chapter Three Methods

3.1 Research Methods and Design

This thesis uses a mixed method design. First, a survey research is administered among non-English majors to glean their perspectives on what they perceive as the problems of oral English teaching they experience. Second, follow-up interviews on four instructors and 10 students (all TOEFL test-takers) were conducted to elicit their views on how TOEFL oral test benefit them and what aspects of the test could be adopted to solve the perceived problems.

The main part of the research is answered in the interviews. Interviewees are four professional English trainers specializing in TOEFL speaking test and ten non-English majors who once participated in TOEFL test. The expert trainers and experienced students can provide us many meaningful opinions and suggestions on TOEFL and non-English majors’ English speaking teaching in China.

Plus, the interviews also act as the role of complement for questionnaire, since the author found in the questionnaire that oral English teaching methods related to CBI or TBLT had been involved in some non-English majors’ English class. This means that the oral English teaching methods in Chinese college now have a few similarities with the idea of TOEFL speaking test. But those teaching methods don’t function well on improving students’ English speaking competence in college English class. What is the reason? This question also get further answer in interviews.

To sum up, the simple questionnaire is used to survey the general background situation of college English speaking teaching for non-English majors and the interviews are used to answer the ultimate question of the research. Complete question lists can be seen at Appendix 1 and 2.

3.2 The Survey Instrument

A questionnaire with three questions is created. The first two questions are about the main content and main methods of English speaking teaching in college English class for non-English majors. The third question asks participants that how much improvement of oral English competence they have gained after the study in college English class.

3.3 Survey Participants and Procedure

A total of sixty-eight students took part in the questionnaire research, and fifty-nine of them gave valid questionnaires. The other nine participants were excluded because they were not undergraduates still studying in a university. Of the 59 participants who gave valid questionnaires, all of them are non-English majors, ranging from freshman to senior. Thirty-nine of them(estimate about 2/3) are non-English majors studying in Southeast University and the twenty of them(estimate about 1/3) are non-English majors studying in some other universities or colleges in China.

The questionnaire was available to participants from April 26^th to May 2^nd. The questionnaires were all completed online.

3.4 Interview Participants and Procedure

For the part of interviews, Mr. He, Mr. Zhou, Ms. Chen and Ms. Liu were invited as interviewees and they were professional and experienced English trainers specializing in TOEFL speaking test. Two of them are males and two are females. All of them are in their 20s and have taught TOEFL speaking test for one year to four years. The teachers’ interviews happened through Internet and their answers were organized and summarized by the author.

With their abundant teaching experiences of TOEFL speaking test, their views and proposals are very helpful for the research. In addition, ten non-English majors were also interviewed by the author. All of them once participated in TOEFL test. The author chose these ten non-English majors randomly and they are interviewed anonymously. They had taken the TOEFL speaking test, so they shared their experiences before and after preparing for the TOEFL speaking test.

3.5 Data Collection

The questionnaire was distributed and collected by the Application called Sojump, a convenient and professional online Application for questionnaire survey.

The questionnaire was available to participants from April 26^th to May 2^nd. The questionnaires were all completed online. The data collection and basic data analysis were also finished by Sojump. Sixty-eight pieces of questionnaires were collected and fifty-nine of them were valid.

The content and answers of the interview were noted, organized and summarized by the author. Detailed data analysis, results, findings and discussion of the research will be described in the next chapter.

Chapter Four Results and Discussion

4.1 Data Analysis of questionnaire

Of the fifty-nine participants who gave valid questionnaires, most of the participants are seniors(estimate about 58%). Ninety percent of these non-English majors have taken one to two years English class in university and only about 10% of them have taken more than two years English class.

