TOEFL (READING)

Muhammad Radhiansyah, Muhammad Ramsah, Madani

[email protected] [email protected]
[email protected]

Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine students' ability in reading comprehension of the
TOEFL test for EFL Learners. TOEFL is an acronym for Test of English as a Foreign which is used
to measure a person's ability in English. There are 5 types of TOEFL tests, namely:
- TOEFL-PBT (Paper-Based Test): Paper and pencil-based test
- TOEFL-iBT (Internet Based Test): Online-based test
- Institutional TOEFL Test: Tests whose questions are taken from the previous year's
international TOEFL questions
- International TOEFL Test: Tests that use new questions for each test
- TOEFL Like-Test: Tests whose questions are taken from international TOEFL questions
in previous years.
This test is a registered test service from ETS (Educational Testing Service) which has been
around since 1947 in the United States. The usefulness of this test is quite a lot ranging from applying
for school to applying for work. However, the minimum score given will adjust to the needs of the
agency. There are three types of TOEFL tests, namely the international TOEFL test, institutional
TOEFL test and TOEFL Like-Test. These three types of TOEFL have different validity periods and
uses. 1
And this time we will discuss the toulf reading test method which is one of the learning
methods to solve your toufl test.

Keyword : toefl, tes.

Introduction
TOEFL reading is part of the TOEFL test that measures the ability to read and understand
English texts. TOEFL reading aims to assess how well a person can read and analyze academic text
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. Reading is an activity to obtain information, and knowledge or absorb new experiences conveyed
by the author. knowledge or absorb new experiences conveyed by the author. Some theories or
definitions of reading put forward by experts, it can be observed that reading is an activity that
requires skills in doing so. Therefore, it is not surprising that linguists suggest several reading
methods or techniques such as scanning, skimming, intensive reading, extensive reading, or SQ3R.

1
https://www.detik.com/edu/detikpedia/d-6634661/toefl-pengertian-fungsi-jenis-dan-format-tesnya
2
https://lac.telkomuniversity.ac.id/

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DISCUSSION
These methods are closely related to reading skills which are included as one form of
language skills. Reading skills have been widely discussed in various books, approaches and
theories. Gery Abbot, et al suggested cognitive elements that should have before starting to reading
a text or book. These elements are as follows:
1. Anticipating the form and content of the text.
2. Identify the main thought of a text.
3. Mark and recall symbols or specific information information of a specialized nature.
4. Marking the main thought and explanations, for example about the examples given.
5. Read in context of the text rather than based on literal sentences.
6. Building a series, for example about the events events, commands and stages of a process.
7. Draw conclusions.
8. Recognize the author's purpose and attitude. 3

In solving the toefl test you must know the type of question, and what usually comes out in
the test is:
1. Asking for the Main Idea
This question is probably the main question that is almost always present in reading
comprehension tests. From this question, you are asked to find the main idea of the reading text as
a whole. But, sometimes you will also be asked to check the idea of a particular paragraph.
This type of question will generally take the form of the following questions:
- What is the passage above mainly talking about?
- What is the primary focus of the paragraph 2?
- Based on the text, what does the author want to convey?

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PAKAJA MARINA ”PENGUASAAN TEKNIK MEMBACA MAHASISWA DALAM KETERAMPILAN READING TEST TOEFL (TEST OF
ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE)” https://ejurnal.ung.ac.id/ IAIN Sultan Amai Gorontalo

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2. Asking the Meaning or Equivalence of a Word
The next type is one that is quite often encountered in TOEFL ITP reading questions. The
question will usually refer to a certain word and the students will answer the meaning or synonym
accordingly. In this section, the vocabulary that becomes the question and answer options tend to
be rarely heard in everyday use. Or even completely unfamiliar. For this reason, this type of
question relies heavily on reading the context of the sentence to determine the appropriate word
equivalent.
The question for this question is usually:
- The term 'important' can be replaced with which of the following?
- The word 'sufficient' in line 5 is closest in meaning to....
- Which of the following words is equivalent to the word 'ratification' in the context?

3. Asking the Position of a Paragraph or Line of Sentence

In TOEFL ITP reading questions, you will also encounter questions that ask you to indicate
the position of a context or topic being asked. The position can be in the format of a sentence line
or paragraph location question. If the reference phrase or context uses vocabulary that is exactly
the same as the text, it will be very easy and quick to determine the answer. On the other hand, if
the phrase or vocabulary in the question uses another equivalent, then you must first understand
its meaning. Then look for vocabulary in the text that has a similar meaning and fits the context.
Generally, the questions that arise will be like the following:
- Where in the passage does the author conclude the discussion on...?
- Which paragraph provides details about...?
- At which point in the text does the author discuss...?4

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https://lac.telkomuniversity.ac.id/mengenal-lebih-dekat-format-dan-jenis-soal-toefl-itp-reading/

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4. Asking for the Contextual Reference of a Word
This question needs to be answered with full focus, because you are asked to show the
clear meaning of a word. Usually the vocabulary that is used as a question is pronouns, such as it,
its, her, him, this, these, that, those, which, and several others. The answer to this type of TOEFL
reading question can be obtained by reading a few words or sentences beforehand. Then re-read
the word asked in the text, so as to get the vocabulary in question.
In this section, the questions that arise will generally be shaped like:
- The word “which” in the passage refers to...
- What is being described by the word “that” in the context?
- What does the word “it” refer to in line 15?

5. Questioning True, False, or Unstated Statements

Testing the ability to read texts also cannot be separated from measuring the skill of
assessing a statement in the text. This type of question is also quite challenging, because the way
to answer it is not as simple as finding the same or not the same sentence. Answer options will
usually appear in the form of changing the sentence or conclusion of a sentence that is referred to.
That way, to get the answer certainly requires accuracy to assess all sentence choices.
Some questions that represent this type of TOEFL reading question include:
- Which of the following statements is in line with the information presented in the passage?
- Based on the passage, which statement inaccurately describes...?
- Based on the information provided, which of the following is not discussed? 5

Conclusion
By learning the methods and sample questions above, we can make it easier to do toefl
assignments. The reading method in toefl is very helpful in doing English assignments, especially
for people who want to go to school or work abroad to understand foreign languages easily.

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Almasi, J.F. 2003. Teaching Strategic Processes In Reading. New York: The Guilford Press, Benhardt, E.B. (1991).
Reading Development In A Second Language: Theoretical, Empirical, And Classroom Perspectives. Norwood, NJ:
Ablex.

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 Bibliography
https://www.detik.com/edu/detikpedia/d-6634661/toefl-pengertian-fungsi-jenis-dan-
format-tesnya

https://lac.telkomuniversity.ac.id/

PAKAJA MARINA ”PENGUASAAN TEKNIK MEMBACA MAHASISWA DALAM KETERAMPILAN

READING TEST TOEFL (TEST OF ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE)”
https://ejurnal.ung.ac.id/ IAIN Sultan Amai Gorontalo

https://lac.telkomuniversity.ac.id/mengenal-lebih-dekat-format-dan-jenis-soal-toefl-
itp-reading/

Almasi, J.F. 2003. Teaching Strategic Processes In Reading. New York: The
Guilford Press, Benhardt, E.B. (1991). Reading Development In A Second
Language: Theoretical, Empirical, And Classroom Perspectives. Norwood, NJ:
Ablex.