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摘要：语言测试是语言教学不可分割的一个组成部分。在中国，参与英语学习的人数众多，他们都经历过各种英语考试，大的考试如中考、高考、四六级考试、研究生考试、托福、雅思考试等。人们在诟病与考试相关的应试教育的同时，也认为考试毕竟是一种相对客观、公正的选拔人才和分配教育资源的手段。本文旨在结合英语教学实践，探讨如何充分地利用科学的测试、评价来指导日常教学，使得语言测试对大学英语教学产生积极的影响。
关键词：语言测试 大学英语教学 评价 影响
Abstract:Language testing is indispensable to language teaching. In China, a large number of people are engaged in English learning. They inevitably have to face various English tests such as graduation tests, the College Entrance Exam, CET 4 & 6, TOEFL and IELTS, etc., not to mention the countless other tests in their English learning process.On the one hand, some people criticize the negative impact of testing on teaching.But on the other hand, many people think testing is still a comparatively fair means in selecting talents and in allocating education resources.By reflecting the routine college English teaching practice, this paper discusses challenges of existing tests, especially CET4 & 6, and how to make full use of testing and evaluation system to guide the daily teaching to achieve positive washback of tests.
Key Words:language testing, college English teaching, evaluation, washback
Language testing is one kind of educational measurement. It is indispensible to language teaching as it provides specific and concrete approach to find out how proficient the students are in their language learning. Only with fair and effective language testing, can the teaching and learning of language be reasonably evaluated.And the feedback from such evaluation can be valuable to the improvement of future teaching and learning.
I.Background
In recent decades, English language learning is very popular among Chinese people.Normally, primary schools begin to provide English course to grade-three pupils. Starting from then, English learners in China have to face countless English tests and examinations. As English is regarded as a major basic course as Chinese and math, when the students graduate from primary schools to enter junior high and then to senior high, much efforts have to be given to the teaching and learning of English for students to get a high enough score in their graduation examination. And in the College Entrance Examination, the weight given to English test is as high as a score of 150.As for the College Entrance Examination, it is a “high-stake” (Madaus, 1988) exam as it is vital for students’ future development and accordingly draws much concern from various stakeholders---the students, their parents, teachers, educational administrators, etc. Hot debate on it has been arising for many years. Supporters think it is a comparatively transparent and fair process in allocating education resources. However, those who oppose it think that such exam fails to promote the all-round development of students. Whatever it holds, one impact of College Entrance Exam on English teaching is that all the stakeholders attain much importance to the learning and teaching of English at school.The exam serves as a leading factor affecting the daily routine teaching in schools.When the students enter colleges and universities, for the non-English majors, College English Test 4 & 6 (CET4 & 6) are the major tests they have to finish before they graduate.Bedsides the CET4 & 6, some students may also need to pass relevant English exams for their graduate school study, and some may need to take TOEFL or IELTS if they want to go overseas for further study.
In general, English tests and examinations cover a large amount of people and a long span of time during their school education.It is worthwhile to study the relationship between testing and teaching for more positive washback from the former to the latter.The CET4 & 6 test is a very important English test for non-English major college students.After more than 20 years of development, it has gained wide acceptance. It is by far the largest in scale English testing in the world, covering over 10 million people per year.Considering the strong impact of the CET4 & 6 as well as its close connection with the college English teaching, this paper will further elaborate on the challenges confronting the CET4 & 6 testing and college English teaching.
II.Challenges and Relevant Impact
The CET4 & 6 is a kind of standardized English test in terms of its standardized workflow and integrated process (Jin, 2010a). The validity and efficiency of the CET4 & 6 test makes it an authoritative test in China. In second language acquisition (SLA) research,“a definitive analysis of communicative competence is just as elusive as was language proficiency” (Larsen-Freeman & Long, 2000:39). Therefore, there are varied views on how to define language proficiency. One argument from Cummins is that he finds value in the notion of a global language –proficiency factor “which can be assessed by a variety of reading, writing, listening and speaking tests and which is strongly related to general cognitive skills … and to academic achievement” (Cummins, 1980: 176).In this sense, the CET4 & 6 test provides a way to judge the English proficiency of the non-English major students. The fact that it has been widely accepted by the society also shows that it is effective. However, some uncontrollable social factors go beyond the test and result in unintended washback effects.
