The washback effects of the general certificate of secondary education examination in english the case at van giang upper secondary school in hung yen

This study focuses on the washback effects o f the English national examination for General Certificate o f Secondary Education on teaching and learning at Van Giang Upper Secondary Scho

լ MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

レ

NGUYEN THI HONG NGAN

THE WASHBACK EFFECTS

OF THE GENERAL CERTIFICATE OF SECONDARY EDUCATION EXAMINATION IN ENGLISH: THE CASE

AT VAN GIANG UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL

IN HUNG YEN

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF REQUIREMENTS

FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL

S U P E R V IS O R : N G U Y E N T H A I H A , M E d

H anoi June，2009

STA TEM ENT O F A U T H O R S H I P

I certify that the minor thesis entitled “The Washback Effects of the General Certificate

of Secondary Education Examination in English: The Case at Van Giang Upper Secondary School in Hung Yen” and submitted in partial fu lfillm e n t o f the requirements for the degree o f Master o f Arts in TESOL is the result o f my work, except whereotherwise acknowledged, and that this minor thesis

submitted for a higher degree to any other university

or any part o f the same has not been

or institution

The research reported in this thesis was approved by Hanoi University

Signed:

Dated:

My sincere thanks go to my colleagues and my students at Van Giang Upper Secondary School for their kind assistance during the time I collected data for the study.

Finally, I owe the completion o f this study to my parents, my husband and my two daughters, who gave me encouragement throughout the study

The way in which public examinations influence teaching and learning is commonly described as washback or backwash The extensive use o f test scores for various educational and social purposes in society nowadays has made the effect o f washback a distinct educational phenomenon (Cheng, 1997)

This study focuses on the washback effects o f the English national examination for General Certificate o f Secondary Education on teaching and learning at Van Giang Upper Secondary School

To achieve this goal, a survey was conducted, collecting data by questionnaires and classroom observation for subsequent quantitative and qualitative analysis Some follow up interviews were conducted to complement and clarify the questionnaires and observation data where necessary

The subjects o f the study were ten English teachers and 102 sample students o f Van Giang Upper Secondary School

Findings from the study have pointed out 1) the ENE for GCSE played a predominant role among varied typed o f EFL tests at schools It dominated the English teaching and learning

at Van Giang Upper Secondary School; 2) the mismatch between the goal o f the ENE for GCSE and the objectives o f the syllabus prescribed by the М ОЕТ resulted in an impact on the English teaching and learning at Van Giang Upper Secondary School This washback influences teachers o f Van Giang Upper Secondary School both what to teach and how to teach, and so does it to what and how students o f Van Giang Upper Secondary School learn; 3) both teachers and students preferred to use materials shaped by the content o f the current ENE for GCSE They showed a strong preference for multiple-choice exercises as test preparation activities As teaching and learning became examination ֊ driven, they employed a “ hidden syllabus” targeted towards the ENE format

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

STATEMENT OF A UT H O R SH IP

A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S

A B S T R A C T

TABLE O F C O N T E N T S

LIST OF A B B R E V IA T IO N S

LIST OF T A B L E S

CHAPTER 1: IN T R O D U C T IO N

1.1 B a c k g r o u n d t o t h e s t u d y

L I I P ractical consideration

L I , 2 Theorical consideration

1.2 A IM S o f t h e s t u d y

1.3 S c o p e a n d l i m i t a t i o n s o f t h e s t u d y

1.4 S i g n i f ic a n c e o f t h e s t u d y

1.5 O u t l i n e o f t h e t h e s is

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE R E V IE W

2.1 T e s t in g a n d T e s t s in t e a c h in g a n d l e a r n i n g

2.1.1 Role o f testing and tests in teaching and le a rn in g

2.1.2 Test classification

2.1.3 Achievement test

2.2 T e s t w a s h b a c k a n d t e s t i m p a c t

2.2 L Test cashback

2.2.2 Test im pact

2.2.3 M ultiple-choice test washback

2.3 T h e WASHBACK EFFECTS OF TESTS ON TEACHING AND しEARNING 2.3.1 The Washback Hypothesis

2.3.2 Washback as a result o f “ high stakes ’’ testing

2.4 PREVIOUS s t u d ie s

2.5 S u m m a r y

CHAPTER 3: M E T H O D O L O G Y

3.1 R e s e a r c h q u e s t i o n s

3.2 D a t a c o l l e c t i o n in s t r u m e n t s

3.2 L Questionnaires

3.2.2 Observation

3.2.3 Follow up in te rvie w

3.3 S u b j e c t s

3.3.1 Teachers

3.3.2 Student p o p u la tio n

3.3.3 Student sam ple

3.4 P r o c e d u r e s .

3.5 D a t a a n a l y s i s

C H AP TER 4: R E S U L T S

4.1 S u r v e y r e s u l t s

4.1.1 Teacher questionnaire

4.1.2 Student questionnaire

4.2 C l a s s r o o m o b s e r v a t i o n r e s u l t s

4.3 S u m m a r y

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CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION AND C O N C L U S IO N 59

5.1 D is c u s s io n 59

5.2 C o n c l u s i o n 62

REFE R E N C E S 65

APPENDIX 1: ĐÈ THI TÒT NGHIỆP TRUNG HỌC PHỐ THÒNG NÃM 2 0 0 8 69

APPENDIX 2: TEACHER QUESTIONNAIRE 73

APPENDIX 3: STUDENT QUESTIONNAIRE 81

APPENDIX 4: STUDENT QUESTIONNAIRE (VIETNAMESE V E R S IO N ) 85

APPENDIX 5: COM MUNICATIVE ORIENTATION OF LANGUAGE TEACHING (COLT) OBSERVATION SCHEM E CODING SH EET 91

APPENDIX 6: FOLLOW UP IN TER V IEW 92

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

CLT Communicative Language Teaching

EFL English as a Foreign Language

ENE English national examination

GT Grammar - translation

GCSE General Certificate o f Secondary EducationМОЕТ M inistry o f Education and Training

SD Standard deviation

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1.1 : The structure/format o f the ENE for GCSE 2

Table 4.1.1: Teachers’ reported classroom language o f instructions 35Table 4.1.2: Teachers’ reported classroom organization 35Table 4.1.3: Teachers’ preferred language resources 36Table 4.1.4: Teachers’ preferred teaching activities 37Table 4.1.5: Teacher attitudes towards the English education 39Table 4.1.6: Factors that influence teaching 41Table 4.1.7: Teacher attitudes towards the English testing and the current ENE 42Table 4.1.8: Students’ arrangement o f the subjects in order o f importance 45Table 4.1.9: Students’ reported reasons for studying English 46Table 4.1.10: Student attitudes towards the English 48Table 4.1.11: Students9 preferred classroom language 49Table 4.1.12: Students’ preferred activities in preparing for the exams 50-51Table 4.2.1 : Patterns o f participant organization adopted by the three teachers 53Table 4.2.2: Categories o f content and content control adopted by the three 55

teachers

Table 4.2.3: Student modality and materials during the six lessons 56

1.1.1.1 The English National Examination for General Certificate of Secondary

Education (ENE for GCSE)

