UNRAVELING THE ENIGMA: EXPLORING STUDENTS’ DIFFICULTIES IN THE READING TOEFL PREDICTION TEST

This research investigates students' difficulties in the Reading section of the TOEFL test at Mr. Bob's Kampung Inggris Pare Kediri, focusing on identifying specific challenges and contributing factors. Utilizing a quantitative approach, the study analyzed the responses of 120 students to TOEFL Reading tests and questionnaires. Distractor analysis revealed that inference questions posed the greatest difficulty, with an error rate of 83.3%, followed by referential relations and vocabulary in context questions. The study explores internal factors, such as motivation, attitudes, reading habits, and prior knowledge, and external factors, such as the learning environment, teaching methods, and the nature of the reading materials, contributing to these difficulties. Key findings indicate that students' challenges significantly contribute to ineffective reading techniques, unfamiliar topics, lengthy passages, limited vocabulary, memory limitations, concentration issues, lack of practice, and prior test experience. By understanding these factors, the research provides insights into developing effective strategies to improve students' reading comprehension skills and overall performance in the TOEFL Reading section. The study recommends enhancing skimming and scanning skills, providing varied practice with different text types, and addressing external and internal factors through engaging teaching methods and supportive learning environments. These recommendations aim to help students overcome difficulties and achieve better outcomes in the TOEFL Reading test, contributing valuable information to language assessment and test preparation.