写作测试对初中英语教学的反拨作用与教学启示
摘要
语言测试是对语言教学进行评估的一种重要手段,语言教学对其测试也具有极大的反拨作用力。语言测试要起到效果、达到目的,最基本的条件是必须对测试内容有正确的把握,而测试的内容必须与教学挂钩。语言测试和教学关系密切,它们不断地相互影响、相互作用。正因为如此,研究语言测试对教学的作用,即研究语言测试的反拨效应(backwash or washback),就成为教育学者、语言测试专家们、应用语言学家等共同关心的重点。
中学教育是中国学生接受教育的中间阶段,起着承上启下的重要作用。在中国,正式的英语教学主要也是从这一阶段开始的。在语言教学中,听、说、读、写是最基本的技能,只有当它们得以实现之后,语言的交际功能才能得以实现。其中听与读是对各种信息吸纳的方式;说与写则是对这些信息加以分析,对自己的有关见解进行表述的途径。但后两者之间又存在差异,“说”有着较大的随意性,“写”则是一个整理思维、组织思路、进行分析和比较的过程,因而更为严密、更为全面,它不单体现了作者的语言功底,也体现了作者的思想及文化素质、逻辑思维能力、思想深度等。可以说,写是听、说、读、写、译五种语言基本技能中最难获得的。熟练地写作是语言学习者必须经过长时间地学习,最后才能获得的技能。
为了响应这一切,2001年教育部制定了《全日制义务教育普通中学英语课程标准》,进一步深化对写作能力的正确认识,促进学生交际能力的培养,本文将从测试的反拨效应这一角度致力于初中英语写作测试的研究。主要研究对象是武汉市第六中学和武汉市第二中学选中的20位初中教师及随机抽取的180名初三学生。另外,为了使数据更全面、结论更有效,本文还将研究对象扩展到了高一年级,在武汉市第六中学和武汉市第二中学中学选中高一教师10位,随机抽取高一学生200名。以调查问卷和访谈作为研究手段,本文主要探索初中英语写作教学中存在的问题及初中英语写作测试的正、负面反拨效应,并基于严谨的数据提出一系列改进写作教学和测试的可行性建议。
根据研究,本文总结出学生写作学习中的主要问题有缺乏写作学习的兴趣和动力、语言基础知识不扎实。教师写作教学中的问题主要体现在教学方式和阅卷上。写作测试的问题主要体现在题目内容、写作要求的阐释、命题形式三点上。此外,本文发现初中英语写作测试对学生学习及教师教学确实存在反拨效应,既有正面的也有负面的,但是正面效应远远大于负面效应。同时,该测试对教师既有正面效应也有负面效应,正面效应仍然远远大于负面效应,但是正面效应的程度不大,都集中在“一定程度”的层面上。
根据上述研究结果,本文进一步结合了部分实例提出如何有效利用初中英语写作测试的正面反拨效应,竭力避免初中英语写作测试的负面反拨效应的可行方式,以求对初中英语教学和测试的发展有微薄的贡献。在教学方面,本文希望教师明确教学目标、用心地与学生交流、将写作与阅读、听力结合、写作与口语结合、加强语法教学、促进合作学习。在测试方面,本文希望题目内容生活化、题目要求灵活化、命题形式多样化。
Language testing is an important approach to evaluate the teaching. Meanwhile, the teaching will decide the basic contents of testing, or it will be ineffective. It is the close relationship between language testing and teaching that makes the washback of testing becomes the common interest of educators, linguists and testers.
The education in middle school is based on that in the preliminary school and will be the basis for that in high school and university. In China, the formal foreign language education is started from this stage. Obviously, it must be very crucial among a student's educational experience. In the teaching, teachers must focus on the four basic language skills, namely, listening, speaking, reading and writing. Among them, listening and reading are the major access to language input, while speaking and writing are to language output. Between the last two, writing is agreed to be the most difficult one to acquire and skillful writing must be trained by formal instruction and long-term practice.
