A Case Study Of TEM8 Washback

The notion that testing influences teaching is referred to as'washback'. Although it is a relatively new field in language testing, in the recent decades, many theoretical and empirical researches have been conducted in China and abroad to gain insights into this complicated phenomenon.TEM8 (Test for English Majors, Band 8) is a large-scale standardized English test administered for university graduate English majors in China, which has a history of 19 years. As a high-stakes test of scarcity, it is very influential and always the focus of heated discussions. Although there are numerous discussions about this test, and a variety of suggestions are proposed to promote the test and prompt teaching, few empirical research has been carried out on washback of TEM8.The present study is intended to explore TEM8 washback on English majors'teaching and learning and its nature, to propose some suggestions for improving the positive washback. The investigation involves 112 students and 6 teachers of grade 2006 from English Department of Southwest Jiaotong University and resorts to three research methods: questionnaires, interviews and classroom observations.Results show that TEM8 exerts influences on various aspects of teaching and learning, including learning and teaching contents, objectives, strategies, materials selection and so on. The study also discusses the possible reasons for occurrence of positive and negative washback. Results show that TEM8 exerts more positive washback than negative one on English majors'teaching and learning. Perceptions on TEM8 preparation courses vary from teacher to teacher and from student to student. And only some of the intended positive washback of TEM8 has been achieved.Based on the results reported in the investigation, some suggestions for promoting positive TEM8 washback are proposed in the present study with the view that these suggestions can contribute to the innovation of the test and improvement of teaching and learning. These suggestions include innovations in current TEM8, adjustments in test-related school policies, highlighting teachers'role in promoting positive washback and encouraging self-assessment of students and providing timely and detailed score reporting of TEM8. In the end, the paper points out the limitations of the study and gives some recommendations for the future washback study.