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【Abstract】 The purpose of the present paper is to provide a relatively comprehensive summary of the current state of knowledge in the area of IELTS washback based on the accessible literature.
【Key words】 washback; IELTS; literature review
【基金项目】 *本研究是研究项目"反拨的国际英语语言测试系统（雅思）英语语言教学和学习在中国"由湖北省教育厅（No.2009186)
Due to its highly recognized reputation and growing candidature worldwide, IELTS (the International English Language Testing System) washback has recently caught international attention. Washback of IELTS on language teaching and learning, however, has not been well established in the literature, based on the research done by the writer, and there is very little practical and empirical research touching the systemic research of IELTS washback in any degree of detail.
Generally, studies on washback all over the world have been conducted within the following three main categories:
1) the working mechanisms of washback;
2) the nature of washback;
3) to foster positive washback whereas inhibit negative washback (Liu, 2007)
The Concept of Washback
As washback is the central theme of this paper, a good way to start is to clarify the definition or notion of the term "washback".
In recent years, a growing number of articles, research papers and preliminary reports on language testing have contributed a greater understanding of washback as a linguistic term. According to Spratt (2005), the term "washback", is used in the literature with various meanings, which reveal differences in scope, actor and intentionality. Then, what is "washback" in academic sense? A relatively comprehensive statement in Buck's (1988) influential paper on testing listening comprehension might help interpret the concept of washback:
There is a natural tendency for both teachers and students to tailor their classroom activities to the demands of the test, especially when the test is very important to the future of the students, and pass rates are used as a measure of teacher success. This influence of the test on the classroom (referred to as washback by language testers) is, of course, very important; this washback effect can be either beneficial or harmful (p. 17).
According to Bailey's (1996) research, definitions of washback vary from people to people writing about it. The researcher provides a chronological list of some influential definitions from her own perspective and summarizes briefly that although washback is widely accepted to exist, "there are some discrepancies in how it has been defined (and even in what it is called)" (p. 278).
Wall (1996), in an acclaimed paper regarding language testing, distinguishes "washback" and "impact", two interchangeable terms used widely in the language testing field, by suggesting that the former is "used to refer to the effects of tests on teaching and learning", whereas the latter refers to "any of the effects that tests may have on individuals, policies or practices, within the classroom, the school, the educational system, or society as a whole".
Some ten years later, in 2007, Green, whose study contributes similar evidence, notes that in the applied linguistics literature the ways in which test format affects language teaching and learning are termed washback although other terms, like impact, influence, effect and consequence are interchangeable ones commonly and widely used with this sense in general education (p 76).
So, there is clarification that definitions of washback range from simple and straight-forward, focusing on teachers and learners in classroom settings, to very complex including references to tests' influence on society, educational systems and individuals, believing that test impact operates at both micro and macro levels. It is safe, though, to conclude that washback is a complex phenomenon and Zheng's (2007) summary in the thesis for her master degree, based on a thorough review of related literature, should contribute to the conceptualization and understanding of washback:
1. Washback on teaching and learning is multi-aspects.
2. Washback has been found both positive and negative.
3. Washback can vary in strength in different areas of teaching and learning.
In a word, the literature, somewhat contradictory or controversial though, shows that washback has its multifaceted nature and is a double-edged sword.
Current Research on the Issue of IELTS Washback in General
Since 1995, the three partners, the British Council, IELTS Australia and Cambridge ESOL, have made 16 rounds of annual grant funding for IELTS-related projects to be conducted. Over the past three decades, external studies together with the internal validation and research studies conducted or commissioned by these three partners have contributed significantly to the on going development of IELTS as an international testing system. All the funded studies have been reported in its periodically published Volumes, the IELTS Research Reports. Among all 16 rounds of the joint-funded research program, studies exploring issues of washback have contributed greatly to the current research of IELTS washback
Among those studies the following three are influential studies as well worth mentioning. The first one is Hawkey's article, "Impact Theory and Practice: Studies of the IELTS Test and Progetto Lingue 2000". The study compared two recent case studies to investigate washback in specific educational contexts and offered an all-sided discussion of washback issues in regard to language teaching reform and language testing through detailed and actual case study examples.