The English national examination for GCSE is a public examination administered by the Vietnamese M inistry o f Education and Training (МОЕТ) for the 12th form students at the end o f the third year o f their upper secondary school for their graduation Every school- year, 12th form students sit for the GCSE examination in late May or early June The results

o f the GCSE examination are used for graduation from school and to allow students to or not to take the entrance examination to university Needless to say, the GCSE examination plays a predominant role among varied types o f examinations

English is a compulsory subject in the GCSE examination In 2005, the M inistry o f Education and Training (М О ЕТ) introduced major changes to its existing examination format in English The written multiple-choice test has developed since then The English National Examination for GCSE (ENE) is a written test, which consists o f 50 multiple- choice questions (M CQ), focusing on two main parts: language structure and skills (reading and w riting) - as the М О ЕТ introduces

Table 1: The structure/format of the English National Examination for GCSE (Vu Thi Loi, Tran Nga and Vu Phuong Hien, 2008, P.30)

o f items

o f items

Vowels & consonants - General cloze procedures

- Tenses & sequence o f tenses - Reading comprehension

- Syntactical structures (1 text, ± 200-word long) with

- Connectives questions that require short

- Simple communicative responses (cultural tips)

functions, and others * W riting skills 10

- Word formation (completion: phrase clause

- Word choice / collocation level)

- W riting error: identification &

correction

Table 1 describes the structure/format o f the ENE As can be seen, five questions are designed to measure pronunciation ability but it does not require the candidates to speak Other five questions are to measure simple communicative functions in which the candidates have to identify the best answer to complete the sentences In order to assess writing skills, five questions are designed to ask students to identify which o f the underlined elements is erroneous or inappropriate in formal English Other five are to measure w riting ability by requiring the candidates to choose the best phrase or clause among four to complete the sentences It is clear that they are sub-abilities o f writing, which are tested indirectly with discrete points Listening and speaking are not represented

at all

Such a test is likely to face some major problems and criticisms First, it is an indirect test item type (Harmer, 2007)，so it only assesses students’ recognition knowledge indirectly, but not assesses the students’ performance o f abilities He further confirmed that “ it is possible to train students so that their MCQ abilities are enhanced; this may not actually improve their English” (ibid, p.382) Second, the ENE is a written test, so it restricts what can be tested Speaking and listening skills are not involved in the test In terms o f content validity, “ areas which are not tested are likely to become areas ignored in teaching and

learning” (Hughes, 1989，p.23) As a result, the influence o f the test on teaching andlearning may be harmful Teaching may be driven by the test Let us have a look at the official language syllabus at school prescribed by the МОЕТ to see whether the test content

is in accord with its objectives

1.1.1.2 Official language syllabus

Tierig Anh series, which are the official EFL course materials for Vietnamese lower and

upper secondary school students, are developed from a communicative approach syllabus prescribed by МОЕТ (Hoang Van Van et al, 2008) The objectives o f the syllabus are to promote students’ communicative ability Language knowledge is the necessary means to develop communicative skills Students are the center o f the teaching and learning process Throughout this process, students are encouraged to learn all o f the four skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing Textbooks, testing and assessment are designed based on the objectives o f the syllabus (ibid)

While the aims and objectives o f the syllabus represent worthy statements o f intent, the degree to which they are actually being realized is somewhat open to question Despite the fact that English is studied through four years o f lower secondary school education 一

starting from the age o f eleven and continuing up until graduation from upper secondary school at eighteen 一 many learners continue to experience d ifficu lty in using the language for purposeful communication, often encountering problems in the areas o f speaking and writing Thus, it would appear that the primary objectives o f the syllabus prescribed by the МОЕТ, along with the goals o f ENE for GCSE, as yet, largely unfulfilled Once the test content is not consistent with the syllabus content, there is arguably a detrimental washback effect on teaching and learning

1.1.1.3 The English teaching and learning context at Van Gỉang Upper Secondary School

Van Giang Upper Secondary School IS a rural one in Hung Yen, which is about 20 kilometers south o f Ha Noi Although the parents o f the majority o f the students at Van Giang Upper Secondary School are farmers, they provide their students with much time

and money to study with a wish that their children w ill enter colleges or universities Therefore, passing the national final examinations and proceeding to colleges or universities seem to be the main factors that motivate students at Van Giang Upper Secondary School to study For many years, Van Giang Upper Secondary School has been one o f the best schools in Hung Yen with high rate o f students passing national final examinations in general and the ENE in particular In the last school year, 2007 - 2008，

96.5% o f students passed the ENE for GCSE, among them many got marks 9 and 10 Despite getting good marks, these students are not good at speaking English They are unable to “ express their own ideas in everyday communicative situations concerning with familiar to p ics，，as the objective o f the textbook for speaking skill

The fact is that the English teaching and learning within the Van Giang Upper Secondary School context are in many ways influenced by the existence o f a “ hidden syllabus” (Caine, 2005) As teachers and students work hard to approach the final examination, the hidden syllabus is undoubtedly shaped by the content o f English examinations ֊ particularly those administered by МОЕТ as part o f their final examination procedures Johnson (1989，p.6) argues that, i f a syllabus is to have credibility, then subsequent test items must be related to the content o f that syllabus, and that “ item types in examinations need to be selected and constructed with this 'washback’ effect in mind” Unfortunately, the English examinations in Vietnam are notoriously grammar orientated; somewhat contradicting the syllabus aims o f МОЕТ Sakui (2004，p 159)，for example, suggests contrary to the teachers’ aspirations to incorporate C LT into their teaching, they cannot ignore the demand to prepare students for the national final examinations”

As discussed above, the ENE is at variance with the objectives o f the course, so it is important to do a research on the possibility o f washback (positive or negative) defined

by Hughes (1989, p l) as “ the effect o f testing on teaching and learning” o f the ENE in Vietnam in general and at Van Giang Upper Secondary School context in particular

