A Study On The Washback Effect Of The Nmet On Senior Ⅲ English Teaching And Learning

Washback effect of the language tests, which has attracted more and more attention, is a realm of research in applied-linguistics. It means the impact of tests on teaching. If the tests can contribute to a better teaching, a positive washback effect emerges. Otherwise, the tests bear a negative washback effect.To cope with the too high-stakes university entrance examination, the teaching and learning activities in Senior Three middle school are totally strengthened for the exam rather than anything else, the teaching and learning of English, as an indispensable part of the entrance examination, with no exception. To adapt to the development of society, the National Matriculation English Test has progressed with time, aiming to bring about a shift in English language teaching and learning from the previously mere language knowledge to both knowledge and use, enabling the students to be capable of communicating in English. However, things do not go as expected. In this case, the negative washback effect of the NMET will inevitably exist.Employing the methods of interview, classroom observation, and questionnaire, the author chose the English teaching and learning in Senior Three in No.1 Middle School of Gutian in Fujian Province, where the author is teaching, and the teachers and students there as the research subject, with time lasting one school year from 2008 to 2009. Besides, questionnaire results were collected from two other senior middle schools nearby and two schools respectively in Quanzhou and Xiamen, two coastal cities in Fujian, to make the author's conclusion that the NMET has a greater negative washback effect on the Senior Three English teaching and learning in mountainous areas than that in the cities more convincing. Besides, the author provides some suggestions to modify the phenomenon.