This thesis examines the impact of the high-stakes International English Language Testing System (IELTS) across different stakeholders in Pakistan, and on Pakistani education, society and economy more broadly. The global profile of IELTS means that washback and impact studies (both comparative and country-specific) are now increasingly carried out by Cambridge ESOL (Hawkey, 2006; Moore et al., 2012). These are undertaken not simply with a view to improving the test, but with a view to investigating how it is used and perceived. In Pakistan, as elsewhere, IELTS has assumed great significance on account of its gate-keeping function in emigration, higher education abroad and professional registration. Demand and candidature grow daily. However, specific conditions that pertain in Pakistan, mainly political instability, and major disparities in wealth and development, have a particular effect on the role of IELTS in the country. The current impact study employs a sequential exploratory concurrent embedded mixed methods design to assess the impact. Phase 1 is a preliminary survey of 20 IELTS preparation institutes, followed by an in-depth qualitative study of two IELTS preparation centres. The qualitative study employs classroom observations, semistructured interviews with teachers (N=2), informal conversational interviews with test-preparers (N=20), and pre- and post-study testing to assess the efficacy of IELTS preparation. Phase 2 analyses questionnaires from a further ten preparation centres. Respondents comprised 200 IELTS test-preparers, 100 IELTS test-takers and 10 IELTS preparation teachers. The survey was supplemented by a focus group with four test-preparers and semi-structured interviews with five employers and five parents. The initial survey of the private English Language Teaching industry in Pakistan showed a radical expansion of IELTS preparation courses. Yet the in-depth study of two specific centres showed that the courses are not effective in improving the scores of students. Courses, although relatively expensive, are very short and most testpreparers enter them with lower English proficiency than is appropriate for IELTS. Questionnaires and interviews showed that IELTS test-preparers and test-takers are primarily motivated to take the test for emigration and study abroad. The test preparers have high expectations from the course regarding improvement of their English proficiency which are generally not met. Disappointed test-takers hold some beliefs that their IELTS course and test will be of benefit to them in Pakistan. Although English ability is always considered as part of recruitment, employers interviewed for this project confirmed that an IELTS certificate is never explicitly required. It is likely that the local uses of IELTS that are emerging in Pakistan are much more indirect. I argue that because public education is not meeting the demand for English, IELTS is now perceived as a route of English education and general certification, and a badge of middle class status if not actual material gain. These findings have implications for both providers of state education in Pakistan, and providers of the IELTS test (Cambridge ESOL). The former needs to address the lack of publicly funded English education and English qualifications; and the latter needs to consider whether IELTS is appropriate for large numbers of low proficiency candidates, and for purposes other than admission to universities abroad and immigration.

Studies have shown that language tests can and often do have powerful influences on teaching, learning, and the creation and dissemination of educational materials, such as textbooks, in addition to the formation and implementation of language education policies (Au, 2007; Alderson & Wall, 1993; Bailey, 1996, 1999; Cheng, 2008). While the literature provides evidence for this influence, collectively described as ‘impact’, or more specifically, ‘washback’, the form and intensity in which it occurs differ greatly across contexts, due to the dynamic and complex nature of washback phenomena. This case study investigated the washback effects of an English language speaking test, the GMATE (General Multimedia Assisted Test of English), used as an exit examination in a large university in Seoul, South Korea. Developed from the Washback Hypotheses (Alderson & Wall, 1993, p.120-121), there were two main research questions answered through this study: 1) What are the perceived washback effects of the GMATE on teachers’ teaching? 2) What are the perceived washback effects of the GMATE on students’ studying? To answer these and related sub-questions, a mixed-methods approach was taken, including questionnaires, interviews, and classroom observations. This provided a clear picture of what was occurring in this particular context, while offering a voice to the 459 students and 17 teachers who participated in the study. The findings of this study showed that the GMATE indeed had washback effects on the teachers and student participants, and that these effects varied depending on students’ proficiency level, year in school, and term of study. Furthermore, these results supported the notion that washback is highly contextual (Cheng et al., 2014; Cheng, Sun, & Ma, 2015; Cheng, Watanabe, & Curtis, 2004), as this thesis highlighted the importance of bearing in mind sociocultural factors that may contribute to washback effects in this and other unique research contexts.

No description available.