Another representative study is, "Washback to learning outcomes: a comparative study of IELTS preparation and university pre-sectional language courses", conducted by Green (2007). The aim of the observational study, focusing on IELTS writing, conducted in the context of IELTS preparation in the UK with a sample of 663 students, was to investigate whether test preparation classes helped in improving learners' writing test scores and it found that "relatively narrow test preparation is no more effective in boosting test scores than teaching the targeted skills".
The last but by no means the least important study is, "IELTS speaking test preparation in the People's Republic of China: Communicative approaches and rote-memorization" written by Bialy (2003). Although this is an unpublished MA thesis, Bialy's research tries to show that a communicative approach to IELTS Speaking Test preparation is more effective than training by means of rote memorization, a typical, traditional, and still prevalent way of learning in China. To achieve this, the author discussed "the challenges, pitfalls, and moral implications of implementing communicative syllabuses in a nation entrenched in Confucian ideology". Although limitations exist as the researcher acknowledged, characteristics such as choosing Chinese subjects as proof of the outcome, presenting the philosophy of Chinese education and culture from a foreigner's perspective, and the first IELTS study of its kind in the Chinese context etc. have made the preliminary research unique and valuable.
While all of the studies presented so far have been conducted from very different perspectives and in very different contexts, it is obvious that investigation or studies related to IELTS are limited to individual cases of test-directed training courses and the size of samples is always small because IELTS preparation courses are often provided by small, private institutions and always involve small numbers of learners. Hence, the research into the issue of IELTS washback seems rather superficial or empirical, lacking in depth or thoroughness, to which quite a few researchers' papers (Bialy 2003; Gan 2009; Green 2007; and Issitt 2008) show the same concern. However, although the studies mentioned above are in different contexts, it is safe to conclude that all of them have helped fill the gap in the literature in respect of IELTS washback.
According to the definition given by Madaus (1988), professor of educational testing and public policy at Boston College, high-stakes examinations refer to those tests which are believed to bring about important consequences to test-takers and other people concerned. IELTS has no doubt an internationally recognized high-stakes test adopted throughout the world. The testing concept of IELTS and its washback in different contexts have therefore become the focus of language testing accordingly. Due to the short history of washback research, only several decades since 1950s, it is quite understandable that there have been few theoretical or empirical studies related to washback, let alone IELTS washback, still at the preliminary study stage.
Washback of IELTS on English Language Teachers
It is well acknowledged that there exists a set of interrelationships, intended and/or unintended, beneficial and/or harmful, among language testing, teaching and learning. Among all the IELTS test stakeholders, Language teachers are the most visible participants as Bailey (1999) states that taking essential roles in language programs, teachers are the "front-line" conduits for the washback processes related to instruction (p. 17). According to Alderson and Wall (1993), a test will, to some extent, influence teaching in terms of the content and way of teaching; the rate and sequence of teaching; the degree and depth of teaching; and teachers' attitudes to the content, method, etc. of teaching (p. 120-121). A variety of empirical studies from various perspectives have been conducted in a wide range of contexts since Alderson and Wall posted their influential hypotheses.
Liu (2007) summarizes five important studies recently conducted in Sri Lanka, the U.S.A, Israel, Japan and Canada respectively. The main findings from the five studies reveal a fact that different tests may exert different amounts and types of washback on individual teachers in different contexts, and "teachers are the most frequently studied of all the participants in the washback process" (Bailey, 2007).
The thought-provoking findings of those five influential studies, one of them actually cited as a landmark study in the investigation of washback, together with other empirical research, contribute greatly to, and serve as hooks as well for extending our understanding of how tests influence teaching. Although some findings are, to some extent, contradictory, confusing or controversial and therefore needs disambiguating, the proposed hypotheses and models, attempting to identify and illustrate the working mechanism of washback impact, have helped make clear the strength of the efforts of present day researchers.
