The Washback Effect of Testing on Iranian Student’s Learning in EFL Writing Classes

This study displays the literature review that investigates what the drawbacks of exams are on learning in general, and then gives a brief account of a small scale research conducted in two EFL writing classes. There has been extensive research in related literature on the impact of testing on student’s learning a foreign language. In practice most of the teachers assess their students with scheduled exams which they conduct in accordance with the syllabuses prepared at the beginning of the semester. The level and form of the negative effects change according to some factors such as gender, age, the aim and level of learning. This study tried to shed lights on the negative effects of testing and their reasons on elementary level Iranian EFL student’s writing. The results indicate that learner’s anxiety level increase and their performance decrease when they know that it is an assessment.