A Study Of The Washback Effect Of NMET-SET (Jiangsu) On English Teaching

National Matriculation English Test--Spoken English Test (hereafter, NMET-SET), as part of National Matriculation English Test (hereafter, NMET), is an instrument used to measure the oral communication abilities of Senior Middle School students in China. The present study attempts to explore the possible washback effect of NMET-SET (Jiangsu) on English teaching since its administration in 2001.Based on the literature on washback effect of tests, this thesis explores the washback effect of NMET-SET on English teaching by means of a descriptive research on a group of 43 senior-high school teachers from three different types of schools in a city of northern Jiangsu. A questionnaire with 12 items and 3 open-ended questions was conducted on the teachers'perceptions of NMET-SET and their classroom teaching, followed by interviews on 5 excellent English teachers out of the group.Data analysis showed that there was a washback effect of NMET-SET on English teaching in those senior-high schools. The oral test had a positive effect on the teachers'attitudes toward the test and English teaching. However, NMET-SET didn't produce strong effect on their motivation to help students pass the test. It produced basically weak washback on teachers'teaching practice, i.e what and how the teachers taught. The research also found that the test had a different washback effect on different teachers with different teaching beliefs. It produced a more positive effect on the teachers with up-to-date teaching beliefs than the ordinary teachers. With these findings in place, the writer proposed some suggestions to the administrators and researchers of the similar topic.