Abstrak
This study aims to analyze students’ difficulties in understanding TOEFL-like Reading, a reading test designed based on the TOEFL ITP format and implemented in the Borneo English Test (BET), among students of the English Education Department at Universitas Borneo Tarakan. This research employed a descriptive qualitative design involving 28 students from the 2020 cohort. Data were collected through document analysis of BET scores, questionnaires, and interviews. The document analysis revealed that most students were classified at the A1 and A2 levels, while only three students reached the B1 level based on the CEFR, and none achieved the B2 or C1 levels. These findings indicate a low level of students’ academic reading competence. The results of the questionnaires and interviews revealed that the main difficulties experienced by students included limited vocabulary, low inferential ability, difficulties in answering detail and unstated detail questions, and limited background knowledge. In addition, time constraints and text complexity further hindered reading comprehension. To cope with these difficulties, students tended to use strategies such as identifying the meanings of unfamiliar vocabulary, rereading texts, and practicing with TOEFL-like materials, while systematic reading strategies such as skimming and scanning were still rarely applied. This study concludes that vocabulary mastery and the effective use of reading strategies play an important role in improving students’ performance in TOEFL-like Reading.