172 / 2018-03-28 13:51:42

A Systematic Review of Washback Studies in the Japanese Context: A Replication of Cheng, Sun, and Ma (2015)

washback,university entrance examination of English in Japan,systematic review

全体主题 > Standards in validating language assessments

In the on-going reform of university entrance examination in Japan, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT, 2016) has announced to replace the National Center Test (NCT) for commercial four-skills English language tests (e.g. the TOEFL iBT® test, the TEAP test). There have been heated discussions on the use of four-skills tests as university entrance examinations of English in Japan (e.g. Abe, 2017; Torikai, 2018). However, such discussions so far have not necessarily been based on research in the field of language testing and assessment. Discussing how to promote positive washback by the introduction of the new tests, requires reviewing of the empirical evidence of washback, the effect of tests on teaching and learning (e.g. Alderson & Wall, 1993, Bailey, 1996). A recent systematic review of washback studies in international databases by Cheng, Sun, and Ma (2015) included only one study related to the Japanese context (Watanabe, 1996). Considering that washback is a context-specific issue (Rea-Dickins & Scott, 2007), it is imperative to review washback studies conducted in the Japanese context including those published in domestic and Asian journals. To address this gap, this study replicated Cheng, Sun, and Ma’s study to systematically review the washback research literature on the Japanese context using research databases on Japan and Asia.
This study followed Cheng, Sun, and Ma’s (2015) method except for the use of Japanese and Asian databases including domestic journals published in Japanese. First, the study searched for articles in two major language testing journals in Japan and Asia, JLTA Journal, published by the Japan Language Testing Association, and Language Testing in Asia. Also examined were articles that appeared in applied linguistics journals in Japan: JACET Journal, JALT Journal, Language Education & Technology, and Annual Review of English Language Education in Japan (ARELE). The study also examined the databases specific to education and linguistics in Japan, and research databases of testing agencies in Japan. To use search engines on online databases, not only English keywords such as "washback," "backwash," "impact," and "consequences," but also various Japanese keywords of equivalent meanings were specified.
In this session, the presenter will summarize key findings of the systematic review results according to Kane’s (2006; 2013) categories of consequences in argument-based approach to test validation as Cheng, Sun & Ma (2015) did, and discuss notable trends and characteristics of washback studies conducted in Japan.