This research explored the test-taking strategies associated with the Test of English for International Communication Speaking Test (TOEIC-S) and their relationship with test performance. Capitalizing on two sets of TOEIC-S and a custom-made strategy inventory, the researcher collected data from a total of 215 Taiwanese English learners consisting of 84 males and 131 females with an average age of 20.1 years (SD = 2.6). Quantitative data analysis gave rise to three major findings. First, TOEIC-S test-taking strategy use constituted a multi-faceted construct that involved multiple types of strategic behaviors. Second, these strategic behaviors matched those allowing test-takers to communicate both in real life and in the workplace. Third, communication strategy use and cognitive strategy use both contributed significantly to TOEIC-S performance.
AERAAPANCME (1999) Standards for educational and psychological testing, Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
2.
AndersonJ. C.GerbingD. W. (1988) Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach. Psychological Bulletin103(3): 411–423.
3.
ArnoldJ.BrownH. D. (1999) A map of the terrain. In: ArnoldJ. (ed.) Affect in language learning, Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, pp. 1–24.
4.
BachmanL. F. (1990) Fundamental considerations in language testing, Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
5.
BachmanL.PalmerA. S. (2010) Language assessment in practice, Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
6.
BarkaouiK.BrooksL.SwainM.LapkinS. (2013) Test-takers’ strategic behaviors in independent and integrated speaking tasks. Applied Linguistics34(3): 304–324.
7.
BialystokE. (1990) Communication strategies, Oxford, England: Blackwell.
8.
BlunchN. J. (2008) Introduction to structural equation modeling using SPSS and AMOS, London, England: Sage Publications, Ltd.
9.
ByrneB. M. (1994) Structural equation modeling with EQS and EQS/Windows, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
10.
CanaleM.SwainM. (1980) Theoretical bases of communicative approaches to second language teaching and testing. Applied Linguistics1(1): 1–47.
11.
ChapelleC. A. (1999) Validity in language assessment. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics19: 254–272.
12.
CicchettiD. V. (1994) Guidelines, criteria, and rules of thumb for evaluating normed and standardized assessment instruments in psychology. Psychological Assessment6: 284–290.
13.
CohenA. D. (2006) The coming of age of research on test-taking strategies. Language Assessment Quarterly3(4): 307–331.
14.
CohenA. D. (2011) Strategies in learning and using a second language, Harlow, England: Longman Applied Linguistics/Pearson Education.
15.
CohenA. D. (2012a) Test-taking strategies. In: CoombeC.DavidsonP.O’SullivanB.StoynoffS. (eds) The Cambridge guide to assessment, Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, pp. 96–104.
16.
CohenA. D. (2012b) Test taker strategies and task design. In: FulcherG.DavidsonF. (eds) The Routledge handbook of language testing in a nutshell, Abingdon, England: Routledge, pp. 262–277.
17.
CohenA. D. (2014) Using test-wiseness strategy research in task development. In: KunnanA. J. (ed.) The companion to language assessmentVol. 2, Hoboken, NJ: Wiley and Sons, pp. 893–905.
18.
CohenA. D.UptonT. A. (2007) ‘I want to go back to the test’: Response strategies on the reading subtest of the new TOEFL. Language Testing24(2): 209–250.
19.
CroslingG.WardI. (2002) Oral communication: The workplace needs and uses of business graduate employees. English for Specific, Purposes21: 41–57.
20.
DörnyeiZ. (1995) On the teachability of communication strategies. TESOL Quarterly29: 55–85.
21.
DörnyeiZ. (2003) Questionnaires in second language research, New Jersey, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
22.
DörnyeiZ.ScottM. L. (1997) Communication strategies in a second language: Definitions and taxonomies. Language Learning47(1): 173–210.
EversonP.HinesS. (2010) How ETS score the TOEIC speaking and writing test responses (Compendium Study No. TC-10-08), Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.
26.
Field, J. (2009). The cognitive validity of the lecture listening section of the IELTS listening paper. IELTS Research Reports 9. Cambridge, England: ESOL.
27.
FieldJ. (2011) Cognitive validity. In: TaylorL. (ed.) Examining speaking, Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, pp. 65–111.
28.
FulcherG. (2003) Testing second language speaking, Harlow, England: Pearson Professional Education.
29.
HairJ. F.AndersonR. E.TathamR. L.BlackW. C. (1995) Multivariate data analysis with readings, New Jersey, NJ: Prentice Hall.
30.
HatcherL. (1996) Using SAS® PROC CALIS for path analysis: An introduction. Structural Equation Modeling3(2): 176–192.
31.
HernándezT. A. (2010) Promoting speaking proficiency through motivation and interaction: The study abroad and classroom learning contexts. Foreign Language Annals43(4): 650–670.
32.
HuL. T.BentlerP. M. (1999) Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling6(1): 1–55.
33.
Huang, L. (2013). Cognitive processes involved in performing the IELTS speaking test: Respondents’ strategic behaviours in simulated testing and non-testing contexts. IELTS Research Reports Series, No.1. IDP and IELTS Australia.
34.
HuangH.-T.HungS.-T. (2013) Comparing the effects of test anxiety on independent and integrated speaking test performance. TESOL Quarterly47(2): 244–269.
35.
HurdS. (2008) Affect and strategy use in independent language learning. In: HurdS.LewisT. (eds) Language learning strategies in independent settings, Bristol, England: Multilingual Matters, pp. 218–236.
36.
JacksonD. (2014) Business graduate performance in oral communication skills and strategies for improvement. The International Journal of Management Education12: 22–34.
