The L2 assessment system in Hong Kong has been criticized for a long time as examination-oriented and the overarching paradigm of high-stake exams. Although L2 teachers in Hong Kong have been seen as the major agents to foster positive washback effects, the reverberations of L2 teachers’ understanding of assessment or how they respond to the change of exam is relatively unexplored. This study aims to examine the washback effects of school exams on teachers’ perceptions and behavioral changes in school-based exams. The primary focus is paid on the phenomenon of the washback effect in light of school policy, English curriculum development, and school-based exam in a Hong Kong local primary school. A semi-structured interview has conducted in a local primary school with three English teachers. The main findings reinforce that washback effects are influenced by the length of the lesson, intensity of teaching content, students’ language foundation, and learning attitude. Insights of how these factors affect teachers’ perceptions and behaviors towards the washback effect were discussed. The study result enhances that the pressure of school curriculum and school policy is reinforced by the public assessment, which compels teacher to devote the extra amount of time in helping learns to prepare public examinations, notwithstanding finish the school syllabus of teaching. Although improvements have been discovered, the washback effect maintains superficial rather than substantial. As an important and influential agent, teachers have faced a set of pedagogical and ethical challenges during this process, whereas they have to tackle the pressure of school curriculum and policy. Thus, the findings of the study advocate that the occurrence of the washback effect relies on the attention of teachers – more attention should be paid to teachers' and students’ attitudes and behaviors, which would influence the level of success of the washback effect.

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Jiayi Min received her Master Degree in English Language Teaching at Chinese University of Hong Kong, and currently she is a teacher at Ma On Shan St.Joseph Primary School in Hong Kong. She has taught English, General Studies, Science, Computer Study, Visual Arts, Music and Mandarin in Hong Kong. Her research interests include critical pedagogy, multiculturalism, washback effects and Chinese diaspora.

 

Moonyoung Park, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. His research has been focused on aviation English, computer-assisted language learning, task-based language teaching and assessment, and curriculum and instructional design.