Washback to the learner: Learner and teacher perspectives on IELTS preparation course expectations and outcomes

The washback effect of tests on teaching has attracted considerable attention over recent years, but the critical question of how this translates into washback on learning remains under-explored. To address this issue, questionnaires relating to academic writing instruction were distributed to 108 learners from mainland China preparing for university study in the UK, either through studying for the IELTS test or through courses in English for Academic Purposes that did not include IELTS preparation. The same 24 questions were put to learners at course entry and at course exit and the results compared between courses and between occasions. The questions were also given to 39 teachers on IELTS and non-IELTS courses and their responses weighed against those from students. The results indicate that learner perceptions of course outcomes are affected by the course focus reported by teachers, but that the relationship is not deterministic. Although test preparation courses, as predicted by washback theory, did appear to cover a relatively narrow range of skills, there is evidence here that narrow preparation strategies were not driven primarily by learner expectations.