TOEFL preparation courses: a study of washback | Semantic Scholar (2024)

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@article{Alderson1996TOEFLPC, title={TOEFL preparation courses: a study of washback}, author={J. Charles Alderson and Liz Hamp-Lyons}, journal={Language Testing}, year={1996}, volume={13}, pages={280 - 297}, url={https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:145166313}}
  • J. Alderson, L. Hamp-Lyons
  • Published 1 November 1996
  • Education, Linguistics
  • Language Testing

'Washback' (sometimes also known as 'backwash') is the influence that writers on language testing, syllabus design and language teaching believe a test will have on the teaching that precedes it. Much has been written about the influence of testing on teaching. To date, however, little empirical evidence is available to support the assertions of either positive or negative washback. The English proficiency test TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language: ETS) is among the best-known…

377 Citations

Highly Influential Citations

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177

Methods Citations

17

Results Citations

24

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377 Citations

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One consequence of test use in the English-language teaching community is the negative washback of tests on teaching and learning. Test preparation courses are often seen as part of the more general…

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Previous studies of washback (the influence of a test on teaching and learning) have provided insights into the complexity of educational systems and test use, especially in relation to the role of…

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Abstract: This study investigated the washback of the General English Proficiency Test on English learning in Taiwan. The research sites were the applied foreign language departments of a university…

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Findings indicated that teachers relied on the TOEFL textbooks to teach and practice test-taking strategies and beliefs shaped their teaching methods, and their different beliefs led to students’ varied attitudes toward the ToEFL class.

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The washback effect of TOEFL iBT and a local English Proficiency Exam on students' motivation, autonomy and language learning strategies
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Scholars have long recognized the Washback effect of English language tests on English teaching inside the classroom. However, the lack of scholarly reports in this area is also nonnegligible.…

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Washback, or the influence of testing on teaching and learning, has received considerable attention in language testing research over the past twenty years. It is widely argued that testing,…

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While much language testing research has elucidated washback’s meanings for test developers and teachers, no demonstrated method exists for integrating washback’s meanings for high-stakes tests’…

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20 References

Examining washback: the Sri Lankan Impact Study
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Language tests are frequently criticized for having negative impact on teaching — so-called 'negative washback'. Some writers believe that it is possible to bring about positive change in language…

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Meanings of Test Preparation
    M. Smith

    Education

  • 1991

From a qualitative study of the role of external testing in elementary schools, a typology of meanings of test preparation was constructed. Based on long-term, intensive observation and interaction…

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The Role of Testing in Elementary Schools.
    M. Smith

    Education

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The goal of this study was to understand the role that external testing plays in elementary schools. Focus was on uncovering teachers' beliefs about testing and preparing students to take tests, how…

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Does Washback Exist
    J. AldersonD. Wall

    Linguistics, Education

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The notion of 'washback' is common in the language teaching and testing literature, and tests are held to be powerful determiners of what happens in classrooms. This article explores the notion of…

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Put to the Test: The Effects of External Testing on Teachers
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    Education

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Evidence from an extensive qualitative study of the role of external testing in elementary schools led to propositions about the effects of such tests on teachers. Data from interviews revealed that…

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A Systems Approach to Educational Testing
    J. FrederiksenA. Collins

    Education, Computer Science

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The concept of systemically valid tests are introduced as ones that induce curricular and instructional changes in education systems (and learning strategy changes in students) that foster the development of the cognitive traits that the tests are designed to measure.

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The Elementary School Journal Volume 85, Number 3 ? 1985 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved. 001 3-5984/85/8503-0003$01 .00 State policies intended to improve education generally try…

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Raising Standardized Achievement Test Scores and the Origins of Test Score Pollution
    T. HaladynaS. NolenN. Haas

    Education, Economics

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In the current climate of dissatisfaction with public education, the standardized achievement test score has been the operational definition for educational-achievement, and raising test scores has…

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The real test bias: Influences of testing on teaching and learning.
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Methods for Improving Standardized Test Scores: Fruitful, Fruitless, or Fraudulent?
    W. A. MehrensJ. Kaminski

    Education

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You may be able to identify several ways students can be prepared to take an upcoming test, but which ways are ethical to use and what constitutes an ethically acceptable test preparation procedure?

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