A Study Of Washback Effect Of New NMET Continuation Writing Task On The English Writing Teaching And Learning Of Senior High Schools In Nanning,Guangxi

The washback effect refers to the effect of testing on teaching and learning.In China,the National Matriculation English Test(NMET),as one of the most rigorous and fair high-stakes tests,has a far-reaching effect on teaching and learning in senior high schools.Currently,the reform of the NMET has been implemented in more and more provinces,and the Continuation Writing Tasks(CWT)have been added.Guangxi will officially launch the new NMET in 2024,and the sophomores will be the first direct stakeholders.With the change in the form of the writing test and the examination requirements,there is a powerful effect on the teaching and learning of English writing,which forms a so-called washback.This thesis aims to investigate the effect of the CWT on teaching and learning English writing in senior high schools in Nanning,Guangxi.Based on the theoretical framework of the “washback effect” proposed by Alderson,Wall and Hughes,this thesis attempts to explore two issues from the perspectives of teachers and students:(1)what are teachers’ and students’ perceptions of the CWT construct?(2)how does the CWT influence teaching and learning? The study surveyed 98 English teachers and 700 senior high school students in Nanning using a combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis,with questionnaires and interviews as research tools.Then the author uses Sojump and Statistics Package for Social Science(SPSS 27.0)to perform descriptive and comparative analysis of the data obtained from the research instruments.The study findings are as follows:(1)Test question types,test focus,test contents,test methods and rating criteria of NMET exert washback effect on English writing teaching and learning.(2)Specifically,in terms of teaching,the effects cover teachers’ selections of teaching materials,classroom activities,teaching contents and rating criteria.Moreover,in terms of learning,the effects involve students’ selections of learning materials,learning objectives and rating criteria.Teachers’ teaching concepts,teaching methods and their perceptions of CWT construct play mediating roles in exerting washback effects.Based on the above findings,this research provides some suggestions for the current teaching and learning of the CWT in high schools in Nanning,Guangxi.