A Study On The Washback Effect Of Newly Added English Listening And Speaking Test In Yunnan Senior High School Entrance Examination On Junior High School English Teaching And Learning

A reform plan for English listening and speaking was introduced in Yunnan province in February 2021.The primary content of this arrangement is to add a listening and speaking test in the senior high school entrance examination,with 15 points each for listening and speaking,for an aggregate of 30 points.This paper aims to study the washback effect of the recently added English listening and speaking test in Yunnan on teaching and learning in a junior high school.The particular research questions are as per the following:(1)What are the attitudes of teachers and students towards the newly added English listening and speaking test of Yunnan senior high school entrance examination?(2)How well do teachers and students understand the newly added English listening and speaking test of Yunnan senior high school entrance examination?(3)What are the washback effects of the newly-added listening and speaking test of Yunnan senior high school entrance examination on English teachers’ teaching and students’ learning?This study embraces qualitative research and quantitative research methods,taking 152 understudies and 20 instructors from a suburban school in Chenggong District,Kunming City as the research objects,utilizing classroom observation,questionnaire survey,and interview as the researcher instrument.It investigated students’ understanding and attitudes towards the new listening and speaking test,as well as the changes in listening and speaking teaching time,teachers` classroom language use,teaching materials,teaching contents,and teaching activities before and after the introduction of listening and speaking test.The results of the study showed that most teachers and students had a positive attitude towards the listening to and speaking test.Teachers have a good understanding of the new listening and speaking test,but they are not very clear about the scoring standard.Students are not very clear about the new listening and speaking test.After the addition of the listening and speaking test,the backwash effects on teachers are as follows: teachers spending more time on listening and speaking teaching;teachers increase their English usage rate in the classroom instruction,and some teachers even trying to teach totally in English.More attention is paid to the contents of listening and speaking teaching,such as pronunciation,listening and speaking skills,reading skills,listening and speaking test-taking skills,etc.In terms of teaching materials,listening and speaking teaching adopts more diverse and authentic teaching materials.In teaching activities,the frequency of higher-level activities such as group discussions,speeches,and role-playing has been increased.The washback effects on students are as follows: students getting more interested in English,spending more time on English listening and speaking,paying more attention to the accuracy of English pronunciation,and adopting more diversified learning methods.It is not difficult to see that the new listening and speaking test has brought a lot of positive washback effects,as well as some negative washback effects,such as more emphasis on test-taking skills in teaching contents,and increased frequency of using of simulation test questions.