The Washback Of Reading-based Response In NMET (Shandong) On English Teaching And Learning

Scholars abroad have done a great deal of research work on washback theoretically andempirically which not only enriched the theories related to language testing but also promptedthe English teaching and learning to a large extent. However, the domestic studies ofwashback lag behind, for example, studies of the washback on one of the most influentiallanguage tests in China, NMET are rare, let alone on the specific item types in NMET. Since2007, NMET (Shandong) has added a new question type---reading-based response, but so farthere is little investigation of washback on it.This study attempts to make an investigation into washback of reading-based response inNMET in senior high school. Three questions are put forward in order to find out theinfluences of reading-based response on teaching and learning. There are:1) What is thewashback of reading-based response on teaching and learning?2) What are the teachers’ andstudents’ attitudes towards reading-based response?3) How to promote the positive washbackeffect of reading-based response?So as to answer these research questions, the author conducted an empirical investigationamong301students of senior three and30English teachers in three senior high schools from3cities of Shandong Province. Questionnaires and interviews were taken as the instruments.Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data.The findings of this study illustrate that there are both positive and negative washback ofreading-based response of NMET (Shandong Province) on English teaching and learning inhigh schools and the positive washback is more than the negative one. Most of the teachersshow positive attitudes toward reading-based response. It promotes the teachers’ teaching andstudents’ learning. Meanwhile, it can widen the students’ thinking, enrich their horizon ofknowledge and improve their English competency. However, the question types are much toofixed which leads to the testees summarizing the regulations of dealing with questions in theexaminations. The teachers and students may just spend their time and energy on preparingfor the test. It is bad for the development of the students’ English capacity.