In the first question of the questionnaire, the author singles out the speaking training section, and asks participants what the main content of the speaking training part is in English classes. According to their answers, majority of them practice daily conversations and expressions on real-life topics, for instance, related to campus life, in their English classes. However, only twelve of the fifty-nine participants reflect that expressions about some academic topics, such as biology and geology, are involved in oral English exercises sometimes. Seventeen of them listen and repeat some formal English materials such as BBC and VOA in English classes, but fifteen of them say that their only speaking exercise is reading the text. What’s more, only three of them choose the option of pronunciation and intonation. Plus, seven of them claim that they don’t practice oral English in class at all. In the question, each participant also can choose one to three options. Detailed proportional distribution is shown as table 1.

Table 1: Main contents of non-English majors’ English speaking teaching

When participants are asked about the teaching method of oral English in English classes, their answers show that presentation, role play and group discussion are the three most dominant teaching methods. Fifteen of them reflect sometimes they are supposed to do summarizing exercise after reading or listening to a piece of English material. Eleven of them just read after their English teachers when they are learning texts while ten of them watch English movies in class to practice oral English. Four participants choose the option of reciting texts. This question also allows each participant to choose one to three options. Detailed proportional distribution is shown in table 2.

Table 2: Main methods of non-English majors’ English speaking teaching

Finally, when asked how much they have improved in oral English through the on-class study in university, surprisingly, about 51% of them chose their oral English nearly gained no improvement through the study in university(refer to figure 1).

Figure 1: How much have you improved in oral English

4.2 Results of the Interviews

(1)According to the chapter two, TOEFL speaking test has close relationship with theories CBI, TBLT and CLT. Teaching methods such as presentation, role play and group discussion are representative examples of CBI and TBLT.

We found some English speaking teaching methods in line with the pattern of TOEFL speaking test are existing in today’s non-English majors’ English class. In the questionnaire research, 72.9% of the participants chose the option of presentation as one of the common oral English teaching methods in English class. Group discussion and role play were also chosen as two popular teaching methods in class. Gu Feirong and Shi Guizhen(2009) conducted a survey on two sophomore classes and concluded that doing English presentation is accordant with the concept of CBI(content-based instruction) which can cultivate students’ ability of effective expression and communication in English. Besides, Liu Xu(2010) presented that using the activity of role-play is effective in arousing the college students’ motivation in speaking English. Also, Gao Fen(2011) concluded that cooperative learning refers to the instructional use of small groups in which students work together to maximize their own and the others’ learning. However, simultaneously, about 34% of them reflected that their oral English only obtained a little improvement and over 50% of them said they nearly gained no improvement in English speaking competence through the study in university.

So the interviewees, including four TOEFL teachers and ten non-English majors, were asked why these methods didn’t function well in college English class. Concluded from their answers, the possible reason is that those methods are only on-class teaching forms which lack students’ thorough participation and motivation, and fail to have time limit, essential substances and instructional content. In other words, TOEFL speaking test requires students to practice with the real cores of CBI and TBLT, while the speaking teaching methods now used in non-English majors’ class are just copying CBI’s and TBLT’s forms instead of their real substances.

For instance, students don’t have too much passion, sometimes they just copy words from the Internet instead of organizing information by themselves. And they have no time limit, which means that they have much time to write down the scripts and even recite them. It seems that the presentation functions like a practice of English writing instead of speaking. Also, teacher may just ask each student to prepare for a English presentation in class without giving the student a particular theme, or topic and some directions about information searching, selecting and organizing. After the student’s on-class presentation, the teacher may forget to provide professional suggestions. Sometimes, students are supposed to finish a task such as a presentation, a role play or a group discussion without a time limit. Many students can prepare for the speaking scripts with enough time to even recite it, which is meaningless for practicing oral English.

So, while TOEFL speaking test’s pattern well fits the concept of CBI and TBLT, some of the teaching methods here in college English class are superficial form, or empty frames of the true CBI and TBLT. That’s why these methods may not function well in non-English majors’ English class. To improve more in oral English, we should follow the idea of CBI and TBLT just like TOEFL speaking test does, which means the teaching method should contain abundant substantial nutrient, or materials of knowledge, authentic materials, rules such as limited preparing-delivering time and so on.

