The Washback Effect of Communicative Language Tests on the Teaching and Learning of English - 3rd IELTS Annual Conference

3 Speaker Profiles
Han Baocheng Professor, Doctoral Supervisor and Deputy Director, Institute of Linguistics, Beijing Foreign Studies University In 1996, Professor Han graduated from the Institute of Linguistics of Beijing Foreign Studies University with a doctoral degree in English Language and Literature. He is now serving as Deputy Director of the Institute and as a researcher for the National Research Center for Foreign Language Education of Beijing Foreign Studies University. This is a key research institute for the humanities and social sciences approved and supported by the Ministry of Education of China. Professor Han is also Secretary-General of the Foreign Language and Literature Committee of the China Council for Self-taught Higher Education Examinations. Professor Hans main research fields are language testing and foreign language education. His main research interests are as follows: language testing validity, nature of language aptitude, second language aptitude development and teacher education and development. He has presided over various national and provincial scientific research projects and has published several papers and monographs. He is now instructing postgraduate students and doctoral students in the fields of language testing and foreign language education, and so on.

1996 , /

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James Shipton First Secretary (Education) and Director of Examinations China, Cultural and Education Section of the British Embassy Beijing James Shipton began his teaching career in the Sudan in 1981-82. He went on to do a Masters degree in Social Anthropology at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland and resumed his career in education teaching English for 9 years in Mexico. After joining the British Council in 1995, James has gained a wide and varied experience working overseas in Azerbaijan, Moscow, Portugal, Thailand and now China. Over the course of these postings he has been involved in language teaching and testing, strategic management, project design and implementation, consultancy work with Ministries of Education, and designing new products and services for language learners. James has been involved in Management of teaching centres and examinations for 15 years.

1981 1982 1995 15

Keynote 1

Roger Alan Hawkey

Consultant Cambridge University ESOL Examinations Visiting Professor, Centre for Research in English Language Learning and Assessment (CRELLA), University of Bedfordshire Dr Roger Hawkey has had a long career in applied linguistics, including English language teaching, teacher education, curriculum development and assessment. His main posts have been: with the British Council (1962 to 1984 in Uganda, Thailand, Nigeria, London and Zimbabwe); at the postgraduate Asian Institute of Technology (1984 to 1999), and (from 1984 to the present) in consultancy and academic positions with Cambridge University ESOL exams and the University of Bedfordshire (2006 to present). His current research interests include language test impact study, evaluation and validation and the development of the English Profile. He supervises and examines doctoral students in these and related areas, initiates and participates in research projects and conferences, and publishes regularly.

Professional and Academic Career

1999 - present 2009 - present Consultant in Language Testing, Cambridge University ESOL Examinations Visiting Professor, Centre for Research in Language Learning and Assessment
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(CRELLA), University of Bedfordshire

2006 - 2009 Senior Research Fellow, University of Bedfordshire 2001 - 2006 Supervision of PhD students for Universities of Reading and Roehampton, and MA students at Bristol University 1988 -1999 Associate Professor, Academic Secretary, Dean of Student Affairs and Secretary to the

Board of Trustees, Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand 1985 -1988 Associate Professor, Centre for Language and Educational Technology, AIT Thailand,

including Master and PhD student supervision 1973-1984 English Language Officer, British Council: Nigeria, London (English Language

Consultancies Department), Zimbabwe 1970-1972 1964-1970 1963-1964 British Council Advisor in English, Ministry of Education, Thailand British Council English language teacher, Pre-University College, Thailand British Council Lecturer in English, Makerere University, Uganda

Selected recent professional activity

2010 (forthcoming)(chapter in book) Consequential validity, in Taylor and Weir (Eds) Examining Speaking, Cambridge: CUP 2010 (journal paper) The English Profile Programme the first three years, English Profile Journal,

Vol1, 1, with Nick Saville 2010 (chapter in book) A study of the Cambridge Proficiency in English (CPE) exam washback on

textbooks, in The Social and Educational Impact of Language Assessment, Cambridge: CUP 2009 (book) Examining FCE and CAE: Key issues and recurring themes in developing the First

Certificate in English and Certificate in Advanced English exams, Cambridge: CUP 2009 (research project for Cambridge University and the British Council) An empirical investigation of

the process of writing academic reading test items for the International English Language Testing System, with Tony Green 2008 (research project for Pedagogical Research Fund for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies

in HE) Language, study skill and related issues facing international students in their MPhil / PhD studies, with Cyril Weir 2008 An impact study of a high-stakes test (IELTS): lessons for test validation and linguistic diversity,

in Taylor and Weir (Eds), Multilingualism and Assessment: Achieving Transparency, Assuring, Quality, Sustaining Diversity, Cambridge: CUP 2007 (consultancy) Mutual Impacts of Teaching and Assessment, Kenya National Examinations

