tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396360.post3526763636686926241..comments2023-07-22T23:33:58.038+09:00Comments on EFL in Japan: General thoughts on Michael Stout's article: Not Guilty as Charged5330http://www.blogger.com/profile/11752690938113124517noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396360.post-55257512771181341022011-01-17T16:54:29.382+09:002011-01-17T16:54:29.382+09:00"Washback" is a new term for me. Here&#..."Washback" is a new term for me. Here's a definition that I found after a quick web search: ""the extent to which the introduction and use of a test influences language teachers and learners to do things they would not otherwise do that promote or inhibit language learning" (Messick, 1996, p. 241, quoted in http://jalt.org/test/bro_14.htm). I think the word "extent" is important. Stout's article offers some very interesting and useful perspectives on the issue of extent. However, when he formulates his conclusion "extent" seems to fly out the window and, as far as I could tell, washback becomes a "yes" or "no" proposition. As far as I can see, "washback" is not a simple "present" or "not present" sort of phenomenon. Rather, if there are tests, there will be, to some extent, "teaching to the tests." The question is how much of that occurs and how do teachers go about it. I can't answer those question about the extent, and I'm willing to consider the possibility that much less of it goes on than one might expect, but I can't swallow the idea that washback is not occurring. Stout's conclusion ("Currently the entrance exams do not have the influence to create effective washback on teaching and learning in the high schools.") is much too clear cut for me. What constituted "effective washback"? Where is the line between limited teaching to the tests or limited studying for the tests and "effective washback"? I couldn't find the answer in Stout's article.Kirk Masdenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05340258920846345185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396360.post-53725519572216791102010-12-01T09:27:47.607+09:002010-12-01T09:27:47.607+09:00It's great you get the opportunity to shape so...It's great you get the opportunity to shape some of the learning that happens, even if it is for the exam only. It's a shame they don't take the opportunity to follow up with some writing in school.<br /><br />Writing gets a bad rap, doesn't it? Which is unfortunate, because much of the communication that happens in the real world is happening through writing. In this medium for example. Several of the English learners that I teach at the Community College who work with English everyday have said that they write much more than they speak. In terms of practical usefulness, writing shouldn't be taking a back seat.5330https://www.blogger.com/profile/11752690938113124517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396360.post-59541656075441623862010-11-30T17:41:12.731+09:002010-11-30T17:41:12.731+09:00I should add--I remember editing that article by M...I should add--I remember editing that article by MS. I was co-editor of ETJ-J. I think I remember noting at the time that we already see some potential for 'positive feedback' with the use of 'short essay or paragraph' questions on the local exams (such as at my university). Now most arrive to take the exam prepared to write a coherent paragraph. Unfortunately, these students never take my Writing II class here!CEJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14080778566145093851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396360.post-90474152622019560692010-11-30T17:35:58.811+09:002010-11-30T17:35:58.811+09:00Another type of washback that gets neglected is th...Another type of washback that gets neglected is the one schools and school boards have on teacher training programs. If they don't hire the teachers with a portfolio of teaching skills and a high level of English, these lose their meaning at 'teacher certification programs'. Instead, it becomes all about networking and gaming the system to get the teaching job. <br /><br />What undercuts arguments about washback of the entrance exams is simply so many programs, departments and universities lower their acceptable score to get their intake quota--or waive it altogether. <br /><br />This doesn't completely negate the washback effects of testing, but it does seem possible that we over-estimate it. For all but the top schools, entrance is a consumer's market.CEJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14080778566145093851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396360.post-57799538669102122952009-11-26T21:46:51.427+09:002009-11-26T21:46:51.427+09:00I enjoyed the read and the pictures on the previou...I enjoyed the read and the pictures on the previous posts.<br /><br />I am not sure, of course, if you like old photography or that like we used to take over 50 years ago while in Japan, but there is some I did with others at my Sendai-shi, Japan blog.<br /><br /><a href="http://sendai-shi.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow"> http://sendai-shi.blogspot.com/</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com