An Empirical Study On Washback Of The New HSK Level 3 For The Students To Learn Chinese In Southern Thailand

The washback usually refers to the impact that examinations have on teaching and learning.Generally,it can be divided into positive washback and negative washback,which separately means the positive,useful impact and the negative,adverse impact.Since the new HSK examination was innovated,an increasing number of Thai students actively participate in the new HSK examination,especially more Thai students have been attracted take the new HSK level 3 examination,which is the standard for studying in China,aiming to check whether they are qualified to go and study in China.What’s more,for candidates are the direct stakeholders of the examination,and it is necessary to explore the washback that the new HSK level 3 examination has on Chinese language learning,moreover,the research on washback is quite rare.The author conducts an empirical study when working as a Chinese volunteer teacher in Confucius Institute of Betong Municipality of Thailand.Based on Students’ Study of the Washback Model raised by Shih,this paper employs the methods such as questionnaire survey,interview,literature research and comparative analysis to study as follows:1.How do students perceive the new HSK level 3 examination and how does it affect the students in Chinese learning in southern Thailand?2.What are the positive washback and negative washback of the new HSK level 3 examination?3.What are the factors that affect the intensity of the new HSK level 3 examination?4.How to improve the positive washback and reduce the negative washback of the new HSK level 3 examination to promote Chinese teaching and learning?The study indicates that the new HSK level 3 examination varies from students’ gender,education level and whether he/she is Chinese origin,the new HSK level 3 examination apparently has less positive washback on male students than on female students;less on high school students than on undergraduates;and more on the ethnic Chinese than on the non-ethnic Chinese.In conclusion,the new HSK level 3 examination has a positive washback on the Chinese language learning of the students in southern Thailand,and the positive washback is greater than the negative washback.The positive washback: The new HSK level 3 examination plays a certain guiding role in the students’ Chinese learning,which helps them adjust the learning methods,enhance the enthusiasm of learning Chinese,expand the knowledge and improve their Chinese level.Commonly,the students lay more emphasis on testing skills,while learning Chinese,they tend to practice on questions and vocabulary,which prolongs learning time,and to a certain extent,leading to learning burden and their anxiety.Meanwhile,this study finds that the intensity of the washback is influenced by the purpose of the examination,environmental factors,examination status and other factors.On the basis of study results,some feasible suggestions on the Chinese teaching and learning will be put forward.