Non-English Department Students’ Difficulties and Strategies on Taking the TOEFL-Like Test

Non-English students often had problems with TOEFL-like test. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to find out students' perceptions of non-English students’ regarding the difficulty of taking a TOEFL-like test and to identify student strategies for passing a TOEFL-like test. To obtain the data, the researchers used a qualitative research approach with interviews as the data collecting method. The researchers selected four non-English students from the Faculty of Medicine at Muhammadiyah University of Yogyakarta who had taken TOEFL-like test as participants. There are two of participants who passed TOEFL-like test and two other students who had trouble passing the tests. There were six outcomes related to non-English department student’s difficulties in taking the test. The first finding was the difficulty of understanding the text, ending with the inability to interpret the order of the tests and the meaning of the questions. The second finding is the lack of interest in English language. A third finding is a lack of basic English skills. A fourth finding is the unfamiliarity with the topic due to lack of practice. A fifth insight is time limitation awareness. A sixth insight is the issue of test administration. Also, there were three findings related to coping strategies to face the TOEFL-like test. The first point is increase the exposure to the English language. The second realization is maximizing university English courses and activities. The final result of our research is students are expected to be able to do test practices