New Alternatives in EFL Exams or, ‘How to Avoid Selling English Short’

Madsen, Harold S.

doi:10.1093/elt/xxx.2.135

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…Discussion of test consequences or impact has been taking place in the field of general education for some time (Madaus, 1988;Popham, 1987;Vernon, 1956), but it is only since the 1990s that serious studies have appeared in the literature of language testing. Various articles had been written earlier about how tests could affect teaching either positively (e.g., Pearson's [1988] image of the high-stakes test being levers for change (p. 98) Swain's [1985] notion of "working for washback" (p. 36)) or negatively (e.g., Madsen's [1976] and was later to become the TOEFL iBT test. Hughes (1993) proposed that there were three main types of washback: washback on participants (anyone "whose perceptions and attitudes towards their work may be affected by a test" [p. 2]), processes ("any actions taken by the participants which may contribute to the process of learning" [p. 2]), and products ("what is learned…and the quality of the learning [p. 2]).…”

Section: Test Impact and Washbackmentioning

confidence: 99%

THE IMPACT OF CHANGES IN THE TOEFL^® EXAM ON TEACHING IN A SAMPLE OF COUNTRIES IN EUROPE: PHASE 3, THE ROLE OF THE COURSEBOOK PHASE 4, DESCRIBING CHANGE

Wall

Horák

2011

ETS Research Report Series

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The aim of this report is to present the findings of the 3rd and 4th phases of a longitudinal study into the impact of changes in the TOEFL® exam on teaching in test preparation classrooms. Phase 1 (2003–2004) described the type of teaching taking place in 12 TOEFL preparation classrooms before the introduction of the new TOEFL. Phase 2 (2004–2006) followed 6 of the Phase 1 teachers as they became aware of the requirements of the new test and faced the challenges of designing new courses to help students to prepare for it effectively. The objectives of the Phase 3 study (2006–2007) were to analyze the coursebooks that 4 of these teachers were using as they continued to prepare students for the TOEFL computer‐based test (CBT) and began to plan courses for the TOEFL iBT®, and to find out how the teachers were using the coursebooks as they developed their courses and planned individual classroom sessions. The coursebook analysis revealed that the TOEFL iBT coursebooks differed considerably from the TOEFL CBT coursebooks in terms of content, with the inclusion of integrated writing tasks and independent and integrated speaking tasks and the absence of attention to grammatical form on its own. They did not differ greatly in terms of their general methodological approach, however. Information about how the teachers used their coursebooks was gathered via tracking questions and tasks eliciting self‐report data. The coursebooks seemed to be playing an important role in shaping the teachers' understanding of the requirements of the new TOEFL, and the teachers depended on them heavily as they developed their courses and planned their lessons. The objectives of Phase 4 (2007–2008) were to interview and observe 3 of the same teachers, to find out what their preparation classes looked like 1 year after the introduction of the TOEFL iBT in their countries. While some aspects of teaching seemed not to have changed greatly, considerable changes occurred in the amount of attention the teachers paid to the development of speaking and to the integration of different skills. The teachers differed from each other in how much they had changed their methods to develop their students' language skills. The report concludes with a discussion of the role the new test, new coursebooks, and other factors in the educational context played in shaping current practices in these TOEFL preparation classrooms.

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Section: Test Impact and Washbackmentioning

confidence: 99%

THE IMPACT OF CHANGES IN THE TOEFL^® EXAM ON TEACHING IN A SAMPLE OF COUNTRIES IN EUROPE: PHASE 3, THE ROLE OF THE COURSEBOOK PHASE 4, DESCRIBING CHANGE

Wall

Horák

2011

ETS Research Report Series

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“…There is remarkably little in the specific field of language education that can be said to have investigated and established what washback is and how it works. Much assertion exists, for example, the debate about the influence of the introduction of multiple choice tests in Ethiopia -see Forbes (1973) and Madsen's reply (Madsen, 1976 "Gone are the happy days in which a teacher could spend a whole period on his (sic) favourite poem, 'The Solitary Reaper' if he wanted to. He may not even spend time on Belloc's 'Tarantella', even though it is in the prescribed --textbook written by some of the university 'English language specialists'...So it's eyes up to the sentences on the blackboard sentence patterns for tenses, for quantifiers, for modals, for relative clauses.…”

Section: Language Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Washback Exist?

