Title: CET Washback Effects on the Achievement Test of College English: A Study Based on the Analysis of the Finals of Ten Universities and Teacher Interviews

Abstract: This study investigates the washback effects of CET on the achievement test of college English, and it employs the end-term exams of 10 colleges or universities in Beijing and interviews of college English directors and lecturers. The results of the study demonstrate that the end-term exams of most colleges or universities do not include oral English test, but simply copy the CET in aspects of its test contents, question types, and the score weight; the end-term exams of key universities, however, are less impacted by using a variety of subjective question types to examine students’ comprehensive English competence; and the causes resulting in the above distinctions can be partly attributed to the lack of language assessment literacy of college English directors and teachers. Hence, a number of measures, such as accelerating the end-term exam reform, introducing the oral English test and increasing its score weight in the end-term exam, and conducting college English teachers’ training of language assessment literacy, should be adopted to upgrade and innovate current college English teaching assessment practice.

Keywords: college English, CET, achievement test, end-term exam, washback effects

Author: Lianzhong Dong, Professor, Foreign Language Teaching Department, China University of Labor Relations, Beijing, China.