A Study Of Washback Effect Of Grammar Blanks Filling In Ahhui NMET On Senior High School English Teaching And Learning

Washback effect usually refers to the impact or effect of the examination or tests on language teaching and learning.Washback effect has been a hot issue in language testing and teaching in recent years.In 2016,Anhui has joined National Matriculation English Test ?.Compared with Anhui autonomy preposition test in the previous years,NMET I has made some adjustments.One of the most striking things is that Grammar Blanks Filling has taken the place of the previous grammar multiple choice item and this paper aims to investigate the washback of Grammar Blanks Filling in NMET I on English teaching and learning.This study aims to answer the following three questions:(1)What are teachers'and students' perceptions of and attitudes towards Grammar Blanks Filling?(2)What kind of washback effect does Grammar Blanks Filling exert on teachers' teaching,especially on teaching materials,teaching content and teaching methods?(3)What kind of washback effect does Grammar Blanks Filling exert on students' learning,especially on learning materials,learning content and learning methods?To solve the above-mentioned research questions,both qualitative and quantitative research methods are employed to collect data,including questionnaire,classroom observations and interview.The research subjects are 46 teachers and 334 students from three different types of senior high schools in Huainan.The results show that most teachers and students have a positive attitude towards Grammar Blanks Filling,which provides motivation for teachers in teaching and also imposes pressure and anxiety on students' learning.The Grammar Blanks Filling which exerts positive washback effect on English teaching overwhelms the negative one and it has positive effect on the teachers'teaching material,teaching content,teaching methods and students' learning material,learning content and learning methods.However,negative washback effect follows as well.Both the teachers and students adopt test-taking materials,content and methods in English teaching and learning,which is more evident.Based on the above research results,this paper puts forward some suggestions:1)For policy-makers,they should absorb the experience of neighboring provinces where two exams a year has been implemented;2)For teachers,they should strengthen their understanding of Grammar Blanks Filling and make appropriate adjustment of their teaching material,teaching content and teaching methods;3)For students,they should pay enough attention to improving their discourse analysis ability and comprehensive language application ability.