Washback is a concept commonly used in applied linguistics to refer to the influence of testing on teaching and learning. The purpose of this study was to investigate the washback effect of a new system of English language speaking assessment in Sri Lanka. The new assessment was introduced with the intention of promoting the teaching and learning of English speaking skills in schools as part of a Presidential educational initiative called the English as a Life Skill Programme. The study examined the washback effect of the introduction of speaking assessments at both National and school levels from the perspectives of participants at three levels of the education system: the decision making level, intervening level (teacher trainers and in-service advisors), and implementing level (teachers and students). For this purpose, a mixed methods research approach was employed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants at the decision making level and intervening level to examine whether there were any important gaps in translating policy intentions to the implementing level participants (teachers and students). A questionnaire survey was conducted with teachers and students to investigate their perceptions of the assessment change and its effects on teaching and learning speaking in the classroom. Classroom observations were conducted to gain insights into actual classroom practices in relation to teaching and learning speaking, along with follow-up interviews to seek teachers’ accounts of their classroom practices. The study found that the assessment change did influence teachers’ and students’ perceptions of teaching and learning speaking in the classroom, as well as teachers’ instructional practices. Therefore, some of the policymakers’ intended aims were achieved. However, the intensity and direction of washback were shown to be influenced by several mediating factors such as teachers’ training and contextual factors such as the availability of classroom resources. The findings of this study suggest that assessment reforms can be used to promote change both in what is taught in the classroom and how it is taught, but to different degrees. The study indicated that washback does occur in this context, but it operates in a complex manner associated with many other variables besides the assessment itself. The findings of this study have implications for the improvement of future assessment policies in Sri Lanka, highlighting the importance of timely implementation of reforms and of monitoring them. The findings suggest that it is especially important to listen to key stakeholders’ (teachers’ and students’) voices in the initial planning and feasibility study phases of reform.

Vi som har skrivit det här examensarbetet har gjort en intervjustudie med fyra engelsklärare på gymnasiet och fyra lärare i matematik på högstadiet. Det vi ville undersöka är vilken inverkan dessa lärare upplever att de nationella proven i engelska och matematik har på deras planering och genomförande av undervisningen under kursen respektive läsåret. Eftersom vår metod har varit kvalitativ med semistrukturerade intervjuer, valde vi att analysera våra resultat med hjälp av fenomenografisk teori. Utifrån våra intervjusvar kunde vi urskilja fem kategorier. Dessa kategorier var att de nationella proven ger extra stress för eleverna, den andra att de tar en hel del tid från lärarna både vid planering, genomförande och efterarbete, t.ex. rättning. Vidare fann vi som en tredje kategori att lärarna såg en fördel med proven i och med att de får en bekräftelse på den kunskapsnivå de redan sett hos eleven. Det framkom även som en fjärde kategori att lärarna vi intervjuade tränar och förbereder eleverna på de nationella proven, dock på olika sätt, och som den femte kategorin att efterarbetet ser olika ut, där lärarna oftast försöker hinna med någon sista komplettering. Vi reflekterade över hur likvärdiga resultaten av nationella proven egentligen blir med tanke på hur det varierar i de olika lärarnas sätt att förbereda och träna eleverna till de nationella proven.

De senaste åren har det skett en stor ökning i andelen lärare som upplever att nationella prov påverkar undervisningen och den grupp som upplever störst påverkan är svensklärarna. Närundervisningen påverkas av ett prov kallas detta för washback. Syftet med den här studien är att undersöka i vilken omfattning svensklärare på gymnasiet upplever att nationella prov i skriftlig framställning påverkar undervisningen och vilka washbackeffekter som kan urskiljas. För att nå syftet genomförs halvstrukturerade kvalitativa intervjuer med fem yrkesverksammasvensklärare på gymnasiet. Resultatet visar att skrivproven påverkar undervisningen, men att graden av upplevd påverkan och inställningen till detta varierar. I lärarnas beskrivningar urskiljs både positiva och negativa washbackeffekter av skrivprov, men det finns tecken på att de negativa effekterna är mer omfattande. Slutsatser som dras är att skrivproven har ett inflytande på undervisningen inom svenskämnet och därmed även utformningen av det, men att det inte verkar finnas någon större risk för att undervisningen planeras utifrån proven istället för respektive kursplan. En medvetenhet om provens effekter är en förutsättning för att nå positiva washbackeffekter som främjar både lärare och elever, exempelvis ökad likvärdighet.

