Iranian Candidates' Attitudes toward TOEFL iBT

Abstract

Test of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) stands as an important criterion for admission, scholarship and graduation decisions to colleges and universities in the United States, England, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and some other countries. Since 2005, the Internet based form of the TOEFL test has gained popularity across the world, and test takers from various countries take this test online. This study aimed at investigating the attitudes of Iranian candidates towards the Internet-based TOEFL. For this reason, an attitude questionnaire was distributed among 56 Iranian examinees who had taken this test in Iran. The questionnaire was validated in a pilot study to ensure its reliability and validity. Almost 22 days after taking the test, the candidates' test scores were announced and collected through their e-mails by the researcher. To find out the relationship between the participants' test scores and their attitude toward different sections of the test, the Pearson correlation coefficient was conducted. The obtained results showed that there was only a relationship between the candidates' overall attitude toward the test and their test scores.