In response to "The Standards of English Curriculum" prescribed by the Education Ministry and the urgent need to develop the communicative competence, the paper will be dedicated itself to the development of writing skills in middle school. By four questionnaires and interviews respectively to the teachers and students in two middle schools two high schools in Wu Han, it will conduct a research project about the problems in the learning and teaching of writing and the washback of the writing test in the high school entrance examination, aiming at proposing some feasible and effective suggestions for the further teaching and testing.
According to the data collected, it has been found that the major weak points facing students learning of wiring are the lack of interest and motivation, the unsolidified linguistic knowledge, the main shortcomings teachers have in their teaching is concerned with their teaching techniques and the evaluation of students' writing, and the problems in writing test are involved in the topic, the requirements and the presenting forms. In respect of the washback of writing test, it has been proved that these tests play washbacks in the learning and teaching. Both the positive and negative washbacks exist, but the positive are far more than the negative.
Based on these research results, the paper proposes some suggestions for the teaching and writing test in the middle schools, so as to expand the negative washbacks and eliminate the negative. For teachers, it strongly suggests that they should understand the teaching goal clearly, communicate with students openly, integrate writing with listening, reading and speaking, increase the instruction about grammar, and promote the cooperative study. For testers, they should relate the topic to students' daily life, reduce the writing limits, and diversify the presenting forms.
中学教育是中国学生接受教育的中间阶段,起着承上启下的重要作用。在中国,正式的英语教学主要也是从这一阶段开始的。在语言教学中,听、说、读、写是最基本的技能,只有当它们得以实现之后,语言的交际功能才能得以实现。其中听与读是对各种信息吸纳的方式;说与写则是对这些信息加以分析,对自己的有关见解进行表述的途径。但后两者之间又存在差异,“说”有着较大的随意性,“写”则是一个整理思维、组织思路、进行分析和比较的过程,因而更为严密、更为全面,它不单体现了作者的语言功底,也体现了作者的思想及文化素质、逻辑思维能力、思想深度等。可以说,写是听、说、读、写、译五种语言基本技能中最难获得的。熟练地写作是语言学习者必须经过长时间地学习,最后才能获得的技能。
为了响应这一切,2001年教育部制定了《全日制义务教育普通中学英语课程标准》,进一步深化对写作能力的正确认识,促进学生交际能力的培养,本文将从测试的反拨效应这一角度致力于初中英语写作测试的研究。主要研究对象是武汉市第六中学和武汉市第二中学选中的20位初中教师及随机抽取的180名初三学生。另外,为了使数据更全面、结论更有效,本文还将研究对象扩展到了高一年级,在武汉市第六中学和武汉市第二中学中学选中高一教师10位,随机抽取高一学生200名。以调查问卷和访谈作为研究手段,本文主要探索初中英语写作教学中存在的问题及初中英语写作测试的正、负面反拨效应,并基于严谨的数据提出一系列改进写作教学和测试的可行性建议。
根据研究,本文总结出学生写作学习中的主要问题有缺乏写作学习的兴趣和动力、语言基础知识不扎实。教师写作教学中的问题主要体现在教学方式和阅卷上。写作测试的问题主要体现在题目内容、写作要求的阐释、命题形式三点上。此外,本文发现初中英语写作测试对学生学习及教师教学确实存在反拨效应,既有正面的也有负面的,但是正面效应远远大于负面效应。同时,该测试对教师既有正面效应也有负面效应,正面效应仍然远远大于负面效应,但是正面效应的程度不大,都集中在“一定程度”的层面上。
根据上述研究结果,本文进一步结合了部分实例提出如何有效利用初中英语写作测试的正面反拨效应,竭力避免初中英语写作测试的负面反拨效应的可行方式,以求对初中英语教学和测试的发展有微薄的贡献。在教学方面,本文希望教师明确教学目标、用心地与学生交流、将写作与阅读、听力结合、写作与口语结合、加强语法教学、促进合作学习。在测试方面,本文希望题目内容生活化、题目要求灵活化、命题形式多样化。
Language testing is an important approach to evaluate the teaching. Meanwhile, the teaching will decide the basic contents of testing, or it will be ineffective. It is the close relationship between language testing and teaching that makes the washback of testing becomes the common interest of educators, linguists and testers.