1.1.2 T h e o rica l consideration

According to Alderson and Wall (1993, p.l 15), the notion that testing influences teaching

is referred to as 'backwash’ in general education circles, but it has come to be known as 'washback’ in British applied linguistics There is no different reason, semantic or pragmatic between the terms ' backwash, and 4vashback， Biggs (1995，p 12) uses the term 4backwash' to refer to the fact that testing drives not only the curriculum, but teaching methods and students’ approaches to learning (Crooks, 1988; Frederiksen, 1984; Frederiksen & Collins, 1989) However, Spolsky (1994, p.55) after quoting definitions o f the term 'backwasiv from NED and the Random House Dictionary comments “ backwash is better applied only to accidental side-effects o f examinations, and not to those effects intended when the first purpose o f the examination is control o f the cu rricu lu m ，， He also comments that he can fin d no dictionary support for the language testers’ coinage, washback I prefer using the term 4vashback’ and w ill use the term throughout the thesis

It has been proved that tests have washback effects on teaching and learning (Alderson & Wall, 1993) The extensive use o f test scores for various educational and social purposes in society nowadays has made the effect o f washback a distinct educational phenomenon (Cheng, 1997) A number o f research studies have been carried out both in general education and language education investigating the relationship between testing and teaching and learning Shohamy (1993) comments on some o f the common terms used to refer to the phenomenon Washback effect refers to the influence o f testing on teaching and

learning (Alderson & W all, 1993; Hughes, 1989; Khaniya, 1990; Kirkland, 1971; Pearson, 1988; Wesdorp, 1982) Measurement-driven instruction refers to the notion that test should

drive teaching and hence learning (Bracey，1987; Frederiksen, 1984; Haladyna et al., 1991;

Li, 1990; Popham, 1987; Smith, 1991) Popham (1987, p.679) claims that Umeasurement- driven instruction is the most cost-effective way o f improving the quality o f public education，，

Any test, good or bad, can be said to be having beneficial or harmful washback According

to Hughes (1989，p l) ，uI f a test is regarded as important, then preparation for it can come

to dominate all teaching and learning activities And i f the test content and testing

techniques are at variance with the objectives o f the course, then there is likely to be harmful washback，，.

Knowing the washback effects o f a test w ill provide valuable insights into the teaching and learning process The assumption is that i f a test is supposed to be “ good” , its washback would relate to the test content and tasks to the target environment o f language use “ Bad” washback would lead to “ teaching to the test” and therefore, there would be a loss o f focus

on learning This is important for test designers, then, to be aware o f the possibility o f positive or negative washback

1 3 S c o p e a n d l i m i t a t i o n s o f t h e s t u d y

This study lim its itself to the survey o f English teachers and 102 students at Van Giang Upper Secondary School in Hung Yen on the washback effects o f the current ENE forGCSE on teaching and learning There are some factors that may have affected theoutcomes o f this washback research First, as the research focused on the washback effects

o f the ENE at Van Giang Upper Secondary School only, aspects that relate to other tests at high school might be overlooked Second, the ENE has been introduced since 2005 However, the respondents o f this thesis were limited to the students who had never sat for the national final examinations, therefore, their opinions about the ENE might not be profound enough

1 4 S i g n i f ± c a n c e o f t h e s t u d y

As discussed above, the ENE for GCSE is at variance with the objectives o f the course, so

it is important to do a research on the possibility o f washback (positive or negative) o f the

ENE for GCSE in Vietnam in general and at Van Giang Upper Secondary School context

in particular Knowing the washback effects o f a test w ill provide valuable insights into the teaching and learning process The researcher hopes that the major findings o f the study

w ill be helpful for educational administers to realize the mismatch between the goal o f the ENE and the objectives o f the syllabus prescribed by the М ОЕТ and teachers’ failure in implementing a communicative syllabus in the classroom so that corresponding measures can be found to make teaching and testing more effective Also, this study w ill help to make the test designers be aware o f the possibility o f positive or negative test washback and then they can produce tests more appropriately as a catalyst for teaching innovation

1 5 O u t l i n e o f t h e t h e s i s

The thesis is structured in five chapters as follows

Chapter 1 provides the background to the study practically and theoretically It describes

the current English national final test and the official language syllabus for Vietnamese high school students It looks at the study o f English as a foreign language (EFL) and the important role o f the ENE for GCSE within Van Giang Upper Secondary School context Besides, it gives the aims, the scope and limitations, the significance and the outline o f the thesis

Chapter 2 reviews the relevant literature In part 1，the review starts w ith the definition o f

tests and testing, types o f tests and the role o f tests and testing in teaching and learning Part

2 o f this chapter examines the phenomenon o f washback w ith a review o f the published literature in the field The notions o f test washback and test impact are introduced before the discussion goes on to look at the washback effects a multiple-choice test might have Part 3 looks at the fifteen possible Washback Hypotheses put forward by Alderson and Wall (1993) The issue o f washback occurring as a result o f 'high stakes’ testing is also considered in this part Some previous studies in the field are also reviewed Finally, the literature discussed is summarized in the last part o f this chapter

Chapter 3 begins w ith the research questions It presents the methodology employed in the

study such as classroom observation, questionnaires and follow up interview The subjects

o f the study are also described here Besides, it provides procedures o f the study Finally, it describes the way o f analyzing the data.

Chapter 4 presents the results o f the study and their analysis The chapter consists o f three

main parts Part 1 presents the survey results The results from the classroom observation are presented in part 2 Follow up interview results are presented in combination with survey and observation results M ajor findings are presented in the last part, summary.Finally, Chapter 5 discusses the research findings And the Conclusion, which confirms the

aim o f this thesis, w ill make an end to this study, (and looks at the implications for both EFL test design, and for the future implementation o f a communicative syllabus in the Van Giang Upper Secondary School context.)

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter attempts to provide the literature within which the research is carried out It consists o f four parts Part 2.1 reviews the literature relating to the nature o f tests and testing in teaching and learning Part 2.2 examines the phenomenon o f test washback and test impact in general and multiple-choice test washback in particular Part 2.3 provides fifteen washback hypotheses put forward by Alderson and Wall (1993) and discuss the issue o f washback as a result o f “ high stakes，, testing Previous washback studies are presented in part 2.4 The literature discussed is summarized in the last part, 2.5

2.1 T estin g a n d Tests in teaching a n d learning

2.1.1 Role o f testing and tests in teaching and le a rn in g

The importance o f language testing is recognized by virtually all professionals in the field

o f language education Testing is an important and integral part o f the learning and teaching process Testing is one type o f assessment In the theory o f curriculum design and development, assessment and evaluation o f the curriculum being applied serve both as a starting and finishing point o f the design process

SituationAnalysis

To discuss the role o f testing, Madsen (1983，p.4) confirms “ properly made English tests can help St니dents master the target language, when they study for exams, and again when exam papers are returned and discussed*' Brown (1994) en니merates different ways that tests aid learning Tests can

