Electronic Theses and Dissertation

Abstract name : farah diana student no. : 2006202020011 study program : master degree in english education department : english education title : the obstacles faced by efl undergraduate students in taking listening section on the toefl test (a mixed- method study at the english departments of universities in aceh). keywords: toefl, listening, listening obstacles. this study intended to investigate and find out the obstacles faced by efl undergraduate students in taking listening section on the toefl test as well as the students’ strategies to overcome the obstacles. this research is a mixed method research that used questionnaire (google form) and interview to collect the data. the questionnaire was disseminated to 100 efl undergraduate students of seven universities in aceh and seven students were chosen to be interviewed. the questionnaire aimed to answer the first research question related to the obstacles in listening section on the toefl test and interview focused on finding answers of the second research question related to the students’ strategies to overcome listening obstacles. the result of questionnaire found out that there are seven listening obstacles; perception about listening, speaker, listener, listening content, linguistics aspects, low concentration, and physical setting. listening obstacle related to listener places the highest difficulty level faced by the students (53%). the result of interview was four of seven participant watched english tv programs and practiced toefl listening at home as their strategies to overcome listening obstacles. it is suggested for institution, lecturers and testing manager to supply a well-conditioned room and to be able to introduce their students the information about listening obstacles and teach their students the tips, tricks, and strategies.

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