A Washback Effect Of Newly Added English Listening And Speaking Test Of Shanghai Senior High School Entrance Examination On Junior Middle School English Teaching And Learning

The reform plan on English for Shanghai Senior High School Entrance Examination was introduced in 2017.The biggest highlight of this reform is the addition of the listening and speaking ability test,which is included in the overall score of Shanghai Senior High School Entrance Examination.And there are no other changes except this.In the field of testing,any large-scale,high-risk examination is considered to have a stronger washback effect,which more and more people are aware of.This article aims to study the washback effect of this newly added English listening and speaking ability test on teachers’ teaching and students’ learning,exploring the attitudes of English teachers and students towards this test and the aspects this test has impacts on.This study attempts to solve the following three problems:(1)What are the attitudes of teachers and students towards this newly added English listening and speaking ability test in Shanghai?(2)What kind of washback effect does the listening and speaking ability test of Shanghai Senior High School Entrance Examination have on teachers’ teaching?(3)What kind of washback effect does the listening and speaking ability test of the Shanghai Senior High School Entrance Examination have on students’ learning?This study draws on the theories of domestic and foreign scholars and the results of research on washback effects,using empirical research methods,through questionnaire surveys,classroom observations,and in-depth interviews with teachers and students of two junior middle schools in Shanghai as the research objects.Since the junior middle school in Shanghai covers a wide range,it is divided into four,namely the preparatory grade(Grade Six),the first grade(Grade Seven),the second grade(Grade Eight),and the third grade(Grade Nine).In this study,the author mainly selected 280 people from the first grade of the low grade and 273 students from the second grade of the high grade.A total of 553 students and 24 English teachers participated in this study.The results of the study show that the new English listening and speaking test has both positive and negative washback effects on English teaching and learning in junior middle school.As the listening and speaking ability test is included in the overall score of Shanghai Senior High School Entrance Examination,on one hand,students are paying more attention to listening and speaking learning,and they practise listening and speaking more often than before.On the other hand,teachers are also encouraged to make corresponding teaching adjustments to serve the original intention of this test.Through analysis,it is found that the test has both positive and negative washback effect on teachers’ teaching and students’ learning.But in general,the positive washback effect is greater than the negative washback effectIn addition,through the analysis of data,interview results and classroom observations,the author also gives some suggestions on promoting the positive washback effect of the newly added listening and speaking ability test.