• increase motivation as they serve as milestones of student progress

• spur learners to set goals for themselves, both before and after a test

• aid the reinforcement and retention of information through the feedback they give on learners' competence

• promote St니dent autonomy as they confirm areas of strength and pinpoint areas needing further work

• provide a sense of periodic closure to various units and modules of a curriculum

• encourage students’ self-evaluation of their progress

• aid in evaluating teaching effectiveness

Tests are also beneficial to teachers o f English as they help them diagnose their own work, their own efforts, and make adjustments in their teaching in order to increase their own effectiveness (Heaton, 1988) Hughes (1989) states that testing “ should be supportive o f good teaching and where necessary, exert a corrective influence o f bad teacm ng，， In short, testing is one o f the two major concerns o f any one who works as a teacher for “ both testing and teaching are so closely interrelated that it is virtually impossible to work in either field without being constantly concerned with the other，' (Heaton, 1988, p.5)

Whether different kinds o f tests have different roles in teaching and learning w ill be discussed in the follow ing sections

Linguists do not quite agree with each other in their view o f test classification - they are slightly varied For example, Davies (1968, p.7) divides tests into four types, namely

achievement, aptitude, diagnosis and proficiency while tests, according to Valette ( 1977, p

5) are classified into achievement, aptitude, proficiency and progress, Harrison (1983，p 4) classifies tests as achievement, diagnostic, placement and proficiency tests Heat이1 (1988，

p 171) also agrees on the following broad division: achievement (attainment), aptitude, clia^nosiic and proficiency tests The same view o f test classification is shared by Brown

(1994, p.257), but he argues that “ certain proficiency tests and diagnostic tests can act in the role o f placement tests,，, which accounts for his grouping diagnostic and placement tests into one kind only The above-mentioned researchers are more or less similar in their ways

o f classifying tests Madsen (1983) appears somewhat different when he divides tests into seven contrasting pairs as follows:

i) Knowledge Tests and Performance (skill) Tests;

II) Subjective Tests and Objective Tests;

iii) Productive Tests and Receptive Tests;

iv) Language Sub skill Tests and Communication Skills Tests;

V) Norm-referenced Tests and Criterion-referenced Tests;

vi) Discrete-point Tests and Integrative Tests; and

vii) Proficiency Tests and Achievement Tests

His view is shared by Grolund (1985) when he does a further study on classroom tests with the aim o f making them as effective as possible Brown (2001) classifies kinds o f tests and their own specific purposes as follows

i) Placement: to place students at appropriate level o f instruction within a program.ii) Diagnostic: to identify students’ strengths and weaknesses

Ili) Progress: to provide information about mastery o f the course materials

iv) Achievement: to evaluate students' attainment o f course outcomes at end o f course.V) Standardized: to measure students' proficiency using international standards

vi) Aptitude: to measure capacity for learning a language

o r those different views o f test cla ssifica tio n , the researcher find most interested in Hughes's when he divides tests into proficiency, achievement, diagnostic and placement tests He claims that “ achievement tests o f two kinds: final achievement tests and progress achievement tests” (Hughes, 1989，p 10) He also argues that progress tests

“ should make a clear progression towards the final achievement tests based on CO니rse ohjectives” (Hughes, 1989，p 12) Progress tests, together with final tests (tests for graduation), should reflect an accurate and fair way in assessing students' achievement o f the course objectives (ibid)

The ENE for GCSE in this study is a final achievement test The 니se o f achievement test

w ill be defined more specifically in the next section

2.1.3 A chievem ent test

A test, according to Brown (2001)，is defined as method o f measuring a person’ s ability or knowledge in a given domain It is also suggested by Hughes (1989，p.4) that a test “ is used

to refer to any structured attempt to measure language ability” He further states that uno distinction is made between examination and test” It is also agreed by Davies (1968) that

the terms examination and test are used interchangeably.

Achievement tests are used to evaluate students' attainment o f course outcomes at the end

o f the course (Brown, 2001) Harmer (2007, p.380) states “ achievement tests are designed

to measure learners' language in relation to the syllabus they have been following" To support the idea Hughes (1989，p 10) argues that “ achievement tests are directly related to language courses, their purpose being to establish how successful individual students, groups o f students, or the courses themselves have been in achieving o bjectives，， He points out that “ they are o f two kinds: final achievement tests and progress achievement tests” According to Hughes (1989):

Final achievement tests are those administered at the end of a course o f study

They may be written and administered by ministry of education, official

examining boards, or by members o f teaching institutions Clearly the content

o f these tests must be related to the courses with which they are concerned

( p ll)

He further notes that a final achievement test is said to be good i f “ the alternative approach

is to base the test content directly on the objective o f the course，

While the EFL syllabus for Vietnamese junior high and high schools aims to focus on meaning (as mentioned in 1.1.1.2), the ENE for GCSE administered by the МОЕТ for 12th form students to graduate from secondary schools focus only on form (as discussed in 1.1.1.1) It can be said that the content o f the ENE is not based on the objective o f the course， so test results may not show what students have achieved in terms o f course objectives (Hughes, 1989) Therefore, there is arguably a detrimental washback effect on teaching and learning

2 2 Test w ash back a n d test im pact

2.2.1 Test w ashback

Throughout the published researches and literature on language testing can be found numerous explanations o f the term 4vashback， One o f the most common definitions sees the concept referred to as the influence o f testing on teaching and learning (e.g Alderson & Wall, 1993; Cheng and Curtis, 2004) Similarly, Hughes (1989, p l) and Saville (2000, p 4) define washback as “ the effect o f testing on teaching and learning，4 and Shohamy et al (1996，p.298) as “ the connections between testing and learning” In his study o f testing, Alderson (1993，p 15) states “ it is a commonplace to declare that tests have an impact on teaching ֊ washback is everywhere acknowledged and usually deplored，, It is conformed b\ Brown (1994) that “ washback is the effect a test has on teaching in the classroom，(p 266) and “ washback is the benefit that tests offer to learning，(p.271 )• The washback o f the test on teaching and learning which precedes it is also discussed a lot in the studies o f Morrow ( 1 9 7 9 ) and Weir (1 9 8 3 ) Messick (19 96 , P.241) also describes washback as “ the extent to which the use o f 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) notes that washback can have either harmful or positive effects” It

is also noted by Hughes (1989, p l) that “ washback can be harmful or beneficial”

