The Washback of an EFL National Oral Matriculation Test to Teaching and Learning

Although the connection between testing and the teaching-learning process is commonly made, it is not entirely clear whether this connection actually exists and, if it does, what the nature of its effect is. Washback definitions (see chap. 1, this volume) indicate that tests are held to have an influence on teaching, on learning, and on those involved. The introduction of national tests seems to trigger factors that affect the educational process (Shohamy, Donitsa-Schmidt, & Ferman, 1996, p. 298).