A Study of the Washback Effects of the Elementary Level of theGeneral English Proficiency Test on EFL Teaching and Learning

• Main Authors: Ching-ling Huang, 黃晶鈴
• Other Authors: Tzu-fu Wang
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2007
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/77785438344056303952

碩士 === 國立雲林科技大學 === 應用外語系碩士班 === 95 === A Study of the Washback Effects of the Elementary Level General English Proficiency Test on EFL Teaching and Learning Graduate Student: Huang, Ching-Ling Advisor: Dr. Wang, Tzu-Fu Institute of Applied Foreign Languages National Yunlin University of Science & Technology ABSTRACT The purpose of this research is to explore the washback effects of the General English Proficiency Test (GEPT) on English-language teaching and learning in an EFL context. Moreover, it aims to investigate how the GEPT influences current English-language teaching and learning through a questionnaire and interview with English teachers and students. In the present study, convenience sampling was adopted and the participants were nine English teachers and 306 students chosen from nine junior high school classes in northern, central, and southern Taiwan. Among the nine English teachers, one was male and eight were female; all of them teach in public junior high schools. Moreover, among the 306 students, 165 were male and 141 female. 86 students had taken the GEPT before, whereas 220 students had not taken the test yet. What’s more, the approach to data collection was both quantitative and qualitative. On the one hand, the quantitative data were analyzed by descriptive statistics to present the mean, standard deviation, and percentage of the responses for each item. On the other hand, the qualitative data collected from the interview were transcribed and utilized as complementary opinions. The results of the study reveal that both positive and negative washback effects of the GEPT on EFL teaching and learning occur. First, when teachers select teaching materials, whether the materials contain the teaching of the four language skills is taken into consideration. Also, authentic materials with audio-visual aids correlating with students’ real daily lives are favored. Then, the teaching content include the impartation of learning strategies. Next, when it comes to teaching methods, teachers employ not only the Grammar Translation Method (GTM), but also Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) in class. Students’ communicative competence and interaction are emphasized. Aside from that, students admitted that they study harder than before. They were motivated to learn English and thus became autonomous learners. Moreover, students were aware of the significance of fostering the four language skills. Further, getting the GEPT certificate gave students a sense of achievement and gave them a competitive advantage when applying for senior high schools or finding a good job. Above all, the GEPT helps students do well on the Basic Competence Test (BCT) in an indirect way. By virtue of the discovered results, the present study will contribute to offer suggestions for current EFL teaching as well as for students’ learning in junior high schools in Taiwan. In conclusion, based on the research findings, the implementation of the GEPT has been gradually leading the EFL programs in junior high schools in Taiwan toward a communicative style of teaching and learning, which has correspondence with the objectives of CLT. The ultimate goal of English teaching is to cultivate learners’ communicative competence and to improve their English proficiency. With this in mind, students should not be treated as test-taking machines. Balanced development of the four skills in English teaching should be encouraged. By doing so, language learning can be comprehensive and complete. Ultimately, learners’ language competence can be improved.