The Effect of Teachers' Attitudes on Implementing Washback in Regular Versus preparatory Language Classes

Washback as the effect of testing on teaching is far from being straightforward; rather it is affected by numerous factors (Alderson &Wall, 1993). The present paper tries to investigate the effect of teachers' attitude as one of the potential variables on washback in two kinds of classes: regular classes run based on communicative language teaching ( CLT) with a low-stake final exam, and preparatory courses for a mock CAE (Certificate in Advanced English) exam with relatively high-stake final exam. Four teachers who were teaching in both low-stake and high-stake classes with the average ofllstudents in eachclassin a well-known language school in Tehran were observed ( totally 8 classes with 85 students) for about 750 minutes. The frequencies different aspects of classroom discourse were analyzed based on a category proposed by Watanabe (2004). This analysis was accompanied by the interview with the teachers whose classes were observed. The result showed that teachers modified the effect of wash back in different aspects of the lessons and their classroom management was based on their attitude. However, some aspects showed unexpected results which indicate that wash back cannot be considered as a unitary concept with an all-or-nothing nature. In fact, it consists of different aspects, each influencing and being influenced by teachers' attitude as one of the factors. This in turn implies that to have positive wash back or a successful curriculum innovation, authorities should have teachers' positive attitude on their side; otherwise all their efforts might be counterproductive.