The Characteristics And Backwash Of Proofreading And Error Correction In National Matriculation English Test

As an indispensable question type in the National Matriculation English Test (NMET), Proofreading and Error Correction section (PEC) has been controversial since it was set up. Some researchers thought it should be canceled because of its negative effect on both teaching and learning in senior high school teaching activities, while others believed that it should be preserved since it can test students' comprehensive language-using abilities. The present study aims to provide some empirical evidence for the analysis of the characteristics and backwash of the Proofreading and Error Correction section in NMET.The study followed two major steps. Firstly, based on the classification of error types in the Chinese Learners English Corpus (CLEC), 50 PEC papers were analyzed in order to investigate their characteristics and representativeness of the error types that the senior high school students often make. Secondly, two questionnaires designed for students and teachers respectively were provided to investigate the backwash of this question type. The results indicated that the PEC section is a relatively valid question type in NMET and it has exerted both positive and negative effects on the senior high school pedagogical activities. Finally, a set of suggestions were proposed to enhance the positive backwash and carry out further study on this question type.