However, Alderson and Wall (1993，p.l 18) point out the q니ality o f washback effect might

be independent o f the quality o f a test

Any test，good or bad, can be said to be having beneficial or detrimental washback The relationship between a test and its washback, positive or negative, might be less simple than

at first sight appears to be the case It is possible for good tests to produce good and/or bad effects Further more, bad tests do not necessarily produce bad effects Morrow (1986，p.6) uses the term 'washback v a lid ity ，to describe the quality o f the relationship between testing and teaching He claims that u in essence an examination o f washback validity would take testing researchers into the classroom in order to observe the effect o f their tests in action”

A ll above definitions refer only to washback in terms o f the influence that tests might have

on the language classroom and the participant roles o f teachers and learners In other analyses a much broader interpretation is offered, taking the view that tests can have more far-reaching effects w ithin the field o f education For example, Andrews (2004，p.37)，in an article that explores the relationship between washback and curricular innovation, looks beyond the classroom，and uses the term to describe 나the effects o f tests on teaching and learning, the educational system, and the various stakeholders in the education process” The view o f washback presented here approaches what some writers differentiate as test impact

2.2.2 Test im p a ct

Although the terms washback and impact are sometimes used synonymously 一 as indeed demonstrated by A ndrew ’ s (2004) definition o f the former above - test impact is a broader concept It more accurately refers to the wider implications and effects o f a given test For example, while it is acknowledged that washback can be seen as the influence and effect o f tests on teaching and learning, McNamara (2000，p.74) notes that “ Tests can also have effects beyond the classroom The wider effect o f tests on the community as a whole, including the school, is referred to as test im pact，， Wall (1997，P.291) makes a similar distinction between test washback and test impact, agreeing the term ‘ im pact，, more accurately refers to u any o f the effects that a test may have on individuals, policies and practices, within the classroom, the school, the educational system or society as a w hole，，

Tavlor (2000， p.2), building upon a model proposed by Rea-Dickins (1997)，who

“ identified at least 5 stakeholder categories: learners, teachers, parents, government and official bodies, and the m arketplace，，，o ffe rs a more detailed conceptualization in order to illustrate the wider societal effects o f a test (e.g test impact) The testing community can be illustrated as follow

ᄂ earners \

LearnersTeachers

Test construct 一 ỵ Parents / Carers

ノ TeachersTest writers ~ ► Test format

째_ School ownersConsultants ►

Test conditions Test score ^_ Receiving institutionsExaminers/ Raters ノ

째~ Government agenciesTest center

administrators ^

Testassessment 、 Professional bodiesMaterial writers ^

criteria Employers

Publishers / \ Academic researchers

(Caine, 2005，p 16)The above model provides a useful illustration o f the fact that a test can have impact on the various stakeholders involved, at different points in the testing process

Some o f the stakeholders listed above (e.g examiners and materials writers) are

likely to have more interest in the 'front end’ o f the test, i.e the test assessment

criteria or test format Others may see their stake as being primarily concerned

with the test score Some stakeholders, such as learners and teachers, will

naturally have an interest in all aspects of the test

(Taylor, 2000，p.2)Bailey (1996, p.263-264) also adopts a more holistic view regarding the effects o f tests, but prefers to consider overall impact in terms o f 'washback to the learners’ and 4vashback to the programme， In the latter group she includes 'teachers, administrators, curriculum developers, counsellors, etc.，(Bailey, 1996，p.264) ֊ groups o f individuals who, according

to Taylor (2000)，would be more likely to have an interest in the 'front end, o f a test Inview o f the research question outlined at the beginning o f chapter 3，which relate to the influence that ENFTs have on teaching and learning, the model o f washback presented by Bailey (1996) offers a useful framework for the purposes o f this study.

Throughout this initial discussion it becomes clear that the term ‘ washback，is open to a variety o f interpretations and that there are a number o f important variables to consider vshen cond니cting research into the issue For example, how are we defining the term 'washback' exactly? Are we using the term to describe the effects o f a test on teaching and learning only, or are we using it in the wider sense to include the effects o f a test on other stakeholders in the education process, which as noted above would be more accurately referred to as test impact? Other issues (which w ill be addressed in the follow ing sections) also arise concerning the kind o f influence that a test might have In addition, i f - as suggested by Messick ( 1996，p.2 4 1 ) ֊ “ the effects o f a test can be harmful or beneficiar

It is not within the scope o f this study to look in detail at the wider implications o f testing 一

as already mentioned, the researcher w ill be prim arily concerned with the two areas identified by Bailey (1996，p.263-264) 一 e.g “ washback to the programme” and “ washback

to the learners，， In other words, the researcher w ill adopt the narrower definition o f wash back by concentrating on the effects that a test has on teaching and learning

2.2.3 M u ltip le -ch o ice test washback

For many years, multiple-choice questions (MCQ) have been considered to be ideal test instruments for measuring students’ knowledge o f grammar and vocabulary Above alL this

is because they are easy to mark Moreover, since the advent o f computer, the answer sheets for these tests can be read by machines, thereby cutting out the possibility o f scorer error (Harmer, 2007) However, there are a number o f problems with MCQs (Heaton, 1988; Hughes, 1989)

Disadvantages o f M ultiple Choice Items

• tendency to treat words as independent linguistic units

• d iffic u lty in construction

• field-testing, analysis, refinement required

• 25% chance o f guessing correctly

• items m ay test know ledge o f distractors

• wrong answer may result fr이T) lack o f understanding o f syntax (English)

• permits only limited sampling o f total knowledge

• tests only recognition knowledge

• restricts what can be tested

• washback may be harmful

• cheating may be facilitated

In Heaton’ s opinion (1988)，achievement tests may have negative washback effects, which are likely to occur in the follow ing circumstances:

• Objective tests frequently lead to a greater emphasis on accuracy than on fluency Testing techniques used in objective tests such as M ultiple ֊ choice does emphasize more on accuracy, and may not give accurate assessment o f the suident's performance

• A number o f objective tests also “ encourage the teaching o f language in artificially constructed situations，(Heaton, 1988, p 170), which results in monotonous and passive classroom atmosphere

• It is hardly possible to teach effectively just by relying on some o f the techniques used for testing

• Working under the challenging pressure o f the society’ s growing demand is likely

to result in language teaching in a stressful, textbook ֊֊ bound environment

Harmer (2007) also argues that:

while It IS possible to train students so that their MCQ abilities are enhanced,

this may not actually improve their English The difference between two

student scores may be between the person who has been trained in the

technique and a person who has not, rather than being difference of language

knowledge and ability

(P.382)

The majority o f high school teachers and students at Van Giang High School complain about the * mismatch* between the textbooks and the EN FT They have to use extra materials and to improve their test-taking strategies (as discussed in chapter I ) rather than genuine English proficiency in order to obtain the high scores required for graduation Under the circumstances，it is likely that the majority o f Van Giang High School students are not equipped with adequate productive (speaking and w riting) English skills in spite o f all the time, money and energy they invest in learning the language.