Alderson

Wall

1993

Applied Linguistics

575

278

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The concept of washback, or backwash, defined as the influence of testing on instruction, is discussed with relation to second language teaching and testing. While the literature of second language testing suggests that tests are commonly considered to be powerful determiners of what happens in the classroom, Lhe concept of washback is not well defined. The first part of the discussion focuses on the concept, including several different interpretations of the phenomenon. It is found to be a far more complex topic than suggested by the basic washback hypothesis, which is also discussed and outlined. The literature on education in general is then reviewed for additional information on the issues involved. Very little research was found that directly related to the subject, but several studies are highlighted. Following this, empirical research on language testing is consulted for further insight. Studies in Turkey, the Netherlands, and Nepal are discussed. Finally, areas for additional research are proposed, including further definition of washback, motivation and performance, the role of educational setting, research methodology, learner perceptions, and explanatory factors. A 39-item bibliography is appended. (MSE)

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“…• English teachers in the upper grades in particular seem to be spending virtually all their time on examination techniques rather on the English fundamentals so badly needed (Madsen, 1976). • The use of multiple-choice tests (MCT) would lead to a decline in the incidence teaching skills such as writing skills which could not be measured by MCT (Wesdorp, 1982).…”

Section: Review Of Related Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Washback from the Bottom-Up: A Grounded Theory

Ostovar-Namaghi

2013

IJALEL

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Theory-driven wash back studies inculcate the view that tests are the only causal factor determining what teachers and students do and as such ignore other local constraints. This data-driven study aims at filling in the gap in the wash back knowledge-base by conceptualizing teachers' perceptions of the university entrance exam (UEE) in Iran. In line with grounded theory, theoretically relevant concepts were sampled from qualitative interviews with experienced language teachers who were willing to share their views with the researcher. Iterative data collection and analysis revealed: (1) a set of local conditions that that make teachers shift away from language teaching towards preparing students for the UEE; (2) how the UEE deprives the nation from professional workforce by deprofessionalizing language teachers and producing a hose of communicatively incompetent high school graduates; and (3) data-driven suggestions for reform.

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New Alternatives in EFL Exams or, ‘How to Avoid Selling English Short’

Cited by 6 publications

References 0 publications

THE IMPACT OF CHANGES IN THE TOEFL^® EXAM ON TEACHING IN A SAMPLE OF COUNTRIES IN EUROPE: PHASE 3, THE ROLE OF THE COURSEBOOK PHASE 4, DESCRIBING CHANGE

THE IMPACT OF CHANGES IN THE TOEFL^® EXAM ON TEACHING IN A SAMPLE OF COUNTRIES IN EUROPE: PHASE 3, THE ROLE OF THE COURSEBOOK PHASE 4, DESCRIBING CHANGE

Does Washback Exist?

Washback from the Bottom-Up: A Grounded Theory

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New Alternatives in EFL Exams or, ‘How to Avoid Selling English Short’

Cited by 6 publications

References 0 publications

THE IMPACT OF CHANGES IN THE TOEFL® EXAM ON TEACHING IN A SAMPLE OF COUNTRIES IN EUROPE: PHASE 3, THE ROLE OF THE COURSEBOOK PHASE 4, DESCRIBING CHANGE

THE IMPACT OF CHANGES IN THE TOEFL® EXAM ON TEACHING IN A SAMPLE OF COUNTRIES IN EUROPE: PHASE 3, THE ROLE OF THE COURSEBOOK PHASE 4, DESCRIBING CHANGE

Does Washback Exist?

Washback from the Bottom-Up: A Grounded Theory

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

THE IMPACT OF CHANGES IN THE TOEFL^® EXAM ON TEACHING IN A SAMPLE OF COUNTRIES IN EUROPE: PHASE 3, THE ROLE OF THE COURSEBOOK PHASE 4, DESCRIBING CHANGE

THE IMPACT OF CHANGES IN THE TOEFL^® EXAM ON TEACHING IN A SAMPLE OF COUNTRIES IN EUROPE: PHASE 3, THE ROLE OF THE COURSEBOOK PHASE 4, DESCRIBING CHANGE