The education in middle school is based on that in the preliminary school and will be the basis for that in high school and university. In China, the formal foreign language education is started from this stage. Obviously, it must be very crucial among a student's educational experience. In the teaching, teachers must focus on the four basic language skills, namely, listening, speaking, reading and writing. Among them, listening and reading are the major access to language input, while speaking and writing are to language output. Between the last two, writing is agreed to be the most difficult one to acquire and skillful writing must be trained by formal instruction and long-term practice.
In response to "The Standards of English Curriculum" prescribed by the Education Ministry and the urgent need to develop the communicative competence, the paper will be dedicated itself to the development of writing skills in middle school. By four questionnaires and interviews respectively to the teachers and students in two middle schools two high schools in Wu Han, it will conduct a research project about the problems in the learning and teaching of writing and the washback of the writing test in the high school entrance examination, aiming at proposing some feasible and effective suggestions for the further teaching and testing.
According to the data collected, it has been found that the major weak points facing students learning of wiring are the lack of interest and motivation, the unsolidified linguistic knowledge, the main shortcomings teachers have in their teaching is concerned with their teaching techniques and the evaluation of students' writing, and the problems in writing test are involved in the topic, the requirements and the presenting forms. In respect of the washback of writing test, it has been proved that these tests play washbacks in the learning and teaching. Both the positive and negative washbacks exist, but the positive are far more than the negative.
Based on these research results, the paper proposes some suggestions for the teaching and writing test in the middle schools, so as to expand the negative washbacks and eliminate the negative. For teachers, it strongly suggests that they should understand the teaching goal clearly, communicate with students openly, integrate writing with listening, reading and speaking, increase the instruction about grammar, and promote the cooperative study. For testers, they should relate the topic to students' daily life, reduce the writing limits, and diversify the presenting forms.
引文
Alderson,C.& Wall,D.Does washback exist?[J].Applied Linguistics,1993,14,(2):115-129.
Alderson,C.Foreword.Language Testing:Research Contents and Methods[C].Mahwah,NJ:Lawrence Erlbaum,2004.
Bachman,L.F.Fundamental Considerations in Language Testing[M].Oxford:Oxford University Press,1990.
Bachman,L.F.Modern Language Testing at the Turn of the Century:Assuring That We Count Counts.Language Testing,2000,17(1):1-42.
Cohen,A.D.Assessing Language Ability in Classroom(2nd ed.)[M].New York:Heinle and Heinle,1994.
Huges,A.Testing for Language Teachers[M].Cambridge:Cambridge Univesity Press,1989.
Messick,S.Validity and Washback in Language Testing[J].Language Testing,1996.
Prodromou,L.The Washback Effect:From Testing to Teaching[J].ELT 49/1:13-25
Rod Ellis.Understanding Second Language Acquisition[M].Shanghai:Shanghai Foreign Language Eduation Press,2005.
Schohamy E.Test Impact Revised:Washback Effect Over Time[J].Language Testing,1993.
Watanbe,Y.Does Grammer Translation Come from the Entrance Examination?Preliminary Findings from Classroom-based research[J].Language Testing,13/3:318-333.
陈坚林.现代英语教学组织与管理[M].上海:上海外语教育出版社,2000.
程静英.英语写作教学分析[J].外语教学与研究,1994,2.
戴军熔.中学英语写作初探[J].中小学英语教学,1998,10.
甘文平.CET-4作文题项失败现象初探[J].外语与外语教学,1998,5.
胡春洞.英语学习论[M].南宁:广西教育出版社,1996.
黄大勇,杨炳钧.语言测试反拨效应研究概述[J].外语教学与研究,2002,(4):288-93.
江坤才.教学模式与教育科研方法简介[M].江苏:无锡市教研中心,1998,7.
金艳.大学英语四、六级考试口语考试对教学的反驳作用[J].《外语界》,2000,4.
李筱菊.语言测试科学与艺术[M].湖南:湖南教育出版社,1997.
