A Study On The Washback Effects Of Tem

Washback is the effects of testing on teaching and learning, and important testsare believed to have more intense washback effects. Therefore, Test for EnglishMajors (TEM), a nationwide test to measure the language proficiency ofundergraduate English majors in China, is supposed to exert influence on Englishteaching and learning for English majors.The present study adopts a multi-method and multiphase approach toinvestigate the washback effects of TEM on experts, program administrators,teachers and students—their familiarity with TEM, their evaluation of TEM, theirperception of TEM washback, and the washback of TEM on their teaching andlearning experience. The study addresses the research question in three domains.First, what are the factors contributing to the generation of TEM washback? Second,what are the washback effects of TEM on English teaching and learning? And third,how will TEM washback research findings contribute to TEM reform and the reformof English teaching and learning?Based on the previous research models and empirical studies, a TEM washbackmodel has been proposed to guide the present research, which can be divided intofour stages. In the first stage, documents such as the Teaching Syllabus, TEMsyllabuses, and research findings on washback and TEM have been analyzed, toobtain some general knowledge of the possible washback of TEM. In the secondstage, large-scale questionnaire surveys have been conducted among experts,program administrators, teachers and students, to elicit their perceptions andevaluation of TEM, as well as the washback of TEM on them. Findings of thesenation-wide surveys have put together a general picture of the TEM washbackthroughout China. In the third stage, based on the questionnaire findings, sampleclasses have been selected for case study, to explore the washback of TEM onclassroom teaching and learning, so that a concrete picture of TEM washback couldbe obtained. In the last stage, supplementary interviews have been carried out amongselected participants, to seek answers to the problems emerged in the questionnaire surveys and classroom observations.The major research findings are as follows. First, TEM enjoyed a highfamiliarity rate with the participants, but TEM-Oral tests and the marking criteriawere less known. Second, participants’ evaluation of TEM was more positive thannegative. The test content and method of TEM received a higher satisfaction ratethan its administration, and the test report seemed to be the least satisfactory item.Third, the washback of TEM was considered to be more positive than negative, andit seemed to have achieved most of the purposes specified in the Test Syllabus.Fourth, decisions based on TEM were mostly as intended, but there were alsounintended uses such as ranking schools, evaluating teachers, conferring degrees,and recruiting employees. Moreover, participants’ attitudes towards these unintendeduses varied, with around half holding a supportive view. Fifth, TEM exerted somewashback on the curriculum design, such as the introduction of TEM preparationcourses and TEM-related courses, but the washback was not intense, with most TEMpreparation courses covering no more than half a semester. Sixth, TEM exerted somewashback on classroom teaching and learning in that the teaching content would bemore TEM oriented, more teacher lecture would be employed, and Chinese wasmore frequently used by both teachers and students. Last, although TEM exertedsome washback on English teaching and learning, the effect of TEM on teaching andlearning outcome was quite limited, as compared with that of the other factors suchas teacher quality and student efforts.In the end, some suggestions are made on the reform of TEM and Englishteaching and learning, based on the above research findings. TEM could be furtherimproved in its test content, methods, and administration. Moreover, communicationbetween test developers and test users should be promoted. In addition, TEM wouldprovide valuable feedback on the reform of English teaching and learning.