For a period of time, some universities had made the rule that those students who did not pass the CET4 & 6 test could not obtain their graduation certificates. Nowadays, it is still common that employers set the requirement for certain scores of CET4 & 6 test for the students who want to apply for the jobs. CET4 & 6 test scores still play a very important role for the students’ future study and employment.
The negative impact of this is that stakeholders tend to focus more on the score itself than on the information reflected in the test.As a university English teacher, when my students consult me on how to improve in the CET4 & 6 test, I often tend to ask them how they have performed in different parts of the test, namely Writing, Reading Comprehension(both Fast Reading and In-depth Reading), Listening Comprehension, Cloze and Translation. I think it is necessary for them to find out their advantages and disadvantages in English learning through the test so that they can make adjustment accordingly. To my disappointment, most of them could hardly have any detailed analysis on their performance after they have received the feedback of their test results.What they remember well is just the score, what they concern most is whether they are below the score line of 425 or above.Meanwhile, as for the teachers, the feedback we usually get after our students have taken the test is also just the total scores, instead of a breakdown of different parts, not to mention other relevant information. Under such circumstances, it is almost impossible for them to help the students to carry out further analysis on the test results.
As the whole process of the CET4 & 6 test is well-designed, one major aspect of such effective test should be providing valuable feedback on how to improve learning and teaching.However, in reality, those designed functions of evaluation and promotion on teaching and learning have not been given full play. Therefore unexpected washback occurs in actual teaching situation. For non-English majors, their time for in-class English is quite limited.However, in order to help students to get higher scores in the CET4 & 6 test, it is not uncommon to find that teachers and students spend some time to make intensive preparations for the test. The time that should be used for basic skills building goes to test drills of past CET4 & 6 test or some model tests. Due to the lack of time, teachers have to fasten the speed of normal text teaching, so some teaching approaches, such as the communicative approach that intend to stimulate students’ interests and gradually improve their communication skills lose the chance to have a full display in the class.For some students, this kind of intensive test preparation may add to their anxiety, and hurt their enthusiasm in learning English (牛强, 2001: 140).Focus on scores may also lead to too much attention on the explanation of test-related items, while neglecting other language phenomena. The result of this is that for some students, the test skills are improved. However, whether their language ability has improvement is really a question. For instance, some students have certain rules in determining how to choose the answers among four multiple choices even though they have no idea at all about the meaning of the optional answers. Such testing washback is unexpected and does not do any help to learning and teaching.
III.Possible Solutions
From the above discussed, it is obvious that testing and teaching are closely related.Testing may exert positive as well as negative impact on teaching. No matter how well a test has been designed, due to the complexity of the reality such as changing policies and concepts, different social demands at different period of time, it is hard for the test designers to predict the possible washback. And for English teachers, it is also out of their control to make much change in their teaching according to the result of test under a certain framework. They have little room in deciding what teaching materials to use and whether they should carry out the pre-test intensive preparation. However, even under the present framework, there is still the possibility for efforts to promote the positive washback of tests.
One major reason that the present testing and evaluation system does not fully function is because those well-designed concepts and practices fail to reach the teachers and the students. Therefore, a feasible solution to this problem is to help teachers and students have access to those concepts and practices through trainings. With short-time trainings, the students should be able to have simple analysis on their test results instead of just knowing a figure of score while neglecting other helpful information. As for the teachers, trainings on testing theories and designs should be carried out for them to make comprehensive analysis on test results as well as to design more professional tests of their own. As the majors stakeholders of tests, if teachers and students have better literacy and understanding to relevant tests, the intended washback of tests can be better achieved while the unexpected washback can be reduced..
References
[1]Cummins, J. The Cross-lingual Dimensions of Language Proficiency: Implications for Bilingual Education and the Optimal Age Issue.TESOL Quarterly14, 1980.
[2]Jin Y. The National College English Testing Committee [A]. In Cheng L & Curtis A. English Language Assessment and the Chinese Learner [C]. New York & London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2010a.
[3]Larsen-Freeman, D. and Long, M. An Introduction to Second Language Acquisition Research [M]. Beijing:Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 2000.
