College English Teaching and Testing in China - Achievements and Problems in the Past Two Decades

Abstract

In the paper, the development of college English teaching and testing in China in the past two decades will be reviewed focusing on the promulgation and implementation of the National College English Teaching Syllabuses since the 1980s and the launch of the National College English Test (CET) in the late 1980s. The second part of the paper focuses on the achievements made and problems encountered in the development of college English teaching and testing. The English proficiency of college students in China will be presented by referring to the CET Syllabus. Examples of students performance in the CET will be given to illustrate their communicative competence. The imbalanced development of the English proficiency of college students across the country will also be discussed and possible explanations given for the discrepancy. The paper will then move on to a discussion on the impact of language testing on teaching with special reference to the washback of the CET on college English teaching in China. Both beneficial and detrimental effects of the CET on teaching and learning will be presented and the social consequences of the large-scale standardized test will be discussed in some detail. The paper ends with a brief introduction to the recent reform of the college English teaching and testing in China.