The Washback Effect Of The New College Entrance Examination On The Cultivation Of Critical Thinking Ability In High School English Class

In recent years,the Chinese education system has undergone significant changes in response to the revision of new curriculum standards and the reform of college entrance examinations and admission systems.The college entrance examination is one of the most influential and highly scrutinized examinations in China.It is closely related to English teaching and serves as a ruler to measure teaching effectiveness,exerting a profound influence on all aspects of teaching.The English Curriculum Standards for Senior High Schools(2017 Edition,2020 Revision)(hereinafter referred to as the Curriculum Standards)propose critical thinking as a core quality of English subjects,aiming to enhance students’ thinking quality and develop their critical thinking ability.Therefore,in response to the call for cultivating students’ core qualities,this paper discusses how to enhance students’ critical thinking ability and tests their critical thinking ability.Based on an analysis of critical thinking tests in Shaanxi 2018-2022 College Entrance English Examination,this paper summarizes several main forms and contents of critical thinking tests in English reading training.Through a questionnaire survey and interviews with98 Grade two students and 12 teachers,this paper conducts a comprehensive analysis to better reflect the actual situation of middle school English,realize the current status of critical thinking ability training,and discuss the reverse effect of college entrance examination English in critical thinking ability training,which is of great significance.Specifically,this paper will address the following three research questions: 1.What are the characteristics of the 2017-2022 College Entrance English Examination of Shaanxi in terms of the content and form of critical thinking? 2.Does the college entrance examination have a washback effect on the cultivation of critical thinking ability in teaching and why? 3.Under the washback effect of college entrance examination,what deficiencies exist in the current high school English education in the process of cultivating critical thinking ability,and how to play the positive washback effect of college entrance examination?This study employs a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods to draw the following conclusions.Firstly,reading comprehension questions pay attention to the examination of critical thinking ability,but it is still not comprehensive enough.At the same time,the examination frequency of each dimension of critical thinking ability is also very different.Secondly,the college entrance examination has a great washback effect on the teaching of critical thinking ability,especially in the aspects of teaching cognition,teaching methods and teaching content,but has a small washback effect on the independent cultivation of students’ critical thinking ability and the implementation of the course.Finally,utilitarian teaching behavior is identified as a factor that causes the above washback effect.The critical thinking ability teaching goal of teachers is not clear and their way is single.Students’ thinking ability is insufficient and the internet weakens critical thinking.Finally,this study has the following implications for improving the role of college entrance examination in promoting the cultivation of students’ critical thinking ability in high school English classes.Firstly,teachers should strengthen their critical thinking quality and teach critical thinking in various ways.Secondly,schools should strengthen teacher training and support students’ development in various aspects.Thirdly,students should strengthen their active consciousness and participate in multi-directional directions.Fourthly,propositional person should strengthen examination requirements and examine students’ critical thinking ability from multiple angles.The purpose of this paper is to find a practical way to giving full play to the positive function of exam backtracking so as to promote the sustainable development of English teaching and learning in middle schools.