Since the job-hunting situation for Japanese college graduates remains difficult due to the current economic
difficulties in Japan, university students often find it necessary to seek extra “qualifications.” The
TOEIC acts as one of the most popular qualification examinations in Japan, primarily because companies
often refer to it as a means of measuring workers’ communication ability in English. As a result, many
universities in Japan offer TOEIC preparation courses as part of their English curriculum.
There are many TOEIC preparation books and textbooks, but two popular approaches seem to dominate
the market: practice tests and topic-based textbooks. Accordingly, there are two common approaches
to teaching or reviewing frequently tested grammar points. Practice tests use either past test questions or
similar test-like questions containing mixed grammar points. In this approach students are expected to
review various grammar points simultaneously. Topic-oriented textbooks, on the other hand, provide vocabulary
and content focusing on a particular topic in each unit. Topic-oriented textbooks usually include a
grammar section and deal with one or two grammar points at a time. Each approach obviously has its own
advantages and disadvantages.
Studying frequently tested grammar points as part of test preparation is generally considered effective or necessary when it comes to TOEIC grammar review. Many so called“ English study” books and magazines
recommend using the official guidebooks consisting of previous tests as the best materials for TOEIC
preparation, even though this approach assumes that learners already know basic English grammar and vocabulary.
My experience both as a learner and teacher of English tells me that using practice test questions
for grammar review works well for advanced learners who need to do more practice to review some grammar
points and vocabulary. This approach, however, seems to pose difficulty for low-level learners. Since
low-level learners often lack basic grammar knowledge, practice test questions give them the impression
that they are exposed to multiple, unrelated grammar points all at once. It places more cognitive demands
on the students; they easily get confused and are not able to sort out the various grammar points presented
in different questions. Thus, grammar review becomes more difficult for low-level learners when the practice-
test approach is taken.
In spite of these concerns, it seems textbooks consisting of practice tests are still very popular even for
low-level TOEIC preparation courses. This study thus investigates the low-level learners’ use of practice
tests. It particularly examines whether implementation of repetition practice on the practice test questions
helps low-level students’ grammar learning. A small-scale, quasi-experimental case study was conducted
during a five-day intensive TOEIC grammar and reading review course. This paper reports the results of
the students’ performance on the TOEIC Part 5 questions from this intensive course. The main aim of
the study, therefore, is to investigate how the use of practice tests and repeated review through repetition
practice of the practice-test grammar questions affects low-level learners’ performance on the TOEIC Part5
questions.