ABSTRACT
Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is the most taken English proficiency test with approximately 23 million test-takers worldwide. In Indonesia, TOEFL is one of the pivotal requirements in employment and is seen as a social and economic mobilizer for most Indonesians. For Indonesian university graduates on the tourism and hospitality program, mastering English is an essential requirement for getting a job in the industry. Consequently, it requires them taking TOEFL to fulfill various academic and employability standards. English language skills required by the hospitality and tourism industry should focus on accentuating graduates’ good English communication skills. This study aims to discover how accurate paper-based TOEFL test or TOEFL-ITP is in assessing graduates’ English proficiency level and English communication skill to be applied in workplace environment. This paper draws on a descriptive qualitative method involving three higher education graduates from the hospitality and tourism industry program that barely begin their employment journey. The data were obtained from the Likert-scale questionnaire and in-depth interviews that identified participants’ perceptions regarding the suitability of TOEFL-ITP on tourism industry employment purposes. The study found that the participants shared doubts about the TOEFL-ITP as communicative English skills measurement in a real-life workplace environment. The findings of the study concerned the validity, authenticity, and generalizability of the test. As a recommendation, the findings can help to advance the understanding toward another type of English proficiency test like IELTS, TOEIC, or even TOEFL iBT (Internet-based providing speaking test) that might be more suitable than TOEFL-ITP as a tool of employment requirement, especially for Indonesian University graduates of the hospitality and tourism program.
