A Study On The Washback Effect Of BEC-Vantage On The Chinese Test-takers

Cambridge English: Business Certificates(BEC) are English qualifications for professionals who want to work in an international business environment. It is a suite of three-level exams, featuring three qualifications(BEC Preliminary, Vantage and Higher) that provide a progressive way to develop Business English ability. BEC was jointly developed by the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate(UCLES) and the National Education Examination Authority(NEEA) for Chinese market in 1993 then introduced to other parts of the world. BEC-Vantage is the most popular one among the three qualifications and there have been more than millions of test-takers worldwide.Washback effect refers to the influence of a test believed by the test designers to have on the teaching and learning, which is an essential dimension of the test quality. Tests in education system have been widely studied but few empirical study concerns the washback effect of the tests for specific purpose in social context. The present study is a part of the research project “Impact of Cambridge English Exams in China”. It is the third stage of BEC impact research project, prior to which a preliminary investigation into the test-takers in Chongqing was conducted. The present study investigates 837 test-takers in four regions of China to have a full picture of the test-takers’ characteristics and to analyze washback effect of BEC-Vantage on their learning attitude, perceptions, learning process and outcome.Major findings are as follows:① BEC-Vantage exerts positive washback on test-takers’ learning attitudes and perceptions. Test-takers sit the test mainly out of intrinsic motivations such as facilitating English learning, promoting comprehensive abilities and self-assessment. Meanwhile they are also driven by extrinsic factors like the employment in future. Generally they think highly of the test and regard the Reading and Listening subtests as challenging. They are familiar with the test format but do not know much about the utility of the certificate. Test-takers’ regional difference, academic background and English proficiency have significant influence on the realization of washback. Besides, the atmosphere of English learning in the universities, learning resources, test-takers’ past test experience are also possible factors affecting the attitudes and perceptions of the test-takers.② BEC-Vantage induces short-term intensive both positive and negative washback on test-takers’ English learning. Positive washback is confirmed by the intensive occurrence of learning activities covering the four basic skills. Negative washback is shown in the obvious exam-oriented tendency, such as the frequent practice on past exam papers, focused exercise with coaching materials, memorizing vocabulary and templates etc. Inadequate efforts are put into learning activities that can promote language skills for real-life communication. On the one hand, it is because the test-takers are eager to succeed in the test; on the other hand, there is inadequate quality learning resource to be easily accessed to. Besides, BEC-Vantage has different influence on the test-takers in different regions and from different academic backgrounds. Other factors such as learning atmosphere, learning habits, learning resources etc. may lead to the difference of washback effect. In addition, the findings suggest that English proficiency plays a limited role in mediating the washback and the difference of test-takers’ perception does not directly lead to the corresponding learning behaviors.③ BEC-Vantage has quite positive washback on test-takers’ learning outcome including their improvement in both language abilities and overall abilities. The test-takers’ regional difference, academic background and test motivation have significant influence on the washback effect. However, it is also found that test-takers’ difference in the perceptions of the test and intensity of learning activities does not directly lead to the corresponding changes in the learning outcome. It is a wide range of factors that contribute to the washback effect of BEC-Vantage on test-takers.Existing washback studies have paid limited attention to students and learning, and there is few studies employing large-scale survey on the test-takers. The present study is hopefully to offer more information for future studies on the mechanism of washback effect. The findings are also expected to offer data support for BEC studies and other studies on the English proficiency tests in social context. The present study has provided suggestions for improving test quality, elevating test service and facilitating the realization of washback effect.