2.3 The w ash back effects o f tests on teach in g a n d learn in g

2.3.1 The W ashback Hypothesis

“ Does Washback Exist?’，is the title o f an article written by Alderson & Wall (1993) In the article, he notes that while many assertions have been made relating to the influence o f tests, there is very little in the way o f empirical evidence to back up the claims that tests affected teaching and learning，in either a negative or positive way In order to examine in greater depth the relationship between washback and influence, Alderson & Wall (1993，

p 120-121) put forward the 15 hypotheses listed below, highlighting more specifically some

o f the ways in which a test might affect teaching and learning Bailey (1996，p.265-266) notes that five o f the hypotheses relate to 4vashback to the learners' and six relate to

‘ washback to the programme， Thus, the letters in parentheses have been added in order to illustrate this point, with indicating those statements concerning washback to the learners, to those concerning washback to the programme

These are fifteen possible Washback Hypotheses

1 A test w ill influence teaching (P)

2 A test w ill influence learning (L)

3 A test w ill influence what teachers teach (P); and

4 (4) A test w ill influence how teachers teach (P); and therefore by extension from ( 2 ) above:

5 A test w ill influence what learners learn (L); and

6 A test w ill influence how learners learn (L)

8 A test w ill influence the rate and sequence o f learning (ᄂ)

9 A test w ill influence the degree and depth o f teaching (P); and

10 A test w ill influence the degree and depth o f learning (L)

1 I A test w ill influence attitudes to the content, method, etc o f teaching and learning(P)

12 Tests that have important consequences w ill have washback; and conversely

13 Tests that do not have important consequences w ill have no washback

14 Tests w ill have washback on all learners and teachers

15 Tests w ill have washback effects for some learners and some teachers，but not for others

Noting the 니ncertain nature o f the phenomenon, however, Alderson & Wall (1993 p.l 17) observe that “ The Washback Hypothesis seems to assume that teachers and learners do things they would not necessarily otherwise do because o f the test” They also make the point that even a 'p o or’ test could have a positive washback effect i f it encouraged motivation on the part o f learners or teachers For example, a test might encourage learners

to “ do their homework, take the subject being tested more seriously, and so on” , whereas teachers might “ prepare lessons more thoroughly，，(Alderson & Wall 1993, p.l 17) It is also noted that a 'good，test, on the other hand, could have adverse effects by bringing about learner anxiety or, in the case o f teachers “ the fear o f poor results, and the associated guilt, shame, or embarrassment, might lead to the desire for their pupils to acmeve high scores in whatever way seems possible，，(Alderson & Wall, 1993, p 1 18)

I Г teachers are unduly influenced by a test, this could have serious implications i f the

content o f that test Tails to reflect the aim s and objectives o f the prescribed syllabus ֊ the

result being that significant areas o f the syllabus which are not tested may then be seen as irrelevant and, as a consequence, w ill be neglected This is clearly related to the 'hidden syllabus，discussed in 1.1.1.3, which tends to be driven by the content o f the English ENE

for G lS E at Van Giang Upper Secondary School

2.3.2 W a s h b a c k as a result o f “ high stak es” testing

According to the Washback Hypothesis’ (Alderson & Wall 1993 p 120니21) “ tests that have important consequences w ill have washback，， In other words, tests w ill arguably have

a greater influence on teaching and learning in a 나lighstakes，situation - e.g one in which the test is typically used “ to compare and rank individuals, schools or national systems” (Chapman & Snyder Jr 2000，p.458) and whose “ primary use is to ration future opportunity as the basis for determining admission to the next layer o f education or to employment opportunities” (Chapman & Snyder Jr 2000，P.458) As Andrews (2004，p.37) also observes “ It is precisely the power o f high-stakes tests (or the strength o f the perceptions which are held about them) that makes them potentially so influential upon the curriculum and c u rric u la r in n ovation ”

Traditionally，tests come at the end o f the teaching and learning process However，with the advent o f high-stake public examinations testing nowadays, the direction seems to be reversed Testing usually comes first before the teaching and learning process Examinations are commonly used as levers for change In those cases, books w ill be designed to match the purposes o f the test School administrative and organization staff, teachers and students w ill all work hard to achieve better scores on the test (Cheng, 1997)

In addition, a lot more changes in teaching and learning would happen as a result o f a particular test Often such consequences are independent o f the original intentions o f the test designers When a test is designed and test results analyzed, it is no longer the end o f the job Test designers turn to evaluate the consequences their test might have brought about in teaching and learning, be they social, psychological, ethical, curricular and educational (Shohamy, 1993) She (1993，p.2) further points out that “ the need to include aspects o f test use in construct validation originates in the fact that testing is not an isolated event; rather, it is connected to a whole set o f variables that interact in the educational process”

In chapter 1, it was assumed that the failure o f Van Giang Upper Secondary School to implement fu lly the communicative syllabus recommendations o f МОЕТ was due to the powerful washback effect o f 'high stakes，EFL tests In particular, it was felt that the

demands placed on teachers and learners by the GCSE examinations were a major cause o f this curriculum mismatch.

2.4 P reviou s stu dies

This part aims at reviewing previous studies in order to find out the appropriate methodology for the study

According to Hughes ( 1989, p I ) “ The effect o f testing on teaching and learning is known

by Vietnamese researchers to examine the washback effects o f EFL testing on teaching and learning But there has been a certain number o f foreign research done in this aspect (e.g Cheng, 1997; Caine, 2005; Choi, 2008)，o f all which demonstrate how much o f washback effects do EFL tests have on teaching and learning However, these studies have been carried out in different contexts (McDonough and Show, 1993)，therefore they may have made use o f different approaches to washback effects o f tests As this thesis aims to investigate the consequences the ENE for GCSE causes at Van Giang Upper Secondary School, the review presented in the follow ing section includes only studies that share a similar context

C heng (1997) carried out an investigation with the aim to observe how the whole education system would react in the context o f the change in its assessment practice and to attempt to discover the implications o f the washback effect on the teaching o f English in Hong Kong secondary schools The subjects o f this study were 48 teachers from various kinds o f Hong Kong schools, e.g government, aided or private schools and 42 students The study was conducted at both macro and micro levels to investigate the degree o f washback effects on the English curriculum, teaching content and teachers’ and students，attitude and behavior This study was designed to combine quantitative and qualitative research methods The study started with the teacher questionnaire and student questionnaire, and then observation The questionnaires were designed on a five-point Liken scale, which invited teachers and students to comment on their present teaching and learning situation and the role o f the public examination in their teaching and learning The preliminary observations

were carried out to observe any changes in the classroom due to the change o f the public

examination The research findings o f the study confirmed washback occurred, but only in terms o f bringing about change to teaching materials Evidence that the changes to the test brought about changes to the way teachers taught was not conclusive.

