English Language, Literature & Culture

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The Teach-to-the-Test Approach: Doing Harm to the Lifelong Educational Paradigm of Algerian EFL Learners

Received: 30 December 2017    Accepted: 20 January 2018    Published: 06 February 2018
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Abstract

The present paper is a plea for a reconsideration of the boundaries of EFL teaching and testing within the framework of the lifelong educational paradigm. Today the educational arena dictates a new paradigm in which lifelong learning becomes indispensable. Learning is no more confined to a specific physical context: the classroom; it goes beyond the school gates. The traditional limits on where and when organized knowledge could be imparted as part of a pre-service or in-service training no longer apply. Lifelong learning has become a sine qua non condition for the establishment of a learning society. Yet, as for English Language Education, two antagonistic approaches arise. The first in which parents would most probably argue about what is best to be taught to their children as well as about the most appropriate and effective learning path leading to their offspring success in an increasingly complex world, whereas the second, in which teachers strive to cope with a delicate intertwined questioning of how to strike the balance between an effective teaching and an efficient testing. True, EFL learners in Algeria are in most need of a well-rounded education. An English Language Education geared by the “learning-how-to-learn” principle paving therefore the way for a lifelong educational paradigm.

DOI 10.11648/j.ellc.20180301.11
Published in English Language, Literature & Culture (Volume 3, Issue 1, January 2018)
Page(s) 1-6
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

EFL Teaching-Testing, Lifelong Learning, Learning Society, English Language Education, Learning How to Learn

References
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[3] HARGREAVES, A. (2003). Teaching in the Knowledge Society: Education in the Age of Insecurity. Teachers College Press. Columbia University. New York, p. 2.
[4] KO, P. Y. (2000). From Enthusiasm to Caution. In B. ADANSON, T. KWAN and K. K. CHAN (Eds) Changing the curriculum: The impact of Reform on Primary Schooling in Honk Kong. Honk Kong: Honk Kong University Press.
[5] GREEN, T. (1980). Predicting the Behavior of the Education System. Syrawse MY: Syrawse University Press, p. 120.
[6] MADAUS, G. F. (1988). The Influence of Testing on the Curriculum. In TANNER, L. N. (Ed) Critical Issues in Curriculum: Chicago: University of Chicago Press, p. 87.
[7] BENMOUSSAT, S. (2003). Mediating Language and Culture: An Inverstigative Analysis of the Cultural Dimension in the Algerian Newly-Designed ELT Textbook. Unpublished Doctorat d’Etat Thesis, Abou Bakr Belkaid University, Tlemcen.
[8] SPRATT, M. (2005). Washback and the Classroom: the Implications for Teaching and Learning of Studies of Washback Exams. Language Teaching Research 9(1) 5-29.
[9] LAM, H. P. (1994). Methodology Washback: An Insider’s View. Bringing About Change in Language Education. Honk Kong: University of Honk Kong (83-99).
[10] UNDERHILL, N. (1982). The Great Reliability Validity Trade-off: Problems in Assessing the Productive Skill. In Heaton, J. B. (Ed) Language Testing Modern English Publications, London, 17-23.
[11] ALDERSON, J. C. (2004). Foreword, in: L. Cheng and Y. Watanabe, with A. Curtis (Eds.) Washback in Language Testing: Research Contexts and Methods (Mahwah, NJ and London, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates), ix-xii.
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[15] ALDERSON, J. C. and WALL, D. (1993). Does Washback Exist? Applied Linguistics, 14(115-129).
[16] HUGHES, A. (2003). Testing for Language Teachers (2nd Ed.) Cambridge: CUP, p. 1.
[17] CHENG, L. and WATANABE, Y. (2004). Washback in Language Testing: Research Contexts and Methods. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associated, Publishers, pp. xi-xii.
[18] ANDREWS, S. (1994). The Washback Effect of Examination: Its Impact Upon Curriculum Innovation in English Language Teaching. Curriculum Forum 4(1), 44-58.
[19] CRYSTAL, D. (1997). English as a Global Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[20] KACHRU, B. B. (1986). The Alchemy of the English Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[21] HASMAN, M. (2000). The Future of English? A Guide to Fostering the Popularity of the English language in the 21st Century. London: The British Council.
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Author Information
  • Department of English, Faculty of Letters and Languages, University of Tlemcen, Tlemcen, Algeria

  • Department of English, Faculty of Letters and Languages, University of Tlemcen, Tlemcen, Algeria

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    Smail Benmoussat, Nabil Djawad Benmoussat. (2018). The Teach-to-the-Test Approach: Doing Harm to the Lifelong Educational Paradigm of Algerian EFL Learners. English Language, Literature & Culture, 3(1), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20180301.11

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    Smail Benmoussat; Nabil Djawad Benmoussat. The Teach-to-the-Test Approach: Doing Harm to the Lifelong Educational Paradigm of Algerian EFL Learners. Engl. Lang. Lit. Cult. 2018, 3(1), 1-6. doi: 10.11648/j.ellc.20180301.11

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    Smail Benmoussat, Nabil Djawad Benmoussat. The Teach-to-the-Test Approach: Doing Harm to the Lifelong Educational Paradigm of Algerian EFL Learners. Engl Lang Lit Cult. 2018;3(1):1-6. doi: 10.11648/j.ellc.20180301.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ellc.20180301.11,
      author = {Smail Benmoussat and Nabil Djawad Benmoussat},
      title = {The Teach-to-the-Test Approach: Doing Harm to the Lifelong Educational Paradigm of Algerian EFL Learners},
      journal = {English Language, Literature & Culture},
      volume = {3},
      number = {1},
      pages = {1-6},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ellc.20180301.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20180301.11},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ellc.20180301.11},
      abstract = {The present paper is a plea for a reconsideration of the boundaries of EFL teaching and testing within the framework of the lifelong educational paradigm. Today the educational arena dictates a new paradigm in which lifelong learning becomes indispensable. Learning is no more confined to a specific physical context: the classroom; it goes beyond the school gates. The traditional limits on where and when organized knowledge could be imparted as part of a pre-service or in-service training no longer apply. Lifelong learning has become a sine qua non condition for the establishment of a learning society. Yet, as for English Language Education, two antagonistic approaches arise. The first in which parents would most probably argue about what is best to be taught to their children as well as about the most appropriate and effective learning path leading to their offspring success in an increasingly complex world, whereas the second, in which teachers strive to cope with a delicate intertwined questioning of how to strike the balance between an effective teaching and an efficient testing. True, EFL learners in Algeria are in most need of a well-rounded education. An English Language Education geared by the “learning-how-to-learn” principle paving therefore the way for a lifelong educational paradigm.},
     year = {2018}
    }
    

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    AB  - The present paper is a plea for a reconsideration of the boundaries of EFL teaching and testing within the framework of the lifelong educational paradigm. Today the educational arena dictates a new paradigm in which lifelong learning becomes indispensable. Learning is no more confined to a specific physical context: the classroom; it goes beyond the school gates. The traditional limits on where and when organized knowledge could be imparted as part of a pre-service or in-service training no longer apply. Lifelong learning has become a sine qua non condition for the establishment of a learning society. Yet, as for English Language Education, two antagonistic approaches arise. The first in which parents would most probably argue about what is best to be taught to their children as well as about the most appropriate and effective learning path leading to their offspring success in an increasingly complex world, whereas the second, in which teachers strive to cope with a delicate intertwined questioning of how to strike the balance between an effective teaching and an efficient testing. True, EFL learners in Algeria are in most need of a well-rounded education. An English Language Education geared by the “learning-how-to-learn” principle paving therefore the way for a lifelong educational paradigm.
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