Council and Cambridge International Examinations conference, Nairobi, 2006 (book) Impact Theory and Practice: Studies of the IELTS test and Progetto Lingue 2000

Cambridge: CUP
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Education
1982 PhD, Institute of Education, University of London: Factors affecting the success in UK of

overseas postgraduate students 1972 1962 1959 MA (Linguistic Science), University of Reading Postgraduate Certificate in Education (EFL), Institute of Education, London BA (Modern Languages), Cambridge University (MA, April 1966)

CRELLA 1962 1984 1984 1999 1984 2006

1999 - 2009 - CRELLA 2006 - 2009 2001 - 2006 1988 - 1999 AIT 1985 - 1988 AIT 1973 - 1984 1970 - 1972 1964 - 1970 1963 - 1964

2010 2010Nick Saville 2010

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2009FCE CAE 2009Tony Green 2008HE Cyril Weir 2008 2007 20062000

1982 1972 1962 EFL 1959 1966 4

Panel Session:
Speaker 1 QI Luxia Professor, National Research Centre for Linguistics and Applied Linguistics at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies She obtained her BA at Sichuan International Studies University, her first MA at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, and her second MA at Lancaster University in the United Kingdom and Ph.D. at City University of Hong Kong. She is currently a member of the National Language Testing and Assessment Association of China and is on the editorial board of the journal Language Assessment Quarterly. Her current research interests are test development, impact of testing on teaching and learning, and reading in English as a foreign language. Having taught English and Language Testing and working on a number of large-scale English test design and reform projects in China for the past 30 years or so, she has received several awards and prizes, including Nanyue Outstanding Teacher, a First Prize in Social Science Research awarded by the Guangdong provincial government, and a Second Prize in MA Teaching awarded by the Ministry of Education in China. She has presented at international and national conferences on language teaching and testing, such as TESOL Convention (1991) and Language Testing Research Colloquium (2000, 2006) and has published in Chinese and international journals. Her book The Intended Washback Effect of the National Matriculation English Test in China: Intentions and Reality was published by the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press in 2004. Her main articles include Stakeholders conflicting aims undermine the washback function of a high-stakes test (Language Testing), Is testing an efficient agent for pedagogical change?InWashback in language testing: Research contexts and methods Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc Examining the intended washback . ,
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of the writing task in a high-stakes English test in China (Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice), Should Proofreading Go? Examining the Selection Function and washback of the Proofreading Subtest in the National Matriculation English Test (in English Language Assessment and the Chinese Learner. Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group), On the Washback of the NMET (Foreign Language Teaching and Research), Effects of background knowledge on reading comprehension (Foreign Language Teaching and Research), and What determines reading speed? (Modern Foreign Languages).

