Washback of an English achievement test on teachers’ perceptions at a Vietnamese university
Research on washback, i.e. test impacts on teaching and learning in class, of high-stake English tests is prevalent. Little attention has, however, been paid to washback of an English achievement test (EAT) albeit its highly practical significance including reporting and improving teacher effect...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
H. : ĐHQGHN
2020
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://repository.vnu.edu.vn/handle/VNU_123/89344 |
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| Institution: | Vietnam National University, Hanoi |
| Language: | English |
| Summary: | Research on washback, i.e. test impacts on teaching and learning in class, of high-stake
English tests is prevalent. Little attention has, however, been paid to washback of an English achievement
test (EAT) albeit its highly practical significance including reporting and improving teacher effectiveness
right in a programme in a specific context (El-Kafafi, 2012; Antineskul & Sheveleva, 2015). The present
paper aims to explore teachers’ perceptions of the teaching contents under the influence of an EAT which
steps up to an English Proficiency Test - PET (or B1 level equivalent) for university undergraduates in
Vietnam as required for graduation by Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training (MOET). The EAT,
mirroring the PET, was designed to expect positive washback in the course English 2. The research tools
were interviews with four teachers teaching the same English course. Each teacher was interviewed twice
at two different time points so that their temporal developmental cognition of the EAT could be recorded.
The findings revealed the heavy impact of the test on teachers’ perceptions of their teaching contents. Two
dominant points were (1) all the participants thought the course primarily served the EAT orientation,
particularly in the test format and the linguistic input, and (2) the teachers should strictly follow the textbook
as the major instructional source. There existed a mismatch between the university’s purpose of enhancing
the students’ communicative ability and the teachers’ perceptions. Differences in the teachers’ backgrounds
entailed their diverse perceptions. The study provides a reference case for the interested readers in and
beyond the researched context. |
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