Another study was carried out in Japan by Caine (2005) with the purpose o f finding out to what extent the existing English test content influences teaching methodology and suggesting direct testing techniques to improve teaching and learning English in Japan, thus

to eliminate the potential for a mismatch that arises from the communicative syllabus aims

o f Japanese M inistry o f Education The s니bjects o f this study were 7 teachers (both at private and public high schools) and a total o f six group learners - two r l grade classes, two 211 grade classes and two 3rd grade classes The results o f this study suggest that it is possible to improve learning by employing direct testing techniques

The data collection instruments used in this study were observation and questionnaires which were designed to measure the washback effects o f current EFL tests in the sample context To conduct the observation, Caine adapted the Communicative Orientation o f Language Teaching Observation Scheme (COLT), which was developed with the ideas taken from Spada & Frolich, 1995 (cited in Caine, 2005) The COLT scheme provided him with a useful framework with which he could observe - in “ real time” ֊ the teaching and learning that took place in second language classroom The questionnaires were designed mainly on a four-point Likert scale, which allowed determining the extent o f examination washback on teaching and learning It should be mentioned here that while Likert - scale questionnaires often use a response scale o f 1 to 5，it was felt that in this particular context the 1 to 4 scales had been assessed more effective as they were likely to discourage respondents from relying too heavily on the neutral or “ non ֊ opinion” options (Brown, 2001) In addition, student questionnaire 2 was administered after the week students had taken the paired speaking test aimed to discover whether the test had had the desired effect

on learning

Choi (2008) conducted a study to investigate the impact o f standardized EFL tests on EFL education in Korea To achieve this goal, the paper ( I ) presents the status quo o f EFL testing in Korean context, (2) explores the nature o f the EFL tests prevalent in the EFL testing market，and (3) investigates the overwhelming washback effects o f EFL tests on

EՒ L teaching The subjects o f the study included a total o f 100 5th ֊ grade St니dents and 40 instructors ѵ\югкіпц for private English institutes especially for elementary students The method used in this study was mainly questionnaire The overall findings o f the survey reveal that the majority o f stakeholders (e.g test-takers and teachers) do not think favorably

o f the EFL test due to negative washback effects on the EFL learning and teaching The survey also shows that considerable number o f young students is under unwarranted pressure to take the EFL tests and that secondary education puts too much emphasis on preparation for the college entrance exam Most respondents have negative views o f the tests in terms o f the mismatch between test scores and English proficiency and the failure

o f multiple-choice EFL test preparation to induce productive English skills

Two generalizations can be made about these studies First，they all examine the washback effects o f the EFL testing on teaching and learning Second, they all utilized similar data collection instruments - questionnaire and observation, which help collect both quantitative and qualitative data Survey studies and classroom observations were employed to achieve the in-depth research purpose While questionnaires give a general picture as to how teachers and students react to the EFL education and EFL testing, classroom observations tend to provide detailed information about what teachers and students actually do in the classroom A ll these methods complement each other in these types o f research For these reasons, the researcher w ill adapt questionnaire and observation that were successfully utilized by previous researchers to collect information for the investigation o f washback effects o f the ENE for GCSE at Van Giang Upper Secondary School Apart from these two methods, follow up interview w ill be used to complement and clarify the questionnaires and observation data where necessary to elicit teachers’ opinion o f the washback effects o f the ENE for GCSE on their teaching and their students’ learning

2 5 Numm ary

In this chapter, the researcher has given an overview o f role o f tests in general and achievement tests in particular The phenomenon o f washback with a review o f the published literature in the field is examined The notions o f test washback and test impact are introduced before the discussion goes on to look at the washback effects a written

multiple-choice test might have The fifteen possible Washback Hypotheses put forward by Alderson and Wall (1993) is presented to support an approach to washback investigation in the study The issue o f washback occurring as a result o f khigh stakes' testing is also considered Finally, some previous studies in the field are also reviewed in order to approach an appropriate methodology for this minor thesis Stated in the next chapter are the research methodologies that are adapted from previous studies, the research questions, and the procedures o f the study and a brief description o f the subjects involved in the study The later part o f the Chapter 3 w ill deal with the way o f analyzing the data

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

This chapter consists o f five main parts Part 3.1 presents the research question Part 3.2 describes the data collection instruments used to collect information for the study Part 3.3 describes the subjects taking part in the study The procedures are presented in the next part，3.4 The way o f analyzing the data is presented in the last part, 3.5

3.1 R esearch qu estion s

The study aimed at investigating the extent to which the ENE for GCSE influence the teaching and learning at Van Giang Upper Secondary School

More specifically, the follow ing questions were investigated

What do teachers and students at Van Giang Upper Secondary School teach and learn?How do teachers and students at Van Giang Upper Secondary School teach and learn?

3.2 D ata collection in stru m en ts

Data was collected by means o f questionnaire, observation and follow up interview Description o f each o f these is presented in the follow ing sections

3.2.1 Q u estio n n a ires

A questionnaire is considered the most appropriate research instrument for gathering information concerning the attitudes o f the respondents Gillham (2000) proposes three reasons for this as follows First, as the respondents can remain anonymous, information from a questionnaire can be confidential It is hoped that people w ill undoubtedly feel freer

in an anonymous style o f responding Second, a questionnaire is easy to administer, enabling the researcher to survey a large number o f respondents Third, the respondents can complete the questionnaire when it suits them

In this study, two questionnaires were employed, a questionnaire for teachers and a questionnaire for students The questions were adapted from Caine (2005) Some changes

had been made First, some items, questions 5, 13 and 15 in Caine’ s teacher questionnaire, question 7 on his student questionnaire 1 and student questionnaire 2 were deleted Second, two items in question 9 for teachers and question 3 for students were changed as Caine's aim o f the study is somewhat different from the researcher’ s Caine wanted to find out the wash back effects o f the four different categories o f English tests taken by Japanese high school students and suggest direct testing techniques while the researcher aims at investigating the washback effect o f only a test - the ENE Finally, some items had been added The development o f the added items had been done on the basis o f Cheng’ s ideas.

