5-minute definitions for teachers in a hurry: WASHBACK
Summary
TLDRIn this video, Nico Sifakas discusses 'washback,' the effect high-stakes exams have on teaching and learning. These standardized exams, commonly sought after by students in countries like Brazil, Greece, and Japan, can shape classroom instruction. Washback can be positive when teaching aligns with authentic language skills tested, or negative when it leads to 'teaching to the test.' Teachers, learners, and stakeholders all influence this process. Nico emphasizes that understanding washback helps educators align instruction with desired learning outcomes, especially in a test-driven education environment.
Takeaways
- 🌍 High-stakes exams are standardized tests for certification of proficiency in English, recognized globally.
- 📚 These exams are highly sought after in countries like Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Greece, Turkey, China, Japan, and Taiwan.
- 💡 The influence of high-stakes exams on teaching and learning is known as 'washback'.
- ✅ Positive washback occurs when there is alignment between what is taught and what is tested, promoting authentic language use.
- ❌ Negative washback happens when there's a disconnect between instructional goals and test content, often leading to 'teaching to the test'.
- 👨🏫 Teachers play a central role in interpreting and applying washback, shaping both the content and methods of teaching.
- 📖 Textbooks and course materials often adapt to the demands of high-stakes exams, influencing classroom practices.
- 🎓 Learners and their parents drive the need to prepare for these exams, while administrators and publishers also impact the washback process.
- 🔄 Washback is a reciprocal process, with learners also capable of influencing the teaching and learning dynamic.
- 📝 Well-designed exams that prioritize communicative language use can lead to positive washback, improving learning outcomes.
Q & A
What are high-stakes exams?
-High-stakes exams are standardized tests that offer certification of proficiency in subjects like English, widely accepted in professional and academic settings. They are highly sought after by students in various countries.
Which countries typically have large numbers of students preparing for high-stakes exams?
-Countries such as Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Greece, Turkey, China, Japan, and Taiwan have large numbers of students preparing for these exams.
What is washback in the context of teaching and testing?
-Washback refers to the influence that testing has on teaching, learning, and assessment. It affects how teachers teach, what they teach, and how learners prepare, both positively and negatively.
What is positive washback?
-Positive washback occurs when there is alignment between what is taught and what is tested, encouraging authentic language use. For example, if a test focuses on speaking skills, and the classroom activities reflect this focus, learners benefit from real-world language practice.
What is negative washback?
-Negative washback happens when there is a mismatch between instructional goals and test requirements. This often results in 'teaching to the test,' where teachers focus on test preparation at the expense of broader educational goals.
Can you give an example of negative washback?
-An example of negative washback is a test that only includes controlled writing tasks, like dictation or fill-in-the-blank exercises, which leads to teaching for linguistic accuracy rather than authentic language use.
Who are the key players involved in washback?
-The key players in washback include test developers, examination boards, course book materials developers, teachers, learners, administrators, parents, and other stakeholders in the education process.
Why are teachers central to the washback process?
-Teachers are central to the washback process because they interpret, filter, and decide what aspects of the curriculum and course materials to teach. Their choices have a significant influence on the teaching methods and content.
How do learners impact the washback process?
-Learners impact the washback process as they are the recipients of instruction and can influence teaching by their needs and expectations. Washback is an interactive process that involves both teachers and learners.
Why is washback an important concept for educators?
-Washback is important because it highlights how the testing culture influences teaching and learning. It helps educators reflect on whether their teaching aligns with test requirements and how to improve both learning outcomes and test preparation.
Outlines
🎓 Introduction to Washback and High-Stakes Exams
The speaker, Nico Sifakas, introduces the concept of 'washback' in the context of teaching and high-stakes exams, which are standardized tests that certify English proficiency. These exams are important in many countries, shaping the attitudes of students, parents, principals, and teachers. Washback refers to the effect these exams have on teaching, learning, and assessment. It can be positive when the test aligns with authentic language use taught in class, or negative when it leads to teaching strictly for test preparation, disregarding the actual instructional goals.
✅ Positive vs. Negative Washback
Positive washback occurs when there is alignment between what is taught and what is tested. For example, if speaking skills are taught and tested, students are better prepared for real-world communication. Negative washback, however, happens when tests do not reflect the broader curriculum goals, leading teachers to focus solely on test preparation rather than genuine learning. An example is teaching only controlled writing exercises like dictation, which undermines developing actual language skills. Teachers play a crucial role in mediating washback by deciding how closely they align their teaching with exam content.
📘 Washback's Impact on Teaching Materials and Stakeholders
Washback affects more than just teachers and students; it also involves test developers, examination boards, and course material developers. These stakeholders influence how an exam is interpreted, but ultimately, teachers have significant control over what is taught in the classroom. This emphasizes the reciprocal nature of washback, where learners also affect how teaching and preparation are approached. The speaker stresses the importance of recognizing the type of washback present in one's teaching environment, whether positive or negative, and adapting accordingly.
🔍 Why Washback Matters for Educators
Washback is crucial because it reflects how the testing culture affects teaching and learning practices. The speaker does not argue against high-stakes exams but emphasizes that well-designed tests, which assess communicative language skills, have a positive impact on learning. Since these exams are highly sought after, they drive learning in the right direction. Educators need to identify whether washback in their context is positive or negative and understand how various stakeholders, such as administrators and parents, shape this dynamic.