Washback of IELTS on Test Takers
According to Bachman and Palmer (1996), test takers can be affected by "the experience of test taking", "the feedback they receive about their performance on the test" and "the decisions that may be made about them on the basis of their test scores"(p. 31). Up to now, however, there has been a lack of research focusing directly on the washback of IELTS on its test takers in different contexts, let alone in China, since the notion of washback has been discussed for about three decades only, and most preliminary research studies are just works in progress rather than final studies. Hopefully, global research into the issue of washback from different perspectives in general could provide some useful directions for Chinese scholars, educators, and teachers who are interested in identifying washback of IELTS on English teaching and learning in Chinese context. Alderson and Wall's well-known washback hypotheses, for instance, could be used to guide related research working out contents, methods, pace and attitudes towards teaching.
Recommendations
IELTS now is regarded as a widely recognized language proficiency testing system, and the number of Chinese candidates has been increasing sharply since the test was introduced to China two decades ago. Since 2001, the writer has been teaching IELTS and witnessed the development of IELTS from an unknown English test to an international testing system of proven credibility and effectiveness. It is believed from teaching experience that IELTS' success as an international language testing system itself could give us some enlightenment. Particularly, as a language teacher, the intent is to find out if there exists any backwash effect of IELTS on our College English Teaching, and if there is, then what the effect is.
Generally, studies on washback all over the world have been conducted within the following three main categories: the working mechanisms of washback; the nature of washback; and strategies for fostering positive or beneficial washback and inhibiting negative or harmful washback (Liu, 2007). In China, however, the importance of washback, the washback of IELTS on language teaching and learning in Chinese context in particular, has not been well established in the literature, based on the research down by the writer, and there is very little practical and empirical research touching the systemic research of IELTS washback in any degree of detail.
Research into the issue of IELTS washback on learning should be given priority as the writer strongly agrees with Bailey (1999) that to sort out the students from the other stakeholders is worthwhile as the washback inserts direct influence on their learning (or non-learning), while the influences on other stakeholders will only affect efforts to promote language learning (p. 12). It would be very beneficial if fruitful investigation related to the washback of IELTS could be conducted to work out in what way and/or to what extent the IELTS test influences its takers' motivation to learn English and to improve their English language competency.
Then, as it is assumed and acknowledged that teachers play a crucial role in determining types and intensity of washback, preliminary research based on what actually happens in (IELTS preparation) classes is desperately needed to explore and prove how and to what extent this is the case, and to what extent the IELTS test, a prestigious, international testing system, may influence teachers' attitude towards competency-based tests, their philosophy of education, and their performance of teaching.
As the bulk of the IELTS test takers, according to related research, are students, college students in particular, it would be a significant undertaking to investigate the washback of this international test to the English language teaching and learning of this particular group. The overall performance of Chinese IELTS test takers should certainly provide valuable insights into status quo of language teaching and learning in Chinese context, and the findings of related research should shed light on today's College English teaching and learning in China.
Chinese policy makers could borrow the successful experience from IELTS, one of the most internationally recognized high-intakes tests, to improve the effectiveness of its own national testing system. The College English Test (CET), aiming at an objective assessment of English proficiency of Chinese college students on the one hand, and an effective feedback for college teachers to improve their classroom teaching on the other hand, administered by the Ministry of Education of China, was launched in 1987 and has been adopted nationally to measure college graduates' English language proficiency since then, has been blamed recently strongly for only encouraging test-oriented rather than competency-based teaching and learning throughout China. The ongoing development of IELTS to be a prestigious language testing system, still undergoing a series of evolutionary stages to guarantee its validity and reliability, should provide some valuable enlightenment to Chinese language policy makers. As the most successful English language testing system, IELTS might provide some valuable feedback on Chinese current practice of English language teaching and learning from a different global perspective.
【References】
［1］ Alderson, J. C., & Wall, D. (1993). Does was back exist? Applied Linguistics, 14(2), 115-129.
［2］ Bachman, L. F., & Palmer, A. S. (1996). Language Testing in Practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
［3］ Bailey, M. K. (1996). Working for washback: A review of the washback concept in language testing. Language Testing, 13(3), 257-279.
［4］ Bialy, M. J. (2003). IELTS Speaking Test Preparation in the People's Republic of China: Communicative Approaches and rote-memorization compared. Unpublished master's thesis, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom.
