A Survey Of Washback Effect Of CET-4 Reading On College English Reading Teaching And Learning

Washback effect, which is also called backwash effect, is one of the six quality standards of language testing. It refers to the influence of test on language learning and teaching which can be classified into positive washback effect and negative washback effect.Since 1980 s, great quantities of theoretical and empirical studies have been conducted by many scholars at home and abroad in order to gain insights into this phenomenon. However as a new field in language test, washback effect study has been developed for about twenty years. In terms of CET-4 reading comprehension test, there are not too many empirical studies. Since 1987, CET-4 has become the large-scale standardized test which has normal and authoritative standards. At the same time, it is widely recognized in our country. Recently, scholars in China have done lots of studies on CET-4, but the study on washback of CET-4 reading comprehension test is relatively incomplete and inadequate. And over the years, CET-4 reading comprehension has reformed a lot in its testing contents, question types and scores of each item. Therefore it is necessary to conduct the research: washback effect of CET-4 reading on college English reading teaching and learning.30 teachers and 200 students in Liaoning University are selected as research subjects, and questionnaires, classroom observations and interviews are used as the instruments to collect data. Based on the washback effect theory proposed by Alderson and Wall and the previous studies, the following three questions are put forward:1. What is the current situation of college English reading teaching?2. What is the washback of CET-4 reading on English reading teaching in college?3. What is the washback of CET-4 reading on English reading learning in college?Firstly, students’ questionnaire one is conducted to investigate the current English reading and learning in college. Then the teachers’ questionnaire and students’ questionnaire two are distributed to answer Question Two and Three of the survey. The results show that CET-4 test has produced both positive and negative washback effect on college English reading teaching and learning. And there is more positive washback than the negative one. Then, classroom observation and interviews for both teachers and students are used as supplement to the survey. It can be found that the washback mainly lies in the following aspects: attitude, objective, time allotment, content, material and method of both teaching and learning. Most obviously, it can be found through the survey that positive washback of CET-4 reading comprehension on students learning method is partly beneficial. Because in the process of preparing for CET-4 reading, students’ learning methods have been diversified so that reading materials are understood completely and thoroughly. Of course there still exist other positive washback effects and negative washback effects. So some suggestions for improving college English teaching and learning and limitation of this study have been put forward.