High School Entrance Exam Effect on the Teaching of English: A Case Study of Teachers’ Experiences

Abstract

English education programs are updated to keep up with new trends and approaches. Curriculum designers introduce the changes into the curriculum. The use of innovations in the classroom is explained to pre-service and in-service teachers. Nevertheless, there are multiple complaints regarding implementation, especially during the exam preparation process. Since the teachers are expected to prepare students for high stakes exams, some practical difficulties emerge as a result of the discrepancies between following the curriculum and preparing for the exam. This study is therefore set out to determine the effects of high-school entrance exams on the implementation of the English curriculum. The methodological approach taken in this study is a mixed methodology based on the teachers’ views. 201 EFL teachers working at lower secondary schools filled out the questionnaire regarding their in-class practices. Among the teachers, 10 teachers are interviewed with taking ample notes. To collect the quantitative and qualitative data, web tools are utilized due to the vexatious process during the Covid-19 pandemic days. The results of the study reveal that the high-school entrance test has negative effects regarding the approaches and methods employed in the classes. Furthermore, classroom practices differ in different grades. The negative washback effects of high-stakes tests outweigh the positive ones in terms of the use of the English language in a communicative way.