刘润清.外语教学中的科研方法[M].上海:外语教学与研究出版社,2007.
刘润清,韩宝成.英语测试和它的方法[M].北京:外语教学与研究出版社,1991.
刘焱.英语专业四级考试反驳作用研究[D].山东:山东师范大学,2005.
唐耀彩,彭金定.大学英语考试口语考试对英语学习的反驳作用[J].《外语界》,2004,(1).
武尊民.英语测试的理论与实践[M].上海:外语教学与研究出版社,2002.
王初明.《应用语言心理学》[M].湖南:湖南教育出版社,1990.
杨传普.外语教学中的“说”与“写”[J].外语与外语教学,1998,(3).
钟启泉等.普通高中新课程方案导读[M].上海:华东师范大学出版社,2003.
张在新,吴红云,王晓露,张俊香.“我国英语写作教学中的主要问题[J].外语教学与研究,1995,(4).
查有梁.控制论、信息论、系统论与教育科学[M].四川:四川省社会科学院出版社,1986.
Alderson,C.Foreword.Language Testing:Research Contents and Methods[C].Mahwah,NJ:Lawrence Erlbaum,2004.
Bachman,L.F.Fundamental Considerations in Language Testing[M].Oxford:Oxford University Press,1990.
Bachman,L.F.Modern Language Testing at the Turn of the Century:Assuring That We Count Counts.Language Testing,2000,17(1):1-42.
Cohen,A.D.Assessing Language Ability in Classroom(2nd ed.)[M].New York:Heinle and Heinle,1994.
Huges,A.Testing for Language Teachers[M].Cambridge:Cambridge Univesity Press,1989.
Messick,S.Validity and Washback in Language Testing[J].Language Testing,1996.
Prodromou,L.The Washback Effect:From Testing to Teaching[J].ELT 49/1:13-25
Rod Ellis.Understanding Second Language Acquisition[M].Shanghai:Shanghai Foreign Language Eduation Press,2005.
Schohamy E.Test Impact Revised:Washback Effect Over Time[J].Language Testing,1993.
Watanbe,Y.Does Grammer Translation Come from the Entrance Examination?Preliminary Findings from Classroom-based research[J].Language Testing,13/3:318-333.
陈坚林.现代英语教学组织与管理[M].上海:上海外语教育出版社,2000.
程静英.英语写作教学分析[J].外语教学与研究,1994,2.
戴军熔.中学英语写作初探[J].中小学英语教学,1998,10.
甘文平.CET-4作文题项失败现象初探[J].外语与外语教学,1998,5.
胡春洞.英语学习论[M].南宁:广西教育出版社,1996.
黄大勇,杨炳钧.语言测试反拨效应研究概述[J].外语教学与研究,2002,(4):288-93.
江坤才.教学模式与教育科研方法简介[M].江苏:无锡市教研中心,1998,7.
金艳.大学英语四、六级考试口语考试对教学的反驳作用[J].《外语界》,2000,4.
李筱菊.语言测试科学与艺术[M].湖南:湖南教育出版社,1997.
刘润清.外语教学中的科研方法[M].上海:外语教学与研究出版社,2007.
刘润清,韩宝成.英语测试和它的方法[M].北京:外语教学与研究出版社,1991.
刘焱.英语专业四级考试反驳作用研究[D].山东:山东师范大学,2005.
唐耀彩,彭金定.大学英语考试口语考试对英语学习的反驳作用[J].《外语界》,2004,(1).
武尊民.英语测试的理论与实践[M].上海:外语教学与研究出版社,2002.
王初明.《应用语言心理学》[M].湖南:湖南教育出版社,1990.
杨传普.外语教学中的“说”与“写”[J].外语与外语教学,1998,(3).
钟启泉等.普通高中新课程方案导读[M].上海:华东师范大学出版社,2003.
张在新,吴红云,王晓露,张俊香.“我国英语写作教学中的主要问题[J].外语教学与研究,1995,(4).
查有梁.控制论、信息论、系统论与教育科学[M].四川:四川省社会科学院出版社,1986.