📚 Further Readings and Final Thoughts
The speaker concludes the video by offering additional resources for understanding washback, which are available in the video description. Viewers are encouraged to share their thoughts in the comments and suggest other teaching-related terms they would like covered in future videos.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡High-stakes exams
💡Washback
💡Positive washback
💡Negative washback
💡Teaching to the test
💡Authentic language use
💡Test developers
💡Coursebook materials
💡Stakeholders
💡Learners
Highlights
High-stakes exams are standardized tests widely recognized for certifying proficiency in English, sought after by many students globally.
Countries with high participation in these exams include Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Greece, Turkey, China, Japan, and Taiwan.
High-stakes exams influence learners, parents, teachers, principals, and textbook selection, affecting teaching and learning processes.
Washback refers to the impact that tests have on teaching, learning, and assessing even before they are taken.
Positive washback occurs when there is alignment between what is taught and what is tested, leading to authentic language use.
An example of positive washback is testing speaking skills if the focus is on teaching those skills.
Negative washback happens when there is a mismatch between the syllabus goals and the focus of testing, leading to 'teaching to the test'.
An example of negative washback is a test focusing solely on controlled writing tasks, which neglects broader language skills.
Washback involves not only teachers but also test developers, examination boards, and course material creators.
Teachers play a critical role in interpreting and filtering test expectations and adjusting their teaching methods accordingly.
Learners are also stakeholders in the washback process, as they are directly affected by how teaching is shaped by exams.
Well-designed high-stakes tests, focusing on communicative language use, can generate positive washback.
Teachers should identify the type of washback—positive or negative—that is affecting their teaching environment.
The attitudes, expectations, and decisions of stakeholders such as administrators, parents, and publishers play a role in washback.
Understanding washback helps educators reflect on how the testing culture influences teaching methods and learning outcomes.
Transcripts
greetings colleagues fellow teachers and
educators around the world i'm nico
sifakas on today's five minute
definitions for teachers in a hurry wash
back if you are in this profession
chances are that you spend a decent
amount of time and energy tutoring
students to sit a particular so-called
high-stakes exam what are high stakes
exams they are with standardized exams
that offer certification of proficiency
in English that is widely accepted and
recognized in different professional and
academic settings these are the exams
that are widely sought after by large
numbers of school going students in
countries like Brazil Colombia and
Argentina Greece and Turkey China Japan
and Taiwan the importance of these tests
can shape the attitudes and expectations
of the different players involved for
example learners and their parents want
to prepare quickly for these exams and
get the coveted certificate it's often
triggers those cruel principals who are
in this very competitive and let's be
honest lucrative game and impacts the
teachers who select textbooks that are
specifically designed to meet the
demands of those exams we affect that
high-stakes tests have on teaching
learning assessing and even use before
they are taken is known as wash back
tests can and do influence teaching and
learning in particular tests can
influence what and how teachers teach
and what and how learners learn in
formal classroom settings wash but can
be positive or negative we have positive
wash back when there is a seamless link
and match between what is taught and
what is tested if the test actually
tests to be authentic interactive
language use promoted by the teacher
then we have positive wash back in the
sense that the learners are exposed to
tasks that prompt them to use language
authentically and communicatively
and they know that that is exactly what
the final test will require them to do
for example if we intend to teach
speaking skills we should test speaking
skills and vice versa here's an example
of positive wash back if tests demand a
faint
writing then textbooks integrates
writing activities of that kind on the
other hand negative washbag occurs when
there is a discrepancy between the goals
of instruction as stated in the syllabus
or curriculum and the focus of testing
this often leads to neglecting these
goals in favor of preparing for the test
what is known as teaching to the test an
example of negative washbag would be a
test consisting only of controlled
writing for example a dictation exercise
or filling in blanks in a given
paragraph that would encourage the
teaching of linguistic accuracy rather
than actual language washbag involves
test developers examination boards and
course book materials especially the way
they interpret and specify the
requirements of any exam however washbag
also involves the teachers themselves in
fact teachers are at the core of every
washbag situation since it is the
teachers who will interpret filter and
eventually decide who ever and to what
extent to choose to teach aspects of a
given course book this also means that
irrespective of how much a course book
is affected by washbag the teachers
exercise a lot more influence on the
content of teaching and on the methods
of teaching it goes without saying that
learners are also a major group of
stakeholders - they are at the receiving
end learners are also impacted and are
capable of influencing the washbag
process - since this is reciprocal and
essentially interactive so why is this
notion of washbag of interest to us
because it reflects the impact that the
testing culture that we live in has on
the way that we teach and the way that
our learners learn I'm not arguing here
that high-stakes tests are a bad thing
on the contrary world design tests that
is tests that prioritize the testing of
communicative language use have a
positive washbag and because these tests
are high stakes
they are sought after by learners which
means that what they learn and how they
learn
is in the right direction what teachers
needs to be able to do is locate the
type of wash but that characterizes
their teaching situation as I mentioned
earlier we can locate wash but positive
or negative in every phase of the
teaching and learning process also a key
role in determining that type of wash
bank is played by the attitudes
expectations and decisions of
stakeholders or participants in the
teaching and learning process for
example teachers learners administrators
parents publishers materials developers
I'll add some of the most essential
readings on washbag in the description
below to get you started with wash back
I hope you enjoyed this video and that
you found it useful let me know in the
comments also please let me know which
other terms would like me to include in
this section thanks for watching see you
soon
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