The aim of this thesis is to ascertain whether and to what extent English language lessons at Czech secondary schools are affected by the so-called washback effect related to the final leaving examination ("maturita"), and to attempt to define how this potential negative impact may be minimized. The washback effect phenomenon occurs when a (language) course is concluded by a final examination, and describes how such an examination influences the actual curriculum, the instruction as such, and all the participants. Applied linguistics offers a number of both theoretical and empirical studies conducted worldwide which focus on the particular aspects of the washback effect occurring during language examinations. This thesis strives to follow up on the findings of these empirical studies and apply them to the current centralised Czech form of the English "maturita" examination. The thesis was initially inspired by students' observations during English lessons at a Czech grammar school, which were a part of pedagogical education at the Faculty of Arts of the Charles University. After establishing the focus of the paper, preliminary research in the form of semi- structured interviews with four students in the final grades at Prague grammar schools was conducted. While this pre-research study allowed only...

Uppsatsens syfte är att redogöra för forskningens syn på det nationella skrivprovet inom ämnet svenska. Utifrån ett psykometriskt perspektiv, med inriktning på konstrukt, bedömning och användning, belyser uppsatsen potentiella problembilder med standardiserade prov inom en svensk, norsk och amerikansk kontext. Provet innehar en normerande ställning inom svensk utbildning, där det agerar rättesnöre över vad som utgör goda och mindre goda elevtexter. Forskningen visar också på den svårighet som existerar gällande provets interbedömarreliabilitet, där olika examinatorer bedömer proven olika. Vidare påverkar provet undervisningen, där dess genrepedagogiska utgångspunkt leder till en tanke om progression, där texttyper hierarkiseras. Lärarna upplever att provet är tidskrävande och att de ofta arbetar förberedande med eleverna. Detta leder till att eleverna undervisas i att hantera provsituationen, snarare än att de undervisas i skrivande, något som är problematiskt utifrån aspekter av reliabilitet. Vidare innebär provets normerande ställning att undervisningen anpassas efter de förmågor som provet avser att mäta, vilket resulterar i att eleverna får ta del av en begränsad läroplan. Undersökningen visar på den diskrepans som tycks existera mellan provets olika syften, där det råder en oklarhet i om provet kan fungera som ett komparativt utvärderingsverktyg samtidigt som det är ett utvecklingsverktyg för att främja elevernas skrivande. Frågan är om det är möjligt att skapa ett skrivprov där dessa syften harmoniserar med varandra?

