A Study On The Washback Effect Of Nmet Reading Test On Senior High School English Reading Teaching

Washback is a new research field of applied linguistics recently,which usually refers to the impact of language tests on language teaching and learning.Since 1980 s,researchers abroad have conducted a lot of research,from theoretical to empirical,on washback,the results of which have not only enriched the relative theory of testology,but also have hastened the development of English teaching and learning greatly.But in China,research on washback is to some degree still a latecomer.The National Matriculation English Test(NMET)is China's large-scale test,but there is little empirical research on the washback effect of NMET,especially in term of comprehensive reading.Based on the theory of language testing,Alderson and Wall's washback hypotheses and input hypothesis,the main research object of this study is English teachers and their reading teaching in No.1senior high school in Shihezi City,Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.Classroom observation,the main method,is supplemented by questionnaires and interviews to deeply explore the washback of NMET reading test on teacher's reading teaching,including teaching content and form.The research starts from two aspects:(1)What are the characteristics of the2015-2019 NMET reading(volume II)in terms of contest content and test form?(2)What are the specific washback of NMET reading on high school English teachers' teaching content and teaching forms?Combining quantitative and qualitative methods to describe and analyze the collected data,the researcher draws the following conclusions:(1)In the test content,the subject of the reading comprehension test is rich,positive and close to the student's life,releasing the function of cultivating people.NMET(volume II)is most concerned with "the ability to understand the specific information in the text",followed by “the ability to understand the basic structure of the text”.It can be seen that the examination of reading skills in NMET is basic and itself emphasis on students' attention to the text structure.The genre of the article is relatively broad.Excluding argumentation,exposition,narration and practical writings are involved every year.But in the past five years,the type of reading questions has not changed and objective questions have long dominated.(2)NMET reading comprehension test has a washback effect on the teaching content and teaching form of high school English teachers.The washback effect on the teaching content is specifically reflected in the selection of teaching materials and the focus of comprehension skills,whose positive effect is greater than negative effect.As for the form of teaching,the negative effect is more obvious,especially in the senior year in the process of NMET preparation.At that time,the setting of teaching activities,the use of teachers' English and the time allocation of "speaking" and "practice" are suffering negative washback.To reduce the negative washback effect of NMET reading comprehension,this study has the following enlightenments for senior high school English reading teaching:First,teachers should change their teaching attitude,clarify the teaching purpose,and not teach for the exam.Second,teachers should make reasonablearrangements according to the actual situation of teaching and students' level,instead of catching up the progress of teaching,increasing students' pressure on learning,and affecting the quality of teachers' teaching.Third,teachers should enrich the methods of teaching evaluation.Fourth,it is difficult to avoid exam-oriented teaching,but teachers are supposed to use "non-test-oriented methods" to enhance students' test-taking ability.Fifth,the form of class activities in Grade 11 can be combined with test preparation to improve the efficiency of reading class.