Junior High School Oral English Test And Oral Teaching Research

Washback refers to the effect of testing on teaching and learning.From 1990s,washback effect has attracted due attention of many scholars,what' s more,they also conducted in-depth studies of Washback test from theories and practice.These studies have made outstanding contributions in giving variety to the theory and promoting the development of teaching and test reform.However,the studies of washback effect in China which should be improved in terms of theory as well as practice,are few and limited.Besides,the washback study of Oral English Test of Senior Entrance Examination(OETSEE)is indeed few and far between.Here is the question:what washback effect does OETSEE(in Chongqing,Wanzhou)exert an influence on junior high school English teaching and learning?In order to further understand the washback effect of the OETSEE on junior English teaching and learning,this study made an investigation which is based on the washback theories of Hughes(1993)and Alderson&Wall(1993)and took root in the actual teaching situation in Chongqing,Wanzhou.We adopted the questionnaires designed by Qi(2004),and the respondents of this investigation included 65 English teachers and 420 grade nine students who all come from junior schools of Chongqing,Wanzhou.The data of the questionnaires were analyzed by means of descriptive statistical analysis through SPSS 17.0.The teachers participated in interviews and the classroom observations were transcribed and analyzed qualitatively.The results of this study above showed that the OETSEE has produced great impacts on junior English teaching and learning,and the impacts can be concluded as following:(1)The oral test exerted a positive washback effect on teaching attitudes and motivation of teachers while exerting no positive washback effect on teachers' teaching practice;(2)The oral test exerted a positive washback effect on students' learning attitudes and motivation.And the cause of the above results may lie in the low-weighted oral test,and some problems exist in the reliability and validity of the test as well.In addition,other factors such as teaching beliefs and students' beliefs also affect the washback effect of the OETSEE.Based on the results above,specific suggestions of improving the positive backwash effect of OETSEE have been raised:Wanzhou District Education Department should re-perform the oral English test;schools should carry out diverse activities and attach importance to develop the oral English of junior students;teachers should enhance and improve the understanding of oral English teaching and its strategies in junior schools;students should correct study attitude,study oral English seriously and be aware of the importance of oral English so that they can balance the relationship between ability-practicing and examination-taking,then apply oral English from study to reality.