1977 1985 SSCI Language Assessment Quarterly 1 3 1 2007 Stakeholders conflicting aims undermine the washback function of a high-stakes test (Language Testing)Is testing an efficient agent for pedagogical change?In Washback in language testing: Research contexts and methods. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, IncExamining the intended washback of the writing task in a high-stakes English test in ChinaAssessment in Education: Principles, Policy & PracticeNMET .. Speaker 2 GU Xiangdong Director of the Language Assessment Research Institute affiliated to Language Cognition and Application Centre at Chongqing University Dr Gu Xiangdong is the Director and full-time research fellow of the Language Assessment Research Institute (listed as Chongqings Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences) affiliated to Language Cognition and Application Centre in Chongqing University. She also serves as professor and MA supervisor at the College of Foreign Languages in Chongqing University; affiliated research follow of National Research Centre for Foreign Language Education at Beijing Foreign Studies University; part-time professor of Yangtze Normal University; one of the directors of the Language Testing and Assessment Committee of China English Language Education Association; one of the directors of China Association of Language and Education Research, member of International Language Testing Association (abbreviated as ILTA). She has independently taken charge of the National Philosophy and Social Science Foundation projectA Longitudinal Study of CET Washback (07BYY030). She is director of a Chongqing Elite CourseComprehensive English and a Chongqing advantageous specialtyEnglish major. She was former Dean of the English Department at the College of Foreign Languages in Chongqing University. Dr Gu Xiangdong studied at Shanghai Jiao Tong University under the supervision of Prof. Yang Huizhong during March 2001 to March 2005, and gained a PhD degree of language assessment in Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics. From September 2005 to September 2006, she furthered her study at UCLA
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(University of California, Los Angeles, USA) as a visiting scholar under the supervision of Prof. Lyle F. Bachman. In July 2009, she participated in Chinese Language Summer Institute 2009 (2009 National Postgraduate Education Innovation Program of the Ministry of Education) held by Peking University. Her research interests focus on language assessment, theoretical linguistics, language teaching & learning, and teacher development, especially content validity study and washback study of large-scale and high-stakes tests (e.g. CETCollege English Tests Band 4 and Band 6, NMETNational Matriculation English Test, and TEMTest for English Majors Band 4 and Band 8 in China). Since 2000, she has published 40 papers on academic journals both at home and abroad with 9 CSSCI (Chinese Social Science Citation Index) papers and 12 core journal papers, including CurriculumTeaching MaterialMethod, Foreign Language World, Foreign Languages in ChinaForeign Languages and Their Teaching, Computer-Assisted Foreign Language Education, Teaching English in China, Foreign Language Teaching in Schools Journal, and ILTA Newsletter. She has presented 27 papers at national and international academic conferences with 3 as a keynote speaker. As director or primary researcher, she has accomplished 19 research projects on national, provincial or ministerial, or collegiate levels with 2 National Philosophy and Social Science Foundation projects. She has published 1 monograph and 1 collection of essays, and authored 1 textbook. In recent years, she has worked as a reviewer for such academic journals as Teaching English in China and Foreign Language Education in China, and as a preliminary evaluation expert for philosophy and social science projects at national, provincial or ministerial levels.

1967 ILTA 07BYY030 2001.3-2005.3 2005.9-2006.9 Lyle F. Bachman 2009.7 2009 2009 NMETCET TEM2000 ILTA Newsletter 40 CSSCI 9 12 27 3 19 2 1 1 1

Speaker 3
Speaker 3 WU Zunmin Professor, School of Foreign Languages and Literature, Beijing Normal University
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She earned her MA degree from the University of Birmingham and her PhD in Applied Linguistics from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Her research interests include language testing and assessment, curriculum development and EFL teacher education. In her 30 years of service in tertiary education, shes engaged in teaching courses both in undergraduate and postgraduate programs. Shes now coordinator of the writing curriculum for the English Department, which is responsible for the modification or adjustment of writing curriculum across the grades based on students learning needs. She is now heading a number of research projects by the University Office of Academic Affairs, among them the Course Design and Implementation of English Writing for Pre-service Teachers, and Teacher Professional Development. She is also actively involved in various research projects by the Ministry of Education, especially in relation to basic education. She is currently heading two assessment projects for the MOE, the Student Academic Achievement Evaluation and the National Assessment of Education Quality. She is also an active participant in some of the programs of the National Educational Examinations Authority under the MOE. Wu Zunmins major publications include Language Testing: from theory to practice (2002), by Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, Pre-service EFL Teacher Education in China: Case Studies of BA/TEFL Curriculum (2010, forth coming), by Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press. She is the chief compiler of Vocational English for secondary vocational schools (1999, 2003, 2009), Beijing Normal University Press. She is on the editorial board of Foreign Language Teaching in Schools and reviews papers for journals such as Foreign Language Education. Wu Zunmin is also deputy director for the Center of Foreign Language Teaching and Teacher Training, based at Beijing Foreign Studies University.

EFL 30 2002EFLBA/TEFL 2010(1999, 2003, 2009)

Keynote 2
Keith OHare English Project Delivery Manager, Cultural and Education Section of the British Embassy Beijing Keith OHare has a CELTA and Trinity TESOL diploma and has been working in the world of ELT for over 15 years. He presently works for the Cultural and Education Section of the British Embassy as English Projects Manager for national teacher training projects.

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He has been involved in teacher training in China for the last 7 years. Before coming to China he worked as a secondary school teacher and later as a director of studies in Spain.

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Keynote 3
Ian Gordon English Language Expert, Cultural and Educational Section of the British Embassy Beijing Ian has lived and worked in China for almost 9 years. He is an accomplished EFL teacher for more than 8 years, CELTA trained and a qualified IELTS examiner for both speaking and writing. He has an MA in media and has held several Senior Education Management posts throughout his career. He has taught EFL both in the UK and China, written and developed educational texts and advised on new EFL teaching methods.

EFL EFL EFL

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