Investigating the Washback Effect of Comprehensive Assessment Program Listening Test on EFL Instruction in Junior High Schools

Autor: CHUN-WEI FU, 傅淳偉
Rok vydání: 2018
Druh dokumentu: 學位論文 ; thesis
Popis: 107
The Basic Competence Test and Comprehensive Assessment Program have been researched for several years, but very few studies have focused on the incorporation of the CAP English listening assessment. The current study aims to explore the washback effects of incorporating English listening in the CAP on junior high school students and English teachers. Thirty English teachers and 298 students from the three public junior high schools in Keelung City, Taipei City, and New Taipei City were the participants of the present study. The two instruments in the study consisted of a questionnaire and an interview guide. The questionnaire was conducted to investigate the participants’ perceptions of the CAP reform and fairness of the English listening assessment, instructions and influence, and students’ learning activities and test preparation. A semi-structured interview was used to probe specific information of participants’ perceptions of the CAP reform, and their needs and suggestions. Results revealed that teachers and students had positive perceptions of the incorporation of the CAP listening assessment. Moreover, the CAP reform generated positive washback effects to the instructors. Most of them were willing to change their teaching approaches, arrange some teaching activities, or provide diverse learning materials if students need and class time allows. In addition, the results indicated that students’ English learning interests and learning motivation increased due to the incorporation of the English listening assessment, but it also generated negative washback effects for them. The participating students expressed that their high-school-entrance stress and test anxiety may increase. As for the suggestions, participants of both groups signified that they cared about the time for practicing listening and speaking, listening assessment of different accents, and better equipment. Moreover, because the inequality of educational resources still exists in Taiwan, most of the participants pointed out the difficulty and score evaluation of the CAP listening assessment should not be adjusted. The findings of the present study are expected to contribute to an understanding of the field of the washback effects of incorporating English listening in the CAP. Practical implications for enhancing pedagogy of EFL listening in junior high schools were further proposed.
Databáze: Networked Digital Library of Theses & Dissertations