| This study, comprised of two distinct phases, investigated the notions of washback and classroom-based assessment within the context of the First Certificate of English (FCE) examination and the teachers and learners at the British Institute of Florence (BIF). A review of the literature examining washback and classroom-based assessment revealed several limitations in previous research. Phase 1 of this investigation attempted to address several of these limitations by examining the effect of the high- stakes FCE examination on the classroom activities of two distinct BIF courses (i.e., FCE Preparation and General EFL) and how instructors' methodology changed over the course of the academic year as a result of the FCE administration date. Additionally, Phase 1 examined the relationship between classroom instruction and student FCE test performance. Subsequently, Phase 2 of this study examined the washback effect of a classroom-based assessment task on the language processing of two individual learners (i.e., one high-ability and one low-ability) studying at the BIF.The investigation incorporated a mixed-methods design. The results from Phase 1 suggested that language modalities (i.e., listening, speaking, reading, and writing), examination-related activities (i.e., timed practice tests, FCE test-taking strategies, FCE preparation materials, and FCE content) and test tasks (i.e., selected-response, limited-production, and extended-production) were incorporated to varying degrees in the two BIF courses, based on the FCE course (i.e., FCE Preparation or General EFL) and the proximity to the FCE test date. However, a series of paired t-tests for independent means indicated that the students' mean scores on the FCE in the two BIF courses were not significantly different, suggesting that classroom methodology may have had a limited impact on the test performance of examinees. The results from Phase 2 suggested that the classroom assessment task had a differential impact on how the two learners processed the new learning point, impacting the accuracy and speed to which the new target language form was processed. The findings from the investigation indicated that, while the differences in student test performance at the class level may have been limited, there appeared to have been distinct differences in student learning/processing at the individual level. |
