Students' Perceptions of Computerized TOEFL Test
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Volume two, Issue two
May 2012
Students' Perceptions of Computerized TOEFL Test PARVANE AZADI NOUBANDEGANI Tarbiat Modares University- Tehran Bio Data: Parvaneh Azadi Nobandegani is a M.A. graduate in the field of Teaching English as a foreign language from Tarbiat Modares University of Tehran. She has been teaching English in different language institutes in cities of Tehran and Shiraz. Abstract The present study investigated students' perception of computerized TOEFL test. Subject of this study were 100 adult male and female students who took the iBT TOEFL test in Iran. Participants were provided with a researcher-developed questionnaire on the advantages and disadvantages of Computer-Based Test (CBT) compared to PaperBased Test (PBT). The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and factor analysis to investigate the perceptions of the students. Results of this study showed that students perceived the disadvantages of CBT were more than its advantages. Keywords: Computer-Based Test (CBT), Paper-Based Test (PBT), TOEFL test, Students' Perceptions Introduction An abundance of literature has been written regarding the application of Computer Assisted Language Testing, (CALT), but few studies have been done considering learners' perceptions of computerized language tests. Although it is being proved that these tests can be very useful in the realm of language testing, something which is not clear is whether students prefer these tests over paper and pencil tests (PinoSilva, 2008). This issue is the topic which will be considered in the present research. Computer-based testing is an effective teacher’s tool, which aims to optimize teaching and testing goals and techniques especially in shorter times and particularly for high-stake tests (Pino-Silva, 2008). Some previous studies like Brown (1997), Sawaki, (2001), and Alderson (2002) which have been done on computerassisted language learning demonstrate that both language learners and instructors have generally positive attitudes toward using computers in the classroom, but less is known about a more specific area of computer use, i.e. language testing (Madson, 2000). Receptive- response items including multiple-choice, true-false, and matching items are fairly easy to adapt to the computer-assisted testing medium. Even productive-response item types including fill-in and cloze-test can be created using authoring software like Testmaster. Unfortunately, the more interesting types of language tasks (e.g., role plays, interviews, compositions, oral presentations) are 73 | P a g e
Language Testing in Asia
Volume two, Issue two
May 2012
much more difficult to develop for computer-assisted testing (Silye and Wiwczaroki, 1999). The new technologies such as the CD-ROM and interactive video discussed in Brown (1992a) make it possible for students to interact with a computer. Based on the available literature many advantages and disadvantages have been mentioned for these types of tests by many researchers in this field. Among the advantages which ha
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