3.2.2.1 Questionnaire for teachers

Teacher questionnaire was to collect the information about what and how teachers at Van Giang Upper Secondary School teach English and their attitudes towards the English education and the ENE for GCSE

The teacher questionnaire consists o f 15 questions

Questions I and 2 recorded teachers’ experience and current duties

Questions 3, 4， 10 and 11 were to seek information about teachers1 classroom methodology

Questions 6，7，8，9 and 12 were to collect information about teacher attitudes towards the English teaching and factors that influence teaching

3.2.շ 2 Q uestionnaire for students

The main objective o f the student questionnaire is to collect information about what and how students at Van Giang Upper Secondary School learn English and their attitudes towards the second language study and the ENE for GCSE The (gestionnaire was translated into Vietnamese to ensure the accurate comprehension o f the questions so as to ensure accurate information

The student questionnaire has 7 questions

Questions 1, 5 and 6 were to collect information about students’ attitudes towards English studying

Question 2 was to seek information about students’ learning experience

Questions 3，4 and 7 were to seek information about the students' preferred learning styles

3.2.2 O bse rvatio n

Besides questionnaires, classroom observation was also conducted to see what and how teachers and students at Van Giang Upper Secondary School actually teach and learn The Communicative Orientation o f Language Teaching Observation Scheme (COLT) ֊ part A, which was successfully utilized by Caine (2005) in the Japanese context, was adopted The COLT scheme provides the researcher with a useful framework with which the teaching and learning that takes place in second language classroom were observed in “ real tim e’， The CO LT scheme consists o f five main features

Participant organization: Details o f the way in which teachers organize students during a classroom activity w ill be recorded in this area o f the scheme This includes categories such

as teacher to student or class (T<=>s/C), whereby the teacher interacts with the whole class and/or individual students This type o f interaction frequently occurs in traditional teacher- centered classrooms Other types o f interaction such as group tasks and individual tasks are also included in this feature The amount o f time spent on different types o f interaction w ill

be recorded

Content: What the teacher and students are talking, reading or w riting about or what they arc listening to w ill be recorded in this area In other words, this feature refers to the subject matter / theme o f activities Perhaps most importantly in the context o f this study (bearing

in mind the apparent conflict between the communicative teaching aims o f МОЕТ and the nature o f English examinations) it is possible to determine the extent to which the focus o f instruction centered on meaning as opposed to form

Content control: In this field, who (the teacher or student) selects and controls the tasks that are carried out during each observed class w ill be recorded There are three categories

֊ teacher/text, teacher/text/st니dent and student

Student m odality： Students are entirely focused on this area o f the scheme Whether they are listening, speaking, reading or w riting during a classroom activity, or whether they are engagea in a combination o f these skills at any one point w ill be recorded How much time students spend on practicing the four skills w ill be measured

Materials: In this feature, the tvpe and source o f materials that are being used during a classroom activity w ill be recorded Among the possibilities are textbooks or extra mnterials The source o f the materials w ill be classified as authentic, non-authentic, adapted

or student-made

A ll five features are coded w ithin the context o f 'activities’ or 'episodes，，which make up the basic units o f analysis for the scheme Activities and episodes are defined as “ separate units, which constitute the instructional segments o f a classroom” (Spada & Fröhlich, 1995，

p 14，cited in Caine, 2005)

The starting time and a b rie f explanation o f each activity/episode were recorded during the classroom observation sessions A check mark was then placed on the observation sheet (see Appendix 5) against any o f the COLT categories that occurred within those episodes and activities For example, how was the class organized? Were the students working in groups or individually? What was the main pattern o f interaction? (Was the teacher leading one central activity and interacting with the whole class or were the students perhaps involved in choral work?) Which o f the four language skills were being utilized?

Obviously, information about what and how teachers and students at Van Giang Upper Secondary School teach and learn should have been collected by observing every lesson o f each unit in the textbooks o f all the classes However, this was beyond o f the scope o f the study reported in this minor thesis Therefore this information was collected as follow: the structured observation was administered to six classes (2 grade-10 classes, 2 grade-11 classes and 2 grade니2 classes) with three different teachers from Van Giang Upper Secondary School.

The data collected from questionnaires, observation and follow up interview were analyzed

to determine the washback effects o f the ENE on teaching and learning at Van Giang Upper Secondary School

o f the younger teachers have been teaching English for 6 years Currently, each o f them has

at least 17 timetabled lessons a week Only one o f them has never taught grade 12 Three o f them took part in the study for the classroom observation sessions

3.3.2 St ud en t populati on

At Van Giang Upper Secondary School, there are 43 classes: 16 12th ֊ grade classes; 13

I I th ֊ grade classes and 14 10th - grade classes Each class has about 45 students Therefore, the total population o f students at Van Giang Upper Secondary School is about

1920 Females outnumber males About 53% o f the students are females Their age ranges

from 16 to 18 They all have learned English for at least 5 years and finished the set o f textbooks used for jun io r high school: English 6 - 9 About one - third o f them, who are in

grade 11，had passed a d iffic u lt entrance examination to high school including three tests, one o f which is a written test in English It was necessary to find the samples because the population o f 1920 students was too large for this minor thesis

3.3.3 S tudent sample

105 students were randomly selected to make a sample that represents the population o f students at Van Giang Upper Secondary School It was thought that a random selection would produce a sample that was representative o f the total population In a random sample, each individual in a given population has an equal chance o f being selected This is done by assigning a number or code to each person and then generating a sequence (Gillham, 2000)

3.4 P ro ced u res

Teachers and students were instructed not to discuss the questions before they had completed their answers It was thought that prior discussion might influence the respondents' decisions Also, the respondents were instructed not to write their names on the questionnaires to make sure that all the respondents would remain anonymous They were told that no portion o f their responses would influence grades in any classes, and that there was no right or wrong answers It was tho니ght that doing so，the respondents felt confident to express their feelings and their attitudes freely

105 copies o f the questionnaires were distributed and returned Three questionnaires were not fully completed, e.g the respondents failed to report the information in the last three questions, so it was not included In total, the data from 102 fu lly completed questionnaires were analyzed.

In the second step, the researcher carried out classroom activities observation in six classes,

named I2XH1, 12CB3, 1 ITN6, 11CB7, I0TN2 and I0CB5 right from the beginning o f the school year for three months, lasting from August 25，2008 to November 25，2008 The researcher attended each target class once as per its timetable The observation sheet was marked and notes were taken down during classroom observation The purpose o f classroom observation has been presented earlier in 3.2.2

In the third step, some follow up interviews were conducted on five teachers in an relaxing

atmosphere In the interview, the teachers were asked to clarify the reasons for their fulfillm ent o f the questionnaire and the way they taught English

Finally, the data collected were analyzed thoroughly so that problems can be clearly identified and recommendations can be developed on a steadily basis