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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION  

1.1 Research Background 
Studies have shown that tests, especially large-scale, high-stakes tests, may exert influence on teaching and learning, i.e. washback. Test for English Majors-Band 4 (TEM4) is such a  high-stakes  test  affecting  many  stakeholders.  Given  its  test  specifications  derived from  the  national  university  English  teaching  syllabus  that  requires  extensive knowledge and competence in English, and given its status as a national requirement for  English  major  students’  graduation,  it’s  inevitable  that  its  impact  on  teaching, learning, or curriculum must be studied.  A good deal of research has confirmed that washback is a complex phenomenon (e.g.,  Alderson  &  Hamp-Lyons,  1996;  Green,  2006;  Qi,  2005).  A  test  itself  cannot automatically  induce  washback.  It  involves  complex  interactions  between  tests, teachers,  and  learners  (Green,  2006a,  p.  114).  However,  compared  with  washback studies on teachers and teaching, washback research on learners and learning has just recently  appeared  in  large  numbers.  Students  are  the  most  direct  washback  effect recipients, and their learning outcome is the ultimate goal of educational assessment. The complexity of washback encourages the author to have a deeper understanding of the mechanism of washback.  One form of the more general issue of learning is test preparation and one part of  the  more  general  issue  of  learning  outcome  is  test  performance  (Lumely  & Stoneman,  2000;  Prodromou,  1995;  Xie,  2010,  2013).  An  increasing  number  of washback  studies  have  been  conducted  on  test  preparation  for  high-stakes  language tests (e.g., Alderson & Hamp-Lyons, 1996; Green, 2007; Xie, 2010, 2013). However, there are no conclusive findings as to the effect of test preparation on test performance and  the  different  effects  of  different  test  preparation  practices  on  test  performance (e.g.,  Green,  2007;  O’Loughlin,  2014).
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1.2 Research Aims 
The  primary  aims  of  the  study  are  to  explore  how  students  prepare  for  TEM4 and  how  the  test  preparation  practices  affect  their  test  performance.  The  study  also aims to investigate students’ perceptions of TEM4, in terms of test-taking motivation, test stakes and test difficulty. The  study  involved  220  Year  2  English  majors  from  one  university  in  Shanxi Province.  Their  perceptions  of  TEM4  and  their  test  preparation  practices  were identified  mainly  by  a  questionnaire. 本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。