[4]Madaus, G. F. The Influence of Testing on the Curriculum [A]. In Tanner, L N. Critical Issues in Curriculum: Eighty-seventh Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education[C]. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988.
[5]牛强.现行高校英语测试中的问题[J].外语教学与研究,2001(2).
关键词：语言测试 大学英语教学 评价 影响
Abstract:Language testing is indispensable to language teaching. In China, a large number of people are engaged in English learning. They inevitably have to face various English tests such as graduation tests, the College Entrance Exam, CET 4 & 6, TOEFL and IELTS, etc., not to mention the countless other tests in their English learning process.On the one hand, some people criticize the negative impact of testing on teaching.But on the other hand, many people think testing is still a comparatively fair means in selecting talents and in allocating education resources.By reflecting the routine college English teaching practice, this paper discusses challenges of existing tests, especially CET4 & 6, and how to make full use of testing and evaluation system to guide the daily teaching to achieve positive washback of tests.
Key Words:language testing, college English teaching, evaluation, washback
Language testing is one kind of educational measurement. It is indispensible to language teaching as it provides specific and concrete approach to find out how proficient the students are in their language learning. Only with fair and effective language testing, can the teaching and learning of language be reasonably evaluated.And the feedback from such evaluation can be valuable to the improvement of future teaching and learning.
I.Background
In recent decades, English language learning is very popular among Chinese people.Normally, primary schools begin to provide English course to grade-three pupils. Starting from then, English learners in China have to face countless English tests and examinations. As English is regarded as a major basic course as Chinese and math, when the students graduate from primary schools to enter junior high and then to senior high, much efforts have to be given to the teaching and learning of English for students to get a high enough score in their graduation examination. And in the College Entrance Examination, the weight given to English test is as high as a score of 150.As for the College Entrance Examination, it is a “high-stake” (Madaus, 1988) exam as it is vital for students’ future development and accordingly draws much concern from various stakeholders---the students, their parents, teachers, educational administrators, etc. Hot debate on it has been arising for many years. Supporters think it is a comparatively transparent and fair process in allocating education resources. However, those who oppose it think that such exam fails to promote the all-round development of students. Whatever it holds, one impact of College Entrance Exam on English teaching is that all the stakeholders attain much importance to the learning and teaching of English at school.The exam serves as a leading factor affecting the daily routine teaching in schools.When the students enter colleges and universities, for the non-English majors, College English Test 4 & 6 (CET4 & 6) are the major tests they have to finish before they graduate.Bedsides the CET4 & 6, some students may also need to pass relevant English exams for their graduate school study, and some may need to take TOEFL or IELTS if they want to go overseas for further study.
In general, English tests and examinations cover a large amount of people and a long span of time during their school education.It is worthwhile to study the relationship between testing and teaching for more positive washback from the former to the latter.The CET4 & 6 test is a very important English test for non-English major college students.After more than 20 years of development, it has gained wide acceptance. It is by far the largest in scale English testing in the world, covering over 10 million people per year.Considering the strong impact of the CET4 & 6 as well as its close connection with the college English teaching, this paper will further elaborate on the challenges confronting the CET4 & 6 testing and college English teaching.
II.Challenges and Relevant Impact
The CET4 & 6 is a kind of standardized English test in terms of its standardized workflow and integrated process (Jin, 2010a). The validity and efficiency of the CET4 & 6 test makes it an authoritative test in China. In second language acquisition (SLA) research,“a definitive analysis of communicative competence is just as elusive as was language proficiency” (Larsen-Freeman & Long, 2000:39). Therefore, there are varied views on how to define language proficiency. One argument from Cummins is that he finds value in the notion of a global language –proficiency factor “which can be assessed by a variety of reading, writing, listening and speaking tests and which is strongly related to general cognitive skills … and to academic achievement” (Cummins, 1980: 176).In this sense, the CET4 & 6 test provides a way to judge the English proficiency of the non-English major students. The fact that it has been widely accepted by the society also shows that it is effective. However, some uncontrollable social factors go beyond the test and result in unintended washback effects.
For a period of time, some universities had made the rule that those students who did not pass the CET4 & 6 test could not obtain their graduation certificates. Nowadays, it is still common that employers set the requirement for certain scores of CET4 & 6 test for the students who want to apply for the jobs. CET4 & 6 test scores still play a very important role for the students’ future study and employment.