(2)On the basis of all the interviewees’ answers, the difficulties that college students encounter when they prepare for the TOEFL speaking test can be concluded to four points: poor vocabulary, poor sentence structure, poor topic, and poor comprehensive ability of oral English. And these are what the TOEFL speaking test addresses greatly. The TOEFL speaking test requires students to have abundant vocabularies, diverse sentence structures, various critical opinions towards different topics ranging from daily life to academic lectures and comprehensive English communicative competence meaning the combination of listening, reading and speaking. Both of the teacher interviewees and students interviewees think the lack of vocabulary is one of the largest barriers of excellent English speaking ability. In addition, when students are speaking in English, their sentences are broken and contains many grammatical mistakes. Also, they can only deliver simple sentences and fail to handle complex sentences. Another big problem is that students may not give out good answers within a strict short time, usually fifteen to thirty seconds, unlike the relaxed rules in their oral English exercised in college English class. What’s more, talking simple daily topics is not very difficult, but academic topics are really tough for test-preparers. Many of them also reveal that students fail to speak well in the TOEFL test because they don’t understand the reading or listening materials.

Poor vocabulary and topics reflect the lack of knowledge input. From the previous discussions, we know that language knowledge input can be obtained by practicing with the theory of CBI. Nowadays, in college English class, the content of speaking teaching still mainly centers on daily topics about everyday life and campus events instead of some academic topics such as finance, geology, psychology and so on, which are really important for students’ future career or further study. So non-English majors’ English speaking teaching content can take reference from the materials of TOEFL speaking test.

Actually, broken sentences or poor sentence structure not only have connection with the lack of knowledge input, but also with the relaxed or loose practice methods in class, such as no time limitation and no professional practice directions from teacher. So, we should follow the theory of TBLT, which means asking students to finish a certain task with strict time limit and giving out detailed and pointed guidance after their display of task achievement. And the pattern of TOEFL speaking test, containing tasks with diverse themes, is certainly a good reference source.

Then, the poor comprehensive ability of oral English directly shows the lack of CLT-communicative language teaching, which means that the goal of language teaching is to develop “Communicative Competence” in learners and pays attention to all of the four skills (Richards amp; Rodgers, 2001). The TOEFL speaking test greatly emphasizes the importance of communicative competence. This test reveals many students’ weakness of comprehensive communicative English ability, since TOEFL speaking test requires students’ ability of speaking based on reading and listening. Similarly, in the real life, we can’t separate speaking from listening or reading. Weakness in one section of English skills will lead to deficiency of the other skills. Therefore, the pattern of TOEFL speaking test is scientific. Taking references from its pattern and raining students’ comprehensive English ability are instant and crucial.

(3)From the interviews, the student interviewees reflect that they make great process in their English speaking competence after following the content and pattern of TOEFL speaking test and doing oral exercises for some time. For example, the topics they can talk about become wider and more abundant. The sentence structures they can handle have increased a lot. In the past, they failed to deliver a short speech smoothly because they lacked ability of making correct sentences and organizing them logically intentionally and quickly. After the TOEFL speaking training, their ability of language organizing improved greatly. Simultaneously, teacher interviewees also give out similar ideas. After TOEFL speaking test training, students’ abilities of organizing sentences, expressing improvisational opinions towards diverse topics and communicating with the others in authentic atmosphere, have gained marked improvement. All the teacher interviewees reflect that most of the students’ weaknesses in oral English get improvement after practice and exercises on the basis of TOEFL speaking test’s requirement, because the test requires students to finish content-based questions and comprehensive tasks. When students are given a particular theme and supposed to speaking around this topic, they are promoted to think of what they have learned intentionally and speak out immediately, then they can revise and polish their sentences in a particular context, which also pushes them to absorb new language points quickly and increase the fluency as well as richness of their oral English. And all these benefits may not happen, or happen slowly, if students practice oral English in a disorderly way.

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