37.
JacksonD.ChapmanE. (2012) Non-technical competencies in undergraduate business degree programs: Australian and UK perspectives. Studies in Higher Education37(5): 541–567.
38.
KeithT. Z. (2006) Multiple regression and beyond, Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
39.
KlineR. B. (2005) Principles and practice of structural equation modeling, 2nd ed. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
40.
KunnanA. J. (1998) Validation in language assessment, New Jersey, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
41.
LeDouxJ. E. (1996) The emotional brain, New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.
42.
LiaoC.-W.QuY.-X. (2010) Alternate forms test-retest reliability and test score changes for the TOEIC speaking and Writing tests (TOEIC Compendium Research Study No. TC-10-10), Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.
43.
LiaoL.-W.WeiY.-H. (2010) Statistical analyses for the TOEIC speaking and writing pilot study (TOEIC Compendium Research Study No. TC-10-09), Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.
44.
MacaroE. (2006) Strategies for language learning and for language use: Revising the theoretical framework. The Modern Language Journal90(3): 320–337.
45.
MaesJ. D.WeldyT. G.IceogleM. L. (1997) A managerial perspective: Oral communication competency is most important for business students in the workplace. Journal of Business Communication34: 67–80.
46.
MessickS. (1989) Validity. In: LinnR. L. (ed.) Educational Measurement, 3rd ed. New York, NY: American Council on Education and Macmillan, pp. 13–103.
47.
MessickS. (1995) Validation of inferences from persons’ responses and performances as scientific inquiry into score meaning. American Psychologist50(9): 741–749.
48.
NakataniY. (2006) Developing an oral communication strategy inventory. Modern Language Journal90: 151–168.
49.
NikolovM. (2006) Test-taking strategies of 12- and 13-year-old Hungarian learners of EFL: Why whales have migraines. Language Learning56(1): 1–51.
50.
O’MalleyM. J.ChamotA. U. (1990) Learning strategies in second language acquisition, Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
51.
O’SullivanB.WeirC. (2011) Test development and validation. In: O’SullivanB. (ed.) Language testing: Theories and practices, New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 13–32.
52.
OxfordR. L. (1990) Language learning strategies, New York, NY: Newbury House.
53.
PhakitiA. (2003) A closer look at the relationship of cognitive and metacognitive strategy use to EFL reading achievement test performance. Language Testing20(1): 26–56.
54.
PlonskyL. (2012) The effectiveness of second language strategy instruction: A meta-analysis. Language Learning61(4): 993–1038.
55.
PoulisseN. (1990) The use of compensatory strategies by Dutch learners of English, Dordrecht, Holland: Foris.
56.
PowersD. E. (2013) Assessing English-language proficiency in all four language domains: Is it really necessary?In: PowersD. E. (ed.) The research foundation for the TOEIC tests: A compendium of studies: Volume II, Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service, pp. 1.1–1.7.
57.
Powers, D. E., Kim, H. -J., Yu, F., Weng, V. Z., & VanWinkle, W. (2010). The TOEIC speaking and writing tests: Relations to test-taker perceptions of proficiency in English (TOEIC Compendium Research Study No. TC-10-11). Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.
58.
PurpuraJ. E. (1997) An analysis of the relationships between test-takers’ cognitive and metacognitive strategy use and second language test performance. Language Learning47(2): 289–325.
59.
PurpuraJ. E. (1998) Investigating the effects of strategy use and second language test performance with high- and low-ability test-takers: A structural equation modeling approach. Language Testing15(3): 333–379.
60.
RummelR. J. (1970) Applied factor analysis, Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press.
61.
SongX. (2005) Language learner strategy use and English proficiency on the Michigan English language assessment battery. In: JohnsonJ. S. (ed.) Spaan fellow working papers in second or foreign language assessmentVol. 3, Ann Arbor: English Language Institute, University of Michigan, pp. 1–26.
62.
Suhr, D. (2003). Reliability, exploratory & confirmatory factor analysis for the scale of athletic priorities. In Proceedings of the 28th Annual Meeting of SAS Users Group International (pp. 1–7). Cary, NC: SAS Institute, Inc.
63.
Swain, M., Huang, L. -S., Barkaoui, K., Brooks, L., & Lapkin, S. (2009). The speaking section of the TOEFL iBT (SSTiBT): Test-takers’ reported strategic behaviors (TOEFL iBT Research Report No. iBT-10). Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.
64.
TabachnickB. G.FidellL. S. (2007) Using multivariate statistics, Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
65.
TaroneE. (1977) Conscious communication strategies in interlanguage: A progress report. In: BrownH. D.YorioC. A.CrymesR. C. (eds) On TESOL ‘77, Washington, DC: TESOL, pp. 194–203.
66.
WendenA.RubinJ. (1987) Learner strategies in language learning, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall International.
67.
YangH. -C.PlakansL. (2012) Second language writers’ strategy use and performance on an integrated reading-listening-writing task. TESOL Quarterly46(1): 80–103.
68.
Yoshida-MoriseY. (1998) The use of communication strategies in LPIs. In: YoungR.HeW. (eds) Talking and testing: Discourse approaches to the assessment of oral proficiency, Amsterdam, The Netherlands: John Benjamins, pp. 205–238.
69.
YoungJ. W.SoY.OckeyG. J. (2013) Guidelines for best test development practices to ensure validity and fairness for international English language proficiency assessments, Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.
70.
Yoshizawa, K. (2002). Relationships among strategy use, foreign language aptitude, and second language proficiency: A structural equation modeling approach (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Philadelphia, PA: Temple University.
