An Essay on Washback

Seminar paper from the year 2013 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Pedagogy, Literature Studies, grade: 1,3 (13 Punkte), University of Frankfurt (Main) (Fachdidaktik Anglistik), course: Proseminar: Fostering formative assessment in the EFL classroom, language: English, abstract: This essay was written as part of the seminar “Fostering formative assessment in the EFL classroom” held by Dr. Loumbourdi, summer semester 2013. In modern society tests have been implemented at almost every social level. This essay covers three topics. First a discussion about washback (2.1) and its classification is conducted (2.2). Followed by a reflection of the presentation held on 2nd July 2013 that focuses on the preparation of the topic (3.1), the actual presentation (3.2) and a reflection on the presentation (3.3). The last sequence focuses on a critique of a testing ideology that can be seen as washback in regard to attitude and perception of tests and testing (4). In this part, it is shown how the individual perceives a test as a tool in a competitive society in order to be compared with other individuals. This leads to an economical attitude towards knowledge; namely that knowledge is only of value in as much it gives the individual an advantage in competing for higher education and in the job market.