Orientador: Matilde Virginia Ricardi Scaramucci / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-08T02:44:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Retorta_MiriamSester_D.pdf: 14612163 bytes, checksum: f7fefea3ecb78986aa1456e541123b87 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007 / Resumo: Este trabalho visa investigar se a prova de língua inglesa do vestibular da Universidade Federal do Paraná causa efeitos retroativos no ensino dessa língua, em escolas públicas e privadas de nível médio e cursos pré-vestibulares, e, em caso positivo, determinar quais são esses efeitos. Para atingir tais objetivos, foi desenvolvida uma pesquisa qualitativa interpretativista de cunho etnográfico, na qual puderam ser ouvidas diversas vozes da comunidade escolar: escolas públicas (urbanas e rurais) e particulares, bem como cursos pré-vestibulares (particulares e gratuitos). Na busca de multiperspectivas sobre o fenômeno, procurou-se escolher os cenários que levassem em conta a grande desigualdade social do país, e incluíssem, como participantes, a maioria dos stakeholders (pessoas ligadas ao fenômeno direta ou indiretamente) para, ao final, triangularem-se os dados coletados. Além de entrevistas dos participantes, aulas de professores também foram observadas. Os resultados deste estudo mostram que o efeito retroativo da prova de inglês do vestibular da UFPR não ocorre nas escolas públicas. O que direciona o ensino desses cenários são os livros didáticos que cada escola adota. No entanto, pudemos perceber a existência do efeito retroativo nos outros cenários ¿ escolas particulares e cursos pré-vestibulares ¿, ora exercendo efeitos positivos (motivação dos diretores e professores para buscar informações sobre o exame; motivação dos alunos para estudar mais a disciplina e passar no exame; direcionamento de ementas e construção de objetivos claros; incentivo ao ensino da leitura), ora negativos (estreitamento do currículo; ansiedade dos sujeitos dos cenários). Verificou-se também que o efeito retroativo ocorreu aí em intensidades diferentes, pois interferiram no fenômeno fatores como: informações que os professores tinham sobre o exame; concepções de língua, leitura e avaliação desses professores; nível de conhecimento de língua inglesa desses profissionais; cobrança dos diretores e do grupo social (os pais e alunos); chances de aprovação, dentre outros. O que direcionou o ensino desses cenários foi o programa oficial do exame de vestibular da UFPR. Este estudo oferece contribuições teóricas ao proporcionar melhor entendimento do conceito efeito retroativo; contribuições metodológicas, por seu desenho investigativo inovador e abrangente; e, finalmente, contribuições práticas, enquanto um conjunto de subsídios para o ensino e avaliação de língua inglesa no ensino médio / Abstract: The objective of this thesis is to investigate if the English test of the University Entrance Examination of UFPR sets off the washback effect in the teaching/learning of the language in public and private high schools as well as cramming courses and, if so, what effects were they. In order to meet these objectives a qualitative interpretativist investigation was conducted in which various voices of the school community were heard such as the participants of public schools (urban and rural), the private schools and the cramming courses (private and free ones). Since there was an intention of having a multiperspective of the phenomenon, the scenarios were chosen because of the great social inequalities of this country and, therefore, many stakeholders (participants who were directly or indirectly involved in the phenomenon) were selected to be interviewed. The data was triangulated, analyzed and discussed. Besides the interview, class observations were included. The results of this study show that there was no washback effect of the English test of the University Entrance Examination of UFPR in public schools. What helped set the teaching goals of the discipline were the contents suggested in the didactic books adopted in each school. In the other scenarios, the washback effect was observed. The positive effects were the motivation of the directors and teachers to search for information about the test; motivation of the students to study harder to pass the test; the test was used to set clear teaching objectives and reading began to be taught. The negative effects were: anxiety of the participants of some scenarios and curriculum narrowing. Different intensities of the washback effect were observed because there were other factors which interfered in the phenomenon such as information teachers had about the test, their concept of language, reading and evaluation, their knowledge of the English language, the directors demanding for the teachers¿ best, the social group (parents and students) demanding for the teachers¿ best and the chances the students had in being approved, among others. The official program of the test was used to guide the teaching/learning of these scenarios. This study offers a theoretical contribution when it helps us understand a bit more about the washback effect; methodological contribution due to the research design which is innovative and broad and, finally, a practical contribution because it intends to offer a set of information which can give support to the teaching and evaluation of the English discipline in high schools / Doutorado / Lingua Estrangeira / Doutor em Linguística Aplicada

The evolving nature of education emphasizes the importance of fostering 21st-century skills. To align with the requirements of the contemporary era, Uzbekistan introduced its new competency based National Curriculum, highlighting the development of 21st century skills. Despite the National Curriculum's emphasis on contemporary skills, a gap persists due to the exam-focused education system in Uzbekistan, with university entrance exams largely dictating classroom practices. This qualitative study, through students’ lenses and experiences, aims to explore how preparation for these exams, particularly in English, aligns with the goals of National Curriculum. Washback, defined as the influence of tests on teaching and learning, has been utilized as the study’s conceptual framework. Reflexive thematic analysis has been employed as the method for data analysis. The participants include first-year public university students in Uzbekistan. The findings revealed a multifaceted, complex and context-specific nature of washback. Key observations include a negative washback effect of high stakes public university entrance exams, leading to the prioritization of exam subjects at the expense of holistic education, a misalignment between English instruction and the curriculum, high-stakes entrance exam induced stress, and broader educational context factors, such as lack of teacher qualification and competence, low teacher salary, contributing to poor quality education. The study also highlights the crucial role of private tutoring in preparing for higher education and the emergence of unethical practices in schools. While the exams fostered certain 21st-century skills in students, an overemphasis on rote memorization limits deeper cognitive competencies. Positive washback is observed in lyceum education and among students preparing for the IELTS exam - an alternative pathway to fulfill the English language requirement for public HE, advocating for measurement-driven instruction and comprehensive language skill development. The study concludes that positive changes in Uzbekistan’s public university admission system could be achieved through a more holistic assessment of students’ skills and competencies and measurement-driven approach to education. The study recommends incorporating students' school performance as an admission criterion, offering a more comprehensive assessment of their abilities and knowledge.