The Washback Effect of the Baccalaureate Exam of English on Learners Attitudes and Perceptions:

Abstract

The Baccalaureate Examination of English is an official exam which is taken annually by thousands of Algerian students at the end of their secondary education. The way of their preparation for such kind of exam, becomes an issue of concern. The present study is an attempt to investigate the washback effects of the Baccalaureate Exam on students’ perceptions of, and attitudes towards learning English. It aims at highlighting the changes in students’ performance in class before and during the preparation activities. It is hypothesized that students will change their perceptions of and attitudes towards English learning if the Baccalaureate Exam of English exerts an influence on them. This means that the students’ perceptions and attitudes will change positively if the Baccalaureate Exam has a positive effect and conversely; the students’ perceptions and attitudes will change negatively if the Baccalaureate Exam has a negative effect. The current study is conducted with third year foreign languages pupils at Tarkhouche Ahmed Secondary School. The study is built on two research instruments: a survey administered to 23 students in two different stages and a classroom observation carried out via a daily report that consisted of a series of field notes. The data were analysed quantitatively and qualitatively. The results showed that the BAC Exam exerts a negative effect on students in which there was a change in the students’ perceptions and attitudes before and during the preparation activities. Including activities that raise the students’ interest and help to develop academic language proficiency instead of focusing on practicing the test tasks, is a beneficial step to ensure the success of learning.