The negative impact of this is that stakeholders tend to focus more on the score itself than on the information reflected in the test.As a university English teacher, when my students consult me on how to improve in the CET4 & 6 test, I often tend to ask them how they have performed in different parts of the test, namely Writing, Reading Comprehension(both Fast Reading and In-depth Reading), Listening Comprehension, Cloze and Translation. I think it is necessary for them to find out their advantages and disadvantages in English learning through the test so that they can make adjustment accordingly. To my disappointment, most of them could hardly have any detailed analysis on their performance after they have received the feedback of their test results.What they remember well is just the score, what they concern most is whether they are below the score line of 425 or above.Meanwhile, as for the teachers, the feedback we usually get after our students have taken the test is also just the total scores, instead of a breakdown of different parts, not to mention other relevant information. Under such circumstances, it is almost impossible for them to help the students to carry out further analysis on the test results.
As the whole process of the CET4 & 6 test is well-designed, one major aspect of such effective test should be providing valuable feedback on how to improve learning and teaching.However, in reality, those designed functions of evaluation and promotion on teaching and learning have not been given full play. Therefore unexpected washback occurs in actual teaching situation. For non-English majors, their time for in-class English is quite limited.However, in order to help students to get higher scores in the CET4 & 6 test, it is not uncommon to find that teachers and students spend some time to make intensive preparations for the test. The time that should be used for basic skills building goes to test drills of past CET4 & 6 test or some model tests. Due to the lack of time, teachers have to fasten the speed of normal text teaching, so some teaching approaches, such as the communicative approach that intend to stimulate students’ interests and gradually improve their communication skills lose the chance to have a full display in the class.For some students, this kind of intensive test preparation may add to their anxiety, and hurt their enthusiasm in learning English (牛强, 2001: 140).Focus on scores may also lead to too much attention on the explanation of test-related items, while neglecting other language phenomena. The result of this is that for some students, the test skills are improved. However, whether their language ability has improvement is really a question. For instance, some students have certain rules in determining how to choose the answers among four multiple choices even though they have no idea at all about the meaning of the optional answers. Such testing washback is unexpected and does not do any help to learning and teaching.
III.Possible Solutions
From the above discussed, it is obvious that testing and teaching are closely related.Testing may exert positive as well as negative impact on teaching. No matter how well a test has been designed, due to the complexity of the reality such as changing policies and concepts, different social demands at different period of time, it is hard for the test designers to predict the possible washback. And for English teachers, it is also out of their control to make much change in their teaching according to the result of test under a certain framework. They have little room in deciding what teaching materials to use and whether they should carry out the pre-test intensive preparation. However, even under the present framework, there is still the possibility for efforts to promote the positive washback of tests.
One major reason that the present testing and evaluation system does not fully function is because those well-designed concepts and practices fail to reach the teachers and the students. Therefore, a feasible solution to this problem is to help teachers and students have access to those concepts and practices through trainings. With short-time trainings, the students should be able to have simple analysis on their test results instead of just knowing a figure of score while neglecting other helpful information. As for the teachers, trainings on testing theories and designs should be carried out for them to make comprehensive analysis on test results as well as to design more professional tests of their own. As the majors stakeholders of tests, if teachers and students have better literacy and understanding to relevant tests, the intended washback of tests can be better achieved while the unexpected washback can be reduced..
References
[1]Cummins, J. The Cross-lingual Dimensions of Language Proficiency: Implications for Bilingual Education and the Optimal Age Issue.TESOL Quarterly14, 1980.
[2]Jin Y. The National College English Testing Committee [A]. In Cheng L & Curtis A. English Language Assessment and the Chinese Learner [C]. New York & London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2010a.
[3]Larsen-Freeman, D. and Long, M. An Introduction to Second Language Acquisition Research [M]. Beijing:Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 2000.
[4]Madaus, G. F. The Influence of Testing on the Curriculum [A]. In Tanner, L N. Critical Issues in Curriculum: Eighty-seventh Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education[C]. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988.
[5]牛强.现行高校英语测试中的问题[J].外语教学与研究,2001(2).