［5］ Buck, G. (1988). Testing listening comprehension in Japanese university entrance examinations. JALT Journal, 10, 12-42.(转下页)
【Key words】 washback; IELTS; literature review
【基金项目】 *本研究是研究项目"反拨的国际英语语言测试系统（雅思）英语语言教学和学习在中国"由湖北省教育厅（No.2009186)
Due to its highly recognized reputation and growing candidature worldwide, IELTS (the International English Language Testing System) washback has recently caught international attention. Washback of IELTS on language teaching and learning, however, has not been well established in the literature, based on the research done by the writer, and there is very little practical and empirical research touching the systemic research of IELTS washback in any degree of detail.
Generally, studies on washback all over the world have been conducted within the following three main categories:
1) the working mechanisms of washback;
2) the nature of washback;
3) to foster positive washback whereas inhibit negative washback (Liu, 2007)
The Concept of Washback
As washback is the central theme of this paper, a good way to start is to clarify the definition or notion of the term "washback".
In recent years, a growing number of articles, research papers and preliminary reports on language testing have contributed a greater understanding of washback as a linguistic term. According to Spratt (2005), the term "washback", is used in the literature with various meanings, which reveal differences in scope, actor and intentionality. Then, what is "washback" in academic sense? A relatively comprehensive statement in Buck's (1988) influential paper on testing listening comprehension might help interpret the concept of washback:
There is a natural tendency for both teachers and students to tailor their classroom activities to the demands of the test, especially when the test is very important to the future of the students, and pass rates are used as a measure of teacher success. This influence of the test on the classroom (referred to as washback by language testers) is, of course, very important; this washback effect can be either beneficial or harmful (p. 17).
According to Bailey's (1996) research, definitions of washback vary from people to people writing about it. The researcher provides a chronological list of some influential definitions from her own perspective and summarizes briefly that although washback is widely accepted to exist, "there are some discrepancies in how it has been defined (and even in what it is called)" (p. 278).
Wall (1996), in an acclaimed paper regarding language testing, distinguishes "washback" and "impact", two interchangeable terms used widely in the language testing field, by suggesting that the former is "used to refer to the effects of tests on teaching and learning", whereas the latter refers to "any of the effects that tests may have on individuals, policies or practices, within the classroom, the school, the educational system, or society as a whole".
Some ten years later, in 2007, Green, whose study contributes similar evidence, notes that in the applied linguistics literature the ways in which test format affects language teaching and learning are termed washback although other terms, like impact, influence, effect and consequence are interchangeable ones commonly and widely used with this sense in general education (p 76).
So, there is clarification that definitions of washback range from simple and straight-forward, focusing on teachers and learners in classroom settings, to very complex including references to tests' influence on society, educational systems and individuals, believing that test impact operates at both micro and macro levels. It is safe, though, to conclude that washback is a complex phenomenon and Zheng's (2007) summary in the thesis for her master degree, based on a thorough review of related literature, should contribute to the conceptualization and understanding of washback:
1. Washback on teaching and learning is multi-aspects.
2. Washback has been found both positive and negative.
3. Washback can vary in strength in different areas of teaching and learning.
In a word, the literature, somewhat contradictory or controversial though, shows that washback has its multifaceted nature and is a double-edged sword.
Current Research on the Issue of IELTS Washback in General
Since 1995, the three partners, the British Council, IELTS Australia and Cambridge ESOL, have made 16 rounds of annual grant funding for IELTS-related projects to be conducted. Over the past three decades, external studies together with the internal validation and research studies conducted or commissioned by these three partners have contributed significantly to the on going development of IELTS as an international testing system. All the funded studies have been reported in its periodically published Volumes, the IELTS Research Reports. Among all 16 rounds of the joint-funded research program, studies exploring issues of washback have contributed greatly to the current research of IELTS washback
Among those studies the following three are influential studies as well worth mentioning. The first one is Hawkey's article, "Impact Theory and Practice: Studies of the IELTS Test and Progetto Lingue 2000". The study compared two recent case studies to investigate washback in specific educational contexts and offered an all-sided discussion of washback issues in regard to language teaching reform and language testing through detailed and actual case study examples.
