TOEFL Reading Comprehension Assistance Site Cleveland Q. Crosby Advisors: Professors Aaron Cass and Junko Ueno Interdepartmental Senior Project (CSC – MLT)

Agenda Purpose and goals of Application Purpose and goals of Application Background on the TOEFL Background on the TOEFL Content Overview (MLT) Content Overview (MLT) Design Overview (CSC) Design Overview (CSC) Problems Encountered Problems Encountered Future Work Future Work

Project Purpose Design a web application to aid in preparation for the Reading Comprehension portion of the TOEFL test. Design a web application to aid in preparation for the Reading Comprehension portion of the TOEFL test. Make the site universally accessible through use of cross-platform acceptable character encoding. Make the site universally accessible through use of cross-platform acceptable character encoding. Create a Mock-TOEFL test and grade it using HTML and PHP. Create a Mock-TOEFL test and grade it using HTML and PHP. Avoid JavaScript as much as possible. Avoid JavaScript as much as possible.

T.O.E.F.L. Format Most common measure of North American English proficiency. Most common measure of North American English proficiency. Administered mostly by way of computer. Administered mostly by way of computer. Composed of 3 sections. Composed of 3 sections. Listening Comprehension Listening Comprehension Writing Writing Reading Comprehension Reading Comprehension

Essential Topics for Reading Comprehension Understanding the nuances of English verb conjugations compared to those found in Japanese. Understanding the nuances of English verb conjugations compared to those found in Japanese. Understanding the subtle details of English. Understanding the subtle details of English. Understanding the meanings behind colloquial English. Understanding the meanings behind colloquial English.

Finished Product Demonstration

Content Overview Pedagogical material covered Pedagogical material covered Verb Tenses and their nuances Verb Tenses and their nuances Conditional Statements (If and When) Conditional Statements (If and When) Phrasal Verbs ( e.g. Stand Out or Pull Through) Phrasal Verbs ( e.g. Stand Out or Pull Through) Idioms and Colloquialisms Idioms and Colloquialisms Explanations of smaller aspects of English (e.g. Contractions, Irregular verbs, Subject-Verb Agreement…) Explanations of smaller aspects of English (e.g. Contractions, Irregular verbs, Subject-Verb Agreement…) Mock Reading Comprehension test Mock Reading Comprehension test

Design Overview Written entirely with the Unicode character encoding. (UTF-8) Written entirely with the Unicode character encoding. (UTF-8) Supported by the major operating systems. (Windows, Linux, MacOS) Supported by the major operating systems. (Windows, Linux, MacOS) Style of the site is controlled with CSS. Style of the site is controlled with CSS. A single JavaScript function is used. A single JavaScript function is used. Done so IE users can use the drop-down menus. Done so IE users can use the drop-down menus. Mock-TOEFL is designed using PHP. Mock-TOEFL is designed using PHP.

Mock TOEFL Guidelines Test is composed of multiple choice questions. Test is composed of multiple choice questions. Number of questions is up to the creator of the test. Number of questions is up to the creator of the test. Number of choices per questions is also left to the creator. Number of choices per questions is also left to the creator. Text found within delimiters is to be in proper HTML format. Text found within delimiters is to be in proper HTML format. E.g. if one wishes to input a left angle-bracket, they must type < or < in the text. E.g. if one wishes to input a left angle-bracket, they must type < or < in the text.

Demo (Text File to Test Page)

Demo (Contd)

How the Mock Test Page Works From a delimited text file on the server, PHP script reads and creates a test page with which the user to interacts. From a delimited text file on the server, PHP script reads and creates a test page with which the user to interacts. HTML forms are used for multiple choice questions. HTML forms are used for multiple choice questions. PHP checks the selected answers with the answers stored in a created array, and displays the right and wrong answers. PHP checks the selected answers with the answers stored in a created array, and displays the right and wrong answers.

Example (Test Correction)

Example (Contd)

Problems Encountered Text encoding and display trouble Text encoding and display trouble Mostly with Windows systems, for Asian character- sets must be installed separately. (Go Microsoft…) Mostly with Windows systems, for Asian character- sets must be installed separately. (Go Microsoft…) CSS problems with Internet Explorer CSS problems with Internet Explorer Essentially, it was IEs fault. (Go Microsoft…) Essentially, it was IEs fault. (Go Microsoft…) Determining the effectiveness of the Mock TOEFL Determining the effectiveness of the Mock TOEFL Surprisingly, NOT Microsofts fault… Surprisingly, NOT Microsofts fault…

Future Work Continued additions to the information featured on the site. Continued additions to the information featured on the site. More Colloquialisms More Colloquialisms More Phrasal Verbs More Phrasal Verbs More Visual Aides. More Visual Aides. Finding a way to gauge the effectiveness of the site. Finding a way to gauge the effectiveness of the site. Different language implementation…? Different language implementation…?

Questions?