Washback effects of the Portuguese CAPLE exams from Chinese university students and teachers’ perspectives: a mixed-methods study
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Jiayu Liu
Abstract
Research on Portuguese language exams in the language assessment field remains scarce. To bridge this gap, this study examined washback from the large-scale, high-stakes Portuguese proficiency tests created by the Center of Evaluation of Portuguese as a Foreign Language (Centro de Avaliação de Português Língua Estrangeira, or CAPLE as abbreviated). Using Green’s (2007). Theoretical model of washback and an explanatory sequential mixed methods approach, questionnaires were first administered to Chinese students of Portuguese as a Foreign Language (PFL) who had taken the CAPLE exams (N = 102) and Chinese, Portuguese, and Brazilian PFL teachers in China (N = 28) for quantitative data, followed by semi-structured interviews with five participants-three students and two teachers- to obtain results in a qualitative way. Questions about their perceptions and preparational practices of the exams demonstrate that although the CAPLE exams are considered important and high-stakes, PFL students and teachers in China do not consider them a high-pressure burden. Moreover, while the test preparation efforts may indicate some restrictions on the scope of PFL teaching and learning in China, a large proportion of teachers do not change their teaching approach due to the exams but focus on their students’ long-term language development. In general, the washback effect of the CAPLE exams in the Chinese context demonstrates a beneficial trend.
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© 2025 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Introduction
- Integration, collaboration, friendship as core messages for younger generations
- Research Articles
- Research practice and culture in European universities’ Language Centres. Results of a survey in CercleS member institutions
- Language practices in the work communities of Finnish Language Centres
- Fostering transparency: a critical introduction of generative AI in students’ assignments
- Expert versus novice academic writing: a Multi-Dimensional analysis of professional and learner texts in different disciplines
- Raising language awareness to foster self-efficacy in pre-professional writers of English as a Foreign Language: a case study of Czech students of Electrical Engineering and Informatics
- Does an autonomising scheme contribute to changing university students’ representations of language learning?
- Investigating the relationship between self-regulated learning and language proficiency among EFL students in Vietnam
- Students’ perspectives on Facebook and Instagram ELT opportunities: a comparative study
- Designing a scenario-based learning framework for a university-level Arabic language course
- Washback effects of the Portuguese CAPLE exams from Chinese university students and teachers’ perspectives: a mixed-methods study
- Students’ perception of the impact of (meta)linguistic knowledge on learning German
- Language policy in Higher Education of Georgia
- Activity Reports
- Intercomprehension and collaborative learning to interact in a plurilingual academic environment
- Teaching presentation skills through popular science: an opportunity for a collaborative and transversal approach to ESP teaching
- Japanese kana alphabet retention through handwritten reflection cards
- Decolonising the curriculum in Japanese language education in the UK and Europe
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Introduction
- Integration, collaboration, friendship as core messages for younger generations
- Research Articles
- Research practice and culture in European universities’ Language Centres. Results of a survey in CercleS member institutions
- Language practices in the work communities of Finnish Language Centres
- Fostering transparency: a critical introduction of generative AI in students’ assignments
- Expert versus novice academic writing: a Multi-Dimensional analysis of professional and learner texts in different disciplines
- Raising language awareness to foster self-efficacy in pre-professional writers of English as a Foreign Language: a case study of Czech students of Electrical Engineering and Informatics
- Does an autonomising scheme contribute to changing university students’ representations of language learning?
- Investigating the relationship between self-regulated learning and language proficiency among EFL students in Vietnam
- Students’ perspectives on Facebook and Instagram ELT opportunities: a comparative study
- Designing a scenario-based learning framework for a university-level Arabic language course
- Washback effects of the Portuguese CAPLE exams from Chinese university students and teachers’ perspectives: a mixed-methods study
- Students’ perception of the impact of (meta)linguistic knowledge on learning German
- Language policy in Higher Education of Georgia
- Activity Reports
- Intercomprehension and collaborative learning to interact in a plurilingual academic environment
- Teaching presentation skills through popular science: an opportunity for a collaborative and transversal approach to ESP teaching
- Japanese kana alphabet retention through handwritten reflection cards
- Decolonising the curriculum in Japanese language education in the UK and Europe
