A Survey Study Of Washback Effect Of Reading And Expression Part On English Teaching And Learning

Washback effect is about the influence of language testing on teaching and learning. Some Chinese and foreign scholars have carried out a great many related researches. However, so far, the studies of washback on Nation Matriculation English Test(NMET) are relatively rare, especially for the single question item in NMET. Since 2011, Reading and Expression Part has been introduced to NMET(Jiangxi). But up to now, there are not many concrete researches of washback on this new question item.Just under such background, the author carried out an investigation among 2 test-designers, 36 English teachers, and 360 students from three different high schools in Jiangxi Province, aiming at making a survey about the washback of Reading and Expression Part in NMET(Jiangxi) on high school English teaching and learning. There are 2 instruments which comprise questionnaires and interviews. The EXCEL2007 and SPSS16.0 are the main tools to process and analyze the collected data.The results prove that there not simply exist positive washback but also negative washback of Reading and Expression Part on teaching and learning process. But in general, the beneficial effect is more powerful than the harmful effect. Most of the teachers and students are satisfied with this testing format. It raises the teachers’ enthusiasm and stimulate them to make adjustments to their teaching approaches and strategies. In the meantime, it is beneficial to the improvement of students’ learning motivation and the ability of comprehensive language application. However, there is still some negative effect. Since there are always five fixed questions in this part, it is easy for teachers and students to find some common rules to get high scores instead of enhancing the practical competence. As a consequence, the situation of “learn to test” and “teach to test” appear. It is evident that this phenomenon isharmful to the development of students’ language using competence.In conclusion, this research has its particular significance. From the theoretical sense, this study can provide a little help to enrich and improve the theoretical foundation of washback effect. From the realistic sense, the research explores the relationship between Reading and Expression Part and high school English teaching, which is beneficial for the improvement of our teaching methods and strategies. From 2015, Jiangxi Province will adopt NMET(National New Curriculum),there are some adjustments in the question items, but in the long term, this research still has strong influence on English teaching, and it provides valuable suggestions for the design and improvement of this question item in other provinces that will continue adopting it in NMET.