The Washback Effect Of The Guangdong MET On Oral English Learning Outcomes Of High School Students

The influence of tests on teaching and learning is termed washback and it hasattracted more and more attention in the last two decades. A large body of researches onwashback focused on the impact of test onto teaching and some aspects of learning. Whathas not been focused in previous studies is the influence of testing on student’s learningoutcomes which receives the most direct and profound impact. This study was carried outwithin the context of Guangdong MET innovation: the Oral Test of Guangdong METbecame obligatory in the year2011. It was set out to investigate whether the innovation ofGuangdong MET influenced students’ oral English proficiency, whether the washbackeffect is instant and what kind of washback pattern can be observed.Procedures of the research are summarized as follows: First, three matched cohorts ofhigh school graduates were selected: the last cohort that sit the old test and the first twocohort that study for the new test; Second, the mean ratings of subjects’ oral performancewere compared; Third, detailed discourse analysis were adopted to reveal the languagefeatures of the three cohorts’ oral output.Seen from the data analysis, the following conclusion could be reached:(1) Theaddition of the obligatory oral test to MET has influenced senior students’oral proficiency;(2) The influence from Guangdong MET innovation onto students’ oral performance isdeferred rather than instant;(3) For the first cohort of students who took the new exam,their oral English performance became slightly more fluent and more grammaticallycomplex. However, compared with the cohort that took the old test, the second cohortshows significant improvement in most of the four language features: fluency, grammaticalaccuracy, grammatical complexity, cohesion and conversational strategy.The research indicates that as a high-stakes test, Guangdong MET is an effective toolto leverage change in students’ performance. In addition, more attention should be focusedon the grammatical accuracy and cohesion of the2011cohort’s oral output. As for oraloutput of the2012cohort, though they show significant improvement in most of thelanguage features, attention should still be attached to the grammatical accuracy andfluency, especially the accuracy of verb tense, preposition, article use and filled pauses.The current study adds empirical support to the claim that students’ performance can beimproved through test innovation. Finally limitations of the study and further studysuggestions are presented.