Another representative study is, "Washback to learning outcomes: a comparative study of IELTS preparation and university pre-sectional language courses", conducted by Green (2007). The aim of the observational study, focusing on IELTS writing, conducted in the context of IELTS preparation in the UK with a sample of 663 students, was to investigate whether test preparation classes helped in improving learners' writing test scores and it found that "relatively narrow test preparation is no more effective in boosting test scores than teaching the targeted skills".
The last but by no means the least important study is, "IELTS speaking test preparation in the People's Republic of China: Communicative approaches and rote-memorization" written by Bialy (2003). Although this is an unpublished MA thesis, Bialy's research tries to show that a communicative approach to IELTS Speaking Test preparation is more effective than training by means of rote memorization, a typical, traditional, and still prevalent way of learning in China. To achieve this, the author discussed "the challenges, pitfalls, and moral implications of implementing communicative syllabuses in a nation entrenched in Confucian ideology". Although limitations exist as the researcher acknowledged, characteristics such as choosing Chinese subjects as proof of the outcome, presenting the philosophy of Chinese education and culture from a foreigner's perspective, and the first IELTS study of its kind in the Chinese context etc. have made the preliminary research unique and valuable.
While all of the studies presented so far have been conducted from very different perspectives and in very different contexts, it is obvious that investigation or studies related to IELTS are limited to individual cases of test-directed training courses and the size of samples is always small because IELTS preparation courses are often provided by small, private institutions and always involve small numbers of learners. Hence, the research into the issue of IELTS washback seems rather superficial or empirical, lacking in depth or thoroughness, to which quite a few researchers' papers (Bialy 2003; Gan 2009; Green 2007; and Issitt 2008) show the same concern. However, although the studies mentioned above are in different contexts, it is safe to conclude that all of them have helped fill the gap in the literature in respect of IELTS washback.
According to the definition given by Madaus (1988), professor of educational testing and public policy at Boston College, high-stakes examinations refer to those tests which are believed to bring about important consequences to test-takers and other people concerned. IELTS has no doubt an internationally recognized high-stakes test adopted throughout the world. The testing concept of IELTS and its washback in different contexts have therefore become the focus of language testing accordingly. Due to the short history of washback research, only several decades since 1950s, it is quite understandable that there have been few theoretical or empirical studies related to washback, let alone IELTS washback, still at the preliminary study stage.
Washback of IELTS on English Language Teachers
It is well acknowledged that there exists a set of interrelationships, intended and/or unintended, beneficial and/or harmful, among language testing, teaching and learning. Among all the IELTS test stakeholders, Language teachers are the most visible participants as Bailey (1999) states that taking essential roles in language programs, teachers are the "front-line" conduits for the washback processes related to instruction (p. 17). According to Alderson and Wall (1993), a test will, to some extent, influence teaching in terms of the content and way of teaching; the rate and sequence of teaching; the degree and depth of teaching; and teachers' attitudes to the content, method, etc. of teaching (p. 120-121). A variety of empirical studies from various perspectives have been conducted in a wide range of contexts since Alderson and Wall posted their influential hypotheses.
Liu (2007) summarizes five important studies recently conducted in Sri Lanka, the U.S.A, Israel, Japan and Canada respectively. The main findings from the five studies reveal a fact that different tests may exert different amounts and types of washback on individual teachers in different contexts, and "teachers are the most frequently studied of all the participants in the washback process" (Bailey, 2007).
The thought-provoking findings of those five influential studies, one of them actually cited as a landmark study in the investigation of washback, together with other empirical research, contribute greatly to, and serve as hooks as well for extending our understanding of how tests influence teaching. Although some findings are, to some extent, contradictory, confusing or controversial and therefore needs disambiguating, the proposed hypotheses and models, attempting to identify and illustrate the working mechanism of washback impact, have helped make clear the strength of the efforts of present day researchers.
