Washback Effect: Increasing EFL Learners’ Grammar Development ‎‎ (Contextualized and Decontextualized Assessment) in MBT (Mobile ‎Based Testing) Environment

Testing has become an area of increased interest to language teachers and applied linguists in the last decade. Classroom tests provide teachers with essential information used to make decisions about instruction and student grades. This study investigates the washback effect on English as a foreign language learners (EFL) grammar development (contextualized assessment and decontextualized assessment) in MBT (mobile based testing) environment. The sample employed for the study was made up of 50 students (12-15years old) randomly selected in an English Language institute in Kerman. Blueprint was the independent variable and second language grammar development (contextualized and decontextualized assessment) was the dependent variable. Based on the Cambridge Placement Test, the students were homogenized as the pre-intermediate ones and then were distributed into two groups of experimental (with test blueprint) and control (without test blueprint) groups each containing 25 learners. A grammar test was used as pre-test and post-test (simple present, present continuous, simple past, past continuous) to assess the participants’ grammar progress in both groups. Findings indicated that test blueprint in MBT environment is a useful tool to increase the grammar development(contextualized and decontextualized assessment) of EFL learners .Test blue print helps teachers improve the validity of their instruction and learners increase their achievement.