THE WASHBACK EFFECT OF TESTING ON STUDENTS’ LEARNING IN EFL WRITING CLASSES

Abstract

This study displays the literature review that investigates what the drawbacks ofexams are on learning in general, then gives a brief account of a small scaleresearch conducted in two EFL writing classes. There has been extensive researchin related literature on the impact of testing on students learning a foreign language. In practice most of the teachers assess their students with scheduled examswhich they conduct in accordance with the syllabuses prepared at the beginning ofthe semester. The level and form of the negative effects change according to somefactors such as gender, age, the aim and level of learning. This study investigatedthe negative effects of testing and their reasons on elementary level EFL students’writing. The results indicate that learners’ anxiety level increase and their performance decrease when they know that it is an assessment

Keywords

• English as a Foreign Language
• Testing
• Washback
• Anxiety

İNGİLİZCEYİ YABANCI DİL OLARAK ÖĞRENEN ÖĞRENCİLERİN YAZILI ANLATIM DERSLERİNDEKİ SINAVLARIN ÖĞRENME BAŞARISI ÜZERİNDE OLUMSUZ ETKİLERİ

Öz

Bu çalışma öncelikle sınavların genel olarak öğrenme üzerindeki olumsuz etkilerinin neler olduğunu inceleyen literatür taramasını göstermekte, sonrasında iseİngilizceyi yabancı dil olarak gören 2 yazma becerileri sınıfında uygulanan küçükçaplı bir araştırma hakkında bilgi vermektedir. Sınavların yabancı dil öğrenenöğrenciler üzerindeki etkileri konusuyla ilgili literatüre çok kapsamlı bir araştırmaolmuştur. Uygulamada, öğretmenlerin çoğu dönem başlarında hazırlanan müfredatla uyumlu olarak hazırladıkları, zamanı belirlenmiş sınavlarla öğrencilerinideğerlendirirler. Negatif etkilerin düzeyi ve yapısı cinsiyet, yaş, öğrenmenin amacıve düzeyi gibi faktörlere bağlı olarak değişir. Bu çalışma İngilizceyi yabancı dilolarak gören başlangıç düzeyindeki öğrencilerinin yazma becelerileri üzerindesınavların olumsuz etkilerini ve nedenlerini araştırmaktadır. Araştırmanınsonuçları, öğrencilerin sınav olduklarını bildikleri zaman kaygı düzeyinin arttığınıve performanslarının düştüğünü göstermektedir

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Yabancı dil olarak İngilizce
• sınav
• olumsuz transfer
• kaygı

Kaynakça

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