Washback Of Increasing The CELST Score Of NMET （Guangdong） On English Teaching And Learning

The Computer-based English Listening and Speaking Test（the CELST for short）has been a significant part of National Matriculation English Test（Guangdong）since2011,which accounts for 10% of the total score of English（150 points）.Starting from2021,the score and weighing of the CELST in the National Matriculation English Test（NMET）have increased from 15 points（accounting for 10% of the total score）to20 points（accounting for 13% of the total score）,which also sends a signal that the importance of English listening and speaking in NMET is gradually increasing.Obviously,the college entrance examination,as the most important high-stakes examination in China,is bound to have a significant washback effect on high school teaching and learning.At present,there is little research on the washback effect of the CELST in Guangdong College Entrance Examination.On the basis of previous studies on washback,this study will investigate the washback effect of the CELST with increased score on high school English teaching and learning,and put forward appropriate suggestions accordingly.With 261 senior high school students and 47 senior high school English teachers as the research participants,questionnaires and interviews as the research instruments,the following research questions were identified:（1）What are the attitudes of teachers and students toward the increase of the CELST score?（2）What kind of washback effect does the increase of the CELST score have on English teaching and learning?The results show that the teachers and students who participated in the survey have a positive attitude toward the CELST and the increase of its score.The increase of the CELST score has a complicated washback effect on many aspects of English teaching and learning in senior high school,and generally speaking,the positive washback is greater than the negative one.Its positive washback is that the CELST can reflect the integrity of NMET,stimulate teachers’ teaching enthusiasm and students’ learning motivation,optimize English course arrangement as well as learning materials and improve listening and speaking teaching.The negative washback is that the purpose of listening and speaking teaching and learning is too utilitarian,which leads to the phenomenon that most teachers and students teach and learn for the test,and the increase of the test score brings greater learning pressure to students with weak learning foundation.The results also show that there are obvious differences in English listening and speaking teaching and learning between the lower grade and the higher grades.Comparatively speaking,the test-oriented teaching and learning phenomenon in higher grades is more common.According to the above findings,in order to promote the positive washback effect brought by the increase of the CELST score,the author puts forward corresponding countermeasures for English teaching and learning in senior high schools.