Washback of IELTS on Test Takers
According to Bachman and Palmer (1996), test takers can be affected by "the experience of test taking", "the feedback they receive about their performance on the test" and "the decisions that may be made about them on the basis of their test scores"(p. 31). Up to now, however, there has been a lack of research focusing directly on the washback of IELTS on its test takers in different contexts, let alone in China, since the notion of washback has been discussed for about three decades only, and most preliminary research studies are just works in progress rather than final studies. Hopefully, global research into the issue of washback from different perspectives in general could provide some useful directions for Chinese scholars, educators, and teachers who are interested in identifying washback of IELTS on English teaching and learning in Chinese context. Alderson and Wall's well-known washback hypotheses, for instance, could be used to guide related research working out contents, methods, pace and attitudes towards teaching.
Recommendations
IELTS now is regarded as a widely recognized language proficiency testing system, and the number of Chinese candidates has been increasing sharply since the test was introduced to China two decades ago. Since 2001, the writer has been teaching IELTS and witnessed the development of IELTS from an unknown English test to an international testing system of proven credibility and effectiveness. It is believed from teaching experience that IELTS' success as an international language testing system itself could give us some enlightenment. Particularly, as a language teacher, the intent is to find out if there exists any backwash effect of IELTS on our College English Teaching, and if there is, then what the effect is.
Generally, studies on washback all over the world have been conducted within the following three main categories: the working mechanisms of washback; the nature of washback; and strategies for fostering positive or beneficial washback and inhibiting negative or harmful washback (Liu, 2007). In China, however, the importance of washback, the washback of IELTS on language teaching and learning in Chinese context in particular, has not been well established in the literature, based on the research down by the writer, and there is very little practical and empirical research touching the systemic research of IELTS washback in any degree of detail.
Research into the issue of IELTS washback on learning should be given priority as the writer strongly agrees with Bailey (1999) that to sort out the students from the other stakeholders is worthwhile as the washback inserts direct influence on their learning (or non-learning), while the influences on other stakeholders will only affect efforts to promote language learning (p. 12). It would be very beneficial if fruitful investigation related to the washback of IELTS could be conducted to work out in what way and/or to what extent the IELTS test influences its takers' motivation to learn English and to improve their English language competency.
Then, as it is assumed and acknowledged that teachers play a crucial role in determining types and intensity of washback, preliminary research based on what actually happens in (IELTS preparation) classes is desperately needed to explore and prove how and to what extent this is the case, and to what extent the IELTS test, a prestigious, international testing system, may influence teachers' attitude towards competency-based tests, their philosophy of education, and their performance of teaching.
As the bulk of the IELTS test takers, according to related research, are students, college students in particular, it would be a significant undertaking to investigate the washback of this international test to the English language teaching and learning of this particular group. The overall performance of Chinese IELTS test takers should certainly provide valuable insights into status quo of language teaching and learning in Chinese context, and the findings of related research should shed light on today's College English teaching and learning in China.
Chinese policy makers could borrow the successful experience from IELTS, one of the most internationally recognized high-intakes tests, to improve the effectiveness of its own national testing system. The College English Test (CET), aiming at an objective assessment of English proficiency of Chinese college students on the one hand, and an effective feedback for college teachers to improve their classroom teaching on the other hand, administered by the Ministry of Education of China, was launched in 1987 and has been adopted nationally to measure college graduates' English language proficiency since then, has been blamed recently strongly for only encouraging test-oriented rather than competency-based teaching and learning throughout China. The ongoing development of IELTS to be a prestigious language testing system, still undergoing a series of evolutionary stages to guarantee its validity and reliability, should provide some valuable enlightenment to Chinese language policy makers. As the most successful English language testing system, IELTS might provide some valuable feedback on Chinese current practice of English language teaching and learning from a different global perspective.
【References】
［1］ Alderson, J. C., & Wall, D. (1993). Does was back exist? Applied Linguistics, 14(2), 115-129.
［2］ Bachman, L. F., & Palmer, A. S. (1996). Language Testing in Practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
［3］ Bailey, M. K. (1996). Working for washback: A review of the washback concept in language testing. Language Testing, 13(3), 257-279.
［4］ Bialy, M. J. (2003). IELTS Speaking Test Preparation in the People's Republic of China: Communicative Approaches and rote-memorization compared. Unpublished master's thesis, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom.
［5］ Buck, G. (1988). Testing listening comprehension in Japanese university entrance examinations. JALT Journal, 10, 12-42.(转下页)