A Study Of The Washback Effect Of TEM4-Oral On English Learning

In the field of testing, washback means the effects of test on teaching and learning.Since the late1980s, some researchers abroad have made many investigations on washbackfrom the theoretical and empirical perspectives, which deepens our understanding ofwashabck, and guides teaching and learning. At present, there are some washback studiesin China, but these studies are limited.(1) There are many theory introductions andoverviews on the washback studies, while empirical washback studies are relatively rare.(2)The empirical washback studies are mainly focused on large–scale national tests, such asNational Matriculation English Test and College English Test, while washback studies onoral English are limited.(3) The washback studies on Test for English Majors—Band4arelimited, not to mention the empirical studies. In a word, the washback study in Chinashould be enhanced in terms of theory as well as practice.TEM4-Oral is a large-scale test in China and designed for second-year English majors.Since its actual implementation in1994, it has received high popularity from an increasingnumber of test-takers and schools. Some researchers in China have made some studies onTEM4-Oral from the view of validity and reliability, but there are limited washback studieson it, especially from empirical perspective.Based on J. Charles Alderson and Dianne Wall’s Washback Hypotheses (1993), andArthur Hughes’ PPP Model (1993), the present study adapts the questionnaire originallydesigned by Gu (2007) to explore the washback effects of TEM4-Oral. Besides, the presentstudy employs the methods of classroom observation and interview. The participants of thestudy are the138sophomores majoring in English in Soochow University who took part inthe TEM4-Oral in2011, and15of whom are involved in the interviews. The research results are as follows.(1) It is deemed that TEM4-Oral has exerted morepositive washabck effects on students’ learning than negative ones.(2) TEM4-Oral hasexerted effects on students’ learning processes. The aspects affected by the test from highdegree to low degree are the content of learning, rate of learning, degree of learning,method of learning, sequence of learning, and depth of learning.(3) It is reported bystudents themsevles that TEM4-Oral has affected their learning products. The top fiveaspects improved by the test from high degree to low degree are logic of expression,language fluency, interactiveness, accuracy of expression, and language appropriateness.Finally, based on the findings of the research, the present study providesenlightenment for English learners and teachers.